rikko

Things I've done since 221g: Emailed the US Embassy of Jerusalem roughly every month since the interview. Every time they reply with "we're sorry, we can't tell you how long it'll take, check the CEAC website for updates" then add a random number of months I should wait. 2, 9, etc... Checked the CEAC website every day. It changed once after we sent in what was asked of us to bring in August 2023. Contacted a congressional representative for an inquiry, asked for US Department of State, they asked the embassy and got the same reply I've been getting for months. Contacted a different congressional representative for an inquiry, asked for Department of State, they asked the WRONG embassy, then after correction asked the right embassy, and got the same reply I've been getting for months. They are now ignoring my emails. Contacted the US Department of State, they told me to contact the NVC or embassy. Contacted the NVC and am now waiting for the very likely "your case is not with us right now, contact the embassy" Cheers to the 534 days of AP, and being unable to marry my fiancé to get residency in the country he lives in because it would void his application! Cheers to the 4 years of visa runs (for me) and putting our lives and his career on hold! I was really hoping a congressional inquiry would get the wheels turning so we could avoid a writ of mandamus, given the horror stories we've heard on VisaJourney. If nothing happens by early/mid-2025 we're probably going to do a writ of mandamus or even abandon the petition and marry. This has been so disappointing, and eaten up so much of our 20's. We are not even asking for an approval, a denial would allow us to move on with our lives and settle elsewhere. It should not be taking this long. I should not be 3 years, 9 months into a K1 visa process.

We couldn't legally get to Warsaw and transferred to the US Embassy of Jerusalem. How to find your representative is as TBone said. I have been emailing the embassy every month or so for status updates so I have a record of my own attempts at contact, this can help build a case when asking for a congressional inquiry, but at the same time, I wasn't asked for this and my congressmen seem to not be reading my emails/responses. Also, do not open multiple congressional inquiries all at once, apparently it slows things down and can lead to the congressmen not doing anything because they assume the other is. One at a time.

Hey, I have a Russian fiancé and have been in AP for 16+ months now. I am currently trying to get a congressional inquiry going. Remember to ask for the US Department of State for your inquiry, my representatives seem to keep asking the embassy what's going on (cases like ours are investigated by the US Department of State). There was a spreadsheet of non-immigrant APs on forum vinskogo I saw and it seems like they're working through the July 2023 interview APs right now, so hopefully my fiancé's case is approved/looked at soon. You may also want to consider a writ of mandamus down the line before abandoning the application but it may not give the decision you are hoping for.

See title. Do you guys think its likely?

no

You should go through Hungary at some point, ideally at entry to the EU. We were denied a multi-entry Schehgen visa and did not make it to Warsaw. We transferred to Jerusalem.

Get a Schengen visa for another country in the EU and travel to Poland for your interview. Anticipate administrative processing, especially if your brother or someone close to him works in IT or any other TAL field. Transfer to an embassy he can enter freely for convenience if possible.

so what happened with your visa? did you get it?

I did not go to Warsaw but there have been reports of Russians being denied entry to Israel, I simply entered with my fiance and seeing a Russian national claim to have an US visa interview in Jerusalem with his fiance physically present seemed to calm them. That being said, you should probably tell them you're going to Poland for tourism, or whatever you listed on your Schengen. Entering together is helpful.

Email Almaty and Tashkent, explain the difficulty in getting to Warsaw legally/without fraud, and feel free to email other embassies like Jerusalem and Belgrade. If it hasn't been assigned to Warsaw yet you may be able to request it go to Almaty or Tashkent directly instead of requesting a case transfer.

Any updates on either of your ends?

There's no reason for an expedite when there are other safe countries Russians can go to for draft dodging or to just not be in Russia. From my understanding, expedite requests are usually only approved if the petitioner or beneficiary has a severe medical problem. I recommend your beneficiary go to a country like Georgia or Armenia. There are other options like Kazakhstan and Serbia, too. If they work in tech I recommend buying a return ticket and hotel/airBnB stay to show during customs while exiting Russia, and just cancel the return flight and temporary booking and find something more permanent like an apartment. If your beneficiary is educated or in tech I would prepare for an extended AP post-interview.

Okay, since you are familiar with it, can you calculate how long the typical AP is for Russians/Belarusians as of late, post-interview? Because the original question of the OP still remains unanswered.

You don't need that person's timeline to answer their question. They're asking if anyone knows how long the typical Russian/Belarus/Ukraine applicants put into AP is taking as of late.

