IR5 - Interview at Warsaw, Poland for Russian Citizen

[blakezero 8]

Hi all,

 

My wife applied to bring her mother from Russia to the US. On Thursday January 19th 2023, she got an email that her mother's interview was scheduled on March 8th, 2023 at 8 am at Warsaw, Poland. It took us by surprise! Now we are preparing everything in the rush to be there for the interview. My wife wont be able to go with her mother since we are expecting our second daughter in February so I'll have to accompany her mother in this journey. Also, my mother-in-law has never traveled overseas so she is afraid to travel alone, plus I don't speak Russian nor my mother-in-law speaks English. 

 

We'd like to know for those who already had their interview at Warsaw, Poland. what to expect? we have the following questions:

 

• After the interview, how long does it take to get the passport back with the visa so we can plan our stay in Poland.
• After getting the passport with the visa, can we flight back to the US from Poland?
• Our flight plan is the following: Turkey --> Spain --> Poland --> USA or Turkey --> Spain --> Poland --> Turkey --> USA. is this flight plan ok or do you suggest a better one? and if someone used this route, how long did you stay in country who issued the schengen visa?
• @Remix Sorry for tagging you. I read your post and we'd like to know what missing document the interviewer asked you parents. We have all documents they've requested and we're afraid that the day of the interview if happens to us. Thank you in advance.

 

@StevenInAtlanta, @Wouter, @Master5 Sorry for tagging you. I've read your posts and it looks like you already went thought this and we will appreciate your experience with the flights, the schengen visas and the whole process in Poland. Thank you in advance.

 

Thank you all for the help.

[powerpuff 6,744]

~~ Topic moved to Regional Discussion: Russia, Ukraine & Belarus where others applicants shared their experiences at Warsaw consulate ~~

[Wouter 143]

Hi! Congrats on getting the interview scheduled, but now that the waiting is over you suddenly have to hurry to get everything organized, I know how it is.

To answer your questions:

- you will get the passport with the visa back the next day after the interview

- you can fly straight from Poland to the USA if you want. You can also fly back via Turkey but that is not necessary.

- you also mention a Schengen visa and yes, your wife's mother will need a Schengen visa to be able to enter Poland. Does she already have one, perhaps from Spain since you are flying through Spain to Poland? If not then that will be something to get as soon as possible.

- Don't forget that you will also have to organize the medical examination. I believe this can be done ahead of time in Moscow or you can do it in Warsaw or even in Krakow.

Let me know if you want any more information on anything.

Good luck!

Wouter

 

P.S. Could you fill in your timeline? I would be interested to hear how long it took to get the IR5 visa. 

Edited January 22, 2023 by Wouter
Added a PS to request the OP to fill in their timeline

[blakezero 8]

16 hours ago, Wouter said:

Hi! Congrats on getting the interview scheduled, but now that the waiting is over you suddenly have to hurry to get everything organized, I know how it is.

To answer your questions:

- you will get the passport with the visa back the next day after the interview

- you can fly straight from Poland to the USA if you want. You can also fly back via Turkey but that is not necessary.

- you also mention a Schengen visa and yes, your wife's mother will need a Schengen visa to be able to enter Poland. Does she already have one, perhaps from Spain since you are flying through Spain to Poland? If not then that will be something to get as soon as possible.

- Don't forget that you will also have to organize the medical examination. I believe this can be done ahead of time in Moscow or you can do it in Warsaw or even in Krakow.

Let me know if you want any more information on anything.

Good luck!

Wouter

 

P.S. Could you fill in your timeline? I would be interested to hear how long it took to get the IR5 visa. 

Hi Wouter,

 

Thanks for your reply. My wife already scheduled the medical examination in Moscow. We are going to contact a travel agency to get the visa for Spain. 

 

Just a dump question. Do Americans need Schengen visa to visit multiple european countries? It has been a while since I traveled so I'm not so familiar with the current travel rules.

 

Yeah, We will update the timelines here, my wife is compiling the dates. I believe my wife started the application in August 2021.

 

Thanks.

