SoDifficult

Congratulations! That's amazing news. I bet you two are thrilled! I'm going to finalize document prep this weekend, so your interview notes are gold. Currently my fiance is traveling from Moscow - Istanbul - Vienna, then will fly from Vienna to Warsaw where I will meet her. We then plan to fly to Paris and depart from Brussels to LAX. She does have a Schengen visa, but we may leave out the part about Warsaw/Paris. I made a car rental reservation for that day in Vienna just in case. Her aunt lives in Brussels, and we've been in and out of a dozen Schengen countries over the last couple of years. The only thing we don't have is a return flight to Moscow, so I may borrow your strategy. Thank you for all the details. I hope it doesn't take to long to receive your visa so you can finally be together in the states and move on to the next steps, and the rest of your lives. Congratulations again, Cheddy!

Good vibes. You guys got this!

Good luck with the interview today, if you haven't had it already!

Best of luck, Cheddy! I fly out to Warsaw in 13 days for ours. Let us know how it goes!

Thanks all. I'll definitely let you know how it goes. I've talked to a few others who will also enter from another Schengen country, but via rail vs air. We shall see!

I completely agree. The fact that the dept of state specifically chose Warsaw as the substitute embassy for Russian citizens blows me away that an exception has not been made. If not, then why has an alternative embassy not already been assigned to allow applicants legal access to the embassy? Bad enough we have our own border issues, but now we are intentionally forcing border issues on Poland 🤣 sounds about right. Yes, she does have a Schengen visa. We plan to arrive in Warsaw February 28th for the March 2nd interview. I considered changing the embassy, but prior to learning about the ban, had already paid the application fee and booked flights/hotels. Although, the additional cost of the flight change through Vienna was probably more than a duplicate interview fee. I sent an email to the embassy to get their response, but I'm sure if and when they reply, it won't include any helpful information. Who knows, maybe luck will be in our favor and the ban will be lifted by then.

We reached out to several sources, one of which being the Polish Borders HQ. Below is their full reply, but the final statement in their response is most important: ---------------------------------------- "Welcome In response to your email please be informed that we do not examine individual cases but only deliver general information on entry and stay conditions on the territory of the Republic of Poland. If you need any individual assessment please contact border guard post where you are planning to cross the border. The assessment of the legal and factual situation of foreigners on the basis of oral statements and presented documents, and therefore the decision in a specific case regarding the consent to entry or refusal of entry is made only by the Border Guard officer performing border checks when crossing the entry border. Documents can only be checked at the border upon entry. Currently, only Russian citizens belonging to the following categories of people may cross the state border to enter Poland through road, rail, river, air and sea border crossings (regardless of the country from which the entry to Poland takes place): 1. foreigners who are spouses or children of Polish citizens or remain under constant care 2. foreigners holding the Card of the Pole 3. members of diplomatic missions, consular posts and representatives of international organizations and members of their families, as well as by other persons crossing the border on the basis of a diplomatic passport; 4. foreigners having the right of permanent or temporary residence on the territory of the Republic of Poland (possessors of Polish residence card), 5. foreigners who have the right to work in the territory of the Republic of Poland , i.e. foreigners entitled to work on the same terms as Polish citizens, foreigners with a work permit, foreigners with a certificate of entry in the register on seasonal work, foreigners with a declaration on entrusting work to a foreigner on the territory of the Republic of Poland, who: a) perform work in the territory of the Republic of Poland or b) present documents proving that the commencement of work will commence immediately after crossing the border; 6. foreigners who operate a means of transport for the transport of persons or goods and their journey takes place as part of professional activities involving the transport of goods or transport of persons; 7. drivers engaged in carriage by road in the context of international road transport or international combined transport operations within the meaning of art. 4 points 2 and 14 of the Act of 6 September 2001 on road transport (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 2140 and of 2020, item 875) travelling in transit through the territory of the Republic of Poland by means of transport other than the vehicle by which road transport is carried out: • in order to take the rest referred to in Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain social legislation relating to road transport and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 and (EC) 2135/98, as well as repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 (OJ L 102, 11.04.2006, p. 1, as amended 2)), in the territory of the country of stay, • after collecting the rest referred to in the Regulation mentioned above, and after a break in the performance of work in the circumstances indicated in art. 31 section 1 of the Act of 16 April 2004 on working time of drivers (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1412); 8. pupils learning in the Republic of Poland, after having been documented to a Border Guard oficer that they are learning in the Republic of Poland and their guardians who crossing the border together with pupils in order to enable them to study 9. foreigners holding a permanent residence permit or a long-term resident's European Union residence permit, on the territory of other Member States of the European Union, a Member State of the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) - Parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, the Swiss Confederation or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and their spouses and children, in order to travel through the territory of the Republic of Poland, to their place of residence or stay; 10. students, participants in post-graduate studies, specialist education and other forms of education, as well as doctoral students studying in the Republic of Poland, after having documented their education in the Republic of Poland to a Border Guard officer. 11. scientists conducting research or development works in the Republic of Poland, having documented to a Border Guard officer the conduct of scientific research or development works in the Republic of Poland; specialists in a specific field of science employed in a scientific position at a university, college or research institute, who carry out research work on selected issues. 12. persons crossing the border of the Republic of Poland on the basis of a national repatriation visa or a visa to come to the territory of the Republic of Poland as a member of the repatriate's close family; 13. foreigners crossing the border of the Republic of Poland on the basis of humanitarian visa 13. fishermen within the meaning of the article 2 point 9 of the Act of 11 September 2019 on work on board a fishing vessel (Dz.U. pos. 2197) or seafarers within the meaning of the article 2 point 3 of the Act of 5 August 2015 on work at sea (Dz.U of 2020 pos.1353), including seafarers employed under the conditions laid down in article 46 or 108 of the Act on worka at sea, and also: • seafarers and fishermen travelling to the port for employment purposes (work onboard a ship) and to their place of residance or stay after the completion employment, even they are travelling by different means of transport – also through the territory of the Republic of Poland • persons working on a ship or offshore platform on the basis of documents different than sailor’s employment contract 14. foreigners holding visa issued for the purpose of participation in ‘’Poland. Business Harbour” programme 15. minor foreigners who are children or remain under the permanent care of the foreigners in question in points 2, 4 or 5. Persons not fulfilling the above conditions which are veryfi only at border durig crossing it, can’t enter Poland through an external border. Actually during the sanctions imposed on russia due to the war in Ukraine there isn’t any exemption for travellers from russia who would like to enter Poland to interview at the American Embassy in Warsaw. It is last answer on this matter. Polish Borders HQ" ---------------------------------------- As of right now, we've change my fiance's flight from Istanbul to Vienna, and she will then fly to Warsaw; based on the hopes that entering from a Schengen country will avoid customs.