Try Israel, remember to mention your Schengen was denied and you have no legal way of entering Poland to complete your visa interview. You can try Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan/Serbia but they seem less willing to accept transfers.

When I asked Jerusalem with no reason/hardship provided, they denied my request for transfer. When I told them I could not legally get to Poland months later and spoke about my issues with Schengen (no proof, just an explanation) my case transfer request was accepted. I provided no "proof", and I tried to keep the reason as concise as possible, but still touch upon all the important points. If your fiancé has residency anywhere you should try to transfer there. We would've transferred to the US Embassy in Armenia but they denied our transfer citing their embassy is small and already overloaded with Armenian and Iranian cases. Kazakhstan is another place you should consider, as I think they handle Russian family visa cases, but they're more likely to accept CR1 cases over K1. Good luck! The process sucks, but it'll all be worth it in the end, I'm sure. (This is what I tell myself to not lose my mind) I just wanted to add - just because Armenia (or anywhere else, for that matter) did not accept a transfer, doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't try anyways. Things are always changing.

Email the embassy with a request and reasoning for why you should get the request. It may be quicker to interview in Poland as it is a big embassy with the capacity to process many applicants. I am not sure how big the Turkish and Kazakh embassies are. However, if you are at high risk of a 221g/administrative processing, it will not matter where in the world you are interviewed, you will be subject to a lengthy and likely 10-16 month long AP, according to forum vinskogo. I still personally found it convenient to interview elsewhere. I did not like the Schengen visa song and dance. We chose Jerusalem, Israel (or rather, they chose to accept us. I'm glad they did.)

email other embassies, make a case for yourself asking "can i get a transfer" is usually a no asking "can i get a transfer, my fiancee is russian and our assigned embassy is warsaw, which is in a country they cannot legally enter as their schengen has been denied. can you accept our case?" is more likely to get a yes countries that have high rates of russian speakers or already process other russian cases are more likely to accept transfers, some people are able to get kazakh or uzbek transfers, most people are able to get jerusalem transfers if your fiancee has residency elsewhere you can try that, but my fiance has armenian residency and they denied our transfer. some russians in serbia were able to get transfers, though. the embassy that accepts your case transfer will request your files from warsaw. there is nothing to do on your end regarding that. warsaw will not send it anywhere if you ask, only if another embassy does.

You really have to sell that you have to transfer. If you just ask it's almost guaranteed they will say no. Jerusalem did not accept my case transfer until our situation became kind of dire and on the 3rd attempt to transfer. Provide a short statement about the impossibility of getting to Warsaw legally for you, or without committing fraud. Provide proof you need the transfer.

Israel accepts Russian cases regularly, and are back to normal processing as of January 2024. Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan sometimes accepts transfers, but they are less likely to. Serbia/Armenia not very likely iirc

Another thing I wish I knew is to bring research, work, and educational materials if you are at risk of 221g. The US Embassy in Jerusalem suggests this (Israelis, despite being an ally of the US, are also subject to extra 221g review. https://il.usembassy.gov/visas/administrative-processing/ I also wish I was alerted to the fact that Russians are subject to extra 221g: https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/sites/default/files/documents/pdfs/Immigrants/Administrative-Processing-FAQ.pdf

Hello, we were also asked for our passports and put into AP but it's been 8 months. While others here say it's a good sign they ask for your passports after the interview, it didn't seem to be the case in our situation.

I don't think there's a functioning embassy/consulate in Russia right now, most cases are assigned to Warsaw and a few family visas to Kazakhstan. I think contacting Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan/your country of choice can't hurt, but there is no guarantee they will accept your case. Good luck!

Hi, I wanted to start a thread where people can share things they wish they knew about 221g. Some things I've heard/learned: 1. Writ of Mandamus is no longer advised as of now, because the judge is throwing out cases, even in cases of 16 months of 221g. 2. If I had known my case would be at risk of a 8+ month 221g, I would've done CR-1 so I could legally be married to my spouse, and his company/work could also get me a way to stay with him legally. K-1 was not the right choice for me. I don't even think it is faster than CR-1 anymore. I believe CR-1 cases are also more likely to be accepted for transfers, which are in high demand for Russians. (It's hard for them to get to Warsaw, their default embassy). Some things I would like to know: 1. Is the Ombudsman an entity that I could contact regarding 221g? I haven't seen anything about it so far. 2. There was a thread here saying their 221g case expired. Should I be proactively emailing the embassy to prevent expiration? Is it possible my case just expires anyways? 3. Does the visa, when approved, need to be picked up in person, or can I mail it? 4. When the visa is approved, can I have it sent to another embassy to be picked up?