I-129F filed late Jan, wedding booked Sept 7th aaaarrggghhh

[CraigC 3]

Hi everyone, new poster here and just posting a scared rant!

Have Had relationship with my American fiancee for over 7 years and got engaged in 2009. We visited some wedding venues last July in the US and booked our wedding for September 7th 2013 however we naively only filed for the K1 Visa in Late January 2013 (i know!) as that was the next time we were together in person which we thought would be easier to go through and understand the whole process and get everything together rather than do it from a distance. (I'm sure everyone is appreciates it's such a difficult process to get everything organised without doing a lot of research etc and this makes it harder trying to do it over the phone or online)

Well judging by the waiting times most people have been experiencing I don't think we have a cat in hells chance of getting this all done and dusted without having to put the wedding back.... All invites have been sent and uk holidays have all been booked by the family and friends too !

I'm wondering if anyone has any similar experiences and how you got on?

[X Factor 1,113]

You are correct ... very tough for you to get approved by that time. Wait until you get approved to send out wedding invites. You may have to rescind the invitataions now before folks spend money for tickets and they will be very disappointed.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

One of the most popular pieces of advice given out here on VJ is : never make any plans before you have the visa in your hand. No plans you can't change, anyway.

Unfortunately, you will not be able to make your wedding date of September 7th. It's an expensive mistake to make if you can't get deposits back or change flight information.

[CraigC 3]

You are correct ... very tough for you to get approved by that time. Wait until you get approved to send out wedding invites. You may have to rescind the invitataions now before folks spend money for tickets and they will be very disappointed.

Yep I've advised everyone not to buy flight tickets anytime soon, fortunately the flights to Philly don't fluctuate much in price throughout the year. I'm sure the holiday requests at their works shouldn't be a problem

Edited February 11, 2013 by CraigC

[bt1 42]

Hi everyone, new poster here and just posting a scared rant!

Have Had relationship with my American fiancee for over 7 years and got engaged in 2009. We visited some wedding venues last July in the US and booked our wedding for September 7th 2013 however we naively only filed for the K1 Visa in Late January 2013 (i know!) as that was the next time we were together in person which we thought would be easier to go through and understand the whole process and get everything together rather than do it from a distance. (I'm sure everyone is appreciates it's such a difficult process to get everything organised without doing a lot of research etc and this makes it harder trying to do it over the phone or online)

Well judging by the waiting times most people have been experiencing I don't think we have a cat in hells chance of getting this all done and dusted without having to put the wedding back.... All invites have been sent and uk holidays have all been booked by the family and friends too !

I'm wondering if anyone has any similar experiences and how you got on?

You can have a wedding party without the wedding ceremony: theoretically, there should be no problems with doing this, though some people claim that they have had issues at the interview trying to prove that indeed the party was just a party and no legal contracts were signed.

[Jeikun 65]

Well, I was loathe to admit it here, but we did something similar. Filed early December, all booked for October. At the time looking at the averages, thought we were allowing for it taking 80% longer than expected and still being "safe"... haha.. ha... I'm still holding out hope, but since cancelling is out of the question, if it doesn't go in time we may have to marry, cancel K-1, File I-130 and get back to the end of the line. It really depends on how much DACA slows things down (and of course an unlucky few have way longer than average waiting times anyway).

If your wedding venue doesn't require you to actually get legally married, you could always do the ceremony and then be legally married later (ours won't do a ceremony unless you are already married, or give them the marriage license).

I definitely feel your pain, though I don't have much advice. Ceremony only if permissable, or marry and refile as an I-130, is about all I can offer as advise. Of course if someone comes along with something better (other than "wow you really shouldn't have done that") I'll be all ears as well.

[CraigC 3]

Well, I was loathe to admit it here, but we did something similar. Filed early December, all booked for October. At the time looking at the averages, thought we were allowing for it taking 80% longer than expected and still being "safe"... haha.. ha... I'm still holding out hope, but since cancelling is out of the question, if it doesn't go in time we may have to marry, cancel K-1, File I-130 and get back to the end of the line. It really depends on how much DACA slows things down (and of course an unlucky few have way longer than average waiting times anyway).

If your wedding venue doesn't require you to actually get legally married, you could always do the ceremony and then be legally married later (ours won't do a ceremony unless you are already married, or give them the marriage license).

I definitely feel your pain, though I don't have much advice. Ceremony only if permissable, or marry and refile as an I-130, is about all I can offer as advise. Of course if someone comes along with something better (other than "wow you really shouldn't have done that") I'll be all ears as well.

Thanks for the advice, I really hope yours comes off soon. good luck!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Hi everyone, new poster here and just posting a scared rant!

