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^{Here's a question I just received and my and my^answer.}

I am trying to decide whether or not to fly to Poland and attend the interview with my fiancee. Were you allowed to be with her during the interview with the officer? Do you think it would make a difference in how the adjudicate the case?

In my opinion cases are decided before the interview ever happens but it is up to the visa seeker to make sure that all paperwork and documents are completed and present along with all necessary evidence. Therefore, it may not be necessary for the petitioner to be at the interview but I would highly recommend it if possible.

In our case we both flew into Warsaw on Monday morning from our respective countries. We also had my fiancées best friend and her husband driving there and staying very close to our apartment for the 4 days in Warsaw. We never had to use a taxi and were able to travel.

My wife was to arrive in Warsaw a few hours before me. I had arranged with our apartment manager to pick her up from the airport and drive her straight to the postal office to pay for the visa then take her to our apartment. My point with all of this is we were very prepared and had use of a personal car and the trip was still very stressful. My wife had issues getting into Poland because her flight was one way. We were driving back to Belarus. Another time her visa was not at the TNT office where it was supposed to be on the day of pick up. This location is all the way on the other side of Warsaw. As you can see many issues arise and I can?t imagine letting a loved one go thru this process alone but I do understand some things just aren?t possible.

I was allowed to join my wife during the interview process and it was very simple. Getting to that point is the stressful part.

Edited by southernman, 05 August 2013 - 07:59 AM.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2013-08-05 07:49:00

Hey Gary, you did a fine job.

Ron

Thanks Ron. Couldn't have done it without your help Anything you can add would be very helpful to others. I wanted to post some information about USTravel docs,the embassy address,places to stay, etc. but thought we could just add those topics here as they are needed.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2013-08-04 13:13:00

Thanks, good advice.

Just to be clear, citizens of many countries have to go to other countries for visa interviews. Moldova is another country in that region that must do the same. They go to Kiev. Ukrainians USED to go to Warsaw until Ukraine got a consulate which processes K-1s in 2005.

The only thing that has always confused me about Belarus is why they do not use the Kiev consulate. Belarussians need no visa to travel to Ukraine. Since Poland became EU it is difficult for Belarussians to travel there...or at least more difficult than going to Kiev. Russia has ONLY the Moscow consulate to issue K-1s and people from far eastern Russia, literally half a world away, have to travel all the way there. So there are inconveniences for many people. That is all forgotten after you get on with life together.

If your fiancee could go to Kiev it would probably be less trouble than it was for Alla to go to Kiev from Donetsk.

Thanks.

You are correct. My wife is from Gomel. About 2 hours from Kiev and sure would have been closer and easier. I believe citizens of Belarus,Latvia and Lithuania all have to go to Warsaw so this thread probably could help them too.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2013-08-04 12:04:00

I have been getting a lot of questions about the interview process. Because Belarus citizens must travel to Warsaw for their interview it is not only unfair to them but very confusing to all involved. Instead of have numberous conversations with many, I would like to start a tread just for members that have loved ones in Belarus. It has been 6 months now since my fiancee and I went thru this process but most of it is still fresh in my mind. I wanted to post everything that I remembered about the process and a few tips. I welcome others that have recently gone thru the process to add comments.

After you have received your NOA2 wait 4-5 days and then call the NVC 603-334-0700 to find out if they have received the petition and if your fiancée has an embassy case number yet. Once you have the case number you can ask if it has been sent to the embassy. After a few days call the US Embassy in Poland +48-22625-1042 between 2-4 pm local time.

Once they have the petition in their system they will send the fiancée IV-F04 ?packet 3? http://poland.usemba...ing_fiance.html . Packet 3 is just a check list of everything she should have at this time. She does not have to actually wait for packet 3 to arrive before she completes it and returns it. Once the list has been completed and signed she will return it and DS-230 PART 1 only to the embassy. She can attach scanned copies and send as email.

Once the embassy has received packet 3 checklist they will mail ?packet 4?. This is just instructions on how to go about getting her medical and how to set up the interview process. You don?t have to wait on this before you act and may not ever actually receive it. At any time after she has her case number she can set up a medical appointment in Minsk.

