Olvaranim

On 5/16/2024 at 6:51 AM, millefleur said:

WOM actually resulted in them issuing a visa? I saw in the AP forum that others who filed one were just rejected saying it wasn't enough time to complete AP.

The recent case was successful, yes. The visa was issued. 

@big_tex_69

Technology Alert List (TAL).

Any link on Google will do. 

https://www.bu.edu/isso/files/pdf/tal.pdf

On average, it takes about a year for russian citizens to be cleared for a visa after AP in Poland. 

That's a disturbing statistic, but accurate. 

There's even a case with 15 months long AP (still in progress). The couple in question is getting ready to file writ of mandamus. 

Another visa was issued recently after 296 days of AP and also thanks for mandamus.

The vast majority of these cases (K1 and CR1/IR1 both) were triggered by petitioner's current occupation, listed in TAL, or some sort of a government related job.

5 hours ago, millefleur said:

The embassy site says "Immigrant visas to the United States are processed for citizens and residents of Hungary at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest" so not really optimistic they would take Russians.

As it is usually stated on the website of almost every embassy and still russian cases have being transferred to different countries. 

It's always worth asking if needed 🤷

Personally I don't see a point in transferring from Poland with a valid Schengen visa, as it's a designated embassy, we'll aware of russian documents. 

14 hours ago, aleksey23 said:

wow, thanks for the information, do you know if it's worth transferring to budapest hungary? if it's easier to get a schengen there, i just don't want the risk of poland.  Would you recommend any other countries that a transfer would be quickly accepted?

Personally I don't remember any case in Hungary, but might be an option.

Usually couples try to transfer their case to a visa free country (preferably with Russian-speaking officers). As for other countries in Schengen area, I remember the spouse visa cases of non-residents that were transferred to Vienna and Bucharest.

On 12/29/2023 at 8:35 PM, LoveTNLife said:

 Mom had to get official documents like marriage certificate police certificate, how long are they good for?

Marriage, Divorce or birth certificates from Russia have no expiration date. The document is valid as long as the fact (it is issued for) stands, and you can apply for a replacement any time if needed.

Also there's no expiration date for the translations, don't forget about those.

Police clearance certificates from Russia and other countries, your mom resided for 6+ months after her 16th birthdays, are valid for a year for the Embassy in Kazakhstan (even for 2 years for the Embassy in Warsaw).

Also your mom needs to upload your original birth certificate with a translation to NVC and bring it to her interview later. 

On 12/28/2023 at 5:59 PM, tinygreengoblin said:

 

If there are any Russian users who have gone through Poland via a Schengen from another country within the last few months, please reach out because we’re both really concerned and confused of both the process and success rates, as well as the timing to receive that visa. How far off was the date of the interview with Poland once you received the interview letter also, if you received one?

We just don’t want to get so close to the interview only for him to be turned away at the border but I’m just not quite sure how to demonstrate that to any of the U.S. embassies because it’s not a true hardship claim.

About a dozen of Russian citizens (that I know of) attend their interviews in Warsaw on a monthly basis with zero issues on entering Poland. At least 5 fiancées had their interviews on January 2, 3 and 4. 

Mine interview (CR1/IR1) is also scheduled in Warsaw. 

The keys for russian citizens are:

1) apply for a tourist Schengen visa with a visa center of loyal countries: Italy, France, Spain or Hungary (in Russia). Act like a tourist don't mention Poland on your application. 

2) enter Schengen area by flying in the country that issued you a visa (best option for both short-term and long-term visas, but critical to short-term visas nowadays). Again act like a tourist, you're there for Colosseum or Champs-Élysées.

3) enter Poland by air or by land (train or car) from that European country, even the same day. If by air, buy a separate ticket from that European country to Poland. For example, if you book a ticket Moscow - Istanbul - Rome and a separate ticket Rome - Warsaw, then you enter Schengen area in Italy (go through border control (visa check)), pick up your luggage, check-in, drop off your luggage again and then head to a assigned gate without any additional border control, as there are no administrative borders within Schengen area. 

So the citizens of Russia are allowed to enter Poland only from other Schengen country (not through the external border of Schengen zone).

As for interview time frames for CR1/IR1 in Warsaw, NVC usually sends an interview letter in 35-45 days after DQ. An interview date is in 85 days after DQ on average. 

8 minutes ago, big_tex_69 said:

Thank You ! I also read this somewhere official as well but was not sure.

11 hours ago, millefleur said:

Agree with the others, it just sounds like the typical Russian holiday schedule. Keep trying to contact them and they'll probably be open again once holidays are over.

Moscow medical is in the middle of moving to a different address, and they chose the holidays as the least busiest season to effectively do that.

They are going to announce their new address right after the holidays, but you can book the appointment via the phone for the 2nd half of January.

1 hour ago, big_tex_69 said:

Thanks to all y'all.

