Transferring k1 from one embassy to another--cuba to russia or mexico---how to do this?

[pukka 11]

Hello all. My fiancé is cuban and we have filed for k1. Our case was at the havana embassy ready for interview and we were ready to go as well, but we learned just two days before our interview date that all consular services are now shut down indefinitely due to the recent us-cuba political situation. So all interviews have been cancelled with no possibility of rescheduling. We are together in havana now trying to decide what to do. Unfortunately the embassy offers no refunds for the interview payment. They are suggesting we go to an embassy in another country instead and in the email we received it says we should go back through usatraveldocs and pay another fee and set an appointment. The only country i can think of where are cuban can enter without a visa is russia (cuba and russia have an agreement). So we are thinking about going to russia. This is incredibly frustrating...
Some questions--
-- i need to get into the usatraveldocs site and pay for another interview and get an appointment. However, when i log in, it only allows me to select "havana". Does anyone know how to change this--how to get an interview in a country other than where the beneficiary is from? The email i received from the embassy offers no instructions on this...just says they will do so "at a later date". Unfortunately each day is costing me more and more money as we were already here and ready for the interview when we found out and now we dont know where to go or what to do.
-- does anybody know how to get the packet currently at the havana embassy sent from there to another one (such as russia)? Currently the havana embassy is operating on very low staff and nobody will answer the phone or return my emails. Since we are here in havana i tried going in person but they wont let me inside to speak to anyone. Would the nvc be able to request this? Or would the packet me sent automatically? Would be stupid to fly all the way to russia and they dont even have our documents.
--anyone know how far out russia interviews are? Would it be possible to get one within the next month?
--in russia would it be possible for them to do an interview with myself and my fiance if my fiance only speaks spanish? would i also have to have his documents (police report, birth cert, etc) translated to english? In havana this wasnt a problem obviously. 
--how does an american get into russia? I think i will need a tourist visa. Can i say i am going to go to the us embassy for a visa interview? My fiance has never been on a plane and only speaks spanish, i cant let him go alone. There is a russian embassy here in havana--can i do this here?
--do american credit cards work in russia? I have no cash left so i have no other choice. We would need to buy warm clothes and pay for food and accomodation.
I realize russia is not ideal for a cuban in terms of distance and language barrier but unfortunately cubans cant go to many other countries without a visa and soliciting a visa for another country is quite difficult/long process. US embassy is not issuing any visas whatsoever currently. 

--we are also thinking about tryin in mexico---but not sure how we can get visa for cuban for this--anyone have any experince going to mexico embassy for interview for fiance not from Mexico? 
Thank you very much to anyone who can help. I realize some of these questions may seem lazy but in cuba internet and phone access is very limited and incredibly slow -- international calls are prohibitively expensive and pages take forever to load. So i am hoping vj community can help point me in the right directions on these topics. I am cross posting this is another forum too. 
Thank you in advance!!!

[Coco8 1,042]

Russia is having delays with interviews so you don't want to do that either. 

[pukka 11]

9 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

Russia is having delays with interviews so you don't want to do that either. 

Thank you...

[Coco8 1,042]

I am not sure to the answer to your question, but you should call NVC. They are the ones that could potentially request your file back and send it to another consulate.

 

You cannot apply for another K1 or whatever because you already have an application pending. It will get denied.

 

[dentsflogged 352]

I don't want to be the doom and gloom person, but if your Fiancee is Cuban, given the current climate there, is there a guarentee that travelling somewhere else to do the interview (and thus all the associated costs) is going to net a positive result?

What I mean (I'm so tired, night shift sucks) - if they have shut down diplomatic relations with Cuba, does that also halt legal migration of Cubans? 

[MehgandMarcos 4]

I'm not at your stage yet, but my fiancé is cuban as well. Just wondering why Russia?  Cubans can go Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana without visa I believe. When the time comes I will be looking into those places. Plus the islands seem like a better/closer option (maybe cheaper?). 

[Coco8 1,042]

12 hours ago, dentsflogged said:

I don't want to be the doom and gloom person, but if your Fiancee is Cuban, given the current climate there, is there a guarentee that travelling somewhere else to do the interview (and thus all the associated costs) is going to net a positive result?

What I mean (I'm so tired, night shift sucks) - if they have shut down diplomatic relations with Cuba, does that also halt legal migration of Cubans? 

No, Cubans have received K1/Spousal visas before.