Once the medical is complete and all forms, documents, certificates and police reports have been completed and translated your fiancée is ready for the interview. She will also need your I-134 Support paper and supporting documents prior to the interview. If you will not be joining her at the interview it is a good idea to send this information as soon as posssible.

Here is the confusing part about having a Belarusian fiancée. As you probably know they have to travel to Warsaw for their interview. They also have to get a Schengen visa to travel to Poland. My advice is to have the fiancée use a travel agency to get the Schengen visa and order it a about a month before her trip to Warsaw. I also advise to plan on arriving in Warsaw on a Monday. She will have to go to the Main postal office and pay for the interview process there with Polish currency. Make sure she has her embassy case number and a pre-printed receipt from US Travel docs. These have expiration dates on them so make sure it is printed right before she travels. Once it is paid the postal office will give her a receipt number that she will use the following day to call the embassy and set up her interview for Wednesday. When the interview appointment has been made the embassy will send her an invitation via email. I would advise her to call the embassy from a location where she has internet access and make sure that she gets the emailed invitation before hanging up the phone. This invitation letter will have to be printed out. It has a bar code on the bottom and she will not be able to get in the embassy without the complete invitation and bar code.

If all goes well at the interview she will be able to pick up her passport with the visa the following day. It is at a different location all the way on the other side of Warsaw. If she uses a taxi tell her to have the taxi wait while she picks it up. In my case my fiancées passport and visa was not there. I was told it had not been received and the TNT company didn?t know where it was. I called the embassy and a general employee told me that it may be done the following day. This was not an option for us and I went back to the embassy and they had her passport there. They were able to go ahead and print up the visa and return her passport. When your fiancée is approved make sure they send the information that day.

I will add comments about the process as I remember them and if you have any question feel free to PM me. Gary

southernman

Male

Belarus

2013-08-04 11:00:00

Beneficiary Change of Address

Keep calling the NVC until you get the embassy case number. Once the embassy has the petition you can contact them and let them know of the address change. Congrats!!

southernman

Male

Belarus

2014-01-21 18:25:00

Quick question about Belarusian fiance

Do you know if there's a limit on how long you can wait between paying/getting the receipt and having the interview? For instance, if her brother takes her passport number, goes and pays while he's in the town can you schedule the interview for, say, a month later? She'll need to get a visa to go to Poland, obviously, so it might be a little while before she can go there.

EDIT: Another thing, does she need to have the D-160 done before paying, or just before the interview? Also, where does she go for the medical part, is there a specific doctor, hospital, etc?

THANKS!

Yes you can pay then schedule the interview for a later date. She needs all paperwork for the interview only. She will have to go to Minsk for the medical. http://minsk.usembas...rant-visas.html Address is in the link.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2014-01-25 14:29:00

Quick question about Belarusian fiance

Yes, someone else can pay the visa fee. They will need her embassy number. Once paid they will give a receipt number. The next day you or your fiance can call the embassy with the receipt number and schedule the interview for whatever day you want.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2014-01-25 11:12:00

MIL Arriving in Five Weeks...

One idea is to try and find a Russian that speaks english to help out. My Mil is here now but traveled with my wifes friends. They went home a month ago so now my mil will have to travel alone. It's a direct flight Miami to Moscow but we are going to the airport with her to find someone that speaks russian and english and ask them to assist her if needed while in Miami Int.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2014-01-20 12:21:00

Bringing Belarus Mother inlaw to US for a visit?

Hi Ron,

I understand that since I am a citizen she was 90% guaranteed a US visa.

He was reffering to this quote Ron.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2014-03-28 07:18:00

Bringing Belarus Mother inlaw to US for a visit?

Ron, Warsaw is for k1 applicants. Her only options are Moscow or Kiev.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2014-03-20 20:08:00

Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)

Need for European transit visa with k-1 visa?

Thanks to all.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-10-05 07:58:00

Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)

Need for European transit visa with k-1 visa?

If someone from Belarus has a K1 US visa in the passport they will not need a Schengen to transit most international airports. They have a few things they must do, be booked straight thru be in airport no more than 12 hours only one stop in the Schengen Zone. But no they will not need a Schengen Visa.

