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K-1 Visa process and procedure in Italy when pregnant

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Wales
Timeline

I would not open that can of worms and retract/refile. Who knows what buerauecratic snafus this can cause. Such a petition, refiled in a few months for the same person would most likely come under more intense scrutiny. At least they are already 3+ months into the waiting and have "just" 4 more to go till approval.

Retracting a petition also takes times, especially at TSC. And worst case, USCIS gets confused with the two cases - has happened before for people whose paperwork got lost or who had to retract for personal reasons and refile later. For them, the process turned into a multi-year nightmare!

Exactly.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

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Boston-Montreat- That was the forum I read last night that freaked me out! I have talked to my lawyer and only got a vague "we see lots of people with cosponsors get visas"

Boiler- Yes, we are aware that he cannot work right away and more paperwork needs to be filed. I work as a nanny, so my living expenses are paid for, but my check each week, puts me below the income guidlines.

The refusal of cosponsors is specific to a few countries/diplomatic missions. If you don't trust your lawyer, you can try to emai them yourself.

Also, Italy has better stats than the USA in the WHO rankings on maternal and baby health... Something to think about if you want the support of your spouse..

Edited by Boston~Montreal
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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Jordan
Timeline

GH - one option you may consider is to see if you have any friends in a state covered by the CSC. If you do, see if you can move in with them for three months or at least use their address for a new petition. Retract your current petition, pay another fee and submit a new petition using the mailing address covered under CSC.

Don't lie on your documents. Don't say you are living there or intend to live there unless you are. But, please don't take this advice until you have discussed that option with your lawyer!

This was just an idea.

It's an idea, but not a good one. By the time she cancels and re-files it will be a few months wasted, she will be no further ahead, Plus USCIS isn't naive, CSC will know she cancelled her first petition and re-filed with a California address they are not blind. Not to mention the fact that processing times fluctuate at each service center, for all anyone knows a week from now the tables could turn and CSC will be the slower of the 2 centers.

OP: I have never seen anyone from Italy be refused a joint sponsor who makes over the minimum income requirement. Not to say it doesn't happen, but Italy is a European country with little fraud. Also trying to get a k-1 expedited on the basis of financial loss will never work as with a k-1 the beneficiary isn't even allowed to work until they have a work permit which is several months after he enters on his k-1. Also, pregnancy is not a reason for expedite. USCIS isn't very sympathetic to what is going on in people's personal lives, they are not in the business of approving petitions based on sympathy. If that were the case everyone would have some sort of excuse for expedite, we all have suffered hardship being away from our significant others. There is nothing easy about immigration, it's long, difficult and expensive, but in the end it works out. Best of luck and keep us updated.

Edited by mimolicious


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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Italy
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Ok, I wont move to California anytime soon! But Amhara, I appreciate the thought. I am so desperate for any shred of hope. I am shocked at how messed up this system is and how nobody with the power to do anything is willing to help.

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: United Kingdom
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Amhara- Thank you, I do have friends and family in California. I will look into this. Thank you. Is the California processig time really that much quicker?

That's a mighty large gamble that I don't know if I would consider taking.

You would need to wait until the original petition was actually cancelled. There's no saying how long that will actually take. Then there's the cost and time to file a new one, and processing times can swing at any moment. They're constantly in a ebb and flow, by the time you're able to file a new one that will hopefully go to CSC, CSC could very well be at a 15 month processing time because case loads shift or that DACA/DAPA nonsense gets rolling again and they decide CSC is the perfect place to process it all.

Then there's the obvious questions that will come up as to why you cancelled one petition and then immediately filed another.

But it's your choice. I would think long and hard on that.

November 14th, 2013: She's here!

December 12th, 2013: Picked up marriage license.

December 14th, 2013: Wedding

6gai.jpg

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Don't feel too discouraged, GH. You are well along the process; remember, all the service center's goal is to work a petition within 5 months. Try not to focus on how you can speed the process along until after the end of 6 months, just so you don't get too focused on the process. The wait can develop like a dark cloud over your head, and you have a new life to care for and your charges as well.