[Remix 1]

21 hours ago, blakezero said:

@Remix Sorry for tagging you. I read your post and we'd like to know what missing document the interviewer asked you parents. We have all documents they've requested and we're afraid that the day of the interview if happens to us. Thank you in advance.

In our case, there were a few things. First, "missing"  documents were new police certificates. We submitted to the CEAC copies of certificates that my parents obtained at that time but because more than a year passed, my parents obtained new police certificates (with translations) and brought them to the interview. We never uploaded to the CEAC. That was a mistake. A similar problem was with my dad's passport. Because ti was expiring soon, he obtained a new one and brought both passport at the interview. Because the new passport was never uploaded, the officer also raised this as an issue. Second and very unfortunate, my dad was asked to submit additional information from Form DS 5535 which means his case was placed in administration proceeding. Happy to answer any other follow-up questions. Good luck. 

 

[Simplytex 387]

So, I've been watching several folks going through the process as well... My wife's interview must be around the corner (but scheduled yet she was DQ December 20, BTW what date was your MIL DQ?), but here's what I'm thinking:

 

- the passport is supposed to take 2-4 days to process... But some people get it back in 1-2 days, while the very unlucky people sometimes it takes 2-3 weeks... Therefore, if you do book tickets for getting to the US before you gave the passport, be sure to get them flex/refundable

- the first flight option (Poland->US) is acceptable (btw, Spain and Italy are common Schegen visas if you don't have one already)

- technically, there is no requirement on how much time you should spend in the Schegen issuing county.

- As @Wouter mentioned, your wife or MIL should call the doctors in Moscow to get a medical set up ASAP... As of 2weeks ago they seem to have quite a bit of availability. If your MIL is far from Moscow, then it might be easier to do the interview in Poland... Then again, it's also a question if your MIL get an 'approved' COVID19 vaccine? If yes, then doing the medical in Poland shouldn't be a problem, otherwise doing it in Moscow is better because they will grant a waiver for that requirement.

 

My plan is to have the following bookings for my wife:

1) Russia->Serbia->Italy, we will probably stay in Italy 2-3 days to make sure delays etc don't impact onward travel

2) Italy -> Poland (somehow, tbd) again aiming to be in Warsaw a couple days before the interview to make sure there aren't any hiccups getting to Warsaw...

3) Poland->US probably will only book when visa is in hand, and use whatever route is cheap+convenient...

4) Italy->Serbia on a different dummy/refundable booking, for purposes of Schegen visa application.

 

The tricky thing is, since some people have had issues with getting the visa back in a timely manner, I'm thinking of trying to get the Schegen visa for about 1 week before interview through to about 3 weeks after, so almost a month-long visa request. My wife and I just went to Italy for ~3 weeks and she didn't have any issues getting that visa for the first time, so hoping that 2nd time goes just as smoothly.

[Wouter 143]

Hello @blakezero,

 

Currently, US citizens do not need a Schengen visa for any of the Schengen area countries, and can stay for up to 90 days.

(It does look like that from November 2023 US Citizens will need to register with ETIAS before they can travel to the Schengen zone).

 

Regarding the time it may take to get the passport (with the visa) back from the US embassy in Warsaw, my wife had her interview in October 2021 and at that time everyone got their visa back the next day, but as @Simplytex mentions, this may have changed and it may take longer now. So not a bad idea to plan for a possible longer time.

He is also correct that technically there is no requirement how much time you should spend in the visa issuing Schengen country, but the purpose of a Schengen visitor visa is to visit the country for which you have the visa. It is common for the immigration officer at entry of a Schengen country to ask the purpose of the visit. Of course it is important to answer truthfully, so when you answer that you will not even be spending a day in the issuing country and that your intention is to travel onwards to another country almost immediately, I do believe there is a risk that the immigration officer will flag this as possible abuse, and could argue that you should have applied for the Schengen visa of your destination country. (Perhaps I am too concerned about these things, and there may be people who have had no problems spending less than a day in the Schengen visa issuing country. So this is just my estimation and opinion.)

All the best!

