Visa restrictions for Russians going to Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania [merged threads]

[TBoneTX 46,700]

A stand-alone thread, moved from another forum, has been merged into this thread.

[OTa 0]

43 minutes ago, slavaskii said:

She can't get a Schengen visa or she has a Schengen visa already and can't get to Warsaw for some reason? What type of US visa is she applying for?

It's IR5-Parent of US Citizen interview. She doesn't have Schengen visa. She called Polish consulate in Moscow and was told that no visas are issued to Russians for any reason including the immigration interview at the US consulate in Warsaw. So we need to move her case to the place where she can travel.

[slavaskii 886]

Have you tried getting a Schengen visa from other Schengen countries, like Italy/Spain/Hungary? From my recollection, only El Salvador and Uzbekistan (?) is allowing transfers right now unless you have permanent residency there.

[To_the_moon 94]

4 hours ago, OTa said:

It's IR5-Parent of US Citizen interview. She doesn't have Schengen visa. She called Polish consulate in Moscow and was told that no visas are issued to Russians for any reason including the immigration interview at the US consulate in Warsaw. So we need to move her case to the place where she can travel.

All Russian immigrant visa cases go to Warsaw, Poland but your mother will not be able to obtain a Schengen visa directly to Poland, nor would anybody holding a Russian passport with a scheduled interview in Warsaw.. Your mother needs to apply for a Schengen visa to another country, not Poland, and then travel to Warsaw by train or car. Air travel has been controversial lately, so I would recommend choosing land transportation. EU countries that are still issuing visas to Russians include Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Germany. So do your research on which country would be a better option for your mother. Once she's in any of those countries, she will be able to enter Poland because it's a Schengen zone. 

 

In case your mother will not be able to obtain a Schengen visa (not to Poland), you will need to transfer to another country, which also requires additional documentation and time. The only easily accepting country right now is Israel but keep in mind that transferring the case and scheduling a new appointment will add additional few months. Kazakhstan will not accept your case with 99% probability. You cannot just pick and choose which country to transfer to. There is only a limited number of embassies that accept Russian immigrant case transfers. 

[OTa 0]

On 10/6/2022 at 10:20 PM, To_the_moon said:

All Russian immigrant visa cases go to Warsaw, Poland but your mother will not be able to obtain a Schengen visa directly to Poland, nor would anybody holding a Russian passport with a scheduled interview in Warsaw.. Your mother needs to apply for a Schengen visa to another country, not Poland, and then travel to Warsaw by train or car. Air travel has been controversial lately, so I would recommend choosing land transportation. EU countries that are still issuing visas to Russians include Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Germany. So do your research on which country would be a better option for your mother. Once she's in any of those countries, she will be able to enter Poland because it's a Schengen zone. 

 

In case your mother will not be able to obtain a Schengen visa (not to Poland), you will need to transfer to another country, which also requires additional documentation and time. The only easily accepting country right now is Israel but keep in mind that transferring the case and scheduling a new appointment will add additional few months. Kazakhstan will not accept your case with 99% probability. You cannot just pick and choose which country to transfer to. There is only a limited number of embassies that accept Russian immigrant case transfers. 

Thanks for your input. We started considering Germany as a point of entry to Schengen

[Lynxyonok 316]

So, a question.

 

US won't change the embassy for Russians from Warsaw to another location.

 

Yet Poland won't issue visas to Russians for any reasons. Forcing Russians to jump through extra hoops and breaks laws.

 

At what point do we, as Americans, get to say: This is not right?

 

Have we literally learned nothing, Re: Persecuting the Refugee policy of 1940-1942 that cost many people their lives?

 

How do we genuinely sleep at night? 

[TBoneTX 46,700]

Contact the Bureau of Consular Affairs directly, or ask your Congressman's immigration liaison to learn the answer.

 

Personal note:  You and everyone here can be assured that if I were in charge of All Things, this mess would be resolved in your favor in a heartbeat.