Fiance Visa Timeframe
Aug 28th 2003, 4:03 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Fiance Visa Timeframe
Hi everyone...
I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the whole
process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and was
told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US side
of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
move here.
Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other country
to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long it
will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty straightforward,
no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic at
this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
Thanks!
-Katherine
I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the whole
process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and was
told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US side
of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
move here.
Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other country
to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long it
will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty straightforward,
no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic at
this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
Thanks!
-Katherine
Aug 28th 2003, 5:13 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
Katherine,
It depends on where you live. If you live in the jurisdiction of the
Nebraska Service Center it will most likely take every bit of those seven
months to process the I 129F. On the consulate side of things, London tends
to be fairly quick, so that part of the process shouldn't take too long. He
can prepare for that part by assembling as many of the relevant documents,
such as the police certificate, ahead of time. So, to answer your question,
no, there is no way to give a reasonable guess as to how long the process
will take. There are too many variables that factor into the process. I
hope that helps, even though it may not be what you wanted to hear. Some of
those on here who are going and have gone through the process in London will
be able to give you more specific information about that part of the
process.
Best wishes,
Tim
"K H" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi everyone...
> I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
> long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
> American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
> they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the
whole
> process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
> everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and
was
> told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US
side
> of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
> that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
> move here.
> Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
> here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other
country
> to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
> to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long
it
> will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty
straightforward,
> no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic
at
> this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
> Thanks!
> -Katherine
It depends on where you live. If you live in the jurisdiction of the
Nebraska Service Center it will most likely take every bit of those seven
months to process the I 129F. On the consulate side of things, London tends
to be fairly quick, so that part of the process shouldn't take too long. He
can prepare for that part by assembling as many of the relevant documents,
such as the police certificate, ahead of time. So, to answer your question,
no, there is no way to give a reasonable guess as to how long the process
will take. There are too many variables that factor into the process. I
hope that helps, even though it may not be what you wanted to hear. Some of
those on here who are going and have gone through the process in London will
be able to give you more specific information about that part of the
process.
Best wishes,
Tim
"K H" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi everyone...
> I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
> long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
> American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
> they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the
whole
> process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
> everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and
was
> told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US
side
> of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
> that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
> move here.
> Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
> here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other
country
> to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
> to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long
it
> will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty
straightforward,
> no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic
at
> this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
> Thanks!
> -Katherine
Aug 28th 2003, 5:27 am
#3
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,816
Hi, Katherine!
Welcome to the world of K1! Let us know where you live, and then we'll be able to give you a fair idea of waiting times.
You're very lucky to be going through the London Consulate. I went through them late last year/early this year, and the whole time, they were efficient and informative.
As for the Service Centers in the US, they vary greatly as to how long your wait will be. (Doesn't make sense to me......they all do the same job, and what's good for the goose is good for the gander, etc...........!!
) Vermont is the fastest, and Nebraska the slowest. Check which one covers your area by going to this page......
http://www.bcis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/index.htm
Click on the BCIS Service Center map, and you can choose your region. That will tell you which SC you need to file with.
Kate. xxxxxxxx
Welcome to the world of K1! Let us know where you live, and then we'll be able to give you a fair idea of waiting times.
You're very lucky to be going through the London Consulate. I went through them late last year/early this year, and the whole time, they were efficient and informative.
As for the Service Centers in the US, they vary greatly as to how long your wait will be. (Doesn't make sense to me......they all do the same job, and what's good for the goose is good for the gander, etc...........!!
) Vermont is the fastest, and Nebraska the slowest. Check which one covers your area by going to this page......http://www.bcis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/index.htm
Click on the BCIS Service Center map, and you can choose your region. That will tell you which SC you need to file with.
Kate. xxxxxxxx
Aug 28th 2003, 5:39 am
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
The service center that you have to use depends on where the US citizen is a
resident. The service centers have different time lines.You can get an
estimate of how long each service center is taking by going to a site such
as
www.immigration.com
Madelon
"K H" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi everyone...
> I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
> long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
> American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
> they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the
whole
> process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
> everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and
was
> told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US
side
> of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
> that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
> move here.
> Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
> here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other
country
> to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
> to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long
it
> will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty
straightforward,
> no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic
at
> this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
> Thanks!
> -Katherine
resident. The service centers have different time lines.You can get an
estimate of how long each service center is taking by going to a site such
as
www.immigration.com
Madelon
"K H" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi everyone...