[dentsflogged 352]

1 minute ago, Coco8 said:

No, Cubans have received K1/Spousal visas before.

I get that, but I mean given the current breakdown of diplomatic relations and closure of the embassy there (and, lets be honest, Trump & his administration who seem to be trying to make it as difficult as possible for any avenues of legal migration; like taking aim at the DV lottery, working visas and such, not to mention the not even veiled attempt at banning Muslims) it's something to consider & really try to confirm that it won't be a problem before spending even more money to get the K1 processed - that the very fact of the nationality of the Beneficiary won't end up being held against them and the process halted for the time being.

 

 

[Coco8 1,042]

2 minutes ago, dentsflogged said:

I get that, but I mean given the current breakdown of diplomatic relations and closure of the embassy there (and, lets be honest, Trump & his administration who seem to be trying to make it as difficult as possible for any avenues of legal migration; like taking aim at the DV lottery, working visas and such, not to mention the not even veiled attempt at banning Muslims) it's something to consider & really try to confirm that it won't be a problem before spending even more money to get the K1 processed - that the very fact of the nationality of the Beneficiary won't end up being held against them and the process halted for the time being.

 

 

 

If that were the case they would have added Cuba to the country ban. I mean, Venezuela is there (for people working for the government). 

 

 

[pukka 11]

19 hours ago, MehgandMarcos said:

I'm not at your stage yet, but my fiancé is cuban as well. Just wondering why Russia?  Cubans can go Barbados, Trinidad and Guyana without visa I believe. When the time comes I will be looking into those places. Plus the islands seem like a better/closer option (maybe cheaper?). 

On the map they are closer. But Can you find a direct flight from cuba to any of those places? Looked into barbados -- flights all change in canada, etc. so fiance would need a visa for those places in order to fly. And not any less expensive, actually much more expensive from my brief searches...

russia has direct flights from havana to moscow...

additionally, if your fiance, like mine, only speaks spanish -- how would an interview work in an english speaking country where the embassy must operate only in the official languages of the country in question? This is also a potential issue with russia. But russia seems unlikely now anyway. Went to russian embassy in havana and asked about tourist visa for myself and explained situation, and they said it would not be possible to request a tourist visa for any purpose other than tourism, but if i did i would have to return to the US to complete the process. From vj feedback it seems pointless as russia has backlog on visa interviews anyway...

 

On a positive note my mother called mexico embassy today and they said they would consider my case (not sure what this means exactly) if i sent an email so i am working on that now. She also tried nvc today but couldnt get through. As i am currently in cuba i cant make any international calls...

 

thank you all for helpful responses!

[MehgandMarcos 4]

29 minutes ago, pukka said:

On the map they are closer. But Can you find a direct flight from cuba to any of those places? Looked into barbados -- flights all change in canada, etc. so fiance would need a visa for those places in order to fly. And not any less expensive, actually much more expensive from my brief searches...

russia has direct flights from havana to moscow...

additionally, if your fiance, like mine, only speaks spanish -- how would an interview work in an english speaking country where the embassy must operate only in the official languages of the country in question? This is also a potential issue with russia. But russia seems unlikely now anyway. Went to russian embassy in havana and asked about tourist visa for myself and explained situation, and they said it would not be possible to request a tourist visa for any purpose other than tourism, but if i did i would have to return to the US to complete the process. From vj feedback it seems pointless as russia has backlog on visa interviews anyway...

 

On a positive note my mother called mexico embassy today and they said they would consider my case (not sure what this means exactly) if i sent an email so i am working on that now. She also tried nvc today but couldnt get through. As i am currently in cuba i cant make any international calls...

 

thank you all for helpful responses!

I know there was someone on this board who would travel to Trindad and they had no problems, I believe they used Copa?

 

I was wondering about the language difference, but luckily my fiancé speaks English. 

 

I plan on going to the embassy when I am in Havana. 

 

I don't think Cubans can go to Mexico without a visa. Correct me if I'm wrong though. My cousin recently married a Mexican woman and he is still waiting in Cuba. 

 

 

[pukka 11]

10 minutes ago, MehgandMarcos said:

I know there was someone on this board who would travel to Trindad and they had no problems, I believe they used Copa?

 

I was wondering about the language difference, but luckily my fiancé speaks English. 

 

I plan on going to the embassy when I am in Havana. 

 

I don't think Cubans can go to Mexico without a visa. Correct me if I'm wrong though. My cousin recently married a Mexican woman and he is still waiting in Cuba. 

