K1 Timeframe and Alternatives Given Russian Laws

[Nick & Tanya 0]

My fiancee (Russian female) and I applied for an I129F on May 18th and it was received. It went to the vermont service center and we looked up the processing times and expected about 5 months to hear back. This is all standard.

Recently I moved and I figured I would call to update my address over the phone because we are getting close to the 5 month mark (October 18th).

When I did this, the lady at USCIS said that it would have time to process because they were just getting done with applications submitted March 5th 2012.

So of course, my fiancee and I are upset because given that we submitted ours in May, that means we will have to wait 2 more months and we have already started to plan our wedding for February 2013.

So.... does anyone have any advice about the above situation. Am I getting upset for no reason? Should I keep my hopes up? or Do I need to figure on a different wedding date?

I also understand though that the Visa laws in Russian have changed and that it is much easier for her to obtain one and come here. Would it be possible for her to just come here, we can get married, and bypass this whole process? We only decided to do the bridal visa because of the strict laws in obtaining a visa for a single female leaving Russia and entering the USA.

I miss her like nothing else in this world as many of you understand, and if there was anything I could do to make this happen quicker, I would!

thanks everyone!!

Oh and I forgot... if there is a thread that answers my questions already, please let me know. Thanks!

My fiancee (Russian female) and I applied for an I129F on May 18th and it was received. It went to the vermont service center and we looked up the processing times and expected about 5 months to hear back. This is all standard.

Recently I moved and I figured I would call to update my address over the phone because we are getting close to the 5 month mark (October 18th).

When I did this, the lady at USCIS said that it would have time to process because they were just getting done with applications submitted March 5th 2012.

So of course, my fiancee and I are upset because given that we submitted ours in May, that means we will have to wait 2 more months and we have already started to plan our wedding for February 2013.

So.... does anyone have any advice about the above situation. Am I getting upset for no reason? Should I keep my hopes up? or Do I need to figure on a different wedding date?

I also understand though that the Visa laws in Russian have changed and that it is much easier for her to obtain one and come here. Would it be possible for her to just come here, we can get married, and bypass this whole process? We only decided to do the bridal visa because of the strict laws in obtaining a visa for a single female leaving Russia and entering the USA.

I miss her like nothing else in this world as many of you understand, and if there was anything I could do to make this happen quicker, I would!

thanks everyone!!

[Wishing on a Star 4]

You'll probably get this response a lot... but you probably shouldn't have started to make wedding plans until you have the visa in your hand. What my husband and I did was have a tentative wedding date set, he got his visa and then when he came to the States we had a private, court house ceremony to make it legal in the eyes of the government (with just a few witnesses). We plan on having our "big" wedding later next year when all our friends/family could come... just makes it soo much easier planning wise, so you don't have to run into problems of having things all booked up and then run into complications down the road regarding the visa.

[Nick & Tanya 0]

Thanks! I figured this much and appreciate your thoughts. My fiancee didn't want to do the court thing because we had discussed that, and it didn't seem like something we would prefer. But that is always an option we have kept in our back pocket.

[Phil & Alla 26]

"Would it be possible for her to just come here, we can get married, and bypass this whole process?"

The answer is yes, you can bypass the K1 process you have started by getting married and start all over again with a different visa type and she would have to return to Russia waiting for approval. So yes you are 5 months into it, but starting all over again would certainly be more time. Most of us have been through what you are going through, averaging 6-7 months. Have her come visit if you can manage it, but DON't get married. Hang in there

[baron555 934]

So.... does anyone have any advice about the above situation. Am I getting upset for no reason? Should I keep my hopes up? or Do I need to figure on a different wedding date?

Yes, Yes, and Yes

I also understand though that the Visa laws in Russian have changed and that it is much easier for her to obtain one and come here. Would it be possible for her to just come here, we can get married, and bypass this whole process?

No, that would be visa fraud. Since you've already filed a K-1, you've gone on the USCIS "books" with the intention of marrying. If she could (maybe) get a visitor's visa to come here, yes you could get married here but then she would have to AOS and try to obtain her GC. They would put two and two together and quite possibly begin removal proceedings and permanently ban her from the US.

Think very clearly before you act irrationally.

Come over to the RUB regional forum where you will find many of us would were or are in the same situation and offer you guidance.

Edited October 17, 2012 by baron555

[Nick & Tanya 0]

Thank Baron,

I thought this might be the case but I needed to ask about the possibilities. We are just going to wait and keep loving each other and keep our faith. Thanks so much!

-Nick

[Nathan&Elena 1]

Hey there, guys!

as everyone said above- it's better to sit and wait instead of starting new process. about tourist visa- it's not any easier to get it now, i was refused 3 times in a row during couple of years. it might be they refuse nice-looking lonely girls who goes to a lonely grown-up US citizen. not fair, but the fact is that.

so cheer up and keep waiting, it won't be easy, to wait, but there is still plenty of things needed to be done for wedding even without knowing a certain date.

Be an optimist and patient one and everything happens before you get bored)))

Good luck!

[bertal 0]

You mentioned Russian laws??? I don't think Russian laws have anything to do with this. It's entry into the U.S. with a legal status. If you marry her without her having entered here on a K-1 visa, she will have to leave the US, and you will no longer be able to use a fiancee visa to bring her here. You will then have to file I-130, which takes much longer. So hang in there.

And by the way, VCS is no longer at 5 months. They are up to 6. Also, when you call USCIS, you need to do some math:

They tell you that now they are processing March 5th application. Look at when the page was updated. I this case it's August 31. It is now October 18th. So there is a month and a half difference between the date they posted and today. So you would have to conclude, that if they tell you to wait two more months, one and a half of these two months have already passed. That was the case with my situation. I estimated another month wait, regardless of what they told me, and it was exactly one month.

Good luck, and be patient.