When to file for K1

[TabeaK 516]

An immigration lawyer who suggests filing less than 6 months out for a K1 visa is not worth his/her money.

They should have clearly stated that timelines are unpredictable and advise against fixing dates before visa in hand.

My personal example is from TSC, we are 5 months and 1 week in and have not even left USCIS, let alone passed through the consular stage. Our Visa will easily take 10-12 months.

File now and, if need be, slow down the later stages of the visa process, but do not delay getting the USCIS part taken care of. No one can predict what will happen to processing times - they are certainly not getting better and, for CSC, are likely to get worse.

[ChasUno 101]

Sorry for not responding quicker trying to be sneaky at work

No divorces for either of us. Having never done this we decided to use an immigration lawyer just to make sure that everything was being completed properly.

I need to get the Police Report, pictures of us, immunized etc.

Have a read through the guides:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/474161-london-k1-a-complete-guide/

These will show you exactly what is required.

An I-129F/ K1 application is actually quite simple as far as some visas are concerned. Most on VJ have never gone through it before either, it was new to most of us at one point. Remember, the I-129F requires information that YOU have to gather. Even if you use an immigration lawyer, you still have to do the work of getting your personal information for the forms, so in effect all you are doing is paying them to fill in the forms with the information that you had to get yourself. Sure, if they are experienced they can check to ensure that the form is completed correctly and in full, but that's nothing you can't do on your own. That's also the whole point of using the VJ forum, access to plenty of advice, help and information when needed - though if you have a GOOD immigration lawyer then you won't be needing to come here. The fact that your lawyer suggested filing in December for a May wedding already rings alarm bells as to their competency. Plus a number of people have found that using some immigration lawyers has actually delayed the process due to incorrectly filled out forms, missing information and delays in filing.

The biggest piece of advice most VJ members will give to you is to start the process ASAP. Do NOT delay it unnecessarily, unless you are not worried about how long it will take. If you are, and want to aim for a wedding in May 2016, read the guides and start getting all the necessary information now.

Edited June 4, 2015 by ChasUno

[Wooderz 314]

Lol that's a pretty precise date that your lawyer suggested. And it's bad advice. Like everyone else said, get started now. You can delay the process if it happens sooner, but you can't really do very much to speed it up if it takes longer than anticipated. You'll have 6 months to enter the US from when you get your medical done. That is after the USCIS stage, which is where the major delays could arise.

Like the others said, the things you still need are for the Embassy stage and you have plenty of time to get those later.

You and your fiancee will be absolutely devasted if you listen to the lawyers advice and miss your wedding date and lose deposits, I'm sure.

Join us here in the UK subforum and listen to Nich-Nick. She knows everything there is to know about doing a K-1 from the UK. She will not steer you wrong.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Have you read through the I129F guides or the links posted by ChasUno?

You may find that you are ready to file now. Police reports are useless at this point as you will likely need a fresh one once the petition reaches the consulate. Immunizations are required at the medical, which you are months away from. If the lawyer is requiring all this now...find yourself a new lawyer.

This is a DIY site, we have all DIY. Lean on us, as questions.

File today if you like - sounds like you are ready

good luck

[AndyR82 8]

Thanks to everyone that has posted info and links, i'll check them out when I get home.

Really is appreciated, happy that I asked before it was too late.

[gavw72 23]

We're planning on an April 2016 wedding so not that long before your plan. We filed on 2nd April this year to give us time for any delays, etc as we expected to be routed to Texas.

We've just received the packet 3 from London so we're now having too much time & having to delay the medical!

Better to be ahead of time so you can delay things & it'll stop a lot of stress if things slow down.

With regard to lawyers, I would say if you have a straight forward case then as long as you follow all the instructions then it's pretty easy to do it yourself.

Ive still got all my file info & spreadsheets of what we sent so if you want a hand drop me a message.

Good luck ?

[AndyR82 8]

Thanks Gav, I may very well do that.

Would filing now affect my trips for the rest of the year? I have the end of August and Thanksgiving coming up.

[TabeaK 516]

No, not at all. Entry with ESTA is no problem, just bring any ties you can provide to going home, such as work contract, rental agreement and the like.