Questions about interview for Russian citizen in Warsaw Poland

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

Hello all,

I need a little help trying to get some answers for my wife(applicant), who is the Russian citizen, I am the American US born citizen (petitioner)trying to bring her here to the US.  My apologies in advance for the long post but thought maybe better to have one post versus posting 7 different ones trying to collect the needed information.

 

We have met all the documentation requirements well over a year ago for her IR1 visa/immigration to the USA. Our NOS I-797 priority date is 6/21/2019. We have been legally married in the US for over 3 years now. All the fees have been paid (to this point) and the NVC has acknowledged we have met all the documentation requirements as of November 2020.  We're just waiting for over a year now for the interview to be scheduled.

 

THEN COVID hit and everything came to a halt.

 

To avoid being called off base too long, we have both been logging in to CEAC at least once a month to 'stay in touch'. I have sent 4 inquiries during the last year using the ASKNVC system. I get only canned responses it seems.

 

The US embassy in Moscow closed due to COVID, all but one of them in fact it seems have closed in Russia. Recently the US embassy/consulate in Moscow re-opened but they are no longer processing immigration visa's it seems. Those operations have just been moved to Warsaw Poland. Why would they move this operation to another country? Anyway....my wife is hammering me with questions now and I am trying to get answers to via the ASKNVC, but I'm basically getting canned responses after 10-14 days that don't actually answer the specific questions. All I get is a canned response "you have met all the documentation requirements, you will be contacted for an interview in Moscow".  I'm hoping maybe another sage VisaJourney member might have some of the answers. So...we've been waiting over a year for the interview that was going to be in Moscow.

 

We just this week (December 15th) got an email from NVC/CEAC that the interview has been moved to Warsaw Poland and they also gave us a NEW case ID number. This email arrived just days after she finally got through to a human in the Moscow embassy. It seems that after her voice inquiry with a human, the case was sent to Warsaw almost immediately.

 

The questions are:

 

1. Does anyone know how long after a case arrives at the Warsaw embassy how long before we might expect to get an interview date?
2. Her original international passport, the one that was used during the application process expired during our wait. She has received her new international passport. Should we submit this copy of her new passport to the CEAC system or hold it till it is requested? We don't want to delay the process by submitting documents that might reset the clock, nor do we want to come up short if it needed to be update in the application.  The askNVC response was "you have met all the necessary documentation requirements"
3. She is required to get a police and criminal report, which we did. It is now over 6 months old and I remember reading that the criminal report had to be no older than 90 days old...I think it was 90 days. Should she get a new report now, wait for an interview date to be set and communicated or use the one already obtained?
4. Will the interview in Poland be conducted in English, Russian, or Polish? My wife speaks intermediate level English already but she is VERY concerned she's not quite good enough and will want/need an interpreter. She has questions about the language used in the interview and how to obtain the interpreter.  I researched this a bit and it seem that an interpreter is common, the immigration office/embassy does not provide interpreter services, but they do have information how and where to get one for the interview, either in person or via a telephone conference call I assume. So what language is used in the interview?
5. A medical exam is also required. Will she have to have this medical exam in Poland or in Moscow Russia? I would think in Moscow and the results would be sent to the office in Warsaw or given to her to submit as part of the interview.
6. COVID vaccine requirements. She just got Sputnik vaccine, both doses. It was rough, but Sputnik is not (yet) recognized by the World Health Organization. If it never is and there are news reports that it should be WHO approved in January 2021, will she simply get a WHO approved vaccine in the US or have to take a vaccine excursion to another country to get a US approved/WHO approved vaccine before entering the US?
7. Is there any point in trying to reach the Warsaw embassy to ask these questions and get a non-automated reply?  It seems that the process would cause us to think that only AskNVC is the way to communicate.

 

Thanks in advance for any sage, current advice.