> I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
> long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
> American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
> they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the
whole
> process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
> everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and
was
> told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US
side
> of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
> that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
> move here.
> Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
> here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other
country
> to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
> to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long
it
> will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty
straightforward,
> no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
> Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic
at
> this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
> Thanks!
> -Katherine
Aug 28th 2003, 6:32 am
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
Oh dear. I live in Minnesota and we file with Nebraska. The BCIS helpline
is who told me that for Minnesota, it's taking seven months. I was hoping
that would turn out to be the worst case scenario but it doesn't sound like
it is.
The only other option I can think of is to skip the Fiance Visa and get
married late this winter while he's here on a Visa Waiver, and then send him
back to the UK and try to get him here as a spouse. But I'm not sure that
will be all that much faster, and I don't really want any hassle if it looks
like we tried to get around the proper procedure. We really are trying to
do everything the right way but boy is it frustrating!
Thanks,
Katherine
"Tim Elzinga" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Katherine,
> It depends on where you live. If you live in the jurisdiction of the
> Nebraska Service Center it will most likely take every bit of those seven
> months to process the I 129F. On the consulate side of things, London
tends
> to be fairly quick, so that part of the process shouldn't take too long.
He
> can prepare for that part by assembling as many of the relevant documents,
> such as the police certificate, ahead of time. So, to answer your
question,
> no, there is no way to give a reasonable guess as to how long the process
> will take. There are too many variables that factor into the process. I
> hope that helps, even though it may not be what you wanted to hear. Some
of
> those on here who are going and have gone through the process in London
will
> be able to give you more specific information about that part of the
> process.
> Best wishes,
> Tim
> "K H" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hi everyone...
> >
> > I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
> > long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British,
I'm
> > American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
> > they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the
> whole
> > process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
> > everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and
> was
> > told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US
> side
> > of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
> > that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
> > move here.
> >
> > Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms
processed
> > here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other
> country
> > to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be
able
> > to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long
> it
> > will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty
> straightforward,
> > no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
> >
> > Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic
> at
> > this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
> >
> > Thanks!
> > -Katherine
> >
> >
is who told me that for Minnesota, it's taking seven months. I was hoping
that would turn out to be the worst case scenario but it doesn't sound like
it is.
The only other option I can think of is to skip the Fiance Visa and get
married late this winter while he's here on a Visa Waiver, and then send him
back to the UK and try to get him here as a spouse. But I'm not sure that
will be all that much faster, and I don't really want any hassle if it looks
like we tried to get around the proper procedure. We really are trying to
do everything the right way but boy is it frustrating!
Thanks,
Katherine
"Tim Elzinga" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Katherine,
> It depends on where you live. If you live in the jurisdiction of the
> Nebraska Service Center it will most likely take every bit of those seven
> months to process the I 129F. On the consulate side of things, London
tends
> to be fairly quick, so that part of the process shouldn't take too long.
He
> can prepare for that part by assembling as many of the relevant documents,
> such as the police certificate, ahead of time. So, to answer your
question,
> no, there is no way to give a reasonable guess as to how long the process
> will take. There are too many variables that factor into the process. I
> hope that helps, even though it may not be what you wanted to hear. Some
of
> those on here who are going and have gone through the process in London
will
> be able to give you more specific information about that part of the
> process.
> Best wishes,
> Tim
> "K H" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hi everyone...
> >
> > I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
> > long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British,
I'm
> > American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
> > they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the
> whole
> > process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
> > everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and
> was
> > told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US
> side
> > of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
> > that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
> > move here.
> >
> > Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms
processed
> > here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other
> country
> > to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be
able
> > to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long
> it
> > will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty
> straightforward,
> > no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
> >
> > Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic
> at
> > this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
> >
> > Thanks!
> > -Katherine
> >
> >
Aug 28th 2003, 7:27 am
#6
Forum Regular
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Norfolk, VA & Grimsby, UK
Posts: 245
You can also add your timeline and check other's out at the Dave Hollis K1 Timeline (http://www.davehollis.com/k1/list.php)
Aug 28th 2003, 7:46 am
#7
Dreaming of the bay
Joined: May 2003
Location: Me: Long Eaton, Herself: San Pablo
Posts: 378
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
Originally posted by K H
Oh dear. I live in Minnesota and we file with Nebraska. The BCIS helpline
is who told me that for Minnesota, it's taking seven months. I was hoping
that would turn out to be the worst case scenario but it doesn't sound like
it is.
