Bunny Gurl

I submitted I-864EZ, 1099 for 2022, and three W-2s.
 
I haven't read the instructions for I-864, but I believe 1099 should cover it.

yes. u cant submit that you dont have.
but if your income is not sufficient, you will need joint sponsor. i assume you are the main sponsor

No, my mom's case was initially assigned at Warsaw, as, probably, most of the Russian applicants' cases since the war started. That is, I think, really ridiculous - don't they know, that Russian people need a Schengen visa for that? So to go to a visa interview, they have to obtain another visa. Why not assigning all Russian cases at the countries, were Russian citizens can go without a visa? Wouldn't that make a better sense?

I am now working in Germany, and the most convenient for me would be getting my mom's case assigned at Frankfurt - I could bring her over, have her stay here with me in my apartment within a comfortable time, without any hassle. So, I started requesting for transfer. I wrote all over the place - to NVC, to Frankfurt Visa Unit, at its multiple emails, made several phone calls - but those guys only kept fobbing me off with all kinds of kisses off for about 3 months (the petition was approved in October). I was already considering to write to my senator for assistance, but then decided to walk on the path of least resistance. I wrote to Tbilisi (Georgia) and got a reply from them, that they only accept the cases of those who reside in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Since when, I wonder? My friend's mother had her interview there in March 2023. Then I wrote to Almaty and thankfully received an acceptance letter from them. The very next day I received the letter  from NVC, confirming the case reassignment with the new number.
I am not terribly disappointed, for Almaty is the place, where my mom can get the easiest way - no visa needed, and it's a short trip by train for her, since she lives in the city of Kurgan, which is right next to Kazakhstan border. 

They know. The issue is the Moscow embassy was huge and it's hard for them to find a "replacement" to handle the same capacity (this is the supposed excuse.) 
 
I think DoS needs to divest completely from the Moscow embassy and reinvest/expand somewhere else like Almaty because for all intents and purposes there seems to be zero will to strengthen diplomatic ties between Russia and the US, thus meaning the closed Moscow embassy problem is going to linger on for years, maybe even decades? 
 
Warsaw was most likely chosen last minute because it's the default embassy for Belarussians, so they probably had Russian speaking staff and some capacity to process the cases there. However, Belarus is tiny and has barely any applicants compared to Russia so it's obviously not a long term solution at all (not to mention the annoyance of the Schengen visa.)

Sure. Let's see if I can recall. The case got DQ'd by the NVC shortly after I uploaded the documents. Sometime mid-October 2023. It took about a month to switch from WRW to ATA, so I could schedule an appoinment by early December. The case, however, was an expedite per Congressional request to the NVC. 
 
If you have an ATA case number, reach out to usakz@state.gov. They're picky about subject lines, so make sure you put "Team 11--Case Transfer In--ATA**********" in the subject line. Ask them if they received the case and you're clear to schedule an appointment. If they have your case and are ready for you to schedule, they should respond with a zip file with various instructions. Email to support@traveldocs.com, and they will send you a link with instructions to set up an account. You'll need it to schedule the interview. Navigating this can get confusing, but not too bad. I'll be glad to help if you have questions, because it's fresh in my mind.

No, my mom's case was initially assigned at Warsaw, as, probably, most of the Russian applicants' cases since the war started. That is, I think, really ridiculous - don't they know, that Russian people need a Schengen visa for that? So to go to a visa interview, they have to obtain another visa. Why not assigning all Russian cases at the countries, were Russian citizens can go without a visa? Wouldn't that make a better sense?

I am now working in Germany, and the most convenient for me would be getting my mom's case assigned at Frankfurt - I could bring her over, have her stay here with me in my apartment within a comfortable time, without any hassle. So, I started requesting for transfer. I wrote all over the place - to NVC, to Frankfurt Visa Unit, at its multiple emails, made several phone calls - but those guys only kept fobbing me off with all kinds of kisses off for about 3 months (the petition was approved in October). I was already considering to write to my senator for assistance, but then decided to walk on the path of least resistance. I wrote to Tbilisi (Georgia) and got a reply from them, that they only accept the cases of those who reside in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Since when, I wonder? My friend's mother had her interview there in March 2023. Then I wrote to Almaty and thankfully received an acceptance letter from them. The very next day I received the letter  from NVC, confirming the case reassignment with the new number.
I am not terribly disappointed, for Almaty is the place, where my mom can get the easiest way - no visa needed, and it's a short trip by train for her, since she lives in the city of Kurgan, which is right next to Kazakhstan border. 

Part 5: Passport pickup
 
Ahead of the interview, I had completed the form for USTravelDocs that I found for passport pickup, at this link: https://portal.ustraveldocs.com/?country=Kazakhstan&language=English
The day ahead of the interview, the consulate also sent a note saying that we would need to register for document collection or delivery, and sent a link with instructions (showing the same website, but the link in their document was broken…)
 
Anyways, the day after the interview around 4pm, my wife got an email saying that the passport had left the embassy and was on it’s way to the pickup location. We never got a call or anything from VFS Global, but we decided to just be proactive and go on the next day, regardless.
 
BTW, VFS Global is shown correctly in Yandex Go if you search for “Alatau Grand” (the office block.) The VFS Global website shows a random place in the west of the city, and Google Maps shows a place in the middle of the city, but just check that where ever you head, its to “Timiryazev St 28B”… We didn’t have any problems with it, but it was kinda strange that the maps all point to different places.
 
We went around 2pm April 20th, got a ticket, and were called in about 5 min to a desk. The lady took my wife’s Russian internal passport, checked the name on the interview letter, and behind the desk had a large plastic tub full of files. She found the one for my wife and voila, passport with visa was there, along with a few other documents (including the police certificate which the consular officer had held onto for some reason.) There is no physical packet given, since our case was fully electronic.
 
We got back to the apartment, and I paid the final $220 ‘immigrant fee’ on USCIS (instructions about this fee are pretty vague on the consulate paperwork…) Link found here: https://my.uscis.gov/uscis-immigrant-fee

NVC will schedule the interview themselves after you get documentarily qualified (DQ). You’ll get an Interview letter, for now your mother’s case is still with NVC. Almaty is not a backlogged consulate, if shouldn’t take longer than maybe two months after DQ? That’s just my guesstimate.
 
Check out the regional discussion forum here, there are a few threads on Russian applicants applying in Almaty:
https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/98-russia-ukraine-and-belarus/
 
If you’d like me to move this thread there, let me know and I’ll do that.