Thanks Ron. That is pretty much what I have found too but some of the previous answers before yours seem to contradict this. I guess I will continue searching for a definite answer.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-10-04 19:14:00

Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)

Need for European transit visa with k-1 visa?

Would my fiancee need to get a airport transit or Schengen visa once she gets her US k-1 visa if she has a flight and has to change plains in an European country? She is from Belarus but not sure if that even matters with a k-1 visa.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-10-04 11:35:00

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

I need help,please can someone help? :(

If you fill in your timeline others will know what point of the process you are at and who you are trying to deal with, USCIS,NVC or US Embassy? You may also want to ask for help in the UK section.

Edited by southernman, 21 August 2013 - 03:36 PM.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2013-08-21 15:34:00

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

Once NOA2 is received?

Your best bet is to check recent interview timelines for the beneficiaries country. Each consulate is different and it appears now that the time between noa2 and consulate getting the petition is taking longer than it was just a few months ago but that could change anyday. Who knows, just be as best prepared as you can.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2013-08-26 12:42:00

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

Visa Interview Embassy for Belarus Fiance

Good stuff, thanks!

Just so you know, a few of the procedures regarding applying for and paying the visa fee have changed since I made that post. If I can help with anything just send me a PM. I know a few others that have gone thru the newer process since I did and maybe they can help too.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2013-11-20 14:05:00

Canada

Beneficiary

The previous poster is generally correct but every embassy is a little bit different when it comes to the procedures. It is best to ask this question to someone from Canada or their american fiancee that has recently gone thru the embassy interview process.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2013-08-01 13:26:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

What's really going on at VSC?

From what this VSC newsletter points out, it doesn't help that a) there are a lot of RFEs and b) people are sending items either before they receive an RFE, or aren't including the RFE coversheet, so it's slowing them down. http://www.aila.org/...spx?docid=40032

Thanks, I imagine the phone operator there is the busiest person alive lol

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-07-24 12:41:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

What's really going on at VSC?

Hello all. I just filled my k-1 petition in June so I know I have a very long wait. My question is does anyone really know what the issues are in Vermont? I have read most of the threads here and see all the stress and complaining about long waits and uncertainty but really haven't seen any explanations of why things are so slow there.

I do understand the VJ members are just a small fraction of the population that are trying to get visas for loved ones but what I don't understand is how and why it seems that the VSC is getting more petitions each day and unable to at least keep up with the incoming petitions. For example, according to this list http://www.visajourn...tion=2&sortby=2 there are about 615 VJ members ahead of me but only 2 weeks ago there were only 570. I know this means that more members have joined the site with noa1 dates ahead of mine and I realize that some of the names on this list have not updated their timelines. Is this normal for this time of the year or does this probably mean that those of us just filling are looking at 7-8 months or longer from noa1 to noa2? Any help understanding what is really going on would be helpfull.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-07-24 08:40:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Visa fees for Warsaw Poland, Belarus citizen??

Can a mod please move this to the RUB section? I think we will get more answers there.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-09-25 08:07:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Handwriting or typing

This is gonna sound silly but i was wondering if you filled packet 3 out in your own handwriting or downloaded the forms online and filled em out through the computer?

Not sure if your embassy will allow it but, we plan on downloading them then filling them out and saving. You will then be able to just email the check list and form together.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-12-05 11:41:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Congratulations!!! :-)

We are June 22nd also but no email ot text :-(

Thanks. I honestly was just hoping to get it by xmas. Guess I got a bit lucky but I am sure most of June petitions will be done by then. Good luck to all.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-12-05 12:52:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Just got the text and email. June 22nd filer approved :dance:

Hang in there everyone..yours is coming.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-12-05 09:37:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

At 5:00pm I checked the USCIS website to see if our case was updated. I do this every day. Nothing, as usual. At 7:30pm I received a text message and an email from USCIS. After 165 days we have been approved. It is a wonderful feeling. Thanks VisaJourney for helping us during this difficult time. SALUTE!!!

Contrats

We have a same NOA1 date. Hope it won't be long for me now.

southernman

Male

Belarus

2012-12-04 20:38:00