Any Finnish/American Couples?

[Kaljukotka 5]

30 minutes ago, JCB86 said:

Congrats! We flew direct with Finnair from Helsinki to JFK. I had some minor thoughts that the flight would get cancelled because not enough seats to fill, but it didn't (despite being 10 people on the whole plane). I guess to retain their gate, they have to run planes, regardless of passenger level. 

 

He said CBP was the easiest he's ever done, CBP officer was literally saying "welcome and good job" through bites of his dinner lol. 

Thanks! Good to hear you got a direct flight and everything went well! Unfortunately in my case there’s no direct flight (I’m going to Minneapolis) so I would have to fly to some other European country first. Hopefully that doesn’t bring any extra risks with it. 🤞

 

How long did it take for your fiancé to receive his passport after the interview? Did they send it to him in the mail or did he pick it up in person?

[molehills 67]

7 minutes ago, Kaljukotka said:

Thanks! Good to hear you got a direct flight and everything went well! Unfortunately in my case there’s no direct flight (I’m going to Minneapolis) so I would have to fly to some other European country first. Hopefully that doesn’t bring any extra risks with it. 🤞

 

How long did it take for your fiancé to receive his passport after the interview? Did they send it to him in the mail or did he pick it up in person?

If I were you, I'd fly into the US then transfer, avoid any other COVID requirements which may get tacked on. I'm not sure what domestic flight requirements may be for COVID testing, but I think it's only international passengers are required. Up to you. 

 

It was ready for pickup in 2 days. But he opted to pick it up from the embassy. You can do both, you need to leave an addressed envelop with them to get it mailed to you though. 

[Kaljukotka 5]

22 minutes ago, JCB86 said:

If I were you, I'd fly into the US then transfer, avoid any other COVID requirements which may get tacked on. I'm not sure what domestic flight requirements may be for COVID testing, but I think it's only international passengers are required. Up to you. 

 

It was ready for pickup in 2 days. But he opted to pick it up from the embassy. You can do both, you need to leave an addressed envelop with them to get it mailed to you though. 

Thank you! I will look into different flight options. One reason why I would rather transfer in Europe than in the US is that I would have to take all of my belongings throught the security again in the US and I might fly with a lot of stuff which would be difficult to collect and handle alone. But I’ll definitely think about it. 
 

I left an envelope just in case since I wasn’t sure if they allow pick-ups at this time but glad to hear the processing time was so fast!

[molehills 67]

1 minute ago, Kaljukotka said:

Thank you! I will look into different flight options. One reason why I would rather transfer in Europe than in the US is that I would have to take all of my belongings throught the security again in the US and I might fly with a lot of stuff which would be difficult to collect and handle alone. But I’ll definitely think about it. 
 

I left an envelope just in case since I wasn’t sure if they allow pick-ups at this time but glad to hear the processing time was so fast!

Ah, well that's a plus too. I know I've seen folks get really close to having their COVID tests expire at US border because of transfers and running into possibility of denial of entry because their tests were not longer valid. 

 

Yeah, it was really smooth in Helsinki. No issues at all.

[Lenny&Sanna 114]

On 7/1/2021 at 7:49 AM, Kaljukotka said:

Approved! 🥳 They said it currently takes 2-3 weeks to process the visa but it seems I might be able to leave before the end of the month. There seems to be some flights with convenient connections available, at least for now, so let’s hope they don’t get cancelled. 

 

YAY! That's wonderful news to hear!!! I'm sure you're both extremely excited!

[PostalDuchess 30]

We are so close! My fiance had his medical last week and now I feel like I'm in an awful waiting game checking the portal multiple times a day in hopes and appointment will pop up. Is it normal that it just says no appointments available?

[molehills 67]

16 hours ago, PostalDuchess said:

We are so close! My fiance had his medical last week and now I feel like I'm in an awful waiting game checking the portal multiple times a day in hopes and appointment will pop up. Is it normal that it just says no appointments available?

We had to call to get an appointment. Embassy staff is only in on certain days, as well. Least in June that was the case. July 1 might have changed. But I'd definitely contact them because the portal didn't seem to work for us.

