Master5

On 12/22/2022 at 8:01 PM, bzabelina said:

Hi have some questions regarding filing form I-130 for a parent living in Russia and I am wondering if anyone who has applied for someone in Russia has had similar experiences. In the online form, it often asks for middle names, but Russians do not have middle names so I left that blank. I am assuming this is NOT the place for adding the patronymic, is that correct? Since patronymics are not middle names. The concern lies in the fact that the birth cert and other Russian documents will show the full name including the patronymic and I don't want that to cause confusion. Let me know if anyone knows how to handle this! Thanks!

You are doing it right, middle name field should be left blank. Patronymic is not a middle name, but if someone uses it as a middle name it doesn't seem like causing many problems either. In Russian external (travel) passports patronymic is not being translated to English, they list only first and last name in English.

19 hours ago, Moscowmojo said:

The United States is trying to identify countries that are more accessible than Poland, in which Russians could obtain American visas, US Chargé d'Affaires a.i. in Moscow Elizabeth Rud said in an interview with RIA Novosti.  The article is in Russian but the video has her speaking English.  Here is the link to the article.

The US is looking for an affordable country for issuing immigrant visas to Russians

 https://ria.ru/20221128/vizy-1834655753.html?in=t

Thanks for sharing! The correct translation from Russian would be "The US is looking for an accessible country for issuing immigrant visas to Russians". They move so slow though. Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Israel - they could just spread the case load between those 5 long time ago.

Hi guys! Finally got a positive reply from Jerusalem! They sent me an email asking to confirm the transfer and I replied back with confirmation. I wonder what's the next step I have to take? Our case is already passed NVC stage and interview has been scheduled for it in Warsaw. Also, could someone DM me the Telegram group handle for Jerusalem-specific chat?
@To_the_moon @Peter1025 @Simplytex

8 hours ago, Lynxyonok said:

I was about to say, so many beneficiaries in Telegram chats claim they can reschedule at will (even if after the 3rd it costs money).

 

Have you tried Spain? That seems to be the last Russian-not-hostile EU country when it comes to visas.

We're using Spain as well in a couple of weeks.

What Telegram chats are those? I'm trying to transfer the case to some other embassy right now, to a country that doesn't requite a damn visa to enter for Russian citizens. If that fails then we'll try to get a visa from Spain, but that will be next year. Israel embassy still didn't reply to my email about the transfer after 2 weeks, and next week they have Hanukah  

I called to USTravelDocs Polish number and spoke to the customer representative. In short: they can't do anything, they just provide  the same information that's available on their website, like robots. She just keeps saying the same thing over and over: you can either reschedule or transfer the case to another Embassy but we can't help you with anything on our side. BTW, I was able to reschedule the interview already using USTravelDocs website, just in case. It's not clear at all what happens if you just miss the interview, the customer service girl was unable to answer that simple question.

8 hours ago, Moscowmojo said:

Your other option is to request a transfer of your case to a different country.  That is what we just did.  Our case started out and Moscow and we knew it would automatically be transferred to Poland.  As soon as that happened I wrote a few Embassy's where Russians can travel too easily to see if they would accept our case.  Kazakhstan and Romania responded positively.  I requested to move the case from Poland to Kazakhstan and it was moved the next day.  Now we are just waiting for an interview date in Almaty.  We looked at the Schengen visa and Italy looked like the best option for us if we would have went down that road.  She would have to show 300,000 rubles in the account to get the Visa. 

Hi @Moscowmojo! What's the email address you used for contacting Kazakhstan embassy? I can't find any email address for IV enquiries on their website. My wife got a Schengen visa refusal recently (yes, we showed 400,000RUB in her account and travel reservations, bunch or other supporting docs), so I'm trying to transfer the case to some country where you can actually travel to.

BTW, Romania does require a visa for Russian citizens as well.

8 hours ago, Moscowmojo said:

Also, travel is a nightmare to Poland for Russians as they need to go through Istanbul, Dubai, Doha etc, then go to the country issuing the visa and then to Poland.