 

 

When are you in havana? I tried Going to the embassy in Havana and they wouldn't let me in. You have to have a specific emergency reason (lost passport, emergency medical funds, report a death, etc). Tried saying it was personal and to no avail. They did not care that i am a us citizen. The guard gave me a phone number to caml but when i did they said they have no info and cant talk to me about anything related to visas. 

 

You are right that cubans need a visa for mexico, but i am still looking into it as i dont really have much other hope...

 

can you post here or PM me with any flight info you find for trinidad or barbados, etc? Thank you in advance...

 

anybody know if embassy Will or can do an interview in a language other than the official one or english? Could the petitioner translate for fiance? Seems unlikely...

 

even if he speaks english to go to another embassy you will still need to get official translations of his police report, birth certificate, single certificate, etc...right?

[Mocuepa25 0]

8 hours ago, pukka said:

When are you in havana? I tried Going to the embassy in Havana and they wouldn't let me in. You have to have a specific emergency reason (lost passport, emergency medical funds, report a death, etc). Tried saying it was personal and to no avail. They did not care that i am a us citizen. The guard gave me a phone number to caml but when i did they said they have no info and cant talk to me about anything related to visas. 

 

You are right that cubans need a visa for mexico, but i am still looking into it as i dont really have much other hope...

 

can you post here or PM me with any flight info you find for trinidad or barbados, etc? Thank you in advance...

 

anybody know if embassy Will or can do an interview in a language other than the official one or english? Could the petitioner translate for fiance? Seems unlikely...

 

even if he speaks english to go to another embassy you will still need to get official translations of his police report, birth certificate, single certificate, etc...right?

Any info anyone finds out will help... this seems to be getting more and more complicated. 

[Villanelle 4,122]

The documents all need to be translated. 

 

For an interview I dont see why they wouldnt allow a translator. Im talking about a professional translator at your expense.

 

When you want or need to switch locations for an interview the best way to do it is to contact the Embassy you want the interview in and get them to have your case transferred to them. They can only interview their own cases. This is what Mexico meant when they said they will "consider" taking your case. From what I understand there currently is no mandate dictating what will happen to the cases at your Embassy. Probably at some point they will decide what to do with the pending cases but I know that doesnt help you much right now. 

 

Youll have to get another Embassy to take on your case AND it has to be a place he can go to- so he may need a visa.

[Marta Proniagina 119]

17 hours ago, pukka said:

On the map they are closer. But Can you find a direct flight from cuba to any of those places? Looked into barbados -- flights all change in canada, etc. so fiance would need a visa for those places in order to fly. And not any less expensive, actually much more expensive from my brief searches...

russia has direct flights from havana to moscow...

additionally, if your fiance, like mine, only speaks spanish -- how would an interview work in an english speaking country where the embassy must operate only in the official languages of the country in question? This is also a potential issue with russia. But russia seems unlikely now anyway. Went to russian embassy in havana and asked about tourist visa for myself and explained situation, and they said it would not be possible to request a tourist visa for any purpose other than tourism, but if i did i would have to return to the US to complete the process. From vj feedback it seems pointless as russia has backlog on visa interviews anyway...

 

On a positive note my mother called mexico embassy today and they said they would consider my case (not sure what this means exactly) if i sent an email so i am working on that now. She also tried nvc today but couldnt get through. As i am currently in cuba i cant make any international calls...

 

thank you all for helpful responses!

 

I'm not much of a help for you but if he speaks only Spanish, he'll need to translate all the documents into english and you'd better call the embassy to ask if a translator can be offered there or can be brought with to the interview (there're many translation agencies in moscow). If they accept you case, you're pretty much allowed to go to the interview I guess. as you're a us citizen. But you'll have to apply for visa yourself. ALso call them to ask if this is a possible thing or not. I suggest using skype for international calls (just put 10 dollars on the account and it will work for a long time as the prices are super cheap).

Here are the numbers you can call.

+74957285000  - this one is on the embassy's website

+749557453388 - this one is kind of a hotline but i had problems reaching it myself. but you may try to to this as well.

 

regarding the waiting period in moscow - yes, there'e no open dates available right now. I've just called the embassy today and they couldn't tell me when the openings are gonna appear. But anyway. Your case is pretty difficult now, I am very sorry for that. Hope you'll let us know how the things go with your case. Good luck!

 

P.S. I'm guessing, calling the nvc first is what you need to do