NVC said we can change interview embassy for Russian

[Mike20090622 45]

I just called NVC and discussed the situation with Poland stopped issuing any visas to Russian and called for all EU countries to do the same, the staff said I can change a interview location, which one is good? Istanbul? Armenia? Or Kazakhstan?

[C@m 23]

A couple of things:

1. Can you provide a source that states that Russians can no longer acquire Shengen visas? 
2. Is NVC saying they're going to hold your petition then instead of sending it along to the designated Embassy for processing k1 petitions (which at this time is Warsaw, Poland)?
3. I believe you're free to contact any embassy you want and ask them if they'll accept your k1 petition for processing, but it doesn't mean they're going to say yes. Have you reached out to any of the embassies you mentioned and asked if they're willing to accept your case?

[Mike20090622 45]

8 minutes ago, C@m said:

A couple of things:

1. Can you provide a source that states that Russians can no longer acquire Shengen visas? 
2. Is NVC saying they're going to hold your petition then instead of sending it along to the designated Embassy for processing k1 petitions (which at this time is Warsaw, Poland)?
3. I believe you're free to contact any embassy you want and ask them if they'll accept your k1 petition for processing, but it doesn't mean they're going to say yes. Have you reached out to any of the embassies you mentioned and asked if they're willing to accept your case?

I didn’t say no Schengen visa needed for Russian, it’s our own responsibility to figure out an interview embassy for Russia citizens K visa? Or NVC can assign one for us?

[C@m 23]

1. You don't need Poland to issue a visa. Poland is part of the Shengen region, thus any visa issued by a Shengen country is sufficient to travel to Poland. Many have been obtaining visas from Greece, Italy, or Hungary.

2. The NVC will automatically mail your approved Russian K1 petition to the designated Embassy for Russian K1 Visas, which is Warsaw, Poland as of right now.

[slavaskii 886]

4 hours ago, Mike20090622 said:

I didn’t say no Schengen visa needed for Russian, it’s our own responsibility to figure out an interview embassy for Russia citizens K visa? Or NVC can assign one for us?

I think I see the problem. NVC agreed with you, essentially, that designating Russians for Warsaw was burdensome and offered you the ability to look into transferring elsewhere. As @C@m said, however, NVC won't actually send your petition there unless the 'new' embassy agrees to take it. So, to answer your question: Russian citizens need to figure out the interview embassy themselves, otherwise they'll continue to be sent to Warsaw.

 

One thing I wonder, however, is if NVC will stop sending Russian packets period so that they don't get stuck in Warsaw. I would hope that someone at the State Department is considering alternatives right now, as you're correct this plan is no longer going to work. 

 

If I was you, Mike, I would try emailing/calling the embassies in Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia and see if they have updated guidance. Last we knew, these countries were not taking Russians and had no plans of doing so, but perhaps NVC has gotten new guidance that they'll be more amenable. Bottom line is that, if you simply cannot get a Schengen visa or it'll be near impossible to do so, Russians, somewhere and somehow, are going to need to find a new embassy. Until the State Department gets around to that, though, I think it's your burden to do so. 😕 

 

As an aside, K1 appointments for Warsaw are now in November, which really puzzles me as there are now even less people who can make it there. Not really sure who keep filling up the calendar...

[Mike20090622 45]

34 minutes ago, slavaskii said:

I think I see the problem. NVC agreed with you, essentially, that designating Russians for Warsaw was burdensome and offered you the ability to look into transferring elsewhere. As @C@m said, however, NVC won't actually send your petition there unless the 'new' embassy agrees to take it. So, to answer your question: Russian citizens need to figure out the interview embassy themselves, otherwise they'll continue to be sent to Warsaw.

 

One thing I wonder, however, is if NVC will stop sending Russian packets period so that they don't get stuck in Warsaw. I would hope that someone at the State Department is considering alternatives right now, as you're correct this plan is no longer going to work. 

 

If I was you, Mike, I would try emailing/calling the embassies in Turkey, Armenia, and Georgia and see if they have updated guidance. Last we knew, these countries were not taking Russians and had no plans of doing so, but perhaps NVC has gotten new guidance that they'll be more amenable. Bottom line is that, if you simply cannot get a Schengen visa or it'll be near impossible to do so, Russians, somewhere and somehow, are going to need to find a new embassy. Until the State Department gets around to that, though, I think it's your burden to do so. 😕 

 

As an aside, K1 appointments for Warsaw are now in November, which really puzzles me as there are now even less people who can make it there. Not really sure who keep filling up the calendar...

Did you schedule your interview date and medical examination date? I probably call these embassies to find out

[slavaskii 886]

19 minutes ago, Mike20090622 said:

Did you schedule your interview date and medical examination date? I probably call these embassies to find out

Yes, I scheduled both the interview and medical exam myself; Warsaw doesn't 'give' any dates to K1 applicants, you handle it yourself. But again, even if you have an appointment, Warsaw will cancel your appointment if they haven't sent out the instructions to you before that date. I am not sure how Kazakhstan/Armenia/Georgia/Turkey handles things.

 

You had asked previously about what would be the best embassy to send the packet to, if you could do so. My first guess would be Nur-Sultan, though they previously declined to accept a Russian transfer. I say this only because Kazakhstan had two visa centers that remained open throughout most of COVID and were actually quite busy for tourist visas this whole time (but wouldn't take renewals... grr!).

