Interview at Warsaw embassy - case transfer from Moscow

[JayFromTexas 69]

Good luck, BenNomad. My Russian wife's case hasn't been DQ'd either, but we hope to have her case transferred to Almaty when the time is right. Keep us posted on your progress please.

[BenNomad 88]

On 7/6/2023 at 4:25 PM, JayFromTexas said:

Good luck, BenNomad. My Russian wife's case hasn't been DQ'd either, but we hope to have her case transferred to Almaty when the time is right. Keep us posted on your progress please.

We got DQ'd on Thursday and I emailed Almaty today with a transfer request. Got an automatic reply:

 

Here's what the Visa Navigator showed me:

 

 

I'm a little confused now. Do I need to write them through usatraveldocs, or send another email to usakz@state.gov with the appropriate formatting, or both? And what would the supporting documents be? A rejected Schengen application? 

 

Meanwhile, I have been looking into the possibilty of getting a Schengen visa for my wife just in case our transfer is not accepted. There is a very helpful and active forum in Russian that has been mentioned in other threads here on VisaJourney. It's called Форум винского (Forum Vinskogo) and there's a lot of discussion about the best country to apply for, etc.  I saw quite a few inquiries from people trying to get to the US Embassy in Warsaw. 

 

[blaze203 6]

8 hours ago, BenNomad said:

We got DQ'd on Thursday and I emailed Almaty today with a transfer request. Got an automatic reply:

 

Here's what the Visa Navigator showed me:

 

 

I'm a little confused now. Do I need to write them through usatraveldocs, or send another email to usakz@state.gov with the appropriate formatting, or both? And what would the supporting documents be? A rejected Schengen application? 

 

Meanwhile, I have been looking into the possibilty of getting a Schengen visa for my wife just in case our transfer is not accepted. There is a very helpful and active forum in Russian that has been mentioned in other threads here on VisaJourney. It's called Форум винского (Forum Vinskogo) and there's a lot of discussion about the best country to apply for, etc.  I saw quite a few inquiries from people trying to get to the US Embassy in Warsaw. 

 

That's definitely new, it's amazing how quickly things change. I would email usakz with the information requested. For the supporting document I would add a letter stating that Russians cannot get Schengen visas for Poland. You could add an article like this one: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/poland-bans-russians-from-entering-its-territory-via-air-sea/. We did not need a document to support our request. We merely explained that my husband's father is Russian and is ineligible for a Schengen Visa.  If you have a Schengen visa reject, add it, but I think everyone knows you cannot get one as a Russian. I emailed the Poland embassy in Russia and got an email from them within a few days that it would be impossible for his father to get a Schengen visa for Poland, so that might be something you could get and add. I wouldn't overthink it. We had a reply to our email within 2 days and the case was transferred immediately. I then emailed them for the new case number, which we got after a week. Good luck!

[BenNomad 88]

14 hours ago, blaze203 said:

If you have a Schengen visa reject, add it, but I think everyone knows you cannot get one as a Russian. 

While it's true that Russians cannot get Schengen visas to Poland and several other EU countries, they are getting them to other, still open EU countries and travelling from there to Poland. It's a logistical headache, but not impossible to pull off. The State Dept knows that, because Russian applicants are, after all, showing up in Warsaw to attend interviews. 

 

I do appreciate your encourangement, though. It really helps!! Since it doesn't cost a thing to resend the transfer request, I emailed Almaty again according to the format they require, and wrote the following as the reason for the request:

 

"Because Poland no longer issues visas to citizens of the Russian Federation and has banned them from entering the country, obtaining a visa to enter the Schengen zone requires applicants from Russia to apply for the visa to a Schengen country other than Poland and to misrepresent the purpose of their intended travel to the EU. The applicant, _____________, does not hold and has never been issued a Schengen visa. "

 

BTW, I still don't understand why the Almaty Visa Navigator says to send justification via usatraveldocs. I registered on usatraveldocs, but I don't see any way of contacting a consulate through the site.

 

For supporting documents, I sent an article from schengenvisainfo.com like you suggested. Of course it is just nonsense to have to do that, since they are fully aware of the situation, but what else is there to do? I'll write an update when I get a response.

 

 

[blaze203 6]

23 hours ago, BenNomad said:

While it's true that Russians cannot get Schengen visas to Poland and several other EU countries, they are getting them to other, still open EU countries and travelling from there to Poland. It's a logistical headache, but not impossible to pull off. The State Dept knows that, because Russian applicants are, after all, showing up in Warsaw to attend interviews. 

 

I do appreciate your encourangement, though. It really helps!! Since it doesn't cost a thing to resend the transfer request, I emailed Almaty again according to the format they require, and wrote the following as the reason for the request:

 

"Because Poland no longer issues visas to citizens of the Russian Federation and has banned them from entering the country, obtaining a visa to enter the Schengen zone requires applicants from Russia to apply for the visa to a Schengen country other than Poland and to misrepresent the purpose of their intended travel to the EU. The applicant, _____________, does not hold and has never been issued a Schengen visa. "

 

BTW, I still don't understand why the Almaty Visa Navigator says to send justification via usatraveldocs. I registered on usatraveldocs, but I don't see any way of contacting a consulate through the site.

