millefleur

The plot thickens...

You might want to read up more on what AP actually is. Technically speaking everyone gets it, it's just that for most applicants it only lasts a few days. However, certain nationalities or people with specific backgrounds (military, STEM, or personal connections to such people) will trigger a lengthier AP by default. More info on it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Advisory_Opinion So, there's no way to avoid AP if you check any of those boxes. It's just part of the process for some people and you'll have to go through it and wait it out.

I used to be the same boat. It's frustrating but the only options are basically wait a year or more and have her apply again or go the immigrant visa route. After that, you can decide if you want to move to the US or you can have her get the GC and then relinquish the GC to show she has no immigrant intent. It's uncommon and I don't recall any recent threads but I remember some stories of USC's living abroad with their spouse and their spouses only getting approved for a B after 4 or 5 times of applying until they finally got approved (waiting years between applications.) It's purely anecdotal from others who have claimed this worked for them. Re-applying for a B after a short time is fruitless as it will just come across as desperation to get to the US, so waiting a year minimum is recommended.

What is it made out of? That might be the key to finding it. In Russia I discovered buckwheat pillows (interior is stuffed with buckwheat hulls) and I was able to get them here once I searched that.

Keep in mind he can bring supporting evidence to the interview but the CO isn't required to look at it. It seems in most cases they don't, the decision is usually based off of the DS-160 application alone. Just make sure he is 100% honest and answers all questions truthfully.

There's no salary requirement for tourist visas. They just look at the totality of circumstances for each applicant. The only relevant question here on the DS-160 is the "Who will pay for your trip?" question. If you're saying he doesn't have enough to afford the trip on his own, just fill out the question accordingly and have him put your name as the person who pays.

Pretty sure this is a no-go as Montreal is one of the harder and slower embassies for DCF. Given that an I-130 was already filed, that information would have to be made known to the embassy and I doubt they would view this as a true "exceptional circumstance" situation.

Yes, there's a recent thread about it. Seems like the IOM is offering medicals in Moscow as of February this year:

This thread started because OP's father (so IR-5 visa) also got hit with extended AP and I can recall a few times I've seen it for spousal visas as well. I don't think the visa type really affects AP too much. Tourist visa applicants can also get hit with it if they check any of the boxes DoS looks for. That's good to hear. It might just be that some people are getting flagged (like the person born in the "closed city" etc) if they check a certain box. On the other hand, it's not odd to consider they would give AP to Russians more often since the Ukraine invasion started. Let us know what happens with your wife and if she gets the 221 slip.

This is a good point. At best she's probably get the 1 year ban once the addiction history is discovered at the medical. So OP would not be looking at a quick way for her to come here. If she doesn't want to live in the US, I'm not sure she'd want to go through the whole immigration process (especially given she'll be treated with more scrutiny because of the addiction issues.) So that's just another barrier to the already complex situation here.

I'm hoping it won't be that bad but it's hard to say, I think it's worse in countries that have less functional bureaucracies and governments (harder to obtain proof, documents or paper trails etc.) The US embassy in Moscow being closed significantly reduced (it's not technically "closed") might be contributing, if it's becoming harder for the American DoS do to the "research" they need inside Russia. However, Russia does keep records and there is still some diplomatic back and forth between the two countries so let's hope we're not looking at Iran levels of AP just yet. I haven't had a chance yet, will probably get around to it in the next few weeks hopefully. Especially now that it seems to be more and more common for Russians. The problem with DoS is they're way more opaque and mysterious than USCIS. We don't really know how and why they make decisions, it's all kept more behind closed doors compared to USCIS. AP is a "higher up" thing which possibly passes by "other eyes" inside the US security sectors, hence why they're so tight lipped about it. I doubt the lower level embassy case reviewers even have an idea of what goes on with some long AP checks.

This seems to be happening more and more. Dept of State might be flagging Russians for extended AP now. Since it's DoS, I doubt going through another embassy would matter. It seems like they're targeting Russia nationality and the embassy where you apply doesn't affect it. Please update us here on your case. The background doesn't seem to have any other red flags, call center job history doesn't seem suspicious. I hope they will conclude her AP quickly. Was she born in a "closed city" or does she have relatives who live/work near there or for the military?

The odds of a B approval are very low in this scenario. "Worth taking a chance" is your call, it just costs $185 plus time to apply.

**Moved from US Citizenship General Discussion to Passports, etc discussion**

You mean the Russian tourist visa for US citizens? There might be a way they can transfer it to the new passport, would need to check with the Russian consulate or visa service to see what they can do. Could involve more money and annoying extra steps though so I agree that new US passport first then get the Russian visa seems easier.

