US Embassy in Kyiv (Ukraine) is closed. What now?!

[Prizm123 1,086]

7 minutes ago, millefleur said:

What you're looking for is called "humanitarian parole" and here is some info on it:

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/explore-my-options/humanitarian-parole

 

 

 

thank you

[CelloLover 26]

On 2/21/2022 at 1:44 PM, YuliiaRog said:

If your case is still in NVC and you try to transfer it, the things will get worse with the time lines!! It will throw you way behind!

If one is interested in transferring cases to a different embassy, at which point in the timeline is it best to do so?

[CelloLover 26]

22 hours ago, millefleur said:

What you're looking for is called "humanitarian parole" and here is some info on it:

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/explore-my-options/humanitarian-parole

 

 

 

Wow, this process is so involved. Looks as hard as getting a visa

[YuliiaRog 10]

On 2/27/2022 at 5:28 AM, CelloLover said:

If one is interested in transferring cases to a different embassy, at which point in the timeline is it best to do so?

okay, so my case was transferred to NVC in the middle of December. We signed all the documents an payments by December, 29th. When the full-scale war started, I contacted an immigration attorney and got paid help with the whole process of transferring! My husband sent an email to the NVC, it was request about expedite case, saying that he would like our case to be transferred and interview to be scheduled immediately  (if it`s possible) in US Embassy in Vienna because he`s concerned about my well-being because of Russian invasion. BUT the main argument for transferring the case to Vienna was that his aunt lives there so I`ll be staying there with his family and that`s the reason of transfer to Austria and not Poland, for instance. We got a respond from the NVC like next day! They said that they`re reviewing the request and will get back to us shortly with either confirmation or denial. Next day we got another email with new NVC case number saying our request was accepted and will be transferred to the US Embassy in Vienna. In a few hours I got an email from the Embassy saying I could come tomorrow (lol) or any other day next week at 1pm. They sent instructions on what documents I would need and instructions on medical check. Then everything else was fast and smooth. Had interview on Friday, got my passport with Visa sticker on Tuesday (had to pick it up myself). BTW interview was held in a CONSOLUTE, not in the Embassy.

[millefleur 5,047]

9 minutes ago, YuliiaRog said:

Had interview on Friday, got my passport with Visa sticker on Tuesday (had to pick it up myself). BTW interview was held in a CONSOLUTE, not in the Embassy.

I'm really glad everything went smoothly. Are you sure about the consulate part? I thought Vienna only had a US embassy, not a consulate.

 

Did you have to provide an interpreter at your interview?

[YuliiaRog 10]

4 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I'm really glad everything went smoothly. Are you sure about the consulate part? I thought Vienna only had a US embassy, not a consulate.

 

Did you have to provide an interpreter at your interview?

Yep! I was surprised that I didn`t have to go to the actual embassy. In the email it said "Please note, you should go to US Consulate, not the Embassy"!

 

What do you mean by providing an interpreter?

In Vienna you could have interview either in German or English

[millefleur 5,047]

Just now, YuliiaRog said:

What do you mean by providing an interpreter?

In Vienna you could have interview either in German or English

OK I guess since you spoke English it was not a problem then. They usually say if you don't speak English or (local language) then you have to bring your own interpreter.

 

1 minute ago, YuliiaRog said:

Yep! I was surprised that I didn`t have to go to the actual embassy. In the email it said "Please note, you should go to US Consulate, not the Embassy"!

That is strange! I've been to the Vienna US embassy a few times, had no idea there was also a consulate there.

[Boiler 45,733]

Just shows what they can do when they want to

[texastincup 52]

On 2/15/2022 at 11:50 AM, NGS369 said:

@Boiler Our case was already approved and transferred to the embassy.

@ngs369

[texastincup 52]

On 2/15/2022 at 11:50 AM, NGS369 said:

@Boiler Our case was already approved and transferred to the embassy.

@ngs369 - I am currently waiting for the NVC to inspect my DS-260 and AOS plus the supporting documents.

 

Your timeline goes from USCIS approval 1/24/2022 to NVC received 1/28/2022 and then Consulate received on 2/10/2022, but there are no dates for things like AOS and DS-260 submission. That is sixteen days and it took the NVC almost that long to process my payments. I think there is some confusion here because I see no way you got all that done that quick. If you did, teach us all!

 

Did you pay your AOS and IV fees to the NVC?

Did you submit the Affidavit of Support and DS-260?

Did submit the supporting documents like the marriage certificates, photo, and divorces?

 

If so, please fill in those dates on your timeline. If you did not, then you and the people responding to this thread are discussing a different stage of the process. For example, if you have not sent all those things to the NVC then your case has not been sent to Kyiv. Your NVC portal may say Kyiv, but your file is at the NVC. 

