Interview at Warsaw embassy - case transfer from Moscow

[Phoenix8489 0]

On 3/26/2022 at 4:05 PM, StevenInAtlanta said:

An update for those Russians that had their package transferred from Moscow embassy to Warsaw Poland embassy.

We have a priority date of 6/21/2019
The embassy in Poland notified us they had our package on December 16, 2021
We got our interview confirmation letter on March 14, 2022

The interview was scheduled for April 12, 2022

 

Notification of the interview date arrived in approximately 3 months
The actual interview date was approximately 4 months from date of the embassy getting the package from Moscow

We had to reschedule the interview today because of all the mess and additional requirements due to the RussioUkrainin war and the next available date for reschedule was August 31.

 

Hello! Sorry to hear you had to reschedule your interview!

You've mentioned additional requirements due to the Russian-Ukrainian war... What are those? Thank you!

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

 

@ovb

"Hi StevenInAtlanta! Thank you for sharing your case. Were you actually able to reschedule for a later date already? Without having to wait until after your April 12 originally scheduled interview? And what is your visa type if you don't mind sharing? Thank you."

After we got the interview invitation email, we used the link to go to the URL referenced a few times earlier in this post to complete her online profile.  Once the profile is completed, you then have access to the reschedule app.  Before then the link was dead and went nowhere. During the process of reschedule, it was indicated that it could only be done after you missed your initially scheduled interview, but I moved forward with the next button anyway and had no problem getting to the scheduling calendar, picking a date (first available was in August 31) and finishing the reschedule process.  After the 'done' button I was presented with a confirmation screen and also received a confirmation email, both of which contain the interview schedule date, confirmation and the all important barcode that is used when you appear.  So I don't know for sure if waiting till you miss your appointment is actually a firm requirement or if maybe the online system just doesn't support the requirement. It's possible the online system doesn't have any feedback loop/connection to the scheduling system or a missed appointment isn't tracked where the online system can actually track and enforce the requirement.  But it seems from our perspective that we were able to reschedule and we got the confirmation to prove it.  Don't know if at some point in the future we get another email indicating we did not follow the procedure....

 

@Mike20090622

"My fiancé said the visa center in Moscow need flights and hotels to apply for the Schengen visa, we can’t decide that before we can schedule the interview right? How you solved these issues?"

Yes this seems to be the case, you have to know when your interview is before you can book your flight(s) and your lodging.  We had the same restriction, so you have to wait for the interview date then book your travel and lodging.  It's not yet clear if you will get your passport with the immigrant entry visa stamp the same day, the next day and pickup at the embassy or if they will mail it to the MailBoxes Etc. location that you choose on the reschedule or if not rescheduling, when you go fill out your online profile using the Polish embassy website.

 

@ovb

"If anyone is struggling getting a medical appointment for an immigrant visa in Moscow in a timely fashion, turns our that can be sped up. My mom called the US authorized health center on March 14, and they told her that the earliest she can be scheduled is for April 14th. Today she visited them in person. It turned out they had plenty of cancellations, and they took her right in. Additionally they do have a waitlist, and if someone doesn't show up they can being you in with one hour notice."

 

This does seem to be true.  My wife got the same information and if you call they can actually put you on a cancelation wait list.  She got on that list and just the next day she got a call there was a cancelation and that she could appear the next morning for her medical.  So apparently there are frequent cancelations and getting in for your medical in the short 30 day period before your interview is not in reality a big issue right now.

 

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

@Phoenix8489

"You've mentioned additional requirements due to the Russian-Ukrainian war... What are those? Thank you!"

 

There are several, it has to do primarily with sanctions.

• Banking: Her credit card or ATM/Debit card will not work outside of Russia so it's not possible for her to pay for basic traveler's needs like taxi, food or anything else using a card.
• Banks in Moscow are currently not converting rubles to any other currency, and converting rubles outside the city of Moscow would be a disaster with the ruble so low.
• Flights due to the airline sanctions are now very limited and lengthy layovers typically and quite expensive.
• Concerns that as a Russian citizen she might not be very welcomed during her travels, I share the same concern
• I have a requirement to provide updated tax forms since the one I last provided is now 2 years old.  USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL are no longer delivering to Russia, I don't have any way to get original documents to her...well I have not yet identified a method.
• I can't send her $$ since WesternUnion, Xoom, Zelle, SmallWorld, MoneyGram are no longer sending to Russia. I was fortunate enough to have the foresight to realize this was going to be the case and I sent her 3 months of living expenses in advance so she has basic needs and rent met till June.  We'll have to see about what will happen in July
• The fact that as a Russian citizen she can not get a Polish visitors visa has nothing to do with sanctions, but combine that with airline sanctions and the requirement to get a tourist visa through another country, the requirement to then go and spend some time in the other country then fly through Istanbul makes for a long, expensive trip.