 

Best wishes,

StevenInAtlanta

 

[millefleur 5,047]

**Moved from US Embassy and Consulate Discussion to RUB regional forum**

 

 

1 hour ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

The US embassy in Moscow closed due to COVID, all but one of them in fact it seems have closed in Russia. Recently the US embassy/consulate in Moscow re-opened but they are no longer processing immigration visa's it seems. Those operations have just been moved to Warsaw Poland. Why would they move this operation to another country?

Just to answer the question, it's not closed due to Covid. It's closed due to a long ongoing diplomatic crisis between Russia and the US that's been going on since at 2017 I believe. Moscow Embassy has no staff because Russia banned "foreigners" from working there, which means Americans can't get diplomatic visas to Russia to work there. So, that's the gist of what is happening with the Moscow Embassy. There's no foreseeable future of the current situation getting resolved, so they moved everything to Warsaw.

 

I can answer a few questions:

 

1 hour ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

Will the interview in Poland be conducted in English, Russian, or Polish?

Warsaw has Russian speaking staff, that's one of the reasons they moved it there. Don't worry, she won't need English. They almost always do the interview in the applicant's native language.

 

1 hour ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

A medical exam is also required. Will she have to have this medical exam in Poland or in Moscow Russia?

Medical can actually be done in Moscow and then results will be sent to Warsaw. Or, there's also an option to do the medical in Warsaw. Up to you, whichever is more convenient.

 

1 hour ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

COVID vaccine requirements.

Sputnik is not recognized by the CDC and therefore not in the US. Currently, the US requires a CDC approved vaccines to even enter the US, however, permanent residents are exempt. Since she'll be a IR-1 visa holder, maybe she can enter without the vaccine, I'm not 100% sure though. You might need to be a physical green card to do that. It might be a good idea to call the airline she plans to fly and see what the requirement is. There is also the option to get a CDC approved vax somewhere in Europe, like Greece or Croatia. I'm not sure but if she does the medical in Warsaw there might also be an option to get the vax there.

 

Tagging @Wouter @royryan @Caboose29 for input as they are familiar with the situation in Warsaw for Russians.

 

There's also a pinned thread on this exact situation here if you want to read through some of the recent pages:

 

 

Edited December 18, 2021 by millefleur

[Wouter 143]

@millefleur is correct on all points, but I'd like to add that the COVID vaccine requirement does not apply to US citizens, permanents resident or immigrants.

So when you fly to the US on a CR-1/IR-1 visa you are not yet a permanent resident but you are an immigrant so the vaccination requirement does not apply for that reason. (My wife was not vaccinated and flew Aeroflot from Moscow (SVO) and at check-in they were aware of this rule and it was no problem she was not vaccinated. Of course she did need a negative COVID test less than 24 hours old.)

 

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

Thank you millefleur and Wouter for your replies, they were a big step forward in me getting the needed answers. Thank you sooooo much.

I have a follow-on question:

8. Will my wife, a Russian citizen, living in Moscow, with a current international passport, need to get a Polish visa to travel to Poland for the interview?

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

About the PCC (Police Clearance Certificate)

1. She is required to get a police and criminal report, which we did. It is now over 6 months old and I remember reading that the criminal report had to be no older than 90 days old...I think it was 90 days. Should she get a new report now, wait for an interview date to be set and communicated or use the one already obtained?
   [ANSWER] " Validity of Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)

   All Police Clearance Certificates are valid for one year from the date of its issue and it must be valid on the day your visa is issued."

[Caboose29 173]

22 minutes ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

Thank you millefleur and Wouter for your replies, they were a big step forward in me getting the needed answers. Thank you sooooo much.

I have a follow-on question:

8. Will my wife, a Russian citizen, living in Moscow, with a current international passport, need to get a Polish visa to travel to Poland for the interview?

Millefleur is indeed correct in her responses.  Your wife will need a Schengen Visa to fly to Warsaw.  It's most common for people to fly to Greece then transit the next day to Poland.  I think Greece is one of the few Schengen zone countries issuing Schengen visas.  I don't think you can fly directly from Russia to Poland right now. Of course things change frequently.  My fiancee had to fly through Greece to get to Warsaw, although when returning to Russia, she will be flying directly back to Russia.  No need to go back through Greece.