 

we've had such a ####### show journey with this process and all of the complicating factors. now i am off to ask traveldocs to extend her i-129f petition as it expires in mid january.

 

i have been documenting my process along the way almost obsessively. i think i will post about that experience here to maybe save another couple some headaches. 

If it expires, just prepare and sign a fresh letter of intent to marry and send it to your fiancée to bring to the interview. It's quite common and not an issue anymore due to Covid. 

9 hours ago, antalia said:

Same here. I emailed Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Thailand, Mongolia...my senator... Jerusalem is the only place that agreed to take the Warsaw transfer without residence. They are saying they don't know how long the transfer will take, as they are not operating a normal schedule, and that the medical will have to be done there. Totally get how you feel. Good luck.

I just double checked, there are two K1 cases that US Embassy in Bangkok agreed on taking after the emails from US Senators, one was transferred from Warsaw at the beginning of November, another one 6 days ago. Both applicants stay in Russia without a residency in Thailand. Maybe it's worth trying again?

4 hours ago, BenNomad said:

Do you know cases where people have been given EU humanitarian visas (Schengen LTV visa?) for the purpose of attending a U.S. immigration interview? 

No, not for the interview.

I mean the application for a regular tourist (visitor) visa, just without false touristic intentions. And that's a theory for now, as I hope the applicants would actually pursue with their cases in Frankfurt and apply for the German Shengen visa. 

For example, for the citizens of Belarus one of the official purposes of visiting Poland and applying for a visa is attending the US Embassy specifically.

6 hours ago, millefleur said:

Are you sure that it's easier to get a Schengen visa to Germany? I've heard it's still a bit difficult, although maybe not as bad as Poland. 

Personally, I think that Germany is a better option in this scenario, because the purpose on this visa would not be the tourism, but a humanitarian reason. When it comes to tourist visas, Germany is definitely not the first choice. By far.

And Poland doesn't issue visas for Russian citizens at all.

Thankfully I have a valid Shengen visa, аnd I wouldn’t want to lie to one consulate for the sake of being able to get to another.

5 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Thanks.  Good news to hear that there's a crack in the Ulaanbataar armor.  I wonder if the applicant had to bring translations of documents that were in Russian.

I'm positive about that. The citizens of Russia have to translate all their documents in Russian for each and every Embassy by default, Warsaw and Kazakhstan included. 

It's also worth mentioning that recently two separate immigrant cases (IR2 and CR1) without any ties to Ukraine (by birth, physical adress or Crimea residency) got assigned to the Embassy in Frankfurt. 

A test maybe? At least Germany issues Shengen visas to Russian citizens, no lies needed when applying for it, and it's easier to get there with a stopover in just one country, not two. 

I would love to have my case transferred there. Well, that's just a wishful thinking.

13 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

That's great news.  If it was posted here, I missed it.  If you know the details, please post them.

At first the applicant received the usual auto answer from the Embassy stating that they are tiny/busy/etc and would consider transferring a case, only if an applicant was in Mongolia physically. So the persistent applicant described all personal issues with Shengen visa (to ties, no stable job, no travel history) and mentioned all other US Embassies that ignored or refused to take her case (quite a list, I'd say) and received the Embassy's consent with the next letter!

From what I know this information wasn't posted here on VJ.

You see, the vast majority of the beneficiaries from Russia are less comfortable posting or even reading smth on the international forum and tend to stick to russian-speaking groups digging for information, especially these days. 

As for their English-speaking petitioners, they usually hire the lawyers even for straightforward cases and sometimes trust them blindly even after getting some contradictory info. For instance, that the citizens of Russia are not allowed to enter Poland by any means or that the couple should wait for the Embassy in Moscow to resume its operations (my personal favorite). 

So back to topic, the beggars can't be choosers. It's wise to email all accessible embassies. 

3 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Sadly, Mongolia won't accept transfers from Russia.  Small consulate (2 consular officers at most) and probably no way to verify the authenticity of Russian documents.  Some of the -stan countries might also be unprepared to accept such requests.

The reason I mentioned Mongolia specifically is that the Embassy there has actually agreed on taking one of cases of Russian citizens recently. However that applicant chose another Embassy, so no further information.

But agree that a K1 applicant from Russia has more chances in Latin America even, considering the Israel doesn't accept any new cases for now.

21 hours ago, degawof764 said:

After receiving a NOA2 I've been constantly contacting embassies all around the globe in hopes of getting my K1 case transferred, but no luck. I still don't have an NVC case number yet but so far the responses from embassies have been disappointing, stating that either they don't serve non-residents or that my case doesn't qualify for their definitions of life or death situations.

 

Have any Russians lately had any luck transferring their K1's from Warsaw to anywhere they don't have a residency permit?

 

The assigned embassy in Warsaw would require me to get a Schengen visa and that means going back to Russia just to apply for one. I don't think it's possible to do it remotely because it's been well over 5 years since my last visa to EU. I'm a man in my mid twenties and I know that out of millions of candidates my chances of being sent to die on the frontline in Ukraine aren't that high but I'm going to have a heart attack just thinking about it going back there even for a few weeks.