There may be a change in wait times, some service center transfers to even out workloads, and you may find a petition or two to sign - if nothing else to help make you feel as if you spoke up as best you can.

You can find other forums in this site that can help you vent your frustrations, but stay as close to your future spouse as possible. Try to think of your future lives with each other that don't always involve deadlines. Don't feel ashamed to cry.

We are all in this together. Stay diligent and stay yourself. Watch the timelines (keep yours updated as well) to make sure your case doesn't fall through the cracks. Of all the thousands upon thousands of K-1 visa's that are processed by the government each year, they don't all have problems. May your petition slide through the entire USCIS, NVC, and State Dept processes like a newborn slipping into this world into the doctor's hands!!!!!



Signature coming soon...

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Philippines
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CSC is 2 to 3 times quicker than TSC, it is a sad fact.

Your story is a sad one, and I can only hope it gets better for you and your fiance.

Here is to a speedy approval, and things start going smoother, for you.

YOU deserve it.

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Jordan
Timeline

Ok, I wont move to California anytime soon! But Amhara, I appreciate the thought. I am so desperate for any shred of hope. I am shocked at how messed up this system is and how nobody with the power to do anything is willing to help.

The system is for sure not easy, but it does work. There are thousands upon thousands of petitions filed each and every month that need to be carefully adjudicated and in this day and age it is especially difficult. Between scam marriages and relationships and the threat of terrorism since 9/11 there is a lot of scrutiny placed upon people who file. When you think of how many people send petitions and all of the documentation that goes along with each and every person, their jobs must be quite daunting. We all have gone through the wait, the not knowing, the second guessing at each and every step along the way, it's stressful. There is always hope and in the end your fiance will get here, hopefully by the time you have your baby. If he doesn't make it here by that time it will be soon thereafter. Please try not to over think everything, being pregnant should be a happy time and stressing yourself out won't help anyone, especially the baby. There is nothing you can really do at this point to speed up the process other than to make sure that you have all of your documentation and it's all in order so you can void getting an RFE. We all feel your pain, we have all had to wait at one step or another, but try to keep your head up and before you know it he will be here and this will be nothing but a distant memory.


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What really may be best (and possibly easiest, in this case), is for you to go to Italy, marry and file for a spousal visa from there. I believe that they have to take co-sponsors for spousal visas (because that document is legally binding, whereas the one for the K-1 is not). In terms of Italian hospitals---I've been in one too and what I saw there didn't really inspire much confidence, either. However, there are other hospitals (they can't all be bad, and even if they *look* bad, the standard of care can still be quite high), and private clinics and I assume private midwives as well.

That of course is completely up to you and your fiance, and I really understand how that could be a difficult choice, but it would get you two together quicker, together for the birth, having family support and his income. Then, if you go the spousal visa route, you can be together waiting for it, they will take a co-sponsor, and he'll be eligible to work as soon as he arrives (edited to add: whereas, with the K-1, he's not even eligible to apply for work authorization until you're married. So however long that takes plus 3 or so months for the employment authorization to come in. You'd be supporting a family of three for up to 6 months).

Otherwise, to stick with the plan, it sounds like you've exhausted your options to get it expedited and it's just the standard "hurry up and wait" thing. If you filed in December, you should hear back by July and have another 2 or so months for embassy processing. I don't know details about the probability of them rejecting the co-sponsor (but if they do, you'd *have* to travel to Italy, marry and go for the spousal visa which can take 14+ months). Your lawyer should be able to answer that. And if he cannot....you may be better off doing this DIY, using Visajourney for help (as you are now). A lot of people here are much more up-to-date on country specific information and processing times than many lawyers.