[PostalDuchess 30]

On 7/10/2021 at 8:10 AM, JCB86 said:

We had to call to get an appointment. Embassy staff is only in on certain days, as well. Least in June that was the case. July 1 might have changed. But I'd definitely contact them because the portal didn't seem to work for us.

Just getting in touch with them has been a nightmare. I sit on the line listening to the music for an hour at a time and no one answers. Thank you for providing your experience. Fingers crossed I can make some headway!

 

Thanks again.

[MJoseph123 0]

Can anyone advise me on CR-1 vs K-1 visa processing times in Helsinki? My partner and I are trying to decide which is the best option for us. We are currently living in Finland, I am a US citizen with a Finnish residence permit and she is Native Finn. We are planning to marry soon and would like to continue our life in the US as soon as possible.

[TiiaChris 0]

10 minutes ago, PostalDuchess said:

Just getting in touch with them has been a nightmare. I sit on the line listening to the music for an hour at a time and no one answers. Thank you for providing your experience. Fingers crossed I can make some headway!

 

Thanks again.

Just send them an email to the same address where you received the K1 instructions from they will give you an appointment right away. 😊

[molehills 67]

Just now, MJoseph123 said:

Can anyone advise me on CR-1 vs K-1 visa processing times in Helsinki? My partner and I are trying to decide which is the best option for us. We are currently living in Finland, I am a US citizen with a Finnish residence permit and she is Native Finn. We are planning to marry soon and would like to continue our life in the US as soon as possible.

Nothing in immigration is "fast". CR1 is for spouses, so if you're going to marry in Finland that is your only option, unless your future wife is being sponsored by a job or has scheduled schooling in the US.

 

As your spouse, she'd be exempt from the travel ban, however, she is still subject to the ESTA requirements for staying in the US - 90 days, until an immigrant visa is obtained and adjudicated. Or a Tourist Visa, which I believe is 6 months. 

[PostalDuchess 30]

2 hours ago, TiiaChris said:

Just send them an email to the same address where you received the K1 instructions from they will give you an appointment right away. 😊

Thank you!

Just tried that. Fingers crossed.

[Lenny&Sanna 114]

2 hours ago, MJoseph123 said:

Can anyone advise me on CR-1 vs K-1 visa processing times in Helsinki? My partner and I are trying to decide which is the best option for us. We are currently living in Finland, I am a US citizen with a Finnish residence permit and she is Native Finn. We are planning to marry soon and would like to continue our life in the US as soon as possible.

 

I would personally go for the K1 versus the CR1 given the turnaround times are a big difference and with the huge backlog of petitions in the USA it is known that the K1 Visas tend to move faster versus the CR1. It was still the same back when we did all of that. But as someone else stated either way it is not a fast process unfortunately and depending on the service center in the USA and such you're assigned to and vice versa it just depends. I think you need to do what you both find to make you the happiest. Would it make you happier marrying in Finland or in the USA and such which is the most important thing in my opinion! 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Lenny&Sanna

[MJoseph123 0]

16 hours ago, Lenny&Sanna said:

 

I would personally go for the K1 versus the CR1 given the turnaround times are a big difference and with the huge backlog of petitions in the USA it is known that the K1 Visas tend to move faster versus the CR1. It was still the same back when we did all of that. But as someone else stated either way it is not a fast process unfortunately and depending on the service center in the USA and such you're assigned to and vice versa it just depends. I think you need to do what you both find to make you the happiest. Would it make you happier marrying in Finland or in the USA and such which is the most important thing in my opinion! 

Thank you for the great insight and opinion.

 

I agree that whatever makes us the happiest is the most important thing. Thanks to the insight from this website and previous peoples experience who were in a similar situation as us in Finland I believe we are going to wait and marry in the US and apply for the K1.

 

Do you have any tips or suggestions for the I-129f online submission process?

[molehills 67]

10 minutes ago, MJoseph123 said:

Thank you for the great insight and opinion.

 

I agree that whatever makes us the happiest is the most important thing. Thanks to the insight from this website and previous peoples experience who were in a similar situation as us in Finland I believe we are going to wait and marry in the US and apply for the K1.

 

Do you have any tips or suggestions for the I-129f online submission process?

There is no such thing as online submission for the I129f. It has to be mailed in paper to USCIS.