Will Martial Law in Ukraine influence the Visa approval?

[HP+IC 292]

I live in Odessa and it will influence my region but I definitely do not see any way it may influence our process

[Ksenia_O 696]

1 minute ago, UAtoUS said:

She lives in Kharkiv now, so this will influence her region. But listening to all of you it should not influence our process. 

not at all. Including her leaving the area or the country, or you - if you decide to visit her while still in the process. 

[HP+IC 292]

@UAtoUS you may be interested to read this if you know Ukrainian https://opinionua.com/2018/11/26/voyennij-stan-v-ukraїni/

[DmytriiD 186]

Hi all, just got a quick question....my parents already submitted their DS-160 for b1/b2 and interview is scheduled for 20DEC2018...The question is will embassy stop interviewing people for visas or not? If for example, my parents live in Sumy, which is on the list of regions of this martial law. will they be able to go visit me in July 2019? ... what do you all guys think? Thank you  

[Shiran 1,134]

Though Kiev is not under Martial Law currently, the stores have been cleaned out. I called USCIS to ask for expedite. 

[gregcrs2 1,778]

8 minutes ago, DmytriiD said:

Hi all, just got a quick question....my parents already submitted their DS-160 for b1/b2 and interview is scheduled for 20DEC2018...The question is will embassy stop interviewing people for visas or not? If for example, my parents live in Sumy, which is on the list of regions of this martial law. will they be able to go visit me in July 2019? ... what do you all guys think? Thank you  

Should be no effect at all.  If they get the visa to visit the US, then they should be able to visit you.  There is an excessive amount of worrying happening right now.  It's a 30 day martial law and appears to be mostly politically motivated at this time.

[gregcrs2 1,778]

8 minutes ago, Shiran said:

Though Kiev is not under Martial Law currently, the stores have been cleaned out. I called USCIS to ask for expedite. 

You can ask for an expedite but seriously doubt it is warranted.  Store shelves empty is a typical initial Ukrainian population over-reaction.

Edited November 26, 2018 by gregcrs2

[UAtoUS 55]

2 hours ago, Shiran said:

Though Kiev is not under Martial Law currently, the stores have been cleaned out. I called USCIS to ask for expedite. 

So I am thinking about calling USCIS and try to expedite our visa because of the Martial Law in Ukraine. Do any of you have any advice on what should I say or not say so I don't mess it up? What points should I bring up to make my case stronger?

 

Should I concentrate on the fact that there is a potential war and there is a chance that they might close borders or the fact that I might not be able to visit? Or any other points that I might be missing. 

 

Anyone had experience in the past? Is there a chance of slowing down my case if they say NO? 

 

There might be a lot of people calling USCIS. Do they ever get frustrated with those cases and somehow slow them down? I am probably overthinking it. 

[GP1977 288]

2 minutes ago, UAtoUS said:

So I am thinking about calling USCIS and try to expedite our visa because of the Martial Law in Ukraine. Do any of you have any advice on what should I say or not say so I don't mess it up? What points should I bring up to make my case stronger?

 

Should I concentrate on the fact that there is a potential war and there is a chance that they might close borders or the fact that I might not be able to visit? Or any other points that I might be missing. 

 

Anyone had experience in the past? Is there a chance of slowing down my case if they say NO? 

 

There might be a lot of people calling USCIS. Do they ever get frustrated with those cases and somehow slow them down? I am probably overthinking it. 

You can try to ask for the expedite - absolutely zero harm in asking - but its highly unlikely it will be approved b/c I dont think this will satisfy their criteria.  It will not slow down your case.

 

[Ontarkie 14,229]

~~Moved to the RUB forum, from K1 P&P - The OP's question is country specific~~

[gregcrs2 1,778]

6 minutes ago, UAtoUS said:

So I am thinking about calling USCIS and try to expedite our visa because of the Martial Law in Ukraine. Do any of you have any advice on what should I say or not say so I don't mess it up? What points should I bring up to make my case stronger?

 

Should I concentrate on the fact that there is a potential war and there is a chance that they might close borders or the fact that I might not be able to visit? Or any other points that I might be missing. 

 

Anyone had experience in the past? Is there a chance of slowing down my case if they say NO? 

 

There might be a lot of people calling USCIS. Do they ever get frustrated with those cases and somehow slow them down? I am probably overthinking it. 

Yes, you are over-thinking it.  You can try to expedite but I doubt you will be successful.  Things were much worse years ago and borders were not closed then.  There is nothing at this point of time stopping you from visiting Ukraine because of martial law in the border regions.

[UAtoUS 55]

1 minute ago, gregcrs2 said:

Yes, you are over-thinking it.  You can try to expedite but I doubt you will be successful.  Things were much worse years ago and borders were not closed then.  There is nothing at this point of time stopping you from visiting Ukraine because of martial law in the border regions.

Thanks. But I am kind of freaking out for real here because she lives only 30 min from Russian border and our NOA2 is due in March that is around the time of election in Ukraine and considering their history in the past few elections it wasn't really safe at all. 

[Olichka 186]

3 hours ago, UAtoUS said:

Thanks. But I am kind of freaking out for real here because she lives only 30 min from Russian border and our NOA2 is due in March that is around the time of election in Ukraine and considering their history in the past few elections it wasn't really safe at all. 

There is no harm in asking for an expedite. If your fiance is that close to the border I would totally call USCIS and submit an expedite request. You never know what might happen, you could get a positive response. You also never know what might happen in Ukraine, two days ago things were fine, now 10 regions are under martial law. Things change everyday, listen to your heart and submit the expedite if you feel that is what is needed to be done. 

 

 

Good luck ! 

[Ksenia_O 696]

11 minutes ago, UAtoUS said:

So I am thinking about calling USCIS and try to expedite our visa because of the Martial Law in Ukraine. Do any of you have any advice on what should I say or not say so I don't mess it up? What points should I bring up to make my case stronger?

 

Should I concentrate on the fact that there is a potential war and there is a chance that they might close borders or the fact that I might not be able to visit? Or any other points that I might be missing. 

 

Anyone had experience in the past? Is there a chance of slowing down my case if they say NO? 

 

There might be a lot of people calling USCIS. Do they ever get frustrated with those cases and somehow slow them down? I am probably overthinking it. 

I really understand your concerns. But as the same time I believe you're overthinking . And overreacting. Sorry.

 

There is always a chance of potential war. Or shooting at school. Or at the night club. Or terract at any airport. At any country. Nobody is safe these days, regardless where you are at - anything can happen to anyone, regardless of citizenship and country of origin.

 

So don't stress yourself - the immigration process is long enough, and I-129F/K1 is just a first step.  Borders won't be closed. International airports will keep working. The same about bank system and other stuff. And no,  grocery stores are not empty - there is plenty food there

 

As for request to expedite. It doesn't hurt to try, but Martial Law is not the reason. Life goes on. 

[gregcrs2 1,778]

I actually laughed about the photo of the nearly empty bread shelves.  We've experienced that on a few occasions when shopping in the evening and during the holidays.   There is no scarcity of food in Ukraine.