Humanitarian Assistance and Visa Information for Ukrainians who have Evacuated to Poland

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Updated 28-Jul-2023

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

If you are seeking information about immediate humanitarian assistance in Poland:

  • The government of Poland is providing humanitarian assistance to refugees from Ukraine.  Those fleeing conflict in Ukraine who need assistance should contact local authorities:  https://www.gov.pl/web/udsc/ukraina-en.  Do not contact the government of Poland about U.S. visas; for U.S. visas, see “Visa Services in Poland,” below)
  • Additional information is available from the United Nations Refugee Agency: https://help.unhcr.org/poland/, including information about non-governmental organizations that may be able to provide additional assistance.
  • Additional information is also available from the European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/stronger-europe-world/eu-solidarity-ukraine/eu-assistance-ukraine/information-people-fleeing-war-ukraine_en.
  • On April 21, 2022, the United States announced a key step toward fulfilling President Biden’s commitment to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. Uniting for Ukraine provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily in a two-year period of parole. Ukrainians participating in Uniting for Ukraine must have a supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their stay in the United States.
    • For more information, visit https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/uniting-for-ukraine
    • To be eligible for this process, children under the age of 18 must be traveling to the United States in the care and custody of their parent or legal guardian. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), any child under the age of 18 who is not accompanied by their parent or legal guardian generally must be turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and vetted to protect against exploitation and abuse. Sponsors must be vetted before that child can be released and reunified. As a result, children traveling on their own, or with a non-parent or non-legal guardian adult, are not currently eligible for this process.
  • In Warsaw, those seeking information on support from the Polish government can direct inquires to the Office for Foreigners (Urząd do Spraw Cudzoziemców).

IMMIGRANT VISAS

 

If you are a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident with a Ukrainian relative seeking to travel to the United States on an immigrant visa:

  • If you have an I-130 petition approved by USCIS pending processing at the National Visa Center (NVC) and want to transfer it to another Embassy, the designated processing post for Ukrainian Immigrant Visas is United States Consulate General Frankfurt, Germany: https://de.usembassy.gov/ukrainians-in-germany/.  You may request expedition and transfer from the National Visa Center: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/national-visa-center/nvc-contact-information.html.
  • If you have an I-130 petition not yet approved by USCIS, you may inquire with USCIS regarding expedition: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/how-to-make-an-expedite-request .
  • If you have not yet filed a petition but wish to do so, you may contact U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt at frnuscisinquiries@state.gov to request local filing in Frankfurt.  Please note that Frankfurt is only accepting I-130 petitions filed by U.S. citizens on behalf of a spouse, child(ren) under age 21, or parent(s).  The petitioner must be physically present in Germany to file the I-130, and the beneficiary/applicant must personally appear for an immigrant visa interview once the I-130 has been approved. Warning! If you are approved to file an I-130 in Frankfurt, DO NOT file the I-130 petition online; if you do so, we will not be able to accept your local I-130 filing in Frankfurt.
    • Please note that I-130 filing and approval is only the first step in the immigrant visa process. Due to extremely high demand and unprecedented I-130 filings, the U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt is processing all locally filed I-130 petitions on a first-in, first-out basis and is not granting individual expedite requests at this time, except in cases such as those where the applicant has an immediate life-threatening medical condition that can be treated only in the United States.  You will receive more information about processing time at the time of filing in person at the Consulate.
  • If you have an immigrant visa case that has already been transferred from NVC to Kyiv for the appointment and processing and you would like it to be processed in Frankfurt, Please email FrankfurtVisaInquiries@state.gov using the following subject line: C22 – UKRAINE – FULL NAME.  Please provide your full name, date and place of birth as it appears on your passport or other travel document, along with the details of your situation, including whether you are the spouse, child, son, daughter, or parent of a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (“green card” holder).  US. Consulate Frankfurt will respond to you as soon as practicable with any guidance it can provide you.
  • If you are already in Poland, cannot travel to Frankfurt, and have an I-130 petition approved by USCIS pending processing at the National Visa Center and want to transfer it to U.S. Embassy Warsaw, you may request expedition and transfer from the National Visa Center: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/national-visa-center/nvc-contact-information.html.  However, please be aware that due to extraordinarily high demand and limited availability in Warsaw, we may not be able to accept your case, and  wait times may be lengthy.
  • If you have not yet filed a petition, wish to do so, cannot travel to Frankfurt, and wish to file at U.S. Embassy Warsaw, you may email support-Poland@ustraveldocs.com to inquire regarding possible local filing.  (this applies only to U.S. citizens filing petitions for their spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents). Both the petitioner and the applicant must be present in Poland.  However, please be aware that due to extraordinarily high demand and limited availability in Warsaw, we may not be able to accept your case, and wait times may be lengthy.
  • If you have a question about an immigrant visa case that is already in process at U.S. Embassy Warsaw, please email support-Poland@ustraveldocs.com.