 

I agree that calling other embassies is a good idea. One thing I wonder, perhaps, is if the Russia filers can get together to try to petition the State Department to change the designation. A lot has changed since making it Warsaw (arguably, it wasn't good in the first place), so I wonder what it would take to get official action. If NVC even seemed 'receptive' over the phone, chances are even they're uncomfortable sending them to Poland. NVC is more aware of these things than one might think, when I mentioned my fiancee was from Belarus they immediately went to make sure she wasn't going to Frankfurt - and this was like a day after the announcement. They're quite on the ball.

[Mike20090622 45]

5 minutes ago, slavaskii said:

Yes, I scheduled both the interview and medical exam myself; Warsaw doesn't 'give' any dates to K1 applicants, you handle it yourself. But again, even if you have an appointment, Warsaw will cancel your appointment if they haven't sent out the instructions to you before that date. I am not sure how Kazakhstan/Armenia/Georgia/Turkey handles things.

 

You had asked previously about what would be the best embassy to send the packet to, if you could do so. My first guess would be Nur-Sultan, though they previously declined to accept a Russian transfer. I say this only because Kazakhstan had two visa centers that remained open throughout most of COVID and were actually quite busy for tourist visas this whole time (but wouldn't take renewals... grr!).

 

I agree that calling other embassies is a good idea. One thing I wonder, perhaps, is if the Russia filers can get together to try to petition the State Department to change the designation. A lot has changed since making it Warsaw (arguably, it wasn't good in the first place), so I wonder what it would take to get official action. If NVC even seemed 'receptive' over the phone, chances are even they're uncomfortable sending them to Poland. NVC is more aware of these things than one might think, when I mentioned my fiancee was from Belarus they immediately went to make sure she wasn't going to Frankfurt - and this was like a day after the announcement. They're quite on the ball.

Did you schedule November? It’s crazy, 7 months to go? Not make much sense, I emailed Kazakhstan and Armenia embassy and they will reply in two days, I saw Armenia embassy is handling Iran K visas 

[powerpuff 6,697]

37 minutes ago, slavaskii said:

My first guess would be Nur-Sultan, though they previously declined to accept a Russian transfer.

Embassy in Nur-Sultan only handles non-immigrant visas. The Immigrant visa unit which processes K1s is in Almaty.

 

Kazakhstan has always been unwilling to accept transfers. The only 2 or 3 successful transfers I have seen were for a spousal visa. Doesn’t hurt to try but I wouldn’t count on it too much considering past experiences 

Edited April 27, 2022 by powerpuff

[millefleur 5,046]

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8 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

Kazakhstan has always been unwilling to accept transfers. The only 2 or 3 successful transfers I have seen were for a spousal visa. Doesn’t hurt to try but I wouldn’t count on it too much considering past experiences 

Exactly. I also would not just assume because the NVC said it that it's set in stone. The embassies must accept on their own accord. I've not seen any news at all that every single Schengen country stopped issuing visas to Russians. Poland can say that and ask for it but it doesn't mean it's fact or policy.

 

Now if Poland just shuts down their border to Russians, that's different. If you can provide a source of any of this news, that would help a lot.

[slavaskii 886]

2 hours ago, powerpuff said:

Embassy in Nur-Sultan only handles non-immigrant visas. The Immigrant visa unit which processes K1s is in Almaty.

 

Kazakhstan has always been unwilling to accept transfers. The only 2 or 3 successful transfers I have seen were for a spousal visa. Doesn’t hurt to try but I wouldn’t count on it too much considering past experiences 

Ah, thank you for the clarification! I know this only checks for non-immigrant, but I looked on the State Department's visa wait times and noted that Nur-Sultan was far faster than Almaty; incorrectly put 2+2 together and assumed that the capital must be where they process immigrant visas. Silly me!

 

2 hours ago, millefleur said:

Exactly. I also would not just assume because the NVC said it that it's set in stone. The embassies must accept on their own accord. I've not seen any news at all that every single Schengen country stopped issuing visas to Russians. Poland can say that and ask for it but it doesn't mean it's fact or policy.

 

Now if Poland just shuts down their border to Russians, that's different. If you can provide a source of any of this news, that would help a lot.

Yeah, that's definitely true. I guess I just presumed that, perhaps, there was something going on behind-the-scenes we weren't aware of that NVC was privy to. But the standard has always been requiring embassy approval for transfer, and until that procedure changes and we're all informed of it, looks like OP will need to petition Almaty and other similar embassies themselves. Although, as Powerpuff said, the likelihood of this is slim unless there's a new directive. Who knows? We all assumed Russians weren't eligible for war expedites and suddenly they were. As was, apparently, someone from Finland who cited solely "Russia" and got approved. Happened in the April 2021 thread, iirc.

 

I doubt Poland will shut their border to Russians, but I can most certainly see them not making travel easy. I always thought their refusal to recognize Sputnik was representative of that, caused a lot of problems for even Belarusians who needed to get across. 

Edited April 27, 2022 by slavaskii

[millefleur 5,046]

3 minutes ago, slavaskii said:

Who knows? We all assumed Russians weren't eligible for war expedites and suddenly they were. As was, apparently, someone from Finland who cited solely "Russia" and got approved. Happened in the April 2021 thread, iirc.

I agree, worth reaching out to the embassies for sure. It doesn't hurt. I just don't expect a top down policy change anytime soon. I think they will keep Warsaw designated for Russians for now, but don't be afraid to ask other embassies for a transfer. If you can get a "yes" then absolutely go for it, especially if NVC is saying it's doable.