How has Ukraine war affected Poland k1 visa interview dates?

[Sam Burns 169]

Hi I’m wondering are people getting K1 interviews in a timely fashion (I know that’s a laugh) or are they being pushed down in priority due to processing Ukraine visas?

thanks.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,491]

2 hours ago, Sam Burns said:

Hi I’m wondering are people getting K1 interviews in a timely fashion (I know that’s a laugh) or are they being pushed down in priority due to processing Ukraine visas?

thanks.

Warsaw is the designated embassy for Russian visas.  

 

Ukrainians are processed in many countries, with Frankfurt taking a large chunk at around March/April.

 

When I last checked, Warsaw was back to normal processing, give or take. 

[Chancy 6,245]

18 hours ago, Sam Burns said:

Hi I’m wondering are people getting K1 interviews in a timely fashion (I know that’s a laugh) or are they being pushed down in priority due to processing Ukraine visas?

 

K1 interviews at Warsaw are self-scheduled using the online booking system.  Also, Polish residents have a different allocation of interview slots from non-residents.  So if your concern is about K1 visa for a Polish resident, there is no indication of being pushed down in priority due to visa processing for Ukrainians.

 

Tagging @slavaskii in case I misunderstood the K1 scheduling procedure at Warsaw.

 

[slavaskii 886]

17 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

When I last checked, Warsaw was back to normal processing, give or take. 

I asked someone in the R/U/B thread and I think they said right now non-Polish queue in Warsaw is pushed back to June/July 2023. So unfortunately for them, it's anything but normal. That being said ...

2 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

K1 interviews at Warsaw are self-scheduled using the online booking system.  Also, Polish residents have a different allocation of interview slots from non-residents.  So if your concern is about K1 visa for a Polish resident, there is no indication of being pushed down in priority due to visa processing for Ukrainians.

 

Tagging @slavaskii in case I misunderstood the K1 scheduling procedure at Warsaw.

 

... you got this right, there's both a resident and non-resident queue for Poland interviews. Resident queue includes those who managed to get a Karta Pobytu, so it's technically a 'bit' inflated, but it's pretty speedy from my recollection. I know that the resident B2 queue is immediate (as in, you can get an appointment within the month), so if that's any indication, the K1 resident queue should also be very quick. 

 

The Embassy did a good job right away of ensuring that Polish applicants weren't prejudiced by the influx of Russian applicants. If anything, it screwed over the Belarusians most of all, because they were always designated Warsaw and are now lumped with the Russians. You should be fine, let me know if you have any questions about the interview itself or scheduling it (thanks @Chancy for the tag!).

[Sam Burns 169]

Thanks everyone who responded. This makes me feel much better. We’re still in the NOA1 phase but hopefully coming to the end  of that by Jan ‘23 and out of the main USCIS meat grinder. 

[slavaskii 886]

1 hour ago, Sam Burns said:

Thanks everyone who responded. This makes me feel much better. We’re still in the NOA1 phase but hopefully coming to the end  of that by Jan ‘23 and out of the main USCIS meat grinder. 

Best of luck to you! I personally had great experience with Warsaw so I wouldn't fret much about that stage. People tend to claim bad experiences because they try to ask them questions about Schengen Visas and whatnot, which they have entirely no control over. Basically, they "didn't ask" for the new applicants, so it's a bit overloaded right now (especially with medical exam). Nonetheless everyone on the phone was super kind and helpful, plus the Embassy staff was phenomenal. They process a lot of people daily but really have the system down well. 

Edited October 10, 2022 by slavaskii