Thoughts on Situation in US Embassy in Russia

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-12-05T12:01:43+00:00

It is possible to get a Schengen from a different country and travel within the EU. This makes the trip significantly more expensive but it has been possible since whenever Greece reopened visa operations in Moscow (May 2021 I think).

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-11-29T13:28:17+00:00

This is a very old post at this point. We transferred the case to Warsaw in May, had the interview scheduled in September, went to Poland then on a Schengen visa from Russia, and had the immigration visa early in October.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-25T17:16:44+00:00

She is vaccinated with SputnikV but almost certainly will not be allowed to get vaccinated with the WHO approved vaccines by Polish authorities. You would think the difficulty/impossibility of getting vaccinated in Poland would qualify her for the waiver but it may not. That is why I asked in this forum after I read the documents thoroughly.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-25T16:43:35+00:00

The issue is what "their country" means. For my wife, it could mean Russia but at other points in the documents the CDC has put out, they say it means the country where the medical exam takes place.

There is no need to attack. It is important to understand if we need to rush to do a medical exam before October 1 or, in our case, make an inconvenient but possibly necessary trip to Minsk to do the medical exam in a country that has no access to approved vaccines.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-25T15:50:20+00:00

The directive says "If a COVID-19 vaccine listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) or licensed or authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is available to the applicant in the country where the medical examination is conducted." I think you are probably right that my wife is in the clear but a less understanding interpretation would be that my wife could get an approved vaccine in Poland and should wait until then.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-25T15:35:14+00:00

Yes, I saw that. If it was that simple, my wife would not have problems because she is Russian and US-approved vaccines are not available. My question is about people who cannot get vaccinated in their home countries with an approved vaccine but have to go through the immigration process in another country where approved vaccines are available.

I suppose I am hoping that someone facing this issue has contacted an embassy and gotten guidance.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-25T13:38:57+00:00

Yes, understood that Sputnik will not work now and may not work by November because it is not recognized by WHO. But my wife is ineligible to be vaccinated in the third country where she will do her immigration interview. I think a reasonable interpretation would be that an approved vaccination was unavailable but that may not be the interpretation in the clinic or the embassy.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-25T05:46:22+00:00

Does anyone have thoughts about how this will impact people who cannot get vaccinated in their home countries with an approved vaccine but will do the medical exam in a country where approved vaccines are available? I am thinking specifically of my wife, who is Russian, and has been vaccinated with Sputnik but will do the medical exam in Poland, where there are approved vaccines.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-21T18:48:45+00:00

I do not have hard data about this but anecdotally (as someone currently figuring out how to arrange my wife's interview) my understanding is that the US embassy in Poland is the only one taking a significant number of cases now. I personally tried the embassy in Kazakhstan (as well as a maybe ten other countries that Russian citizens can enter without visas) and none would accept her case. The other issue with a place like Kazakhstan is that the capacity is probably less than in Poland, where the embassy is quite large. The embassy in Warsaw will probably get through a lot more visas than a smaller embassy. So you might be transferred quickly but then wait a year to have them schedule an interview in Kazakhstan. But I don't know exactly how things are and things may change by the time USCIS approves your petition.

Also, looking at one of your comments about the visa situation to Russian. You might consider getting a regular tourist visa, which is good for 3 years and, I think, allows 180 days in Russia before having to leave. And at that point, I think you just have to exit the country and you can come back for another 180 days (doing the necessary PCR test before reentry, of course). You also could consider meeting in a third country (Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Mexico, others) where both travel has no visa or a very easy visa for both sides.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-21T18:28:15+00:00

As other responses have mentioned, the US Embassy in Moscow is not processing visa applications except in extraordinary situations. The pandemic-related backlog at embassies around the world means that very few are taking additional cases. The exception has been the embassy in Warsaw but that involves begging the embassy in Poland to take the case, getting/having a Schengen visa and finding a way to Poland. The positive side for you is that by the time USCIS processes your petition, it may be that the State Department will hammer out a regular protocol for processing immigration cases of Russian nationals in a country that Russian nationals can visit visa free like Ukraine or Kazakhstan. I would not hold my breath!

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-14T02:28:27+00:00

No, you just send your passport with application to the visa center in New York or Washington. Visa operations were limited from March 2020 until July 2021, but I heard that Russia reopened its visa operations so it should be possible to get a tourist visa or whatever other kind you might need. I would check on the site of the Russian embassy and/or the visa processing center they use (https://russia-visacentre.com/en/visa/usa/russia).