If you are a U.S. citizen with a Ukrainian fiancée/fiancé seeking to travel to the United States on a K1 visa:

  • If you have already filed a petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that was not yet approved, U.S. law prohibits U.S. embassies from accepting K visa petitions (I-129F) for local filing abroad. USCIS must first approve K visa petitions. However, you can request an expedite for USCIS processing at https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/how-to-make-an-expedite-request.

 

NONIMMIGRANT VISAS

 

Nonimmigrant visas are for temporary stays in the United States and are not the appropriate way to begin a refugee, resettlement, or immigration process.  If you apply for a nonimmigrant visa but are not able to demonstrate intent to return to a residence abroad after a defined visit to the United States, the officer will refuse your application as required by law. 

Ukrainians should not attempt to apply for non-immigrant visas in order to travel to the United States as refugees.  All inquiries about refugee status and assistance should be directed to the nearest office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

On April 21, 2022, the United States announced a key step toward fulfilling President Biden’s commitment to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. Uniting for Ukraine provides a pathway for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are outside the United States to come to the United States and stay temporarily in a two-year period of parole. Ukrainians participating in Uniting for Ukraine must have a supporter in the United States who agrees to provide them with financial support for the duration of their stay in the United States. For more information, visit https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/uniting-for-ukraine. Note: this is NOT a visa program, and questions about this program cannot be answered by the Visa Unit at U.S. Embassy Warsaw.

  • To be eligible for this process, children under the age of 18 must be traveling to the United States in the care and custody of their parent or legal guardian. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), any child under the age of 18 who is not accompanied by their parent or legal guardian generally must be turned over to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and vetted to protect against exploitation and abuse. Sponsors must be vetted before that child can be released and reunified. As a result, children traveling on their own, or with a non-parent or non-legal guardian adult, are not currently eligible for this process.

If you do apply for a non-immigrant visa: 

  • While we respond to inquiries as quickly as we can, response wait times can be lengthy.
    • We will not respond to inquiries about matters detailed in our auto responses.
  • Please do not visit the Embassy without an appointment.
    • There are no walk-in visa appointments.
    • No different information is available at the Embassy gate than is online.
    • It is not possible to begin a visa application at the Embassy, even for friends and families of U.S. citizens.
    • All relevant information is available online, and applications can only be made online (see information below).

If you are not qualified for a nonimmigrant visa, you may wish to refer to the humanitarian assistance or Uniting for Ukraine information above.

If you are a Ukrainian who wants to travel to the United States on a nonimmigrant visa you should go to https://www.ustraveldocs.com/pl/en/nonimmigrant-visa:

  • Demand is extremely high, availability is low, and wait times and processing times are likely to be very lengthy (some wait times are more than a year). You may wish to refer to the humanitarian relief information above.
  • If you already have an appointment at U.S. Embassy Warsaw but wish to expedite it, you may request expedition via https://www.ustraveldocs.com/pl/en/expedited-appointment.
    • Due to extraordinarily high demand, even wait times for expedited appointments can currently be long.
    • Not all expedited appointment requests are approved.
  • If you already began a nonimmigrant visa application process in Ukraine, you may send a request to Support-Poland@ustraveldocs.com to ask for transfer of your “profile” to Warsaw or Krakow, after which you should be able to continue the process for an appointment in Poland. Please note that a visa fee paid in Ukraine cannot be transferred and that it is necessary to pay a new fee in Poland after a profile is transferred. If you are seeking but do not already have an appointment visit https://www.ustraveldocs.com/pl/en/step-4 and sign up for the first available appointment of the type you are eligible for.
  • If you do not have all your documents available, for example a passport, you may apply without these documents. A Consular Officer will inform you of any required next steps as part of the visa decision.

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