This forum is for Case Filing, Progress Reports & and Congrats Posts :)

[southafricatousa 0]

Just to start off my name is Jesse and I'm engaged to Sarah. Sarah and I met in the USA - she was actually one of my first customers at my business. Eventually after a wonderful relationship in the states, Sarah had to go back to South Africa (her visa expired). We decided it was best for her to go home to see her family and friends. It would also give us time to think about our feelings for one another. We also did not want her to stay illegally and ruin our chances of her coming back!

Sarah left on May 25th of 2007 (hardest thing ever). After a lot of phone calls, I arrived in South Africa rom the end of August to the beginning of September where I asked her to marry me. I arrived home on September 11th. After arriving home I found an immigration lawyer. I didn't want to do it alone. Joe has been a fantastic lawyer, worked for the government, and able to let me ask questions and get stressed out! Very important!

The good news in the beginning. We sent out the entire visa application on September 21st 2007. On October 3rd, I was reading the reports on receipt delays and was so stressed that we could just have to wait months for the receipt and to even start the process - that night I checked the mailbox and there was the receipt! I was shocked. I cried, so happy knowing that the road to getting Sarah back had truly started. I was also amazed at the speed of the receipt. Was that normal? The receipt was dated received on October 1st - we received a receipt in a week from the Vermont Service Center?

Waiting! It's been exactly 60 days since we received the receipt not any word. When I check online it states case received and pending. What would we receive next? I did speak to the lawyer recently and he sounded optimistic. He stated that he wouldn't be surprised if we heard very soon about an approval. I don't know though...I'm beginning to get very sad about the process. However, I had another great experience with Sarah. I flew back over to South Africa from 10/16/07 to 11/13/07 - ALMOST A WHOE MONTH THERE! It helped cut a month out of this long process..much needed.

I hope everyone enjoyed our story. I like this site so I signed up today to talk to others, help myself calm down about the process, and learn more. Best of luck to everyone today with visa stuff.

Time line:

Lawyer mailed 129f package - September 21, 2007

Vermont received and sent receipt - October 1, 2007.....only 5-6 business days!

Now waiting on approval...

[honeybear 0]

08/24/06 - we met thru his cousin who was my co-worker (he ws in the PI for a month's visit w/ his parents)

08/26/06 - went out on a group date after attending my co-worker's wedding (i was a secondary sponsor & he attended as a guest of his cousin)

08/27/06 - went on our first date

08/29/06 - he went back to hawaii but promised to keep in touch with me (i wasnt expecting)

10/26/06 - he went back to the PI for my birthday

10/27/06 - he asked me to be his Girlfriend

10/29/06 - my birthday and i introduced him to my parents as my boyfriend

11/04/06 - my honey left for hawaii again

12/29/06 - my honey came back to celebrate the holidays and his birthday w/ me

01/07/07 - my honey left again for hawaii ( he's gotta work, huhu!)

04/18/07 - my honey and his parents went back to the PI

we had dinner and he asked me to marry him and i said yes! we're ENGAGED!

04/21/07 - his parents met w/ my parents to formally meet and to ask for my hand in marriage for their son.

05/01/07 - my honey had to leave again for hawaii

05/28/07 - my honey sent the petition to USCIS

06/08/07 - USCIS recieved (on-line)

09/25/07 - hard copy of NOA1 received thru mail

10/15/07 - process for the petition was taking long so he decided to go back to the PI coz we miss each other so much

10/22/07 - NOA2 approved (on-line)

10/27/07 - OUR ANNIVERSARY!!! (although he considers 8/24/07 as our anniversary since that was the day we met)

11/08/07 - honey had to leave me again to go back to hawaii

12/10/07 - i was assigned an interview date (2/7/08) and PE date (1/30/07) (hope i get approved!!)

.....WAITING FOR MY PACKET 4

Edited December 14, 2007 by honeybear

[katrina_07 0]

APPROVED NOA2 is on the way

Hi! I guess you are still lucky!!! U know why? My fiance filed the K1 visa end June 2007 and NOA-1 as posted in the USCIS website on July 10. Until now, after 5 months no word yet re NOA-2. I reviewed just the other day the website of USCIS and noticed that our docs have been last touched last July 14, 2007. The average days of processing for K-1 visa at California Service Center is about 4.3 months and ours is pending already 5 months. Guys, would you know what should be the next step that we should do? Would appreciate your comments. Thanks.

[katrina_07 0]

Hi honeybear!

Oh good for you that you have already you got already your interview sked and medical sked. We got received receipt of NOA-1 july 2 ( but posted in the USCIS web as acknowleged July 10) but till now havent gotten NOA-2. I havent really been thinking much about the visa lately coz i have been too busy as well till it hit me that its December already and no NOA-2 yet. Now im getting nervous about it!

