So help needed with my Russian Fiancée K-1

[kingfisherb90 5]

22 hours ago, slavaskii said:

Thank you for the update! That's really interesting they're still letting people schedule without the packet and now also the DS-160. I distinctly recall someone posting here saying the Embassy 'cracked down' on it... but very helpful to know if untrue. Do you recall when interviews are booked out until now?

Q4: I think that really depends on when you can score an interview and also how long the Warsaw doctor will take. I would probably suggest the Moscow doctor, though, solely because if you do medical in Warsaw, you'll need to book at least several weeks there (iirc it took nearly a week for the results to come back, and it can take around a week, at minimum, to get your passport back from the Embassy). 

 

Q5: I caution that getting a Schengen visa appears to be very difficult from recent experiences here. Has she traveled within the Schengen zone before? Also recall that, because Poland has closed its borders to Russians traveling from outside the Schengen zone into Poland, she'll have to first go through another Schengen country (like Germany). My assumption is that it'd be best for her to fly to whatever country granted her the visa and then go to Poland from there. 

 

Q6: I confirmed this earlier today, the CDC is still requiring that all non-immigrant travelers (with limited exception) have a WHO-approved vaccine prior to arrival. That includes K1 and does not exclude Russians/Belarusians. It also means that Sputnik isn't allowed. You can try waiting it out and hoping the CDC changes course by the time you get your visa, but as of now, she'll need another vaccine. Janssen is the best choice IMHO because you can leave within 7-10 days of the injection (otherwise, you'd need a second dose and wait around 2 weeks), but many EU countries have stopped giving it to young women. Alas.

 

Q4: Sounds like our best bet may be to have her get the medical done in Moscow at the same time as applying for a Schengen Visa.

Q5: She got a Schengen Visa to Greece last year, you recommend she flies to Istanbul, and then to Athens, from there what is the best way to Poland? google maps has a combination of buses. Would you recommend we fly to Berlin, and then take a train into Poland? 

q6: I am pretty sure we can get her a WHO vaccine during our vacation this november.  I assume she would need an approved vaccine from this list: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/proof-of-vaccination.html#covid-vaccines ?

 

Thanks! 

 

[kingfisherb90 5]

Hi everyone, a Few more Qs

 

 

1. Sadly no luck getting a vaccine in Egypt, any ideas where to get a 1 shot CDC approved vaccine? Maybe Istanbul?

2. In the welcome letter sent to my fiancée' it says:

"All documents that are not officially drawn up in English or Polish must be translated into English by a sworn translator. Please pay attention, that the Embassy may request translations of other documents as well If you would like to keep your original birth and/or marriage certificates,"

I presume this means all of her documents in Russian will need to be translated? I thought I had read elsewhere that Russian was ok?

 

Thanks! 

[slavaskii 886]

On 11/27/2022 at 2:45 AM, kingfisherb90 said:

Hi everyone, a Few more Qs

 

 

1. Sadly no luck getting a vaccine in Egypt, any ideas where to get a 1 shot CDC approved vaccine? Maybe Istanbul?

2. In the welcome letter sent to my fiancée' it says:

"All documents that are not officially drawn up in English or Polish must be translated into English by a sworn translator. Please pay attention, that the Embassy may request translations of other documents as well If you would like to keep your original birth and/or marriage certificates,"

I presume this means all of her documents in Russian will need to be translated? I thought I had read elsewhere that Russian was ok?

 

Thanks! 

(1) Check out this link here. It's from January, but Croatia still gives Janssen I'm pretty sure. A big problem is that Janssen was deemed 'unsafe' for young women by some European countries a while back; I think in October 2021, a 21yo died after the shot. A few countries stopped giving it out, but I'm pretty sure Croatia still does. I'm unsure about Turkey. Nonetheless, the Vinskyy Forum (in Russian) does a good job hunting down vaccine sites.

 

(2) Yes, translate all the documents. It's not a huge cost and can be done near instantly. There are several good, online websites that'll do it under 24 hours. Ours were in Belarusian / Russian and it was our understanding they needed to be in English (or Polish).

[kingfisherb90 5]

7 hours ago, slavaskii said:

(1) Check out this link here. It's from January, but Croatia still gives Janssen I'm pretty sure. A big problem is that Janssen was deemed 'unsafe' for young women by some European countries a while back; I think in October 2021, a 21yo died after the shot. A few countries stopped giving it out, but I'm pretty sure Croatia still does. I'm unsure about Turkey. Nonetheless, the Vinskyy Forum (in Russian) does a good job hunting down vaccine sites.

 

(2) Yes, translate all the documents. It's not a huge cost and can be done near instantly. There are several good, online websites that'll do it under 24 hours. Ours were in Belarusian / Russian and it was our understanding they needed to be in English (or Polish).

 

Q1: It looks like Greece has the 1 shot vaccine, see here: https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/country/greece/ and we can schedule it online see here: https://help.unhcr.org/greece/coronavirus/covid19vaccination/ program details here: https://emvolio.gov.gr/en

 

Q2:  I think the only documents we need to translate are her Birth Certificate, Vaccinations, and Police Certificate. everything else should be in English, can you think of anything else that would need to be translated? Any recommendations for online translation services? We were looking at: https://lingohaus.com/certified-translation 

 

thanks! 

