Alternative embassies for K1 fiance visa

[gbychkov 8]

Hello! I have been approved for expedited processing for my k1 fiance visa for my Ukrainian fiance on March 8th(still waiting for decision) and am looking towards the NVC process and later. I have been reading the the designated embassy abroad is Frankfurt, but the wait times just for the medical exam have ballooned to over 2 months.  I am desperately looking for an alternative embassy in the Schengen Zone which i could forward our application to with a smaller wait time. I am currently in Poland with her and have a limited time i can stay without a visa. Thank you!

Edited April 11, 2022 by gbychkov

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

2 months is miniscule. Expedite doesn't always mean fast.  Your first obstacle would be getting an approval from a different consulate.  

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

Remember, there is queue of Ukrainian applicants already waiting.  Ukrainian applicants are ALL expedited.

Edited April 11, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

you don't even get to make an appointment for the medical exam until the embassy has the packet for the interview

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by JeanneAdil

[gbychkov 8]

Unfortunately 2 months is not minuscule when your country has war brought upon you. I brought my fiance and her family out of Ukraine to Poland temporarily, and need to find the quickest way through this specifically slow expediting process. This forum has been very helpful with information and more info is always better.

[mam521 2,062]

3 minutes ago, gbychkov said:

Unfortunately 2 months is not minuscule when your country has war brought upon you. I brought my fiance and her family out of Ukraine to Poland temporarily, and need to find the quickest way through this specifically slow expediting process. This forum has been very helpful with information and more info is always better.

While we all know the situation in Ukraine is beyond despicable, Crazy Cat is right - there were a number of Ukrainians were already in the cue who have priority.  Covid created embassy and consulate staffing challenges and countries across the globe are working as diligently as possible to help bring refugees safely to their respective countries.  Even during war times, there is a process and a procedure and unfortunately for your significant other, there's orders of multitudes more people.  2 months, in the terms of immigration, really is miniscule.

[slavaskii 886]

All Ukrainian filers, and Belarusian/Russian, are facing similar backlogs. Previous posters are right, Ukrainian filers are already expedited due to the war and the understandably difficult conditions brought upon them. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of Ukrainian filers in the same position and Frankfurt was designated the embassy because it was the most-equipped to handle the influx. If the bottleneck is just medical, Frankfurt has confirmed you can do medical in other countries. It's up to embassy discretion whether to transfer your petition away from Frankfurt, but two months from where you are now sounds incredibly fast for me. There's a solid month+ from your NOA2 to embassy received that cannot be quickened. 

 

I'm very sorry for what you both are going through. It is currently being advised that fiancees take advantage of the EU's temporary stay programs while they wait. 

[chivaschivas 33]

Hey. Sorry for the instant bringing hopes down for the fast process - I'm struggling with this myself everyday. Two months from NOA2 is standard, and you haven't been approved yet, so...Things you can focus on not to go crazy in the meantime:

 

1. Gather and translate the documents needed for medical (vaccination records etc.) and interview (birth certificate, police certificate etc). The latter need to be certified - you can do it yourself or hire a translator.

2. If you don't want to go to Frankfurt, reach out to other embassies about the queue & availability of urgent appointments. Here are some contacts previously shared on the forum:

 

- Italy(Naples) 

IVNaples@state.gov

- Slovakia(Bratislava) 

Bratislavaiv@state.gov

- Romania(Bucharest)

visasbucharest@state.gov

- Hungary(Budapest)

acs.budapest@state.gov

 

3. Research about the temporary protected status for Ukrainians in your country, because 99% chance she'll have to wait for K1 more than 90 days. To give you an idea, I arrived in Paris a week before the war started. My petition is at NVC right now, and I expect to stay in France for at least 2-4 more months, depending on Paris backlog. My visa-free days are running out in May, so I will get a short-term permit to stay.

 

It's incredibly frustrating but honestly we are lucky to be expedited as is. If not for this crazy situation, my petition wouldn't have been approved until July or even later. So...patience, do what you can, spend as much time with your beloved as you can so far.

