Hello, everyone. My fianceé had her K1 interview in Warsaw in June ‘24. I just wanted to post my story on here. Hopefully it can help someone out. I’d be happy to answer any questions.
I met my fianceé when I worked in Russia. I was there for six years working as an English teacher. I had already been considering leaving, but when the war in Ukraine started, I decided that I definitely no longer wanted to stay in Russia long-term. After the school year ended, I went home for the summer, turned in her K1 paperwork, and returned to Russia. Some people thought I was crazy for returning, but I decided that returning would reduce our separation time, allow me to plan our future in the US, and let me leave on my own terms, instead of feeling like I was forced out.
I turned in her I-129F in 08/22. I received no RFEs and it was approved in 08/23, so it took a hair under a year to process.
I forget when, but after a few months, maybe, of the petition approval, it arrived in Poland. Due to the issue of needing a Schengen visa, I tried to get the file transferred. I wrote to over fifty embassies, but they all either didn’t answer or said that they couldn’t take it unless she was a citizen/resident there. Of note is that I didn’t write to Israel’s embassy, as the war had just started when I was looking for a transfer spot. I also heard from others that Thailand may be accepting Russian transfers, although I heard that after she got her Schengen visa, so I didn’t do any research into it. El Salvador, who I heard some Russians were able to get transferred to, rejected my request.
Eventually I gave up and began preparing paperwork to get her a Schengen visa. I researched the statistics and found that France and Spain have the lowest Schengen rejection rates for Russians (as of 2022, the most recent year I could find). France had the lowest rate, but the French visa office nearest to my fianceé had awful online feedback, whereas the Spanish one had nothing but positive feedback. We applied for her Schengen about five months before our trip. The visa office was very picky with her paperwork. They wanted to see booked flights, hotels, and three months’ of bank records from both me and her. Once we were able to get the paperwork right, she got her Spanish visa about two weeks later.
In late April, she went to Moscow for her medical. I had read lots of negative comments about the medical center there, but she had absolutely no issues at all. Whenever I emailed them with questions, they promptly responded. My fiancée’s medical was done in one day and the results were received I think nine days later by the embassy in Warsaw. It may have been even faster, but the Russian May holidays slowed the process a little. One unusual thing was that they sent the results electronically, even though it was for a K1 visa. Everything I had read said that they would send her a sealed envelope with the results, but they said they didn’t do that anymore. Although someone I know who did the medical there a month after me did get the sealed envelope, so idk.
She got into Spain no problem. They didn’t ask her a single question entering or leaving Spain.
I booked flights in Wizz Air from Barcelona to Warsaw. You are not required to enter passport information when you buy the ticket. I was paranoid that somehow the Spanish customs would be able to see that we had bought a flight to Poland, but that never happened. As long as you are flying into Poland from within the EU, it’s no problem.
Her visa interview was extremely easy. They just asked her a couple of basic questions (where she works, if I’m still in Russia, when did she last see me). After that, they told her verbally that she was approved. They said the visa would be ready in 3-5 business days, although it was ready next day. She told me that they seemed surprised when she told them that I was there with her in Poland.
They did not ask for any evidence of an ongoing relationship from 08/22 until now. I was a little annoyed because I had spent many hours compiling recent texts, phone records, etc. and they didn’t ask for any of it. For the financials, they took my actual I-134, but they did not take any of the bank records, account statements, or employment records that I had attached as evidence.
I didn’t use a lawyer or anything to get the paperwork done. It is extremely time-consuming and at times, confusing, but it can be done. My fianceé hasn’t come yet; she’ll be coming in the fall, but everything went well for our interview.
Let me know if you have any questions!
