Expediting K1 visa due to Ukraine crisis

[Julichka 4]

10 hours ago, millefleur said:

Yeah, I copy/pasted from the Warsaw Embassy site where it specifically says:

https://pl.usembassy.gov/visas/humanitarian-assistance-and-visa-information-for-ukrainians/

 

 

This is so strange and I'm really sorry to hear they turned you down. It could have been maybe just one USCIS worker who didn't get the memo/is out of the loop?

We called twice to Uscis. They don’t wanna help 

[chivaschivas 33]

20 hours ago, Cclemonds27 said:

I will reach out to them and see what they say.

Please let us know regarding police certificates and original birth certificate!

I'm still trying to get mine out of Ukraine but it's very likely that the best I would be able to provide is a good quality photograph. Pretty sure there are many other people in a similar spot.

[Austin&Olga 66]

7 hours ago, Julichka said:

We called twice to Uscis. They don’t wanna help 

I would keep trying. There is no reason they shouldn't approve your expedite request and they approve others. I would even tell them that there are other couples with Ukrainian fiancés who have already been approved for expedite for humanitarian reasons. It probably depends who is on the other end of the phone. The guy I had seemed like he wanted to get us expedited and was doing everything he could to file correctly to get the ball moving. I got an expedite approval the day after I had put in a request. 

[Julichka 4]

1 hour ago, Austin&Olga said:

I would keep trying. There is no reason they shouldn't approve your expedite request and they approve others. I would even tell them that there are other couples with Ukrainian fiancés who have already been approved for expedite for humanitarian reasons. It probably depends who is on the other end of the phone. The guy I had seemed like he wanted to get us expedited and was doing everything he could to file correctly to get the ball moving. I got an expedite approval the day after I had put in a request. 

We told them about other couples. They don’t care 🥺

Probably they think I’m already in Poland and safe but I’m without home like a homeless here, alone and I’m stuck in eu

[millefleur 5,046]

28 minutes ago, Julichka said:

Probably they think I’m already in Poland and safe but I’m without home like a homeless here, alone and I’m stuck in eu

This is terrible, are you able to get in contact with any humanitarian aid services in Poland? How bad is your situation? I know people in Czech Rep I could reach out to, they might be able to help you, let me know.

[slavaskii 886]

The idea USCIS would refuse an expedite to someone who has fled to the EU doesn't make sense to me. What are Ukrainian filers to do, stay in Ukraine while their homes are being destroyed? And then need to go to Frankfurt anyway because Kyiv is all but permanently closed? Being homeless in the EU is arguably its own ground for expedite (humanitarian/financial). Frankfurt/Warsaw seem to explicitly contemplate this by instructing people to try the expedites.

 

I don't want to make any more assumptions as to what's happening until we see other Ukrainian filers' experiences. Part of me thinks that there could've been a mistake in allowing these expedites, but again... that doesn't make sense why Frankfurt/Warsaw told everyone to try. I can most certainly see USCIS agents following the war closely themselves and being so empathetic they granted the expedites before being told they could not.

 

Watching closely.

[millefleur 5,046]

1 hour ago, slavaskii said:

Part of me thinks that there could've been a mistake in allowing these expedites, but again... that doesn't make sense why Frankfurt/Warsaw told everyone to try.

It sounds to me like typical right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. Dept of State green lit the expedites/emergency measures but back stateside USCIS is either confused as to what qualifies or is misinterpreting the instructions from DoS.

 

Totally agree that being homeless as a refugee in another country just makes no sense as not qualifying for an expedite, Europe was not prepared for this and I'm sure there are not enough provisions to go round. Some of these refugees will get the short end of the stick and won't get the same comfort others did.

Edited March 6, 2022 by millefleur

[Oatmealfoxy 0]

Hi, I was wondering where you found this information? According to the official site they're already working on the k3 visas that are in August.

[Lisa and Ian 7]

On 2/28/2022 at 10:11 AM, hamsesh said:

Could you please post the link to that post? I can't seem to find it haha

 

Found it! It's on the US embassy to Poland's website! Immediate Humanitarian Assistance for the People of Ukraine in Poland - U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Poland (usembassy.gov)

I was just reading that the Kyiv Embassy has temporarily relocated to Poland. I think this is good news as at least processing can be continued, hopefully?   I saw this in the notes DoS Blinken made at the Polish Embassy. Blinken speech

[slavaskii 886]

4 hours ago, Lisa and Ian said:

I was just reading that the Kyiv Embassy has temporarily relocated to Poland. I think this is good news as at least processing can be continued, hopefully?   I saw this in the notes DoS Blinken made at the Polish Embassy. Blinken speech

The embassy staff of Kyiv relocated to Poland, but processing of Ukrainian filers is now being done in Frankfurt. Most probably, because Warsaw is already the hub for Poles/Belarusians/Russians and it would be too overwhelming to take in Ukrainians, too.

 

To be honest, I don't see a tremendous delay in processing Ukrainians except for those who were already at embassy. I have zero idea what will happen to those. Did the embassy manage to take out all the documents when they left to Lviv? Those filers I'm especially concerned about, but if you were waiting at NVC it appears to be a relatively simple transfer. 

[millefleur 5,046]

15 hours ago, Lisa and Ian said:

I was just reading that the Kyiv Embassy has temporarily relocated to Poland. I think this is good news as at least processing can be continued, hopefully?   I saw this in the notes DoS Blinken made at the Polish Embassy. Blinken speech

I question to what degree Blinken knows what is going on, I would not listen to his speeches but rather what the embassy staff are publishing on their websites.

 

10 hours ago, slavaskii said:

The embassy staff of Kyiv relocated to Poland, but processing of Ukrainian filers is now being done in Frankfurt. Most probably, because Warsaw is already the hub for Poles/Belarusians/Russians and it would be too overwhelming to take in Ukrainians, too.

I just saw this directly on Frankfurt's site: https://de.usembassy.gov/ukrainians-in-germany/

 

I've also updated the Frankfurt thread just to make sure everyone sees it.

[Ashokanna 1]

How do I know if my expedite request accepted/denied? I called on last Friday(03/04) and I have not seen any email or text message. I am wondering if I should  call again?

[Cclemonds27 18]

9 minutes ago, Ashokanna said:

How do I know if my expedite request accepted/denied? I called on last Friday(03/04) and I have not seen any email or text message. I am wondering if I should  call 

Have you opened a USCIS account to look and keep track of your case? I would start there and see before calling.

[Lonny&Kris 16]

19 minutes ago, Ashokanna said:

How do I know if my expedite request accepted/denied? I called on last Friday(03/04) and I have not seen any email or text message. I am wondering if I should  call again?

I am currently still waiting for my response to expedite request as well. They received on March 2nd. Keep checking your status on the USCIS website and make an account with your case attached to it if you haven't already. I know it's hard during such times but try to stay patient. Best of luck 🤞

[Austin&Olga 66]

1 hour ago, Ashokanna said:

How do I know if my expedite request accepted/denied? I called on last Friday(03/04) and I have not seen any email or text message. I am wondering if I should  call again?

They should send you an email after you provided the USCIS agent your information during the call. Did they give you a timeline of when you should hear back? I believe it's 7-10 days from what I remember.