Now imaging traveling like that with little kids as in our case!

8 hours ago, Simplytex said:

 

It is unlikely that you can switch to Turkey. People are having some luck transferring to Israel, and possibly Serbia, see this thread

 

Speaking about Serbia: anyone can share the email address to contact them? Serbian embassy website doesn't seem to have an IV section.

5 hours ago, slavaskii said:

USTravelDocs is telling you to miss your interview before rescheduling ... ? That sounds ... very wrong. But if that's what they're saying, I mean, that's the protocol I guess. I just don't see how it wouldn't register in the system as a forfeiture of the application, especially when you can reschedule in advance so easily (and ostensibly for this very purpose). 

 

Call USTravelDocs in the morning or when they open around midnight (they work Polish time). Clarify this ASAP. You can also call the one for Israel while you're at it and see if they can give more guidance about transferring over-the-phone. I wouldn't give up just yet with the Schengen hunt, either. I know it's a pain, but as the procedure is unlikely to change, this is now part-and-parcel of the US visa process.

I don't see any phone number for IV enquiries on U.S. Embassy Israel website, only the email address. The Polish embassy website does have a phone number though.

Hi guys! As some of you may know, my wife got a Schengen visa refusal from Hungary so she won't be able to attend the IR1 visa interview next week in Warsaw. On Dec 5th I wrote to the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem asking for the interview transfer but they haven't replied yet. Then I wrote to support-poland@ustraveldocs.com asking for further steps but they replied with some incomprehensible nonsense, seems like they didn't bother to read my message in full. I wonder what to do now? Should I reschedule the interview in Warsaw using ustraveldocs website and then try to obtain a Schengen visa for my wife from another country? Should I wait until interview date passes to reschedule (that's what it says on ustraveldocs website)?

On 12/7/2022 at 10:44 AM, slavaskii said:

 

On the topic of Schengen visas, Fragomen has a good page detailing the consequences of overstays and the new EES system coming in 2023. While it seems like the most common penalty is a fine, I presume that even a one-day overstay will be caught at exit control and interrogated. 

 

Granted, if she (eventually) returns on a US passport, she won't need to go through the whole applying for a Schengen process. Nonetheless, the new EES system probably works like our version of ESTA, and a previous overstay could result in a denial. I don't mean to get off-topic or anything, just wanted to notate this for the sake of information.

I don't know, overstaying the visa in Europe would be my last concern really. I'm trying to get my wife to US not to Europe, and I have more important things to worry about. I personally have zero desire to visit continental Europe, been there many times already. Bunch of nations that have been in war with each other for hundreds of years (and really still don't like each other). But all of the sudden they decided to create the Schengen zone and use the same currency. High taxes, low pay, borderline socialism really. UK did the right thing exiting that mess.

On 12/7/2022 at 8:34 AM, Simplytex said:

Just as a random update, my wife's visa finished processing in Moscow last Friday, was handed over to the courier on Monday, finally in her hands today (Wednesday). She has an approved Italian Schengen visa!

It's date of validity is just over 30 days, but also on the visa it says its only valid for 20 of those days - something which I find a little annoying, because our trip is also only 20 days, so what if her flight on the way out gets cancelled or has issues... As someone who is risk-averse, that just is a minor thing but don't want her stuck with a black mark on her record. In any case, Christmas holidays here we come!

Congrats! I wouldn't worry too much about overstaying Schengen visa If everything goes well next time she comes to Europe with the US passport!

6 hours ago, To_the_moon said:

Save enough money for this trip! When I say Israel is expensive, I really mean it. And I am myself from California. 😉

AirBnB prices seem to be about the same as in Warsaw, $200-250/night for a 2-3bd. Maybe just a bit higher on average than in Warsaw. Do they conduct interviews in Jerusalem only or also in the Tel-Aviv branch?

29 minutes ago, To_the_moon said:

Update on our case! 