 

For supporting documents, I sent an article from schengenvisainfo.com like you suggested. Of course it is just nonsense to have to do that, since they are fully aware of the situation, but what else is there to do? I'll write an update when I get a response.

 

 

It is very weird that they continue to send cases to Warsaw. In our case, my husband's father is 87, handicapped, and physically not able to visit consulates and embassies in Russia to attempt to get Schengen visas to other countries; nor would he be able to travel to such countries and go back to Warsaw. If his visa is approved, it will be hard enough to try to get him to the US, and we'll likely have to make multiple stops with several weeks rest and fly first class so he can lie flat, possibly a medical escort from Moscow to Almaty. It will be a massive endeavor that we are not sure will succeed but we have no choice but to try. Each of these cases, for all of us, is fraught with much emotion and difficulties to which the US government appears to turn a complete blind eye. The immigration system is a large machine that grinds and grinds and it is only the most persistent and those who have access to resources that succeed.

 

I also don't get why they mention ustraveldocs. I found it completely useless. A case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing? I hope your second email to usakz is successful. Fingers crossed for you. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by blaze203

[BenNomad 88]

REJECTED. Sigh... no transfer to Almaty for us. Confirmed my suspicions that they are not accepting transfers other than IR-5 cases. At least they responded definitively and didn't leave me waiting for days or weeks with no reply. Our plan now is to apply for a Schengen visa since my wife happens to be in Russia at the moment and there don't seem to be any other good options left open. I don't want to get into the nitty-gritty of getting a Schengen visa here since that is not the thread topic, but I'd be happy to share what I know by private messages, or in another thread if it's being discussed.

 

 

[TBoneTX 45,287]

14 hours ago, BenNomad said:

REJECTED. Sigh

Sorry to hear it.  Fingers crossed for a satisfactory resolution.

[blaze203 6]

18 hours ago, BenNomad said:

REJECTED. Sigh... no transfer to Almaty for us. Confirmed my suspicions that they are not accepting transfers other than IR-5 cases. At least they responded definitively and didn't leave me waiting for days or weeks with no reply. Our plan now is to apply for a Schengen visa since my wife happens to be in Russia at the moment and there don't seem to be any other good options left open. I don't want to get into the nitty-gritty of getting a Schengen visa here since that is not the thread topic, but I'd be happy to share what I know by private messages, or in another thread if it's being discussed.

 

 

Darn that sucks. Well I can't speak for others but I'd still like to hear how it goes for you. Keep us posted. The reply is similar to what I got from the Polish embassy in Russia. Seems weird they wouldn't say we only do certain IR cases. It's not like our case was life or death (although in our minds of course it is).

[BenNomad 88]

Thanks for the support! I'm confident we will get to Warsaw. At least now we can focus 100% on getting a Schengen visa (current plan is to get a visa to Greece). 

 

This is what had given me doubts about the transfer to Almaty (for our IR-1 case):

 

 

Evidently they made the decision at high level and are sticking to it no matter what.

 

 

[blaze203 6]

On 7/13/2023 at 11:02 PM, BenNomad said:

Thanks for the support! I'm confident we will get to Warsaw. At least now we can focus 100% on getting a Schengen visa (current plan is to get a visa to Greece). 

 

This is what had given me doubts about the transfer to Almaty (for our IR-1 case):

 

 

Evidently they made the decision at high level and are sticking to it no matter what.

 

 

I hope it works, keep us posted. That's interesting, I had not seen that note about IR5 before. That explains why our case got transferred so easily. It seems odd they have not seen fit to provide a similar processing post for IR1 for Russians.

[Tina612 0]

Hello! Are you sure about Greece? I think Spain or France are way more loyal now. Or Hungary (they give short period visas usually though).

 

On 7/14/2023 at 9:02 AM, BenNomad said:

Thanks for the support! I'm confident we will get to Warsaw. At least now we can focus 100% on getting a Schengen visa (current plan is to get a visa to Greece). 

[Simplytex 387]

On 7/19/2023 at 5:50 AM, Tina612 said:

Hello! Are you sure about Greece? I think Spain or France are way more loyal now. Or Hungary (they give short period visas usually though).

 

My wife, and more recently, two of her friends, were able to get Italy visas pretty easily.

[millefleur 5,046]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:09 PM, Simplytex said:

My wife, and more recently, two of her friends, were able to get Italy visas pretty easily.

How long were the visas issued for?

[Simplytex 387]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

How long were the visas issued for?

My wife was for 20 days (length of trip - we provided flight booking, this was before we transferred to Almaty and were doing a "test" run) and her friends were a month (I think similar situation, though they were trying to get US tourist visa in Rome. (

[Cire32 14]

Has anyone ever tried to transfer to a Latin American country?