Seconding this. A lawyer should be able to help you get all his records. There are also some "people search" services that can access court records online but they cost money and I don't know how thorough they are. Keep in mind US lawyers are not cheap, bills can run into the thousands of dollars very, very easily. Definitely many red flags here. It's good OP came here first and has already gotten a lot of good advice. Proceed with caution indeed.

Lots of good advice here. No one is judging but when immigration is marriage based it is the CO who will be judging and weighing up the red flags of the case. While your background and country don't seem to present any red flags, the situation involving two younger people who haven't known each longer long and one is in prison for a crime of moral turpitude will. 13 months is not long. You're from a WVP country which gives you the immense privilege to come and go to the US as a visitor with ease. If you slow down and focus on just visiting and getting to know him better, and then build evidence for your case (such as photos and proof of time spent together), that will make your case much stronger on the immigration front as well, in addition to it just being good relationship advice. When he gets out of prison, it's probably not a bad idea for him to visit you in your country either (if that's possible.) This would also be good evidence for the case.

It's very unfortunate. You can take the risk and try to cancel the filed I-130 but you'll have to explain what happened to the consulate in London and then the ball is in their court to decide. Since they already said they won't help, odds don't look good. You might be better off just waiting out the one you've already filed.

There was a thread of a similar nature not long ago, I'll link it below. The issue seems to be that from the CO's perspective, there's no difference really between a C1 and B visa so the odds of approval are more or less the same for each application. Thus it makes more sense to apply for the B, don't bother with the C1. If the embassy or consulate is willing to take non-residents then it shouldn't be a problem. My MIL was able to get a B visa via doing the interview in Kazakhstan despite living in Russia. The embassy in Kazakhstan said they were willing to accept non-residents so she just applied there, paid the fees and booked an appointment. You would need to check with the embassy or consulate first and make absolutely sure they will take a non-resident, otherwise even if you pay the fee they won't give a refund. It could be possible because some services appear to be using bot software to scan and book appointments. I cannot confirm that but it's what I've heard. On the flip side, these kinds of visa offices can and do scam people so be careful.

Or if you want to get historical, Prussians versus subjects of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

According to the wiki article on AP, Russians are one of the nationalities more likely to be screened. I've been around the RUB forum since 2016 and it seems there has been an uptick in extended AP for Russians in this last year. Anecdotal of course, but still a noticeable increase compared to before. Not sure if it was clear before but everyone gets AP, it's just the more extended one is for certain applicants. AP for most people only lasts a few days so they don't even realize it's happening. It does not seem to be Warsaw-specific as in the other thread we've seen it happen in Almaty and Jerusalem as well. This is honestly the first time I've seen it for someone with an arts related degree. In the prior cases it was almost always STEM or military experience related. Could be that she was born in the "closed city" as you mentioned @big_tex_69, perhaps they are checking her connections to anyone related to that city.

Pretty much. Does your fiancée have a STEM education/career background by chance? Yeah, "refused" seems to mean "we're not approving it yet" and they're still waiting until they make the final decision.

So this is becoming more and more common with Russians. They're getting subjected to extended AP, which is a type of background check carried out for national security reasons. We just had a whole conversation about this in another thread, you're welcome to have a look: 1. I actually have no idea. Seems like you might need to contact the embassy and find out. 2. Good question. Tagging experts @milimelo and @jan22 for advice. 3. I do not believe AP has anything to do with USCIS. It is Department of State. More info can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_Advisory_Opinion 4. No, it does not mean you are screwed. Every single applicant gets AP, some are just subject to extended AP that takes longer. It is actually very likely you'll eventually get approved and get the visa. The downside is nobody can say how long it will take. Can be days, weeks, months or even years. And there is a small chance that the visa will be rejected after review. It depends on if they find anything deemed to be a true security threat or not.

Yep, I'm thinking of making a stickied post/thread basically letting people know if you're Russian and you have a STEM education/background/experience or anything remotely related to government or military or even handling firearms/weapons, you should prepare a CV and/or explanation letter in advance to hand over at the interview. Since the invasion it does seem like they're going harder on AP for certain Russians, which is understandable. It never hurts to come over-prepared and anything that can speed up the process is a net benefit. When I get a chance, maybe you can help me draft something for the post @rikko?

That's true of the entire process though. Extended AP only applies to certain applicants, I've only seen a handful of Russian male applicants here on VJ get subjected to it. It's a profiling process for anyone who might be a threat to national security.