Edited by CatherineA

Marriage/ AOS Timeline:

23 Dec 2015: Legal marriage

23 Jan 2016: Wedding!

23 Jan 2016: "Blizzard of the Century", wedding canceled/rescheduled (thank goodness we were legally married first or we'd have had a big problem!) :sleepy:

24 Jan 2016: Small "civil ceremony" with friends and family who were snowed in with us. December was a bit of a secret and people had traveled internationally and knew we *had* to get married that weekend, and our December legal marriage was nothing but signing a piece of paper at our priest's kitchen table, without any sort of vows etc so this was actually a very special (if not legally significant) day. (L)

16 Apr 2016: Filed for AOS and EAD/AP (We delayed a bit-- no big rush, enjoying the USCIS break)

23 Apr 2016: Wedding! Finally! :luv:

27 Apr 2016: Electronic NOA1 for all 3 :dancing:
29 Apr 2016: NOA1 Hardcopy for all 3
29 Jul 2016: Online service request for late EAD (Day 104)
29 Jul 2016: EAD/AP Approved ~3 hours after online service request
04 Aug 2016: RFE for Green Card (requested medicals/ vaccination record. They already have it). :ranting:
05 Aug 2016: EAD/AP Combo Card arrived! (Day 111)
08 Aug 2016: Congressional constituent request to get guidance on the RFE. Hoping they see they have the form and approve!

K-1 Visa Timeline:

PLEASE NOTE. This timeline was during the period of time when TSC was working on I-129fs and had a huge backlog. The average processing time was 210+ days. This is in no way predictive of your own timeline if you filed during or after April 2015, unless CSC develops a backlog. A backlog is anything above the 5-month goal time listed on USCIS's site

14 Feb 2015: Mailed I-129f to Dallas Lockbox. (L) (Most expensive Valentine's card I've ever sent!)

17 Feb 2015: NOA1 "Received Date"
19 Feb 2015: NOA1 Notice Date
08 Aug 2015: NOA2 email! :luv: (173 days from NOA1)

17 Aug 2015: Sent to NVC

?? Aug 2015: Arrived at NVC

25 Aug 2015: NVC Case # Assigned

31 Aug 2015: Left NVC for Consulate in San Jose

09 Sep 2015: Consulate received :dancing: (32 days from NOA2)

11 Sep 2015: Packet 3 emailed from embassy to me, the petitioner (34 days from NOA2).

18 Sep 2015: Medicals complete

21 Sep 2015: Packet 3 complete, my boss puts a temporary moratorium on all time off due to work emergency :clock:

02 Oct 2015: Work emergency clears up, interview scheduled (soonest available was 5 business days away--Columbus Day was in there)

13 Oct 2015: Interview

13 Oct 2015: VISA APPROVED :thumbs: (236 days from NOA1)

19 Oct 2015: Visa-in-hand

24 Oct 2015: POE !

15 Dec 2015: Fiance's mother's B-2 visa interview: APPROVED! So happy she will be at the wedding! :thumbs:

!

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CatherineA - Doesn't the spousal visa take more time since it's an immigrant visa and the finance visa is non-immigrant?



Signature coming soon...

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Yes. But the OP is worried that the K-1 will be rejected because they don't take co-sponsors in Italy (apparently. That is something to work out with the lawyer and folks who know Italy here on Visajourney. I have no clue, I'm just going by what OP has said and what others have said on this thread). She is also worried and stressed about doing the rest of her pregnancy and birth on her own. She may also want to think about the implications of if he DOES get the K-1, what it will be like for him to be out of work in the US for at least 3 months (and that's if they get married and file for EAD the day he lands).

While a *really* world-turning idea, maybe in this case it is a safer bet for her to immigrate to Italy temporarily (for as long as the spousal visa takes) so that she can have the rest of the pregnancy and birth with her fiance and so that he is authorized to work upon arrival in the US. Bonus: they could see each other tomorrow if she wanted to go this route.

She will have to go the spousal visa route if the K-1 is denied (again, the likelihood of this happening needs to be discussed with other people, I'm only basing this on what the OP said she's been told and others have said here), and because of the TSC timeframe, she won't find out about that until after the baby is born and then things are much more complicated from there. One way or the other, she could be looking at either waiting out the spousal visa in Italy (either starting right now or after the K-1 is denied), or she'd be looking at getting a passport for the baby, transcontinental travel (round trip) with an infant, then waiting out the spousal visa alone in the US---with a baby to care for.