The only other option I can think of is to skip the Fiance Visa and get
married late this winter while he's here on a Visa Waiver, and then send him
back to the UK and try to get him here as a spouse. But I'm not sure that
will be all that much faster, and I don't really want any hassle if it looks
like we tried to get around the proper procedure. We really are trying to
do everything the right way but boy is it frustrating!
Oh dear. I live in Minnesota and we file with Nebraska. The BCIS helpline
is who told me that for Minnesota, it's taking seven months. I was hoping
that would turn out to be the worst case scenario but it doesn't sound like
it is.
The only other option I can think of is to skip the Fiance Visa and get
married late this winter while he's here on a Visa Waiver, and then send him
back to the UK and try to get him here as a spouse. But I'm not sure that
will be all that much faster, and I don't really want any hassle if it looks
like we tried to get around the proper procedure. We really are trying to
do everything the right way but boy is it frustrating!
Please follow this link to the marriage forum section of British Expats.com: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...508#post938508
This is a posting talking about K1 timelines at NSC and a petition to force some action to reduce the processing times. A recent protest had some good results from the Texas centre so another at NSC might just help.
I doubt a K3 would be any faster, as you still have to file the original I-130 petition via NSC, and then a virtually identical I-129f to the national centre. However, I know that others here have done a K3 in a shorter time, but I can't recall which centre they file through.
Where in MN are you? I spent a winter in ND some years ago and I can still feel the -55 windchill in my bones!
Good luck - Tim
Aug 28th 2003, 7:58 am
#8
Just Joined
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: SoCal, USA
Posts: 17
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
Originally posted by Madelon Mottet
The service center that you have to use depends on where the US citizen is a resident.
The service center that you have to use depends on where the US citizen is a resident.
Aug 28th 2003, 11:40 am
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
I'm in Minneapolis and right now most of us here wouldn't say no to a touch
of winter, it's been hot and humid for far too long. My British fiancé
hasn't been over here during the winter yet and I keep asking if he's sure
he wants to move here when he hasn't had the joy of snowdrifts, wind chills,
and ice storms yet. He says he's sure but I think he's a mad fool for it!
We're still trying to check out all our options but there doesn't seem to be
a good one. He's here visiting and we wanted to have a plan and a wedding
date set by the time he leaves on September 11th, but that's not looking
very likely.
-Katherine
On 8/28/03 2:46 PM, in article [email protected],
"tbiller" <[email protected]> wrote:
> http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?posti-=
> d=938508#post938508
of winter, it's been hot and humid for far too long. My British fiancé
hasn't been over here during the winter yet and I keep asking if he's sure
he wants to move here when he hasn't had the joy of snowdrifts, wind chills,
and ice storms yet. He says he's sure but I think he's a mad fool for it!
We're still trying to check out all our options but there doesn't seem to be
a good one. He's here visiting and we wanted to have a plan and a wedding
date set by the time he leaves on September 11th, but that's not looking
very likely.
-Katherine
On 8/28/03 2:46 PM, in article [email protected],
"tbiller" <[email protected]> wrote:
> http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?posti-=
> d=938508#post938508
Aug 29th 2003, 3:03 pm
#10
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
Katherine Hoffman <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<BB73FD30.D2E%[email protected]>...
> I'm in Minneapolis and right now most of us here wouldn't say no to a touch
> of winter, it's been hot and humid for far too long. My British fiancé
> hasn't been over here during the winter yet and I keep asking if he's sure
> he wants to move here when he hasn't had the joy of snowdrifts, wind chills,
> and ice storms yet. He says he's sure but I think he's a mad fool for it!
>
>
> We're still trying to check out all our options but there doesn't seem to be
> a good one. He's here visiting and we wanted to have a plan and a wedding
> date set by the time he leaves on September 11th, but that's not looking
> very likely.
>
> -Katherine
>
> On 8/28/03 2:46 PM, in article [email protected],
> "tbiller" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?posti-=
> > d=938508#post938508
Hello Katherine,
It is very hard to determine how fast things will move for you, i went
through the same process so i will tell you how it went for me. If you
are filing through the Nebraska Service Center <NSC> you are
unfortunatly one of the unlucky ones like i was because this is by far
the slowest service center out there. It seems to be taking between
170-210 days for most people to get their approval from them. I sent
my petition for my British fiance to the NSC in January 2003 and i
finally received our approval at the end of July 2003 so it took about
6 months for that part to get done with. They send send your petition
off to the NVC or National Visa Center where they do further
backgruond checks on you both. If all is clear they will send that off
to London. Going through the NVC is generally pretty fast for most
people especially if your petition is going to London. It took 8 days
from the time they received our petition and sent it off to London.