[~~~water~~~ 0]

We filed Oct. 06 - noa1 in mid oct - noa 2 Dec - Then welcome to cairo .... took 2 months to get packet 3 and about 10 emails 3 phone calls - finally get the interview in may and have been in AP for 8plus months with no end in sight. Be thankful if your fiance is from anywhere else

Edited January 7, 2008 by water is wide

[susurro2u2 0]

My fiancee who resides in the Philippines interview at the US Embassy on December 5th 2007. The interviewer who was a woman was very kind to her and asked about her that was filed for her 19 years ago. She explained to her that he abandoned her many years and that the marriage was annulled. She asked her if there were any other marriages and she answered no. She told her that she believe that she and I do in fact have an ongoing relationship and asked her about the three times that she has applied for a tourist visa and was denied. My fiancee told her that she planned on going to a business convention in Chicago of restaurant supply companies and wanted to visit me in the process. The interview asked her for a certified copy of her annullment, which she didn't have. She told her to drop it off at the Embassy the next day which she did. She was told that they would check to verify the annullment and get back to her. She payed Delbros for the delivery of her passport, etc. At 8 am on Jan 7th, she got a delivery from Delbros and prayed before she opened the packet. There much to her surprise was her visa granting her permission to travel to the US. I was so happy and relieved to hear the news after this long and difficult wait. She was cry on the phone all the while that she was relaying this to me. Heck, tears even filled my eyes, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The wait and not knowing is finally over...Thank God! To all of you who are now in the same situation, I know that it is difficult, but the time will come and you too will get the good news. Keep the Faith. I am grateful for this forum and the people involved, it has helped us immensely. Thank You all!

~Dennis & Charito~

PS I have a question that I need an answer to. My fiancee is planning on coming to the US next month (February), does she need a roundtrip ticket, or is a one sufficient? Thanks for your help.

[sara..... 371]

Well I guess I better introduce myself I have been a lurker for a while. I am Sara..... Here is our time line so far..

Service Center : California Service Center

Consulate : New Delhi, India

I-129F Sent : 2007-08-10

I-129F NOA1 : 2007-09-24

our recite date was Sept twenty 24 but didnt receive the NOA1 in the mail until October 5th.....so I'm not sure if we are Oct flyer's or Sept flyers.

I have not seen my love since Jan of LAST year........it was not too hard to wait until just recently.......our time line keeps changing in Dec it said Jan now it says Feb........I am normally a person that can wait with out much complaint....lol at least I used to be........We have been engaged for three years now.......he wanted to wait until I was older so thats why the three year wait....

I hope that we get good news soon........

To help organize the K-1 Forum this new sub-forum was created to give a people a place where they can share their story and Journey along the way to getting their K-1 Visa.

[AskimZeki 0]

Just to start off my name is Jesse and I'm engaged to Sarah. Sarah and I met in the USA - she was actually one of my first customers at my business. Eventually after a wonderful relationship in the states, Sarah had to go back to South Africa (her visa expired). We decided it was best for her to go home to see her family and friends. It would also give us time to think about our feelings for one another. We also did not want her to stay illegally and ruin our chances of her coming back!

Sarah left on May 25th of 2007 (hardest thing ever). After a lot of phone calls, I arrived in South Africa rom the end of August to the beginning of September where I asked her to marry me. I arrived home on September 11th. After arriving home I found an immigration lawyer. I didn't want to do it alone. Joe has been a fantastic lawyer, worked for the government, and able to let me ask questions and get stressed out! Very important!

The good news in the beginning. We sent out the entire visa application on September 21st 2007. On October 3rd, I was reading the reports on receipt delays and was so stressed that we could just have to wait months for the receipt and to even start the process - that night I checked the mailbox and there was the receipt! I was shocked. I cried, so happy knowing that the road to getting Sarah back had truly started. I was also amazed at the speed of the receipt. Was that normal? The receipt was dated received on October 1st - we received a receipt in a week from the Vermont Service Center?

Waiting! It's been exactly 60 days since we received the receipt not any word. When I check online it states case received and pending. What would we receive next? I did speak to the lawyer recently and he sounded optimistic. He stated that he wouldn't be surprised if we heard very soon about an approval. I don't know though...I'm beginning to get very sad about the process. However, I had another great experience with Sarah. I flew back over to South Africa from 10/16/07 to 11/13/07 - ALMOST A WHOE MONTH THERE! It helped cut a month out of this long process..much needed.

I hope everyone enjoyed our story. I like this site so I signed up today to talk to others, help myself calm down about the process, and learn more. Best of luck to everyone today with visa stuff.

Time line:

Lawyer mailed 129f package - September 21, 2007

Vermont received and sent receipt - October 1, 2007.....only 5-6 business days!

Now waiting on approval...

Im assuming you have received your approval by now. It took me almost 5 months to get mine. I thought it was so wonderful!!!! thinking the hard part was over... it hadn't even begun! WE are now into our 4th month of administrative processing after the interview. It could be up to 2 years before we hear anything else. I hope you are a hell of a lot luckier than we were!!!! Luck to you! Let me know how your progress is!

[RyLee012 0]

Yay! NOA2!!!

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Current Status: Approval notice sent.

On August 4, 2008, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

[nowhereman 1]

Hello all - n00b here.

I am curious about this; I notice many of you got your Noa1 and 2'd very fast, like weeks after filing the I-129f. I filed mine on July 19 and just received my "notice of delivery receipt" dated July 30. How did you all get so lucky?