Hi all. Did anyone come up with a solution to this issue? Are Russian citizens required to fly to Poland from a Schengen country, or can they route from Istanbul?

You're timeline looks pretty similar to others. Our NOA 2 was 9-21-2022. I messaged the NVC and received the exact response as you. 10-28-2022 NVC received the case (but did not yet enter it into the system). On 12-20-2022 we received our K-FTP (notice that NVC entered our case into the system and forwarded it to the embassy). Then just this week on 1-11-2023, my fiance received an email from the embassy with approval to schedule an appointment. Our interview is now scheduled for 3-2-2023. Hope that helps. Good luck!

Thanks, Cheddy. I really appreciate the feedback and detail. I emailed the embassy today to confirm, went on and completed the DS-160, paid the fees, scheduled the interview for March 2nd and medical exam for the January 11th. Hopefully that's that for the time being! Thanks for the info. It's really helpful to read what others are experiencing. There's so much contradicting info all over the internet; including government sites. Best of luck to you, it sounds like we are all nearing the light at the end of the tunnel so we can continue our journeys!

I checked the status and it currently says "Ready", although we never received any notice since the K1-FTP. Are we to expect further instructions regarding what to bring to the interview or other preparation/process details (income, med exam, DS-160, etc.), or are we on our own to research this? Also, once I attempt to log in to CAEC, I get the below message with no additional info or options to pay. The sample images on the "Immigrant Visa Process" show a list of outstanding items with payment links, which I don't seem to have. Is this also dependant on the specific embassy?

Congrats! When you say you got your "in transit" how did you get this; mail, email? Was it sent to the petitioner or beneficiary? I, petitioner, received an email including the K1-FTP lettee which provides a new case number and says it's being sent to our embassy. Is this the letter you are referring to regarding to as in transit? Do you know what's next from here? Are we now waiting for another email with further instructions? I checked on ceac.state.gov, under immigrant visa, And it says "Ready," but we haven't received anything other than the K1-FTP.