Have Had relationship with my American fiancee for over 7 years and got engaged in 2009. We visited some wedding venues last July in the US and booked our wedding for September 7th 2013 however we naively only filed for the K1 Visa in Late January 2013 (i know!) as that was the next time we were together in person which we thought would be easier to go through and understand the whole process and get everything together rather than do it from a distance. (I'm sure everyone is appreciates it's such a difficult process to get everything organised without doing a lot of research etc and this makes it harder trying to do it over the phone or online)

Well judging by the waiting times most people have been experiencing I don't think we have a cat in hells chance of getting this all done and dusted without having to put the wedding back.... All invites have been sent and uk holidays have all been booked by the family and friends too !

I'm wondering if anyone has any similar experiences and how you got on?

There is no way at all you will have the visa. After the petition is approved (maybe August as your timeline predicts), you've got another 3 months to get through the London part and receive the visa.

If you want to keep your wedding plans, you can scrap the petition fee and marry in September. Then go through the spouse visa process. Or if you will be together sooner, have a legal marriage and start the CR1 petition. You don't have to tell anybody you got married, and then carry on with your ceremony in September as long as your minister agrees to do it knowing you are already legally married. CR1 is a better visa in my opinion and a bit cheaper so will probably cover the abandoned fiancé petition fees. You will have to return to the UK until the visa is granted, but when you arrive, you will be a permanent resident allowed to work. Not so with the fiancé visa. You have to file for the greencard ($1070) and wait 5 months or so before you are a permanent resident.

[Berty 74]

Yes, we waited until the K-1 was in my passport (and in my hands!) before we even thought about booking up the wedding, although back when I went through the process an individual had six months to use the visa from the time of the interview; now it seems to be from the time of the medical (which would have halved it, personally speaking).

[retemad 14]

Not a chance in hell, sorry to say

[BaBamSam 239]

I'm going to agree with everyone else that you will almost definitely not have your visa by then :/

We filed in December and our best hope is October. We're not even thinking of planning a wedding until he's over here.

[CaroSL 68]

Hi everyone, new poster here and just posting a scared rant!

Have Had relationship with my American fiancee for over 7 years and got engaged in 2009. We visited some wedding venues last July in the US and booked our wedding for September 7th 2013 however we naively only filed for the K1 Visa in Late January 2013 (i know!) as that was the next time we were together in person which we thought would be easier to go through and understand the whole process and get everything together rather than do it from a distance. (I'm sure everyone is appreciates it's such a difficult process to get everything organised without doing a lot of research etc and this makes it harder trying to do it over the phone or online)

Well judging by the waiting times most people have been experiencing I don't think we have a cat in hells chance of getting this all done and dusted without having to put the wedding back.... All invites have been sent and uk holidays have all been booked by the family and friends too !

I'm wondering if anyone has any similar experiences and how you got on?

For the venue, you can ask them if you can move the date (choose something end of 2013 maybe) Explain them your situation. They should be ok with moving it. They'll find someone to book the place early september, no doubt, so they'll have that date filled, + they will have you in autumn or even winter (which is usually slow periods for venues) so they should actually be happy.

I thought of that my self, what would I do if I didn't get there for the wedding... ? well, I would probably go and have a big party and nice holidday with my friends and familly (who booked their tickets too) and my fiancé!

[mtcmk1 37]

I don't think you'll make that date

But maybe ask the venue if they'll keep the deposit and allow you to change the date once you have a better idea...

OR, you can go the US (if your tourist visa is still valid) and have an Engagement/Meet-and-Greet/Bridal party on that date, if they won't allow you to change the date...

[J@L 0]

Hi everyone, new poster here and just posting a scared rant!

Have Had relationship with my American fiancee for over 7 years and got engaged in 2009. We visited some wedding venues last July in the US and booked our wedding for September 7th 2013 however we naively only filed for the K1 Visa in Late January 2013 (i know!) as that was the next time we were together in person which we thought would be easier to go through and understand the whole process and get everything together rather than do it from a distance. (I'm sure everyone is appreciates it's such a difficult process to get everything organised without doing a lot of research etc and this makes it harder trying to do it over the phone or online)

Well judging by the waiting times most people have been experiencing I don't think we have a cat in hells chance of getting this all done and dusted without having to put the wedding back.... All invites have been sent and uk holidays have all been booked by the family and friends too !

I'm wondering if anyone has any similar experiences and how you got on?

Just hope you'll have your Visa approved before your wedding.Good luck.

jan

[toastedpancake 15]

I just wish you got visa before September

Goodluck!