Polish consulate returned my official letter, what do I do next?

I would like to ask your help in a problem, which I've encountered dealing with Polish Consulate in New York. Here is my situation. I hold a green card (I am a Russian citizen, which might be part of a problem). I have applied for a private visa to Poland in order to visit my wife's father (we are travelling together). On the consulate' website in visa requirements it says that I need to provide the letter from the Polish friend/relative, and I've attached the letter to my visa application. I didn't expect any problems, because the description (polishconsulateny.org) is pretty clear. In addition, I already have obtained Polish visa in 2005 without any problems.

Now, the consulate claims that the invitation letter I got, is wrong, and they actually mean an "official" invitation letter from "Voievodeship office". I am desperate: I've already booked the flight on Dec. 23! If I won't get a visa, all my vacation plans are ruined! Does anybody know how to deal with this situation? Does anybody know anyone from Polish Consulate (Ms. Małgorzata Kozik or any others)?

I would very much appreciate any advice .

Thank you -
Dmitry.

As far as I know (which isn’t very far and is based only on what I’ve seen while waiting in the foreigners office), your friend needs to go to their local foreigners office (Oddział ds. Cudzoziemców, if he/she lives in Warsaw its on ul Dluga in the new town) and fill in a form there to apply for such letter from them. I have no idea how long it takes, they might issue it on the spot or it might take a while.

Ouch. The invitation letter is a dreadful relic from communism, and it isn't made clear at all online that you actually need such a thing.

All I can suggest is getting the relative to go to the Voivode office and explain what the problem is - you never know, it might get processed on the spot or very quickly. But will you get an updated appointment at the Consulate so quickly?

Thanks everyone for replying! Actually it turned out that I was not talking to the consul herself - I was talking to her secretary. Ms. Kozik was really nice, and resolved the issue.