P3ACHY

Why not stick with the original plan from the agency and just meet her in New York?

It at least works if one person has an iPhone (maybe iPad too?). They can create the FaceTime link and anyone can join it regardless of phone.

FaceTime has also been working (you can create a FaceTime link in the app and share it to anyone).

This is pretty typical, and like @Neonred said, how things are done in Russia. Schengen visa agencies told us similar tactics. I'm sure they listened to her story, and advised her to give a general "tourism" story, because visiting a boyfriend she's never met has a higher chance of denial. Visiting New York (which most Russians want to visit) wouldn't raise any eyebrows. I'm not sure if it's worth it to spend all the money to get a tourist visa to the US, when she already has a very high chance of denial. They won't care about her apartment, job or bank account documents. Money could be better spent flying to Turkey and meeting there.

You never know how it could go. And wait times for i-130 approval have gone down from 16 months to 14 months this year, maybe it'll keep trending in that direction. Search for "track my visa now" and you can find current wait times and trends.

Russians don't seem to have different wait times than average. Wait times can also change than what you're seeing now. For example, when we applied, it was looking like 11 months for IR1/CR1 i-130 approval (and about the same for K1), but then it turned into 16 months for us. Still, we don't regret doing IR1/CR1. Yes we waited a bit longer, but it's been a smooth process adjusting here, within 2-3 weeks, my husband basically had all the documents he needed to live normally here in the US (driver's license, ssn, temporary green card in passport which everyone has accepted, bank account, credit card). There's no barriers and long waiting periods for things like there can be for K1. No extra paperwork. Plus our clock for citizenship is already running, and we want to get that as soon as possible. You have to make the choice that's best for you guys. My husband didn't want to be a burden and I know with K1, he would be super restless and uncomfortable not being able to look for a job, drive, contribute as much, etc. I wouldn't go crazy over thinking it with the trips to France. People are getting denied for Schengen visas who've had them in the past, so it's no guarantee. Currently I've seen cases that get transferred to Kazakhstan the most, but in a year when you're approved, it could be different. But it seems like embassies are more lenient with the situation, and if she gets denied for a Schengen visa, I'm sure she can transfer to Kazakhstan or another embassy without a huge fuss.

For us, Telegram still works for text and voice memos. And Google Meet works for voice calls.

Just wanted to write a little update for this: We passed through Frankfurt without a problem!

Thanks Dashinka. I think for France he would need a transit visa (though it says if a Russian has a valid US visa, then the transit visa isn't required). I just hope airport officials know their rules and don't give us a hard time! (As an aside, I just checked and Americans don't need a visa for Turkey anymore since last year. 🤐) Though the Istanbul options are still expensive. Unfortunate that Armenia and Turkey don't get along.

We're flying from Armenia and Istanbul is a poor option - only self-transfer options, I would need a visa as an American to self-transfer. It would be more expensive. I understand Istanbul if we're flying from Russia. But we're flying from Armenia and the best options are through Europe.

Hey group! Has anyone recently transited through the international zone of a European airport without a Schengen visa? We'll be flying from outside Europe to the US on a single ticket and won’t be exiting the international transit zone. From what I’ve read on most websites, this should generally be fine at most airports (like Frankfurt, Vienna, etc.), but I’ve also heard of people being denied boarding, especially on Polish airlines transiting through Warsaw. Still, I read one case of someone being denied boarding because of a transit in Vienna. Just wanted to hear anyone's experiences!

I'll share this google spreadsheet another user posted a while ago which might give you an idea of how long it could be. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RN8wHEdL4OsvYLSd2pYcEBa3kNR_VRPYBKcGkGkJt5A/edit?gid=0#gid=0 Definitely being a Russian citizen with a profession on the TAL list is a contributing factor.

@PGA@TBoneTX Thank you guys! I will do that.

Hey guys! I'm looking for a little advice and encouragement. We received the pre-interview document checklist from the Yerevan embassy. And there's a few things that have me worried. First, the letter says: "IMPORTANT REMINDER: If you do not follow these instructions, your visa appointment will be canceled." 😰 ---- "Military book: Missing. Upload the full copy of your military book and its English translation (if applicable)." We already uploaded the military book and translation and it was approved by NVC. Should I just reupload it? It was in 2 parts because of the file size (part 1 plus part 1 translation and then, part 2 and part 2 translation). Should I upload it a different way? ---- "Tax Transcripts: Upload your petitioner's and joint sponsor's (if applicable) tax transcripts from the most recent tax year." I had a problem with the IRS this week. They couldn't process my return, because they needed to verify my identity. I was able to verify my identity, but they told me it could take 9-weeks to process my return. It's possible I won't have my transcripts by the time of the interview. What do you guys advise I do in this situation? And how expeditiously do you think they want these documents considering they are saying the appointment will be canceled? Thank you guys!

I (the petitioner) did all of the paperwork for NVC. I had it all organized on my computer so it was the best choice. So when I uploaded the financial documents, I logged in as the "petitioner". When I uploaded the civil documents, I logged in as the "applicant". And we sat down together to do the DS-260, and we logged in as the applicant for that. I think I logged in as the petitioner to pay the fees. Honestly it didn't seem like it mattered that much, but we were DQ'ed in any case.