[chivaschivas 33]

Oh, to add more about Paris in case anyone might need it in the future...It's not a self-scheduling embassy, they give you a date and you go with it. They can take a while, month or two to give you a date, and the date can be months or half a year away. Rescheduling is tough. Embassy often is impossible to contact. If anyone considers, maybe try another country.

 

My legal rep sent an email to Paris back in March asking if they could see me instead of Frankfurt. Their reply:

 

"The file will be forwarded to the US Embassy overseas having jurisdiction over the applicant’s current place of residence."

 

Some embassies may give you cryptic answers without clear yes / no. Just be ready for it.

[millefleur 5,046]

There was a case of someone who successfully switched to Vienna, Austria. Basically it depends on each embassy and what they say, they all have different backlogs as well. You need to reach out to them individually.

 

1 hour ago, slavaskii said:

If the bottleneck is just medical, Frankfurt has confirmed you can do medical in other countries.

Exactly this. You also don't have to do the medical in Frankfurt. You can do the medical at any clinic within the EU. We have direct confirmation of that here:

 

[RussiaMidwest 5]

20 hours ago, millefleur said:

There was a case of someone who successfully switched to Vienna, Austria. Basically it depends on each embassy and what they say, they all have different backlogs as well. You need to reach out to them individually.

 

Exactly this. You also don't have to do the medical in Frankfurt. You can do the medical at any clinic within the EU. We have direct confirmation of that here:

 

 

Does anybody happen to know if this only applies to Ukrainian applicants, or if it's allowed for other applicants to go through medical in other countries as well?

[chivaschivas 33]

22 hours ago, chivaschivas said:

Oh, to add more about Paris in case anyone might need it in the future...It's not a self-scheduling embassy, they give you a date and you go with it. They can take a while, month or two to give you a date, and the date can be months or half a year away. Rescheduling is tough. Embassy often is impossible to contact. If anyone considers, maybe try another country.

 

My legal rep sent an email to Paris back in March asking if they could see me instead of Frankfurt. Their reply:

 

"The file will be forwarded to the US Embassy overseas having jurisdiction over the applicant’s current place of residence."

 

Some embassies may give you cryptic answers without clear yes / no. Just be ready for it.

Update: NVC ignored our request and sent the petition package to Frankfurt.

 

If you approach the NVC stage and want to interview at a different Embassy, make sure to follow up with them multiple times!

[millefleur 5,046]

50 minutes ago, RussiaMidwest said:

Does anybody happen to know if this only applies to Ukrainian applicants, or if it's allowed for other applicants to go through medical in other countries as well?

In theory you could do the medical at any approved clinic, but whether or not Warsaw accepts that in practice is unknown. Warsaw current accepts medicals done in Moscow or Poland. Probably best to reach out to them directly and see what they say.

[slavaskii 886]

29 minutes ago, millefleur said:

In theory you could do the medical at any approved clinic, but whether or not Warsaw accepts that in practice is unknown. Warsaw current accepts medicals done in Moscow or Poland. Probably best to reach out to them directly and see what they say.

And Minsk! Not that it's helpful for literally anybody left but still, lol 

 

(Also note that Poland has two clinics, one in Warsaw and one in Krakow, but I heard both are subject to large wait times. I wouldn't be surprised that as people start being unable to make interviews because of medical, the rules change)

Edited April 12, 2022 by slavaskii

[millefleur 5,046]

1 minute ago, slavaskii said:

And Minsk! Not that it's helpful for literally anybody left but still, lol 

Oh right! Almost forgot about that one. It might be helpful for some, who knows! I don't know how bad the medical backlog is in Moscow.

 

1 minute ago, slavaskii said:

(Also note that Poland has two clinics, one in Warsaw and one in Krakow, but I heard both are subject to large backlogs. I wouldn't be surprised that as people start being unable to make interviews because of medical, the rules begin changing)

Good point. I imagine the medical backlogs are indeed pretty backed up now given the refugee situation.