 

My daughter was assigned to Kyiv and my wife to Frankfurt. Government efficiency. I submitted an request via the NVC's online form and they did reassign my daughter to Frankfurt which changed her case number. That is not the same as transferring a case from one consulate to another.

[NGS369 3]

@texastincup Firstly, I hope all your relatives from Ukraine are staying safe as much as it’s possible in the current situation. Second, indeed our case was not trivial and I will try to bring some clarity.

 

As we lived just 18 minutes away from the Russian border, we were terrified of potential of war back in January. Therefore, we requested to expedite our case at USCIS. It was approved and expedited in about a week. While our case was transferring to NVC, we requested for them to expedite our case as well. At that time, the US Embassy in Kyiv posted that they would take cases from NVC to expedite the processing time. So, our case was quickly approved for expedition and transferred to the US Embassy in Kyiv directly, before we submitted any documents. However, we had already paid the AOS and IV fees to the NVC.

 

We were feeling very lucky at that point, but because of the threat of invasion, the embassy closed just a few days after receiving our case, which made it become stuck there. NVC was not able to access it or transfer to another embassy, and kept suggesting us to reach out to the embassy in Kyiv, as they were the only one who had an access. Well, the embassy in Kyiv was closed and they didn’t respond to phone calls and e-mails. We reached out to the US Embassy in Warsaw, but got the same answer, that only Kyiv can transfer our case. We were completely clueless and desperate on how to proceed at that point. But then the war started... and we had to worry about saving our lives, so we fled Ukraine, and found ourselves in Slovakia. 
 

The US Embassy in Kyiv then posted a new update that cases already assigned to Kyiv could ask any embassy to take their case, so we contacted the US Embassy in Bratislava and they were willing to receive our case. While it was transferring, we got an e-mail that our case was automatically being transferred to the US Embassy in Frankfurt. We just ignored it and were following the instructions given by the US Embassy in Bratislava and were providing all documents directly to them. The medical exam was also done in Bratislava.

 

In short, we were staying on top of all updates given by the US Embassy in Kyiv and got expedited because my husband (US citizen) was living in Ukraine for already 2 years and refused to leave without me, especially during the threat of war. I do not think they would have expedited our case the same way if both of us would have been safely outside of Ukraine, but who knows... it’s always worth a try. 
 

Hopefully, this clears up any confusion about our timeline. I truly wish that everyone’s relatives in Ukraine will remain strong and safe until the war is over. And a quick approval for anyone still awaiting their visa process.

[texastincup 52]

10 minutes ago, NGS369 said:

@texastincup Firstly, I hope all your relatives from Ukraine are staying safe as much as it’s possible in the current situation. Second, indeed our case was not trivial and I will try to bring some clarity.

 

As we lived just 18 minutes away from the Russian border, we were terrified of potential of war back in January. Therefore, we requested to expedite our case at USCIS. It was approved and expedited in about a week. While our case was transferring to NVC, we requested for them to expedite our case as well. At that time, the US Embassy in Kyiv posted that they would take cases from NVC to expedite the processing time. So, our case was quickly approved for expedition and transferred to the US Embassy in Kyiv directly, before we submitted any documents. However, we had already paid the AOS and IV fees to the NVC.

 

We were feeling very lucky at that point, but because of the threat of invasion, the embassy closed just a few days after receiving our case, which made it become stuck there. NVC was not able to access it or transfer to another embassy, and kept suggesting us to reach out to the embassy in Kyiv, as they were the only one who had an access. Well, the embassy in Kyiv was closed and they didn’t respond to phone calls and e-mails. We reached out to the US Embassy in Warsaw, but got the same answer, that only Kyiv can transfer our case. We were completely clueless and desperate on how to proceed at that point. But then the war started... and we had to worry about saving our lives, so we fled Ukraine, and found ourselves in Slovakia. 
 

The US Embassy in Kyiv then posted a new update that cases already assigned to Kyiv could ask any embassy to take their case, so we contacted the US Embassy in Bratislava and they were willing to receive our case. While it was transferring, we got an e-mail that our case was automatically being transferred to the US Embassy in Frankfurt. We just ignored it and were following the instructions given by the US Embassy in Bratislava and were providing all documents directly to them. The medical exam was also done in Bratislava.

 

In short, we were staying on top of all updates given by the US Embassy in Kyiv and got expedited because my husband (US citizen) was living in Ukraine for already 2 years and refused to leave without me, especially during the threat of war. I do not think they would have expedited our case the same way if both of us would have been safely outside of Ukraine, but who knows... it’s always worth a try. 
 

Hopefully, this clears up any confusion about our timeline. I truly wish that everyone’s relatives in Ukraine will remain strong and safe until the war is over. And a quick approval for anyone still awaiting their visa process.

That helps a lot. I'm glad you two got out of the East when you did. My wife and I lived in Vinnytsia and neither of us expected the Russians to got past the Dnieper.