 

I'll take any suggestions for transfers at this point that doesn't have ridiculously long queue's like apparently well over a year in Mexico, simply because I can't afford to travel for that much longer.

As there are no issues with your English obviously, try Mongolia, Thailand (recently accepted a few cases without any visa or residency, but you would need a "not married certificate" from ZAGS and a letter from a Senator), Nicaragua, Dominican republic. It took about 5 months to receive an interview letter in Mexico, but that fiancée was a resident. 

53 minutes ago, ah-no said:

Thanks. It’s good to know it’s logistically possible. I looked for other cases of this on this forum, but couldn’t find any. Did you have any problems? Was a new letter given?

 

thanks for your responses, very helpful. 

No further issues after rescheduling and no additional interview letters. But you can always print your new appointment confirmation from the ustraveldocs portal

1 hour ago, ah-no said:

I see. On the portal, the language is like "you must wait until the original interview date has passed", and it seems very clear. it also seems inefficient. different embassies have different rules. on the Vietnam portal, it also adds something like "if you don't want until the original date has passed, you will not be interviewed", which is concerning. 

Well, that immediate rescheduling definitely works for Warsaw. Tested by russian-speaking community at least for CR1/IR1 and IR5 visas recently mostly due to Shengen issues of the applicants. I've rescheduled mine for personal reasons the day after the interview letter. 

On 11/26/2023 at 7:24 AM, Yeen225 said:

I would like to know how far in advance people have been able to schedule their visa interview? It will take several months for my fiance to get a shengen visa because she is Russian. Most likely we will be assigned to the embassy in Warsaw, as most others have been, but things may change in the future. Any information is greatly appreciated, thank you and God bless. 

Once you receive your approval from USCIS (NOA2), the next step is NVC, and it takes about 1-2 months now to receive a new case number (starting with WRW for Warsaw). Then it takes another 4-5 weeks for the Consulate to prepare the case for the interview and send the instructions. 

In a nutshell it's OK to schedule the K1 interview in Warsaw with an estimation of 3 months waiting period after receiving NOA2 

On 12/2/2023 at 10:11 AM, ah-no said:

This is a really good question though. My understanding is that you'll receive an interview letter with a scheduled date... and this date will probably be 4-5 weeks from the present date. On Poland's website, it says you can only reschedule once the original interview date is passed... I don't know if it's actually true or not, though. But, if that's the case, it will make applying for a visa really, really, really difficult. Because you have to wait for the original time to reschedule, then, how far in advance can you schedule? It can add 4-5 unnecessary weeks to the process. Crazy.

What you're saying is applicable for immigrant visas in Warsaw. You should wait for the interview date to be provided by the Consulate, than you can reschedule it via portal on ustraveldocs, and you can do it immediately upon receiving the date. The only limitation is that the second date you choose shouldn't be earlier than the original one. 

But when it comes to K1 visas, the applicants should schedule the date by themselves

7 hours ago, barbieland said:

Is your interview coming up soon? We have ours in December.

 

Same, but had to reschedule it for summer due to unfinished business in Russia.

Good luck with your upcoming interview!

1 hour ago, barbieland said:

We got our Hungarian visa without prepaying any hotels... Only paid for the plane ticket.

That's great! I'm coming from the usual requirement and experience of dosens citizens who applied for this visa to get to Poland. Better safe than sorry. My visa was issued by France without tickets even, with a detailed plan for that trip.

On 11/13/2023 at 7:34 PM, BenNomad said:

My wife got denied by Germany. Took the consulate one day to make a decison, and 10 days to deliver the passport back.

The reasons were: inusfficient proof of funds and doubts about the applicant leaving the EU.

Greece gave us a visa based on the same financials (more than enough $$$ in a US bank) but Germnay didn't. The woman at the German visa center said the hotel reservations should have been fully paid in advance (are they crazy?). Maybe Greece put us on a black list. Who knows? 

 

The German visa is extremely hard to get nowadays, especially without long Shengen visas in the past. It's always better to stick to the countries who issue visas regularly for russians like France, Italy and Spain, keeping in mind some special requirements and the season. For example, Greece is definitely not the best choice for winter.

Hungary is an option if you need a visa ASAP (for instance I got only 46 days between my IL and interview date), but the Consulate requires all tickets and hotels fully prepaid, preferably non-refundable.

As IWander posted, K1 applicants need to bring a police clearance certificate directly to the Embassy, not to provide it to NVC. 

Russian system is centralized, so your fiancée needs a single one PCC from Russia, the one she can apply for online and then get it in hard copy from certain offices. 

The PCC for her son is also needed if he is 16+ (or even close to 16).

If your fiancée has some questions and doesn't have an access to a russian-speaking telegram group yet, PM me. There's an English-speaking group for husbands/fiances too.