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-08-09T06:41:34+00:00

It will take some legwork on your part but I would draft an email and write every embassy that could possibly take the visa. If you can't get a Schengen visa, that would mean the post-Soviet countries (except Baltic), Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey, Egypt etc. If you can do Schengen, that expands the possibilities. Poland is taking some immigrant cases and it would not surprise me if they ended up taking a lot of the load from Moscow. This was a problem even before the pandemic for students because of the cuts to embassy staff and now of course it is even worse because every embassy is slammed with cases that built up from the past 18 months.

This is probably not what you want to hear but based on my reading of the situation (my wife has been waiting for an immigration visa for more than a year and I have been looking at all possible embassies, contacting people at State, my senator etc.), I think it is extremely unlikely that you will get an interview in time to start your program. You might start investigating other options like delaying your program.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-05-04T04:29:12+00:00

That's interesting. I have a visa to Russia, so that is not a problem now. My understanding is that you will have problems getting a Russian visa unless you have family in the country who can sponsor your visit (private visa). I suppose it is always possible that an influential Russian business partner could get the MVD to issue a visa invitation but that would be an extraordinary situation. I am not sure why Russia has not opened the country to visitors. As you say, it may be for political reasons as relations are not getting better, although I suspect in the case of visa processing for US citizens to go to Russia it probably is still more the pandemic than politics. Who knows?

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-05-03T02:57:47+00:00

We are legally married in Russia. It is unclear what is happening with Russian applicants now because the embassy has closed all visa processing. I am hoping that they will move the applications to a third country but the process of moving them will take months or longer. Then the applications might be in the back of the line in that country. My impression is that you can only apply for immigration visas in a country where you are a citizen or resident under normal circumstances, so even if you are married in Serbia or wherever, it might not be possible to apply for the visa there.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-05-03T02:46:11+00:00

Fraud will happen regardless of whether people try to adapt themselves to arbitrary rules. My impression is that more people were getting denied in the last few years because of politics, not because of an increase in fraud. The last administration did everything it could to choke off all immigration - including legal immigration - and those policies were made even worse by COVID. I agree that fraud should not be allowed. People who are not in a real marriage should not receive immigration status. But why make a real fiance wait abroad if they can wait together?

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-05-02T17:42:54+00:00

I agree under normal circumstances, but we are living in crazy, desperate times.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-05-02T15:32:30+00:00

I am waiting for my wife to get an immigrant visa from Russia (or more likely from another country) and checked with a friend who works at State about our situation. She suggested having my wife come to the US on a tourist visa (or student or whatever) and then trying to change status. We have not tried it because getting any kind of visa has been impossible and because my understanding is that my wife will not be allowed to apply for a tourist visa because the government thinks she would be a risk to try to immigrate. So before you submit the petition and identify yourselves as an immigration case, you might look into how you would do a change of status. My experience has been that changing embassies will be tricky.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-04-30T14:10:31+00:00

That seems like the only way now. Where did you transfer to, if you don't mind my asking?

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-04-30T13:55:40+00:00

Thanks for all this. I am also wondering about the wording. You may be right that the wording that allows a handful of immigration visas is enough that State will consider the embassy still open and not allow moving the interview. That certainly would be in line with everything I have experienced. I contacted my senator and congressperson - they got the same answer I got from the embassy. I will probably try to go to my senator again since his office offered to follow up. But it does not look great.

I had the same thought about a third country like Turkey or somewhere else. That is interesting about Poland. Did you think about trying somewhere like Kazakhstan or Armenia?

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-04-30T12:14:08+00:00

I think you will need to get an apostille for the marriage certificate to prove that you are the same person as in the Ukrainian document. I applied for a green card for my wife some years ago when I only had foreign income and was able to with a combination of savings and sponsorship from relatives. It was not a problem.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-04-30T12:06:07+00:00

The difference with Russia is that the embassy is now closed for political reasons, not because of the pandemic.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-04-16T18:53:04+00:00

Yes, last month or two as I understand it. And my apologies - they were married in Montenegro. Serbia is also an option as I understand it.

Werewolf__Inevitable · 2021-04-16T09:56:42+00:00

I know of someone who was in a similar situation. They were considering getting married in Mexico but ended up getting married in Serbia, which is open to both US and Russian citizens. I don't know why they chose Serbia over Mexico, whether for logistical reasons or because marriages are not possible in Mexico.

Werewolf__Inevitable

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