 

Received the passport back today, December 5th. Interview was on November 8th...

Congrats! Did they explain why it took so long? I actually wouldn't mind to spend some extra time in Israel, it's warm there unlike in Warsaw. And importantly there are direct flights to Tel-Aviv from Russia. Compare that to booking 3 separate flights to get to Warsaw: you have to exit the terminal, go through the passport control, get your checked-in luggage and recheck-in it again, twice. All that while pretending to be just a tourist going to see the beautiful city of Budapest, hehe. Traveling in such manner with little kids going to be exhausting as hell.

19 minutes ago, Cheddy said:

Correct. I'm heard reports where they only answer back in 2 weeks or so, but for me it was only two days. I'd be happy to send you my email on private chat if you're interested. It probably doesn't need to be as dramatic as I made it.

I see, thanks! I have already emailed them. If they deny then I'm not sure what to do next. Our family is stuck in Russia because of this damn Schengen visa situation, unbelievable. My wife has no prior Schengen visa history and I heard that may be the problem. They's couldn't pick a harder location to get to for a Russian citizen than Warsaw.

Update on our case: we got a Schengen visa denial from Hungary. No time to re-apply for France or Spain now. We'll be trying to transfer the case to Jerusalem. It looks like for a Russian citizen it's easier to cross US-Mexican border these days then to get to Warsaw. I find this whole situation where you need to obtain one visa in order to be interviewed for another visa perverted beyond believe.

On 12/2/2022 at 5:27 AM, Cheddy said:

Immediately after NO2 I contacted several embassies. I was rejected by a few. I have dual italian/American citizenship so I tried using that angle to get transferred to Naples. I got an auto-response included in which, saying they do not accept transfers of Russians, and then never heard back from a live person.

 

Lots of reports of Jerusalem and San Salvador accepting Russians. Jerusalem accepted me after I wrote them a very dramatic letter.

 

Here's my Timeline:

Sept 27th: Approved by USCIS
Oct 7th: Sent AskNVC form to update emails
Oct 30th: Emailed NVCResearch asking for case number
Nov 2nd: NVCResearch responded saying the NVC has not received the case
Nov 3rd: Received response from AskNVC that they have not received it and it can take up to six weeks, and to email i797 to NVCResearch
Nov 6th: Sent email to NVC research with attached i797
Nov 7th: Called USCIS, they told me I was approved on the 26th (a day earlier than I thought) but had no info on if or when they sent the case to the NVC
Nov 7th: Emailed Italian Embassy - auto response no Russians
Nov 7th: Emailed Jerusalem Embassy
Nov 9th: Emailed San Salvador Embassy
Nov 9th: Emailed Tbilisi Embassy
Nov 9th: Emailed Almaty Embassy
Nov 9th: Received Response from Jerusalem - accepting transfer
Nov 10th: Received email from NVCResearch case is received they will send a welcome letter when it is processed.
Nov 10th: Emailed and Accepted Transfer to Jerusalem (currently no responce back from them)
Nov 13th: Almaty Embassy Rejected the Case Transfer
Nov 15th: Tbilisi Embassy Rejected the Case Transfer
Nov 17th: Sent NVC Research email requesting transfer to Jerusalem and Case #
Nov 17th: San Salvador responded and let me know my request has been sent to supervisor for review
Nov 23rd: Sent Public Inquiry Form to AskNVC about Case #
Nov 28th: Received Email from NVC Research case is received they will send a welcome letter when it is processed.
Nov 30th: AskNVC replied case is received they will send a welcome letter when it is processed.

 

I'm hear a TON of success stories about Jerusalem. They have Russian speaking staff. All Medical exams must be done in Israel. It takes about 9 days to get results of the medical, so you must provide all lodging/expenses during your fiancés time in Israel.

Hi @Cheddy! You wrote to Jerusalemivinquiries@state.gov, correct? I wonder how dramatic the letter needs to be? My wife just got a Schengen visa denial to go to the scheduled interview in Warsaw, I'm thinking about asking for a case transfer to Jerusalem. I have already tried Armenia and Georgia a few months back but they denied.

