helenscarlett

Hello... I am new here... I hope someone can help.

I am from Sheffield and he is from Spokane, WA

Our fiancee petition (submitted in February) is currently "received and pending" with USCIS. The website says that they are currently processing December applications. This means ours should get looked at in two months.

I then saw on the London Embassy website that they currently have at least a 3 month processing time for K1 visas, this end.

In your experience, are these processing times accurate, or is it massively variable? I am especially interested in the embassy times, as there is so little information.

I would love to think that they over estimate waiting times so that they can keep on top of enquiries. But I know this is probably wishful thinking.

At this rate, we are going to miss our provisional wedding date of 29 November

TKO

Mine was 8 months, start to finish. See sig for details. That was with no delays or complications.

AlanR

You'll find that there are no guarantees in the immigration game and that numbers on sites are just that - numbers. However, you're being processed in London and I personally believe that you'll make your 29th November wedding date - assuming you (both) get the paperwork right and there are no hidden glitches.
On a personal note Wendy and I started the K-1 process in April 2003, interviewed in September 2003 and married in October 2003. We did have a wedding cancellation in August 2003 (ouch! It was expensive with reception booked etc), so it can happen, but you seem to have allowed enough time.
Good luck!

Tracym

That petition date is not accurate, at least not the way you mean.

They do it a wierd way. Their goal is to process them in 6 months. As you'll note, the date they've given (when they updated it) was six months ago.

If they're meeting their goal - they put up a date six months ago.
If they AREN'T meeting the goal, they put up the actual (older date).

They could be working on apps from december, january, .... april...

Hopefully yours should be soon, good luck

AlanR

One other minor comment.... After a while you'll realize that this is a game of patience in the immigration process. At the start you'll wonder why things happen so slowly - continental drift seems quick by comparison. But with time you'll (maybe) get blase to the whole thing. It's tough to learn to chill out - but chill out you must. On top of the wedding you have all the remainder of the acronym/alphanumeric fun to come: SSN, AOS, I-751, GC, N-400 and a whole host of other stuff to make your life interesting! (Not to forget the AR-11 if you happen to move...). I equate it to a bad 'plane journey - at the time you're threatening to send letters of complaint everywhere. At the end you're glad it's all over, a relief and everything else in the past pales into insignificance. At the start you'll not realize that you probably have 5 more years of this - yes, after 3 years of marriage (less 90 days) to a USC you can apply for citizenship but I'd like to hear of anyone who's done it in that time-frame!

ian-mstm

Perhaps... but you don't know how many applications are still ahead of you!


No processing times are accurate. Indeed, following processing dates is the first step on the road to madness. Believing the processing dates are accurate is the second step. I won't frighten you with the third step... suffice to say it has resulted in strong men being reduced to quivvering masses of jelly!


We do our best to inform people that they should *never* plan on a date until the fiance(e) has a visa in hand. You might get lucky... but I doubt it.

Ian

ian-mstm

Just to clarify, you must be a PR for 3 years *and* married to a USC for 3 years. Marriage for 3 years to a USC, by itself, is not sufficient.


I applied for naturalization about 90 days prior to being a PR for 3 years and married to a USC for 3 years. I became a USC 3 years and 3 months after becoming a PR. I don't know if that's some sort of record, but that seemed pretty quick to me! From the date Sheila submitted the I-129F to start our K-1 process until my oath ceremony... it was 6-1/2 years.

Ian

helenscarlett

Thank you all so much. Just to see so many posts is soothing my jangling nerves!

I really appreciate you all bothering to tell me about stuff that you must have been going over for ages...Tracy, your insight into the strangely uniform processing dates is particularly helpful.

I will endeavor to chill out, but at the moment feel like I might go mad. The UK house market has crashed so leaving in a hurry is not as easy as I'd hoped. So I kind of feel like I need some idea of when I need to be ready. But I hear ya - I need to relax.

Thankfully the wedding venue have agreed to let us move the date back if the visa isn't ready in time. So at least we won't lose any money.

"Sigh"

Thank you again - very much

Oh and if anyone has any recent experience of the time it takes at the London embassy, I would still love to hear about that.

penguinbar

It really seems to vary. We submitted our I129 at the end of December 2007. It was approved the middle of March.I got a letter a week later from the NVC that the info was being sent to London. My fiancee got his first packet which explained what forms to download and where to go for his medical the beginning of April. He sent everything in two weeks later. In the first week of May he got his interview date which was the first week of June and we were approved. So ours took just over 5 months but that seems to be fairly quick. Our service center was Vermont. Some of the others seem to take a bit longer. I wouldn't go by the time lines on the website. Also start getting every thing ready for the next step like getting a police report and making sure you have birth certificates in order etc. It seems like it takes about 4 months on average for the petitions to be approved but I have seen other posts that it takes 6 months. Iunderstand how stressfull this all is! I'm still stressed!

helenscarlett

Wow Penguinbar! You lucky people

Thank you very much for the details of your wait times. I am queing at the California Service Centre... But I can see from all the feedback that it is almost impossible to anticipate.

Yes, I mainly just want to be prepared, so I have my police certificate and birth certificate. Did you have to do an affidavit of support to take to the interview? If so, can you remember which form (there appear to be 2 !?) Or is that part of the adjustment process later?

Thanks again for your time - totally appreciated.

Tracym

I-134 is the affadavit of support for the K-1 which must be brought to the interview.

The other one (legally binding) is used for the AOS.

Noorah101

There are two affidavits of support involved in the K-1 process.

The first is the I-134, which you take to your K-1 interview. This is not a legally binding document, and there are no strict financial guidelines attached to it. London even lets a UKC "self-sponsor" if they have enough in savings or assets, and the I-134 isn't even necessary.

The second is the I-864, which is used for AOS once you're inside the USA and married. This is a legally binding contract between the USC and the US government, and the USC must meet certain financial requirements.

Both can be found at www.uscis.gov, Immigration Forms, I-134, I-864, and I-864P for the financial guidelines.

Best Wishes,
Rene

helenscarlett

Thank you again Tracy,

Gosh I can't tell you how nice it is to 'talk' to people who know what I'm on about!

I will urge my fiance to look into his I-134, just in case...

helenscarlett

Thanks Rene

So if I can sell this blinkin house, I may be able to sponsor myself - that would be nice

Tracym

You're welcome

Noorah has given you even more detailed info than I.

The I-134 isn't "just in case" btw... it is required unless you have enough assets to self-sponsor.