01morrissonj

Hi all,

Firstly I'd like to say a huge thank you to the many contributors on this site that happily provide answers to so many questions.
Simply reading through the numerous threads here I have had many of my concerns put to bed.
Seeing a few people do something similar I have decided to great a thread that records my journey through the Fiancé Visa process.

A little about us first;
I am a UK Citizen, and she is a US Citizen. We met whilst on holiday in September 2016, we talked, we hit it off and the rest (as they say) is history.
Since then we have travelled backwards and forwards between the UK and US to see each other.
I proposed to her in July 2017 and luckily for me, she said yes.
After a long time talking with each other, our friends and family and a lawyer we agreed that the best case for us was to go down the Fiancée Visa route and started pulling our documents together.

This is where we are so far;

Jack8602

Congrats

Sounds like you've done your research and are on the right path. Where will you be moving to in the US?

Unfortunately it turns into a 'hurry up and wait' scenario, but it'll eventually go through.

01morrissonj

Thanks!
Yeah, I've heard a lot of "hurry up and wait" and I thought I was prepared for it, but it's been almost 4 months now and we've not seen or heard anything.
What's worse is the processing time at the USCIS seems to be floating around the 5-7 mark so we could only be about half way through...

Jack8602

I feel your pain, I'm 14 months in to an adjustment of status application - waiting on final interview.

01morrissonj

14 Months!? Wow!
That's pretty nuts, I assume you filed for a work permit at the same time? Do you mind if I ask how long that one took to come through?

I'm heading to Louisiana.

Jack8602

My first EAD took 3 months last year, the renewal i just got back was 3 months which i had to expedite due to work travel, but reports of them taking 5-6 months aren't uncommon right now.

Rete

You poor guy, you're going to be our neighbor. I'm in the land time forgot, a/k/a Mississippi, and it is one of the most horrid states in the union to live in. Besides being hot, humid, hazy, the people are not just slow but have the common sense of fleas and the culture of back woodsman and the racial tension down here is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Louisiana isn't much better. But then you know this and are happy with settling there and I'm sure you will learn to love it.

The Employment Authorization Document (EAD), work permit as you call it, is currently taking 5 to 8 months and adjustment of status from 6 months to 24 months to be adjudicated. This is the way of USCIS. Timelines vary over the years depending on type of cases received and manpower allotments to adjudicate them. In times of elections, priority is given to naturalization cases. Today, work has slowed down due to high number of AOS cases received and the political climate.

For example, 20 years ago our K-1 was mailed in March 23, 1998 and approved and in his passport on June 10, 1998. But then there was no NVC and the I-129F went directly from Vermont to the US Consulate in Montreal. However, AOS was applied for on October, 1998 and interview was scheduled for August, 2000 but not approved until October, 2000.

By the time you are at the stage to file for adjustment of status, timelines will have again varied and you might be fast tracked for AOS without an interview and EAD's and Advance Parole's given within the 90 days originally forecasted.

civilservant

I had you pegged for a blue state dweller Rene!

Rete

I'm Rete ... I don't follow politics and this red/blue state crap. What is a blue state? Democrats? Mississippi is pure Republican and I am not registered to either party. :-)

BTW, Rene is in Arizona.

civilservant

Rete, Rene, whoever... I still had the pegged as a Blue State-er

01morrissonj

Rete,

5 - 8 months for the EAD does not sound reassuring...

During the face to face meeting with my immigration lawyer (well, I was on FaceTime) he was making bold statements about the whole process taking 3-6 months, and that we'll be married within 6 months of filing paperwork, and receiving a "Work Permit" within weeks not months.
I took what he said with a (LARGE) pinch of salt as having done my own research, a lot of which was on here, I had (and still have) a very sceptical view on how long things will take.

Noorah101

Before I started the K-1 process back in 2003, I had a consultation with an immigration lawyer. She said the entire process from filing I-129F to setting foot in the USA would take 6 months. It actually took 14 months. So yes, take any timeline comments with a grain of salt. USCIS processing times fluctuate all the time and you just can't predict.

Rene

01morrissonj

14 months! That's painful.
I had a quick read through the Time Line you have linked in your signature and it looks like you got really unlucky with quite a few things holding up the process.
As if things didn't take long enough already....

I'm trying to keep my head up, and the silver lining is that the longer I am here the longer I have to work and save cash.
Not a HUGE upside but at least it keeps me busy.

Cheers

Nicola1234

BigT103

Our petition is for a spouse visa (IR1) and we filed at the beginning of February 2017, so we have been waiting nearly 19 months and we're only just at the NVC stage!