 

[ovb 9]

9 minutes ago, Phoenix8489 said:

Hey! Great to hear your mom got her medical exam done! When did she apply for Schengen and have she heard anything back from them? Do you think you guys, might be able to make it to the interview on 4/1/22?

My dad received Interview Invitation literally 1 hour ago for 4/29/22! We just need to get him Schengen, so he is probably traveling back to Russia any day now.

Congratulations on receiving the interview invitation! We applied for Schengen on March 15th and were only able to get scheduled for April 1st for application submission at the visa centre. Once the application is submitted, we are told it takes another 7-10 days to actually get the passport with a Schengen visa back. So, we are definitely missing our April 1st appointment in Warsaw. 

[marpolsdofer 7]

3 hours ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

@Phoenix8489

 

• The fact that as a Russian citizen she can not get a Polish visitors visa has nothing to do with sanctions, but combine that with airline sanctions and the requirement to get a tourist visa through another country, the requirement to then go and spend some time in the other country then fly through Istanbul makes for a long, expensive trip.

 

 

That is the number 1 reason why it was stupid to be put in Poland . There had to be better options. Last year around August we had out senators aid contact a bunch of embassies. All did not require a visa to go to or was pretty close to Russia.

Only 2 of them said check back later when we clear the backlog. Check back later and they said no.

[Mike20090622 45]

2 minutes ago, marpolsdofer said:

 

That is the number 1 reason why it was stupid to be put in Poland . There had to be better options. Last year around August we had out senators aid contact a bunch of embassies. All did not require a visa to go to or was pretty close to Russia.

Only 2 of them said check back later when we clear the backlog. Check back later and they said no.

It’s true, why they don’t put in Ukraine embassy? Did they predict the Ukraine war with Russia? 

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

@marpolsdofer

"That is the number 1 reason why it was stupid to be put in Poland . There had to be better options. Last year around August we had out senators aid contact a bunch of embassies. All did not require a visa to go to or was pretty close to Russia.

Only 2 of them said check back later when we clear the backlog. Check back later and they said no."

 

I have toyed with the idea of moving the package to another country's embassy. I'm not exactly how that is done, nor do I currently know how to research what embassy might have a reasonable queue.

 

Can anyone chime in on these topics please?

 

[marpolsdofer 7]

3 hours ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

 

@ovb

"Hi StevenInAtlanta! Thank you for sharing your case. Were you actually able to reschedule for a later date already? Without having to wait until after your April 12 originally scheduled interview? And what is your visa type if you don't mind sharing? Thank you."

After we got the interview invitation email, we used the link to go to the URL referenced a few times earlier in this post to complete her online profile.  Once the profile is completed, you then have access to the reschedule app.  Before then the link was dead and went nowhere. During the process of reschedule, it was indicated that it could only be done after you missed your initially scheduled interview, but I moved forward with the next button anyway and had no problem getting to the scheduling calendar, picking a date (first available was in August 31) and finishing the reschedule process.  After the 'done' button I was presented with a confirmation screen and also received a confirmation email, both of which contain the interview schedule date, confirmation and the all important barcode that is used when you appear.  So I don't know for sure if waiting till you miss your appointment is actually a firm requirement or if maybe the online system just doesn't support the requirement. It's possible the online system doesn't have any feedback loop/connection to the scheduling system or a missed appointment isn't tracked where the online system can actually track and enforce the requirement.  But it seems from our perspective that we were able to reschedule and we got the confirmation to prove it.  Don't know if at some point in the future we get another email indicating we did not follow the procedure....

 

@Mike20090622

"My fiancé said the visa center in Moscow need flights and hotels to apply for the Schengen visa, we can’t decide that before we can schedule the interview right? How you solved these issues?"

Yes this seems to be the case, you have to know when your interview is before you can book your flight(s) and your lodging.  We had the same restriction, so you have to wait for the interview date then book your travel and lodging.  It's not yet clear if you will get your passport with the immigrant entry visa stamp the same day, the next day and pickup at the embassy or if they will mail it to the MailBoxes Etc. location that you choose on the reschedule or if not rescheduling, when you go fill out your online profile using the Polish embassy website.

 

@ovb

"If anyone is struggling getting a medical appointment for an immigrant visa in Moscow in a timely fashion, turns our that can be sped up. My mom called the US authorized health center on March 14, and they told her that the earliest she can be scheduled is for April 14th. Today she visited them in person. It turned out they had plenty of cancellations, and they took her right in. Additionally they do have a waitlist, and if someone doesn't show up they can being you in with one hour notice."