 

Wouter

 

 

[blakezero 8]

On 1/22/2023 at 7:03 PM, Remix said:

In our case, there were a few things. First, "missing"  documents were new police certificates. We submitted to the CEAC copies of certificates that my parents obtained at that time but because more than a year passed, my parents obtained new police certificates (with translations) and brought them to the interview. We never uploaded to the CEAC. That was a mistake. A similar problem was with my dad's passport. Because ti was expiring soon, he obtained a new one and brought both passport at the interview. Because the new passport was never uploaded, the officer also raised this as an issue. Second and very unfortunate, my dad was asked to submit additional information from Form DS 5535 which means his case was placed in administration proceeding. Happy to answer any other follow-up questions. Good luck. 

 

Oh I see. Thank you for your reply.

[blakezero 8]

On 1/22/2023 at 7:44 PM, Simplytex said:

So, I've been watching several folks going through the process as well... My wife's interview must be around the corner (but scheduled yet she was DQ December 20, BTW what date was your MIL DQ?), but here's what I'm thinking:

 

- the passport is supposed to take 2-4 days to process... But some people get it back in 1-2 days, while the very unlucky people sometimes it takes 2-3 weeks... Therefore, if you do book tickets for getting to the US before you gave the passport, be sure to get them flex/refundable

- the first flight option (Poland->US) is acceptable (btw, Spain and Italy are common Schegen visas if you don't have one already)

- technically, there is no requirement on how much time you should spend in the Schegen issuing county.

- As @Wouter mentioned, your wife or MIL should call the doctors in Moscow to get a medical set up ASAP... As of 2weeks ago they seem to have quite a bit of availability. If your MIL is far from Moscow, then it might be easier to do the interview in Poland... Then again, it's also a question if your MIL get an 'approved' COVID19 vaccine? If yes, then doing the medical in Poland shouldn't be a problem, otherwise doing it in Moscow is better because they will grant a waiver for that requirement.

 

My plan is to have the following bookings for my wife:

1) Russia->Serbia->Italy, we will probably stay in Italy 2-3 days to make sure delays etc don't impact onward travel

2) Italy -> Poland (somehow, tbd) again aiming to be in Warsaw a couple days before the interview to make sure there aren't any hiccups getting to Warsaw...

3) Poland->US probably will only book when visa is in hand, and use whatever route is cheap+convenient...

4) Italy->Serbia on a different dummy/refundable booking, for purposes of Schegen visa application.

 

The tricky thing is, since some people have had issues with getting the visa back in a timely manner, I'm thinking of trying to get the Schegen visa for about 1 week before interview through to about 3 weeks after, so almost a month-long visa request. My wife and I just went to Italy for ~3 weeks and she didn't have any issues getting that visa for the first time, so hoping that 2nd time goes just as smoothly.

Hi @Simplytex,

 

Yeah, we're planning to book everything with flexible/refundable options. My wife already booked the medical examination for the 1st week of February in Moscow. do you or anybody knows how long it takes to get the medical exam results back? 

 

I'm assuming you're using Serbia as entry/exit point for russian citizens? We need to consider this option if the flight is cheaper than Turkey. 

 

Thanks,

[blakezero 8]

On 1/22/2023 at 11:21 PM, Wouter said:

Hello @blakezero,

 

Currently, US citizens do not need a Schengen visa for any of the Schengen area countries, and can stay for up to 90 days.

(It does look like that from November 2023 US Citizens will need to register with ETIAS before they can travel to the Schengen zone).

 

Regarding the time it may take to get the passport (with the visa) back from the US embassy in Warsaw, my wife had her interview in October 2021 and at that time everyone got their visa back the next day, but as @Simplytex mentions, this may have changed and it may take longer now. So not a bad idea to plan for a possible longer time.

He is also correct that technically there is no requirement how much time you should spend in the visa issuing Schengen country, but the purpose of a Schengen visitor visa is to visit the country for which you have the visa. It is common for the immigration officer at entry of a Schengen country to ask the purpose of the visit. Of course it is important to answer truthfully, so when you answer that you will not even be spending a day in the issuing country and that your intention is to travel onwards to another country almost immediately, I do believe there is a risk that the immigration officer will flag this as possible abuse, and could argue that you should have applied for the Schengen visa of your destination country. (Perhaps I am too concerned about these things, and there may be people who have had no problems spending less than a day in the Schengen visa issuing country. So this is just my estimation and opinion.)