The whole London side of things seem to move very fast which is
awesome. They sent my fiance his packet 3 forms which he has to fill
out and send back, on August 9th, so that only took them about a week
to get that out to him. He received his interview 11 days later which
is scheduled for Sept. 17th. All in all it has taken about 7 1/2
months from the time we sent off our peition till my fiance got his
interview date and visa. If you are really set on setting a wedding
date i would do it no less then a year from when you send out the
petition just to be on the safe side cause for some people, this is
taking even longer then it has for me. I figured that i had allowed
myself plenty of time for him to be here for our Oct 25th wedding and
luckily we are gonna be ok for that but i was thinking he'd be here by
the end of July at the latest and now its not till the end of Sept.
This may seem like an awful lot of waiting and yes it DEFINATLY is
hard but i really think this is the best way to go. If your fiance
comes over and you get married and he goes back to England while you
try to get him here as your spouse, it may take much longer then it
would to obtain the fiance visa and then you won't be seperated from
your fiance but from your husband which i would imagine would be much
harder. Who wants to spend their first year or so as newlyweds
seperated? I hope that the process for you goes by faster then it has
for most of us, but it is well worth the wait cause once he's here
he's here forever!!!
I posted my timeline below for you.
~Erin
1-30-03- 1st Notice of action letter from Nebraska, stating they
received my petition
7-22-03- 2nd NOA letter saying we were APPROVED!! FINALLY! Told that
my petition was sent off to the NVC for further processing
7-26-03- Fiance sent away for his police report/certificate that will
be needed for his interview in London
7-30-03- Called the NVC and told our peition was sent off to London
8-09-03- Fiance recieves packet 3 from London
8-11-03- Fiance fills out forms and sends them back to London
8-16-03- Police certificate is recived. It is clear, nothing on
record
8-23-03- Fiance recieved packet 4 from London including his interview
date and medical exam to get visa
9-17-03- Interview date...will post expirience as soon as he has it!
> I'm in Minneapolis and right now most of us here wouldn't say no to a touch
> of winter, it's been hot and humid for far too long. My British fiancé
> hasn't been over here during the winter yet and I keep asking if he's sure
> he wants to move here when he hasn't had the joy of snowdrifts, wind chills,
> and ice storms yet. He says he's sure but I think he's a mad fool for it!
>
>
> We're still trying to check out all our options but there doesn't seem to be
> a good one. He's here visiting and we wanted to have a plan and a wedding
> date set by the time he leaves on September 11th, but that's not looking
> very likely.
>
> -Katherine
>
> On 8/28/03 2:46 PM, in article [email protected],
> "tbiller" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?posti-=
> > d=938508#post938508
Hello Katherine,
It is very hard to determine how fast things will move for you, i went
through the same process so i will tell you how it went for me. If you
are filing through the Nebraska Service Center <NSC> you are
unfortunatly one of the unlucky ones like i was because this is by far
the slowest service center out there. It seems to be taking between
170-210 days for most people to get their approval from them. I sent
my petition for my British fiance to the NSC in January 2003 and i
finally received our approval at the end of July 2003 so it took about
6 months for that part to get done with. They send send your petition
off to the NVC or National Visa Center where they do further
backgruond checks on you both. If all is clear they will send that off
to London. Going through the NVC is generally pretty fast for most
people especially if your petition is going to London. It took 8 days
from the time they received our petition and sent it off to London.
The whole London side of things seem to move very fast which is
awesome. They sent my fiance his packet 3 forms which he has to fill
out and send back, on August 9th, so that only took them about a week
to get that out to him. He received his interview 11 days later which
is scheduled for Sept. 17th. All in all it has taken about 7 1/2
months from the time we sent off our peition till my fiance got his
interview date and visa. If you are really set on setting a wedding
date i would do it no less then a year from when you send out the
petition just to be on the safe side cause for some people, this is
taking even longer then it has for me. I figured that i had allowed
myself plenty of time for him to be here for our Oct 25th wedding and
luckily we are gonna be ok for that but i was thinking he'd be here by
the end of July at the latest and now its not till the end of Sept.