[kingfisherb90 5]

Another question!

 

Q3: in the welcome Letter it mentions a 4 month limit to schedule your interview by. How hard is this limit? 

I sent the following question to the Warsaw Embassy:

 

"

I am the petitioner for this case, Kristina my Fiancee is the beneficiary. In the attached document below it says:

 

Russian:

"Петиции на визы невесты/жениха действительны только 4 месяца. После того времени продолжение срока действительности петиции, позволяющее на оформление визы зависит от решения консула."

English:

"Petitions for fiance/groom visas are valid for 4 months only. After that time, continuation of the term the validity of the petition allowing for the issuance of a visa depends on the decision of the consul."

 

Does this mean my petition will expire 4 months from September 26th?

 

We have had a very difficult time planning this trip, especially securing a VISA and getting her medical exam packet done. We want interview in March 2023. If we make the appointment for that future date will it still be valid?

"

 

If we schedule an interview date for March 2nd, I presume they would let her complete the interview? 

 

thanks! 

 

[TBoneTX 45,251]

34 minutes ago, kingfisherb90 said:

If we schedule an interview date for March 2nd, I presume they would let her complete the interview? 

Yes, if during the 4-month validity period you write to them, schedule the interview, or both.

 

I-129F petitions have a 4-month lifespan at the consulates.  The consulates typically extend petition validity automatically (they can do so for up to 12 months' total time); however, it's far better to contact them to ask them to extend the validity.  Their response dually serves as a paper trail and to alleviate your concerns.

[slavaskii 886]

On 11/28/2022 at 7:11 PM, kingfisherb90 said:

 

Q1: It looks like Greece has the 1 shot vaccine, see here: https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/country/greece/ and we can schedule it online see here: https://help.unhcr.org/greece/coronavirus/covid19vaccination/ program details here: https://emvolio.gov.gr/en

 

Q2:  I think the only documents we need to translate are her Birth Certificate, Vaccinations, and Police Certificate. everything else should be in English, can you think of anything else that would need to be translated? Any recommendations for online translation services? We were looking at: https://lingohaus.com/certified-translation 

 

thanks! 

In regard to Greece, I think you need their equivalent of a SSN to register. We tried the Greece route last year and that was the problem we kept running into. I think you can get a 'temporary' one at a pharmacy / migration center (?), but it's definitely a bit tricky. I just searched through the emvolio link you posted and I think the SSN requirement is still active. 

 

In regard to the documents, yes - that should be all that's necessary to translate. The vaccinations should've been 'checked off' by the physician, however, so I'm not sure the Embassy will actually care about seeing the record itself. Nonetheless, good to have everything together just in case. For translations - I think we used immitranslate, or something like that? 

 

4 hours ago, kingfisherb90 said:

If we schedule an interview date for March 2nd, I presume they would let her complete the interview? 

 

thanks! 

 

Following what @TBoneTX correctly said, the Embassy should auto-renew it but there's no harm in contacting them. Warsaw can easily be contacted over phone and they're very capable; as I've said here before, they were able to update my wife's DS-160 immediately when I presumed it would be an entire hassle on interview day. 

Edited November 30, 2022 by slavaskii

[kingfisherb90 5]

Howdy,

 

So the bad new is Greece denied my Fiancée's VISA application, the good news is it was because of showing she could support herself while in country, this is an easy problem to fix, so she will re-apply at the end of this month.  My fiancée' sent the Us Embassy in Warsaw an email asking for her I-129F approval notice to be extended by 4 months (I removed some content).

 

"Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your correspondence.

Petitions for K visas are valid for four months only. Beyond that, a consular officer must agree to extend the validity of the petition to continue with case processing. If the I-129F has expired, the applicant should bring a letter from the Petitioner to the interview indicating that the Petitioner and the applicant still intend to marry within 90 days of the applicant’s entry to the United States. This letter does not need to be long or detailed, but it should be signed and dated. We do not need to see the original, a scanned copy is acceptable.

Regards,

Immigrant Visa Section

U.S. Embassy Warsaw
/mk"

 

I assume this means her interview window will be automatically extended and when we are in Warsaw she just needs a letter as described above? 

Any guidance here, do I need to send an email to them? 

 

Thanks! 

[kingfisherb90 5]

Some good news!

 

My Fiancee's K-1 was granted, and we made it to the USA and were married on May 30th.

We are working on the green card paperwork now.

 

 

[TBoneTX 45,251]

2 hours ago, kingfisherb90 said:

My Fiancee's K-1 was granted, and we made it to the USA and were married on May 30th

Such a relief.  Much happiness to you!

 

Good luck with the AOS papers.

 

It's never too early to think about removing conditions on the green card.  Take every piece of evidence physically coming in that indicates your shared life together, and throw it into a box.  Do the same thing digitally in a computer folder.  By ROC time, you'll have a smorgasbord of evidence to support the filing.

 

In addition (actually, before anything), shop for a lawyer who can draft wills, medical powers of attorney, and similar estate documents.  These make superlative evidence for ROC, and they're even more crucial to have in "life."