 

This does seem to be true.  My wife got the same information and if you call they can actually put you on a cancelation wait list.  She got on that list and just the next day she got a call there was a cancelation and that she could appear the next morning for her medical.  So apparently there are frequent cancelations and getting in for your medical in the short 30 day period before your interview is not in reality a big issue right now.

 

 

How are still trying to figure out all this as my wife plans to apply for the Visa her in the US and her son in Russia to avoid time delays. You should take a look at my post and all the ####### we have to deal with. Howe did you deal with health pass and health insurance? I thought Russians have it free?

 

[Mike20090622 45]

1 minute ago, Mike20090622 said:

It’s true, why they don’t put in Ukraine embassy? Did they predict the Ukraine war with Russia? 

America government is not for the people and it’s for the rich, you can get a gold visa very quickly 

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

@marpolsdofer

"health pass and health insurance?"

 

The health insurance for her to travel to Italy and then to Warsaw (through Istanbul) was only the equivalent of $20US  Her medical exam in Moscow for the US visa requirement for IR1 immigration purpose is going to be $210US plus the additional costs of needed vaccinations.  It seems that MANY Russian citizen's vaccination records were lost in a fire and therefore there are no records, so the doctor determines what is needed during the exam, and you typically (as I have read several times) you get hem in a cocktail of sorts after/during the exam and pay for them separately on the spot. And it seems like the payment is in cash/rubles.

 

[marpolsdofer 7]

1 minute ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

@marpolsdofer

"That is the number 1 reason why it was stupid to be put in Poland . There had to be better options. Last year around August we had out senators aid contact a bunch of embassies. All did not require a visa to go to or was pretty close to Russia.

Only 2 of them said check back later when we clear the backlog. Check back later and they said no."

 

I have toyed with the idea of moving the package to another country's embassy. I'm not exactly how that is done, nor do I currently know how to research what embassy might have a reasonable queue.

 

Can anyone chime in on these topics please?

 

A lot of them would only take you if you was already in the country or had ties to that counties some home. We though about asking anther again after the ware broke out. Even if we did get it then we would have to expedite. If we did not get that who know how long it would be again. We been DQ'd since right at the start of the pandemic. Since June of 2021 tried moving it. Then in October it was moved to Warsaw. In late April we got the notification we got 11 days to get there. We missed it now have to wait till late June.

[marpolsdofer 7]

2 minutes ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

@marpolsdofer

"health pass and health insurance?"

 

The health insurance for her to travel to Italy and then to Warsaw (through Istanbul) was only the equivalent of $20US  Her medical exam in Moscow for the US visa requirement for IR1 immigration purpose is going to be $210US plus the additional costs of needed vaccinations.  It seems that MANY Russian citizen's vaccination records were lost in a fire and therefore there are no records, so the doctor determines what is needed during the exam, and you typically (as I have read several times) you get hem in a cocktail of sorts after/during the exam and pay for them separately on the spot. And it seems like the payment is in cash/rubles.

 

So it just travel insurance then? WE just are on the issue is my wife need to go get her son to accompany him to the interview in Warsaw then bring him to the US. One option for her is go to Russia and both apply for the visas. I hear the take 15 days so that wont work because there wont be time do that.  The other is she apply here in the US and her son apply in Russia then she just pick him up in Russia or Turkey.

[Mike20090622 45]

4 minutes ago, marpolsdofer said:

So it just travel insurance then? WE just are on the issue is my wife need to go get her son to accompany him to the interview in Warsaw then bring him to the US. One option for her is go to Russia and both apply for the visas. I hear the take 15 days so that wont work because there wont be time do that.  The other is she apply here in the US and her son apply in Russia then she just pick him up in Russia or Turkey.

I heard Russia citizens can only apply in Russia for Schengen visas, otherwise I would bring my fiancé family into mexico 

[marpolsdofer 7]

14 minutes ago, Mike20090622 said:

It’s true, why they don’t put in Ukraine embassy? Did they predict the Ukraine war with Russia? 

It was before the war as well. Russia putting restriction on the US embassies and making it practically closed since early last year.

[marpolsdofer 7]

1 minute ago, Mike20090622 said:

I heard Russia citizens can only apply in Russia for Schengen visas, otherwise I would bring my fiancé family into mexico 

I am sure there has to be a way around it like going to a embassy in the US. It would not make since for a Russian who is living here is almost a citizen just to go to Russia and wait 15 day to enjoy a vacation in Greece

The one issue with having her son apply alone is if he is not traveling with parent they must have a notarized letter stating he can go. He traveling with a parent but just does does not look that way if applying alone.