Warsaw Interviews and How To Even Get There In Time?!

[P3ACHY 6]

It's been a bit quiet on this topic lately, and recent timelines aren't helpful since there aren't many of them in Warsaw within the last year.

We found out today, that it's nearly impossible to get a Schengen visa in the short time span from NVC informing us of our interview date, and the actual interview date (usually about a month and a half).

 

We spoke to a visa center today who said the absolute fastest it could take is about a month and three weeks to get the visa in hand to Spain (France is super backed up, the next appointment time at the consulate is early May, Hungary is super strict with their requirements, require the trip to be fully paid, and Italy takes 2-3 months). This also leaves almost no time for the medical exam.

 

Another thing, my husband has never had a Schengen visa, so maximum he could probably get is a 30 day visa being a first time applier. This gives us a potential window of 30 days to just guess when his interview will be, try to get the visa for that time frame and hope for the best? What other options could there be. 🫠

I would be so thankful to hear anyone else's stories and timelines, especially recent ones.

[Pirozhok 24]

44 minutes ago, P3ACHY said:

guess when his interview will be, try to get the visa for that time frame and hope for the best

This is what we did. Booked and prepaid refundable hotels in Budapest, return flights after 4 weeks, and applied for the Schengen as though we were taking a long vacation to Hungary.

 

She already had a history of Schengen visas pre-covid, and they wound up granting one for just under 6 months (through the end of the year).

 

After we had the visa, we scheduled the interview. Was just the first of several stressful, frustrating, uncertain travel situations throughout this process.

[P3ACHY 6]

1 hour ago, Pirozhok said:

This is what we did. Booked and prepaid refundable hotels in Budapest, return flights after 4 weeks, and applied for the Schengen as though we were taking a long vacation to Hungary.

 

She already had a history of Schengen visas pre-covid, and they wound up granting one for just under 6 months (through the end of the year).

 

After we had the visa, we scheduled the interview. Was just the first of several stressful, frustrating, uncertain travel situations throughout this process.

 

Thanks so much Pirozhok.

We are also thinking Hungary might be the only option because appointments are more readily available.
Did you provide her with a letter of sponsorship? Did she have to show some type of certificate of employment?
My husband works remotely and can't show a Russian employment certificate, but he does have land in his name in Russia which I think could be sufficient.

[Pirozhok 24]

I don't believe she had to show any confirmation of employment, but I did provide a pretty thorough letter of sponsorship. I included a copy of my passport, paystubs, bank statements, and I had added her as an authorized user on a credit card so included a letter from the bank confirming this and the credit limit that she had access to because of it.

[P3ACHY 6]

15 hours ago, Pirozhok said:

I don't believe she had to show any confirmation of employment, but I did provide a pretty thorough letter of sponsorship. I included a copy of my passport, paystubs, bank statements, and I had added her as an authorized user on a credit card so included a letter from the bank confirming this and the credit limit that she had access to because of it.

Thank you so much again Pirozhok! We're going to give it a shot I think!

[PG1972 0]

On 3/14/2025 at 10:21 AM, Pirozhok said:

I don't believe she had to show any confirmation of employment, but I did provide a pretty thorough letter of sponsorship. I included a copy of my passport, paystubs, bank statements, and I had added her as an authorized user on a credit card so included a letter from the bank confirming this and the credit limit that she had access to because of it.

 

Pirozhok,

Was there any issue adding a foreigner who was not resident or even present in the US to your credit card?  What documentation did you need?   

 

Thanks

-PG

[Pirozhok 24]

15 minutes ago, PG1972 said:

 

Pirozhok,

Was there any issue adding a foreigner who was not resident or even present in the US to your credit card?  What documentation did you need?   

 

Thanks

-PG

 

Nope, I didn't even mention those details to Capital One. I added her as an authorized user via the website, which automatically triggered a card in her name being made and shipped to my house. There didn't seem to be any check at all, and I suspect I could get a card printed for my cat if I really wanted. Interestingly, it did trigger her starting to get junk mail like car insurance fliers mailed to the house. Boo Capital One for that part.

 

I couldn't find an automated solution for the documentation for the visa app, so just called their 800# and explained the situation. They mailed me a letter on Capital One letterhead listing the authorized users (just the two of us) and explicitly stating that we both had full access to the card's full credit limit. I included this with all the other documents in a table of contents at the end of my sponsorship letter, which turned into more of a packet given all the stuff I included.

[PG1972 0]

7 minutes ago, Pirozhok said:

 

Nope, I didn't even mention those details to Capital One. I added her as an authorized user via the website, which automatically triggered a card in her name being made and shipped to my house. There didn't seem to be any check at all, and I suspect I could get a card printed for my cat if I really wanted. Interestingly, it did trigger her starting to get junk mail like car insurance fliers mailed to the house. Boo Capital One for that part.

 

I couldn't find an automated solution for the documentation for the visa app, so just called their 800# and explained the situation. They mailed me a letter on Capital One letterhead listing the authorized users (just the two of us) and explicitly stating that we both had full access to the card's full credit limit. I included this with all the other documents in a table of contents at the end of my sponsorship letter, which turned into more of a packet given all the stuff I included.

 

Thank you for the quick response!  I am going to add my fiancee now