15 hours ago, Zoothie said:

1. She must; everybody must - they will not let her in without it (We were there a month ago, wife's from Belarus, but plenty of Russians there as well). The only difference for non-Polish citizens is that the only choice is to get the passport picked up at Mailboxes.

2. Create the profile at the link and follow the steps. There will be an option for Mailboxes, it's in the center of Warsaw (more or less).

3. Yes, pick the "NVC scheduled appointment" option in the combo box, fill in the case #, passport, etc. You will get a QR code in the end with Name/date/passport details. Print, bring it. That's what they ask for at the door.

Hi @Zoothie! I'm trying to register for my wife's IR1 case but getting this message: "User could not be created. Please ensure First Name and Last Name are entered as they are in your passport." I wonder if I do something wrong. Her interview has been scheduled in Warsaw 2 weeks ago. I'm using this URL to register:
https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/SiteRegister?country=Poland&language=en_US

On 11/21/2022 at 7:37 PM, Simplytex said:

Just for clarification, @smoothoperaytor is married, and spouses don't need to be vaccinated for travel purposes.

 

Does it mean that my wife (IR1 case) doesn't need to be vaccinated in Warsaw during the medical examination? It looks like Russian COVID vaccine is not approved by WHO or FDA

Hi @Simplytex @smoothoperaytor We have submitted the docs for a Hungarian Schengen visa this week, fingers crossed. Here is some info I've collected while preparing the docs:

• The site for tickets/hotel reservation: dummyticket.com. For $35 per person they provide verifiable ticket/hotel reservation. I went to the airline website and was able to pull the reservation they provided.
• The person applying for Schengen visa should have at least 300,000RUB in the bank, according to the Russian travel agency sources. Get the "spravka" from the bank and attach to the visa application.
• I was advised not to disclose the true purpose of the visa application. Should not attach any US documents or visa appointment. Simply put "tourism" in visa application.
• Easiest countries to get Schengen visa currently should be France, Italy, Spain and Hungary, according to the Russian travel agency sources.
• Poland has blocked Russian citizens from entering the country only from outside the EU, if one enters Poland from within Schengen zone then it should be fine. Source: https://tvpworld.com/62849252/poland-restricts-entry-for-russian-citizens

Our plan B is to apply for France/Spain visa asap if we get a deny from Hungary.

I also contacted the clinic in Warsaw that does the medical examination. They informed me that one week should be enough time to get the medical done without the prior appointment scheduled, but we should contact them only when we are physically in Warsaw, they won't schedule an appointment otherwise. One big unknown here is a COVID vaccination, I know that it's required and my wife had it done in Russia. Anyone knows if they accept the Russian proof of vaccination issued through "gosuslugi"?

3 minutes ago, smoothoperaytor said:

Please keep us updated. I was told Hungary wasn't an option, but I don't know if that's actually true or the agency I contacted didn't work with the Hungarian embassy. I regret not checking more agencies. Also, what was the price if you were quoted one? Ours was 40,000 RUB for Spain. Full service. We provide the docs and they do the rest. We needed a letter from work and that was an extra 3,000. 

Actually the agency we called just provided some info for us, they don't do visas, they said it's too bothersome these days. We plan to apply directly at visa center without any middleman. One complication here is flight/hotel reservations that are required for visa applications, anyone here tried https://visareservation.com? Are they reliable? Also, medical insurance is needed. This whole Schengen visa process is a major headache. I would easily pay someone 40,000RUB to handle all that, but it's hard to trust anyone with such important matter.

4 hours ago, Simplytex said:

Congrats! And just to make sure I'm crystal clear, you got full DQ only in October, and then got scheduled today for a late December interview? That's great news to hear, because I'm really hoping that my wife gets DQ in late December.