Well first of all some service centers seem faster than others (e.g. the Vermont Service Center seems to be faster than the rest). Secondly of course each case is different so it's hard to compare one case to another. For example I got an expedite based on National Interest/ Military Service, but most filers are not eligible for an expedite. All I can say is be very, very, very careful when you fill out the paperwork (I am absolutely convinced that USCIS looks for reasons to kick back a petition) & be a pain in their butt after you send the I129F and supporting documents.

I know I probably didn't make you feel any better (sorry), but I hope I gave you the "ground truth".

[josephtremblay 0]

Cross-posted from my review of my experience at the Montreal Consulate

First let me say that this is my first post on visajourney.com despite being a frequent visitor for several months. The community has been EXTREMELY helpful and the K-1 process wouldn't have been anywhere near as smooth without it.

Question: is it unusual to receive an appointment letter just a few days before the interview? I was wondering when I'd hear about my appointment (Packet 3 returned to Montreal early in September) so I sent an email to the consulate on October 8. They wrote back saying that a letter was being sent for an interview on October 22. By Friday, October 17 I still hadn't received the letter so I wrote the consulate again and they faxed me a copy (the letter arrived in the mail on Monday October 20). Thank God for email!

I arrived in Montreal last night and walked past the consulate (so I knew where to go in the morning) on the way to my hotel (The Embassy Suites on St. Antoine - less than a 10 minute walk to the consulate).

Left the hotel at 6:40, arrived at the consulate and was the only person there until about 7:15. By the time the doors opened at 7:30 there were about half a dozen people there. Cleared security (I hadn't brought anything that wasn't essential with me) and went downstairs to the waiting room with my letter A (YAY! First in line!).

Got taken upstairs at 7:45 and at 8:00 sharp was called to Window 11 to hand over my documents. Of the 3 inches and 2 pounds of documents I had with me, they only took 1/2 inch and 1/4 pound. The woman at Window 11 was very nice. When she asked how I was doing I said, "Just a little nervous." She asked why I was nervous. I replied, "Because I want to marry my sweetie and I'd like for you guys to say it's ok". She laughed.

Sat down for a few minutes then went to pay my fees at 8:15 (when the cashier opened). Sat down for another couple of minutes then got called back to Window 11 for fingerprinting.

Then the longest wait .... I knew there could sometimes be a long interval between fingerprints and the interview, but I was still nervous.

Then, around 8:40 a VERY happy sound male voice came over the loudspeaker directing me to Room 8. I went in and there was a very nice, cheerful man waiting behind the glass. When he asked how I was doing, I repeated the line about being nervous ... want to marry my sweetie ... and so on. He laughed. He had me swear that everything contained in the package was true to the best of my knowledge. When I signed the DS-156K he noticed I was a lefty and said, "Oh, we've got enough lefties in the US, I don't think I'm going to be able to approve you!" I replied that I think that may be ground for appeal. More laughter.

He asked a few questions about how Katie & I met, what she does for a living, what I do for a living, where she lives. He then asked if we had a lawyer helping us prepare the application. I said that we'd met with one to have the process explained to us, but we did everything on our own. He said the reason he asked is because when he sees this much paper lawyers are usually involved. I said, "No lawyers, just two very ####### people" More laughter.

He then told me I was approved, adding that I was an ideal candidate, that Katie & I had done our homework regarding the visa process and he hoped that the rest of his interviews that day were as easy as mine. I thanked him profusely then went back to the hotel to call my sweetie!

Now lots of time for sightseeing in Montreal before I leave tomorrow,

[Prawninator 138]

First of all, congratulations to EVERYONE in this thread, from those from 2007, till now.

I consider myself very lucky to have found this site, so thank you ALL (especially the April CSC K1 filers), because one way or another, you would've helped us achieve what we have been trying to for the past two years.

A bit of good news on my side, I was approved last week, and I collect my visa tomorrow at the consulate. Yay!

Now to book a plane ticket.. can it be one-way?

[RyLee012 0]

First of all, congratulations to EVERYONE in this thread, from those from 2007, till now.

I consider myself very lucky to have found this site, so thank you ALL (especially the April CSC K1 filers), because one way or another, you would've helped us achieve what we have been trying to for the past two years.

A bit of good news on my side, I was approved last week, and I collect my visa tomorrow at the consulate. Yay!

Now to book a plane ticket.. can it be one-way?

Woot! Grats!!!

[joelunchbox 0]

Hey! Just got the go for the green card! she arrived last april and we could have shaved probably two months off our time except we were having too much fun!!

[Amazon 0]

Ok, so this is probably off topic but.. I have a concern / question.....

Re: picture of you and your SO together...

That is the one thing I don't have... We have known each other since late 2006 and finally met on April 2008, however, the whole topic of marriage and spending the rest of our lives together didn't come up until my visit with him. When I was there we spent all of our time alone together and seeing the sites, not once did we think.. gee we better get some proof for the K1 process.. We filed for the K1 about 4 months after I left and upon reading about what we need and looking at the things I have, the picture of the two of us together are not one of them.. providing I have all my ducks in a row and have proof of an on going relationship... will this affect their final decision at the interview?