 

EDIT: I realize CR1 is different than K1, but for what it's worth it was about 10 calendar days from when the application was delivered to the embassy until my fiancee got her instructions email, and official go ahead to schedule the interview.  I think CR1 the embassy schedules your interview.  K1s are allowed to make their own appointment.  Don't know why there's a difference.

 

Also, if anyone here is interested, my fiancee got her visa approval on Friday.  She'll pickup her passport with visa on Monday!!  We're almost finished!!!

Edited December 18, 2021 by Caboose29

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

Thank you very much Caboose29

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

My wife's head is a busy place!

Question 10

She has read that she needs to have all her documents translated before the interview. Have any members here like Caboose29, Wouter, millefleur or others have any experience/knowledge of this requirement?

[TBoneTX 45,591]

1 hour ago, Caboose29 said:

Also, if anyone here is interested, my fiancee got her visa approval on Friday.  She'll pickup her passport with visa on Monday!!  We're almost finished!!!

Of course we're interested.  Yee-HAAAAA!   

When the visa is in hand, update your timeline, and keep us posted thereafter.

[Caboose29 173]

2 hours ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

My wife's head is a busy place!

Question 10

She has read that she needs to have all her documents translated before the interview. Have any members here like Caboose29, Wouter, millefleur or others have any experience/knowledge of this requirement?

TIP:  If you want to "page" someone put an ampersand in front of their screen name "@Caboose29". 

 

To answer your question, yes she will need English translations of the documents (BC, police report, etc.)

[Caboose29 173]

Steve considering how long you've been waiting, I'd like to think that the staff there would get you taken care of at or very near the "front of the line".  I think it might be worth a call to the embassy and ask a live human about the updated passport, but I'd be reluctant to change anything on the website.  It could likely lead to more delays.  A real CO may just tell you to bring the new passport to the interview with you.  I highly suggest calling and asking before doing anything about the passport.

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

@Caboose29

CO = Consulate Officer?

 

I also aree probably not a good idea to change any of the documents in the middle of the process.  We will wait and ty to ask first. Hard to get a human on the phone.

Edited December 18, 2021 by StevenInAtlanta

[Caboose29 173]

5 hours ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

@Caboose29

CO = Consulate Officer?

 

I also aree probably not a good idea to change any of the documents in the middle of the process.  We will wait and ty to ask first. Hard to get a human on the phone.

Yes about the CO.  I suggest calling the Warsaw embassy right when they first open, or later in their afternoon.  I only had to call once, and I was on hold less than 10 minutes.  The woman spoke English well enough, and was professional, but not super friendly.  I'm sure she was very busy.  She was also knowledgeable as well.

[Wouter 143]

13 hours ago, Caboose29 said:

Millefleur is indeed correct in her responses.  Your wife will need a Schengen Visa to fly to Warsaw.  It's most common for people to fly to Greece then transit the next day to Poland.  I think Greece is one of the few Schengen zone countries issuing Schengen visas.  I don't think you can fly directly from Russia to Poland right now. Of course things change frequently.  My fiancee had to fly through Greece to get to Warsaw, although when returning to Russia, she will be flying directly back to Russia.  No need to go back through Greece.

 

EDIT: I realize CR1 is different than K1, but for what it's worth it was about 10 calendar days from when the application was delivered to the embassy until my fiancee got her instructions email, and official go ahead to schedule the interview.  I think CR1 the embassy schedules your interview.  K1s are allowed to make their own appointment.  Don't know why there's a difference.

 

Also, if anyone here is interested, my fiancee got her visa approval on Friday.  She'll pickup her passport with visa on Monday!!  We're almost finished!!!

As mentioned by @Caboose29 you need a Schengen visa and many Russians go through Greece, but here is a nice report of someone who went through Hungary.

Good luck!

 

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

Thanks @Wouter I followed that thread earlier and read Yuliya's story, it provided some good information.