All the best!

 

Wouter

 

 

That's great to know that I don't have to deal with visas for me and that we dont have to stay in the issuing country as it will add more expensed in this "visa journey"

[blakezero 8]

We are preparing everything for the big day. My wife is concern with getting the Schengen visa for her mother since It's her first time. We're looking for travel agencies in Moscow that can take care of the whole process of getting the Schengen Visa.

 

Does anyone knows of a Travel Agency in Moscow that is reliable or that has been recommended by others? We don't want to make a mistake in getting my mother-in-law's first schengen visa and delay the process even further.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Lynxyonok 316]

23 minutes ago, blakezero said:

We are preparing everything for the big day. My wife is concern with getting the Schengen visa for her mother since It's her first time. We're looking for travel agencies in Moscow that can take care of the whole process of getting the Schengen Visa.

 

Does anyone knows of a Travel Agency in Moscow that is reliable or that has been recommended by others? We don't want to make a mistake in getting my mother-in-law's first schengen visa and delay the process even further.

 

Thanks in advance.

Cross-post, same forum.

 

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Wish I could offer you a good one instead.

 

 

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[Simplytex 387]

3 hours ago, blakezero said:

We are preparing everything for the big day. My wife is concern with getting the Schengen visa for her mother since It's her first time. We're looking for travel agencies in Moscow that can take care of the whole process of getting the Schengen Visa.

 

Does anyone knows of a Travel Agency in Moscow that is reliable or that has been recommended by others? We don't want to make a mistake in getting my mother-in-law's first schengen visa and delay the process even further.

 

Thanks in advance.

So, I can't speak to how the application will go from Moscow, as my wife applied via a different company in Nizhny Novgorod... But Italian visa was issued fairly quickly - 10 business days (all visas are issued by the embassy, regardless of which company you use.) Also, I believe that either of the flooring companies has the service to help to complete or check your documents before submittal.

 

If you are in Moscow, this is the company you must use for Italian visa:

https://italy-vms.ru/it/?center=change

 

If you are in other regions, then probably this company (which my wife used):

https://ru.almaviva-visa.services/

 

Yes Serbia is good, my wife has flown twice into Serbia without any issues from Moscow, and Air Serbia is actually very comfortable/new.

 

I'm not sure about the medical, but I believe it's only a couple days. Also, if I understand correctly, it's done digitally so you don't need to carry any documents with you (would be glad to get an update from you with what actually happens )

 

Also, I think you might have missed it the first time I posted, but if it's ok can you share what day you got documents approved at NVC? 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Simplytex

[Lynxyonok 316]

1 hour ago, Simplytex said:

Yes Serbia is good, my wife has flown twice into Serbia without any issues from Moscow, and Air Serbia is actually very comfortable/new. 

Seconded.

 

It's no Schengen, and schedules suck, but the country, the people, the planes are very nice.

[blakezero 8]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:47 PM, Simplytex said:

So, I can't speak to how the application will go from Moscow, as my wife applied via a different company in Nizhny Novgorod... But Italian visa was issued fairly quickly - 10 business days (all visas are issued by the embassy, regardless of which company you use.) Also, I believe that either of the flooring companies has the service to help to complete or check your documents before submittal.

 

If you are in Moscow, this is the company you must use for Italian visa:

https://italy-vms.ru/it/?center=change

 

If you are in other regions, then probably this company (which my wife used):

https://ru.almaviva-visa.services/

 

Yes Serbia is good, my wife has flown twice into Serbia without any issues from Moscow, and Air Serbia is actually very comfortable/new.

 

I'm not sure about the medical, but I believe it's only a couple days. Also, if I understand correctly, it's done digitally so you don't need to carry any documents with you (would be glad to get an update from you with what actually happens )

 

Also, I think you might have missed it the first time I posted, but if it's ok can you share what day you got documents approved at NVC? 

 

Hi @Simplytex,

 

The documents were approved on 12/2/2022. I also updated the timeline in my profile.