 

That said, my wife is finishing up her application for an Italian Schegen visa (we wanted to test the water and take a trip Dec/Jan). She will have the appointment in Nizhny Novgorod next week, and we are traveling Dec 17 (will make final meeting point either Italy or Serbia, depending on whether she recieves the visa.)

 

The one biggest concern is "proof of funds". Without giving too much detail, she talked to a travel agent who said visas are now being heavily scrutinized as far as Russians ability to pay/be self sufficient and reasons for return (job, apartment, family). I'll be including a ton of my financial docs and a letter on her behalf, but will only find out in the next few weeks.

Yes, 2 weeks from DQ to interview email.

7 hours ago, smoothoperaytor said:

It should be enough time if you start immediately. We ended up going with Spain. We were told Hungary wasn't a good option. I'm not sure if it's because of the agency we decided to use. I'm curious to know what you find out. Also because it's my wife's first Schengen, we will likely only get a single-entry for 15 days. 

 

About the medical, the only company in Moscow is booked until the end of Dec. We hope to get help via a walk-in. I would try to get it asap as the results are good for 6 months (I think).

I see, thanks! Actually I plan to schedule the medical examination in Warsaw since we are far from Moscow. We called one travel agency and were told that there is a big backlog for Spain (popular destination apparently) and that there should be a good chance with Hungary. I also read on this forum about other couple getting Schengen visa through Hungary. Hungary is close to Poland, probably possible to travel by train from there in case Poland would refuse to board Russian citizens on airplane.

Single-entry 15 days visa would work fine for us as long as the case is approved and we don't have to travel there again. 

Hi guys! Totally unexpected, we got the email about our Warsaw interview appointment today, just about 2 weeks after the DQ email. I was expecting to get the appointment email in 6-9 months from now judging by other people experiences. Maybe it's because the case has spent almost a year at NVC, not sure.

The interview is scheduled for the 2nd half of December and we have only 1 month to get the Schengen visa, would it be enough time? We plan to apply for Hungary Schengen visa for my wife as it seems other people had good luck with this country. Also, how many days medical examination usually takes? I mean to get all the test results? I'm nor sure for how many days prior to the interview it should be scheduled.

6 hours ago, Simplytex said:

Got an upcoming Italy visa interview for my wife mid Nov, will see how that goes... 🥴

AFAIK Schengen visa is usually issued without any interviews, one just has to submit the required docs. Maybe it's just Italy? Where do they conduct those interviews?

On 8/14/2022 at 7:04 AM, Peter1025 said:

My wife's application with NVC was marked DQ back on May 11 2022 (now August 13 2022).  When they marked it DQ and sent the email, the IV application is still showing "incomplete" because they relabeled her divorce certificate as "other divorce termination documents" and it left the required document as though it had not been submitted.  Now there is no phone number to call.  We have waited over three months since DQ now and have received no appointment for interview.  So now we are planning to use the money we saved for a trip to Poland for a vacation in Turkey because we haven't seen each other in so long.  It is my opinion that NVC is discriminating against Russian applicants.  I am an American citizen and this application is for a cr1.  The chat group my wife is in has other Russian wives that have applied and this month there were no Russian cr1 or ir1 applicants who received an interview appointment.  That is unusual for this chat group.  Also there were two in the group that received interview appointments one was CR5 and the other N21.  Both of the cases had been waiting between and 2-3 years.  We don't expect to get in for an interview at this point for at least another three months, but without any phone contact to NVC there's not even a way to check if our DQ notice is valid when the IV application shows "incomplete." We don't know what to do.  Europe is probably going to stop issuing Schengen visas to Russians before we can get an appointment.  Maybe they'll be forced to process russians somewhere they are still able to get a visa.  Poland already doesn't issue Schengen to Russian citizens.  This already seems like an unfair and prejudiced location to host these interviews.

Hi Peter1025! We got our DQ recently and sure enough they marked my wife's civil documents as "INCOMPLETE" as well  They relabeled police certificate and photos, then they marked those as missing. I'm not sure now whether to upload those docs again now or not. Any update on your case?