Marriage/ AOS Timeline:

23 Dec 2015: Legal marriage

23 Jan 2016: Wedding!

23 Jan 2016: "Blizzard of the Century", wedding canceled/rescheduled (thank goodness we were legally married first or we'd have had a big problem!) :sleepy:

24 Jan 2016: Small "civil ceremony" with friends and family who were snowed in with us. December was a bit of a secret and people had traveled internationally and knew we *had* to get married that weekend, and our December legal marriage was nothing but signing a piece of paper at our priest's kitchen table, without any sort of vows etc so this was actually a very special (if not legally significant) day. (L)

16 Apr 2016: Filed for AOS and EAD/AP (We delayed a bit-- no big rush, enjoying the USCIS break)

23 Apr 2016: Wedding! Finally! :luv:

27 Apr 2016: Electronic NOA1 for all 3 :dancing:
29 Apr 2016: NOA1 Hardcopy for all 3
29 Jul 2016: Online service request for late EAD (Day 104)
29 Jul 2016: EAD/AP Approved ~3 hours after online service request
04 Aug 2016: RFE for Green Card (requested medicals/ vaccination record. They already have it). :ranting:
05 Aug 2016: EAD/AP Combo Card arrived! (Day 111)
08 Aug 2016: Congressional constituent request to get guidance on the RFE. Hoping they see they have the form and approve!

K-1 Visa Timeline:

PLEASE NOTE. This timeline was during the period of time when TSC was working on I-129fs and had a huge backlog. The average processing time was 210+ days. This is in no way predictive of your own timeline if you filed during or after April 2015, unless CSC develops a backlog. A backlog is anything above the 5-month goal time listed on USCIS's site

14 Feb 2015: Mailed I-129f to Dallas Lockbox. (L) (Most expensive Valentine's card I've ever sent!)

17 Feb 2015: NOA1 "Received Date"
19 Feb 2015: NOA1 Notice Date
08 Aug 2015: NOA2 email! :luv: (173 days from NOA1)

17 Aug 2015: Sent to NVC

?? Aug 2015: Arrived at NVC

25 Aug 2015: NVC Case # Assigned

31 Aug 2015: Left NVC for Consulate in San Jose

09 Sep 2015: Consulate received :dancing: (32 days from NOA2)

11 Sep 2015: Packet 3 emailed from embassy to me, the petitioner (34 days from NOA2).

18 Sep 2015: Medicals complete

21 Sep 2015: Packet 3 complete, my boss puts a temporary moratorium on all time off due to work emergency :clock:

02 Oct 2015: Work emergency clears up, interview scheduled (soonest available was 5 business days away--Columbus Day was in there)

13 Oct 2015: Interview

13 Oct 2015: VISA APPROVED :thumbs: (236 days from NOA1)

19 Oct 2015: Visa-in-hand

24 Oct 2015: POE !

15 Dec 2015: Fiance's mother's B-2 visa interview: APPROVED! So happy she will be at the wedding! :thumbs:

!

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Filed: Citizen (pnd) Country: Pakistan
Timeline

CatherineA - Doesn't the spousal visa take more time since it's an immigrant visa and the finance visa is non-immigrant?

Yes it would add time to their wait, as they would have to get married and then refile and overall in general the CR1 process is taking more time than the K1 at the moment. The point CatherineA was making is with a CR1 visa, the embassy must accept a cosponsor. Another thing to consider is with the CR1 her husband would be eligible to work immediately upon arrival to the US as apposed to having to get married and AoS.

Spoiler

 

Married December 19, 2014

I-130 Petition sent January 14, 2015
NOA1 date January 20, 2015 (NSC)

NOA2 date May 28, 2015 :dance::dance::dance:

Mailed to NVC June 4, 2015

NVC Received June 10, 2015

NVC Case Number Assigned June 23, 2015

NVC AoS Invoice via Mail June 24, 2015

NVC Selected Agent Over Phone June 30, 2015 (Unable to logon to CEAC)

NVC IV Invoice via email received July 1, 2015

NVC AoS/IV Package Mailed July 2, 2015

NVC AoS & IV Fee Paid Online (CEAC is working) July 6. 2015

NVC Document Scan Date July 6, 2015

NCV AoS & IV Fee marked as paid in CEAC July, 7 2015

NVC DS 260 Completed July 8, 2015

NVC CC July 30, 2015 (24 days after scan date, about 2 months post NOA2)

