Return to U.S. Embassy in Ukraine Website
If you are seeking information about immediate humanitarian assistance in Moldova:
- Almost all refugee cases in countries abroad are processed by local authorities, in this case the Government of Moldova.
- Ukrainians should not contact the authorities of the United States or attempt to apply for visas in order to travel to the United States as refugees–such travel is not possible. They should contact the authorities of Moldova. Contact information is below.
- Please visit the Government of Moldova webpage for information about resources: https://dopomoga.gov.md/ and https://gov.md/ru/content/ukraincy-v-ukraine. These websites provide the locations of official reception points along Moldova’s border with Ukraine.
- Additional information is available from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR): https://www.unhcr.org/republic-of-moldova.html, including information about non-governmental organizations that may be able to provide additional assistance.
- In Chisinau, those seeking information on support from the Moldovan government can direct inquires to the Bureau for Migration and Asylum (Biroul Migrație și Azil).
- Phone: 0 8000 15 27
- Web: http://bma.gov.md/ru
- Email (contact form): http://bma.gov.md/ro/contact
Instructions for completing Uniting for Ukraine applications are now online at the following address: https://www.dhs.gov/ukraine.
VISA SERVICES IN MOLDOVA
IMMIGRANT VISAS
If you are a U.S. citizen or Legal 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 now United States Consulate General Frankfurt, 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 not yet filed a petition but wish to do so, you may contact U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt 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 Germany.
- 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 send an email to NVC at NVCExpedite@state.gov. If you are already in Moldova, 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 Chisinau, 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. The beneficiary should be prepared to stay one to two months in Moldova to complete visa processing.
- If you have not yet filed a petition, wish to do so, cannot travel to Frankfurt, the petitioner should file a petition with USCIS in the United States. See https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 for more information.
- If you a question about an immigrant visa case that is already in process at U.S. Embassy Chisinau, please email ChisinauVisas@state.gov.
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
Before applying for a nonimmigrant visa, consider carefully whether you are qualified for the visa you intend to apply for. Nonimmigrant visas are for temporary stays in the United States and are not for refugees. There are no nonimmigrant visas for refugees. If you apply for a nonimmigrant visa but do not intend to leave the United States, your application will be refused.
If you are not qualified for a nonimmigrant visa, you may wish to refer to the humanitarian assistance information above.
If you are a Ukrainian with a U.S. citizen spouse or parent and seeking to travel to the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay you should go to https://ustraveldocs.com/md/en/step-2/#how-to-apply-for-non-immigrant-visa and schedule your appointment. If you wish to remain in the United States, you should apply for an immigrant visa. Please be aware that there is a significant wait time for nonimmigrant visa appointments in Chisinau due to the small size of our Embassy. We will try and process your request as quickly as possible but wait times will likely be several weeks or months, even for expedited appointments.
If you are a Ukrainian who wants to travel to the United States or a U.S. citizen who has friends, business associates, or NON-IMMEDIATE family who want to travel to the United States on a nonimmigrant visa you should go to https://ustraveldocs.com/md/en/step-2/#how-to-apply-for-non-immigrant-visa and schedule your appointment:
- Demand is extremely high, availability is low, and wait times and processing times are likely to be very lengthy. You may wish to refer to the humanitarian relief information above or consider in applying in another U.S. embassy or consulate.
- If you already have an appointment at U.S. Embassy Chisinau but wish to expedite it, you may request expedition via https://ustraveldocs.com/md/en/expedited-appointment.
- If you already began a nonimmigrant visa application process in Ukraine, you may send a request to support-moldova@ustraveldocs.com to ask for transfer of your “profile” to Chisinau, after which you should be able to continue the process for a Chisinau appointment.
- If you are seeking but do not already have an appointment visit https://ustraveldocs.com/md/en/step-2/#how-to-apply-for-non-immigrant-visa and sign up for the first available appointment of the type you are eligible for.