This may seem like an awful lot of waiting and yes it DEFINATLY is
hard but i really think this is the best way to go. If your fiance
comes over and you get married and he goes back to England while you
try to get him here as your spouse, it may take much longer then it
would to obtain the fiance visa and then you won't be seperated from
your fiance but from your husband which i would imagine would be much
harder. Who wants to spend their first year or so as newlyweds
seperated? I hope that the process for you goes by faster then it has
for most of us, but it is well worth the wait cause once he's here
he's here forever!!!
I posted my timeline below for you.~Erin
1-30-03- 1st Notice of action letter from Nebraska, stating they
received my petition
7-22-03- 2nd NOA letter saying we were APPROVED!! FINALLY! Told that
my petition was sent off to the NVC for further processing
7-26-03- Fiance sent away for his police report/certificate that will
be needed for his interview in London
7-30-03- Called the NVC and told our peition was sent off to London
8-09-03- Fiance recieves packet 3 from London
8-11-03- Fiance fills out forms and sends them back to London
8-16-03- Police certificate is recived. It is clear, nothing on
record
8-23-03- Fiance recieved packet 4 from London including his interview
date and medical exam to get visa
9-17-03- Interview date...will post expirience as soon as he has it!
Aug 29th 2003, 6:56 pm
#11
Guest
Posts: n/a
if you are filing with vermont you are fine, or any center besides Nebraska. If its Nebraska the wait is around 180 days
Aug 30th 2003, 5:04 am
#12
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Nevada b4 California b4 Colorado b4 Valley of plastic and sand, b4 London
Posts: 2,025
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
Originally posted by K H
Hi everyone...
I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the whole
process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and was
told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US side
of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
move here.
Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other country
to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long it
will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty straightforward,
no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic at
this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
Thanks!
-Katherine
Hi everyone...
I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the whole
process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and was
told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US side
of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
move here.
Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other country
to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long it
will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty straightforward,
no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic at
this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
Thanks!
-Katherine
Aug 31st 2003, 8:30 am
#13
In the UK
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Witham, Essex, England
Posts: 510
Re: Fiance Visa Timeframe
Originally posted by K H
Hi everyone...
I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the whole
process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and was
told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US side
of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
move here.
Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other country
to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long it
will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty straightforward,
no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic at
this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
Thanks!
-Katherine
Hi everyone...
I just found out about this group and am hoping to get some input on how
long Fiance Visa's are taking for other folks. My fiance is British, I'm
American. When I first called and asked BCIS about the processing time,
they said seven months, and I thought they meant seven months for the whole
process and he'd be able to move here at the end of that time period if
everything went smoothly. I just called them again to clarify that and was
told that no, seven months is how long it takes just to process the US side
of things, and he can't get the package from the UK consulate til after
that. Now we're looking at some indefinate period of time before he can
move here.
Are things really taking this long just to get the I-129F forms processed
here? How long does it usually take for the consulate in the other country
to process everything? Is there even a way to guess at when he'll be able
to move here? It's hard to plan a wedding when we have no idea how long it
will be before he can move here. Our case should be pretty straightforward,
no divorces, no kids, loads of photos from my trips there and his here.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm having a mild bout of panic at
this sudden thought of it being much longer than seven months.
Thanks!
-Katherine
I'm an ex-prisoner of Nebraska and here is my timeline!!
K1 Fiance Visa Timeline
2/10/03 - Sent I-129f to Nebraska
2/12/03 - 1st NOA
2/19/03 - 1st NOA received in mail
3/25/03 - Paul sent for his police certificate
5/09/03 - Paul received his police certificate in mail (postmarked may 8th)
8/11/03 - 2nd NOA
8/15/03 - NVC Received Petition
8/16/03 - 2nd NOA received in mail
8/19/03 - NVC sent petition to London
8/22/03 - Email from London consulate saying they have received our petition!!
8/25/03 - Received letter from NVC stating they would be sending petition to London within the week it was dated 8/20/03 (hee hee London already has petition)
8/29/03 - Paul received Packet 3 in mail!! Woohoo!!!
9/01/03 - Paul is sending his Packet 3 back to London!!
It took ours 179 days to be approved through Nebraska and a week and a half for London to receive it. After the long wait for nebraska the wait is really quick. We should know our interview date this week so we can actually plan when he's coming here. We've changed our wedding date twice since the start of this process...so I wouldn't even set one unless it's about 10 months from now!! Good Luck oh and I would love if you could join my yahoo group for british american couples in the midwest!! The url is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/britis...esinthemidwest
Thanks,
Carey