Interview Scheduled on August 26, 2015

Interview P4 Email Received August 27, 2015

Medical in Islamabad September 2, 2015

Interview Date September 22, 2015 CANCELLED (Embassy is Over scheduled) :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

Interview Scheduled on September 10, 2015

Interview Date October 14, 2015 APPROVED

Visa Issued October 16, 2015, 9 months start to finish

POE JFK October 26, 2015

GC in Hand Jan 8, 2016

RoC I-751 NOA1 August 31, 2017 (Vermont Service Center)

Biometrics October 2, 2017

I551 Stamp in Passport August 2, 2018

18 Month Extension Letter August 3, 2018

Applied for Naturalization N-400 Online July 30, 2018

Biometrics August 23, 2018

10 year GC is in production September 17, 2018

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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If they go down this route of marrying and she can establish legal residency in Italy for 6 months or more, they can do DCF - the entire visa process is handled by the Italian consulate and done in 3months or less.

K1 time line

 


I-129F sent: 12/23/2014
NOA-1: 12/29/2014
NOA-2: 06/05/2015 (158 days)
NOA-2 hardcopy: 06/11/2015 (6 days post NOA-2, 164 days total)
Sent to NVC: 06/16/2015 (11 days post NOA-2, 169 days total)
NVC receive: 06/25/2015 (20 days post NOA-2, 178 days total)
NVC case no: 06/30/2015 (25 days post NOA-2, 183 days total)
NVC left: 07/02/2015 (27 days post NOA-2, 185 days total)
Case Ready: 07/07/2015 (32 days post NOA-2, 190 days total)
submitted DS-160, paid visa fee.: 07/21/2015 (46 days post NOA-2, 204 days total)
Packet 3 sent: 07/25/2015 (50 days post NOA-2, 209 days total)
Pack 4 received: 07/30/2015 (55 days post NOA-2, 214 days total)
Medical: 09/17/2015 Interview: 09/23/2015 (108 days post NOA-2, 268 days total)
Interview Result: Approved Administrative Processing: 09/23/2015
CEAC Status Issued: 09/24/2015
Visa in hand: 09/28/2015
POE: 12/29/2015 Wedding: 01/11/2016


AOS Time Line

 

AOS package mailed: 01/13/2016
AOS package received: 01/20/2016 (day 1)
AOS NOA-1 text/email: 01/23/2016 (day 3), actual NOA-1 date 01/22/2016 (day 2)
AOS Fingerprint fee received: 01/22/2016 (day 2)
AOS check cashed: 01-25-2016 (day 5) Got 6 month NJ driver's license: 01-25-2016
3x NOA-1 hardcopies: 02/03/2016 (day 14)

Biometrics letter: 02/05/2016 (day 16) Biometrics appt (Elizabeth, NJ): 02/17/2016 (day 28)

EAD and AP approved email/txt: 03/29/2016 (day 67)

GC approval email/text: 04/04/2016 (day 74)

I-797 for I-765/I-131 in mail: 04/04/2016 (day 74)

EAD/AP delivered: 04/05/216 (day 75)

GC card being mailed status update: 04/07/16 (day 77)

GC received: 04/11/16 (day 84 post AOS NOA-1)

DONE WITH USCIS FOR 21 MONTHS!

ROC Window opens: 01/04/2018

 

ROC Time Line
ROC package mailed to Vermont 01/04/2018
ROC package received at Vermont 01/08/2018 (day 0)
Check cashed: 01/16/2018 (day 8 )
NOA-1 date: 01/09/2018 (day 1)
NOA-1 received: 01/16/2018 (day 8 )
Biometrics notice received: 02/09/2018 (day 32)
Biometrics appointment: 02/23/2018 (day 46)
Received 18-month extension letter: 08/13/2018 (day 209)
ROC Approved: 03/09/2019 (day 425)
Card Received: 03/16/2019  (day 432)
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