I-129F Processing times in 2016

[Ray&Ash 271]

I am an Indian citizen currently living in India. My fiancé is a US citizen living in Kansas. We got engaged in November 2016 in India.

He flew back to US and filed for the I-129F. UPS delivery status says that our package was received at Texas lockbox on 12^th Dec 2016.

It’s been a week today, but not received any status update on the form.

We had given a money order for the fee, so there’s no way to check when out cheque was enchased.

Please let us know how what are the approx. timelines for Texas NVC for K1 this year.

Would love to hear your experiences from this year. From what i read, these processes used to be much faster till 2011.

I was reading that these days all i-129F petitions are to be sent only to Texas. (I believe California is much faster!)

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

My brother's I-129F was approved in less than 3 weeks and we are in Houston TX. Filed Oct 24, 2016 - Approved Nov 15, 2016. It is holiday season so everything is gonna be delay a little bit.

[Ray&Ash 271]

wow ! so happy it worked out at blazing sleep for your brother. Lucky him

Yeah i'm expecting some delay here n there because of Xmas and New Years.

Does the NOA1 and NOA2 in any way depend on beneficiary's country?

[TBoneTX 43,058]

*** Thread is moved from the K-1 Process forum to the K-1 Case Progress subforum. ***

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

wow ! so happy it worked out at blazing sleep for your brother. Lucky him

Yeah i'm expecting some delay here n there because of Xmas and New Years.

Does the NOA1 and NOA2 in any way depend on beneficiary's country?

I don't think country is a factor. FYI, he did include plenty of evidences (pictures with both families, flights tickets, their foreign tours...) and he has been back to Vietnam 3 times in last year, hope it gives you some insights.

[geowrian 22,335]

wow ! so happy it worked out at blazing sleep for your brother. Lucky him

Yeah i'm expecting some delay here n there because of Xmas and New Years.

Does the NOA1 and NOA2 in any way depend on beneficiary's country?

I sent my 129-F on 12/1, it arrived on 12/6, and I didn't hear anything until 12/12. It's a bit slower than I expected here given the recent improvement I've noticed in processing times, but nothing unusual. Based on when mine came through, you will probably get an electronic notification (if you requested it) within a couple days. Then several days later you'll probably get the NOA1 in the mail. If it takes longer, it doesn't mean anything's wrong...that's just how things go.

I'll defer to others who are more knowledgeable, but I'm assuming it can.

Be patient and good luck.

[Ray&Ash 271]

I have not sent a G1145 form along with the i129F. Does it mean i will no have any notifications over email?

we got a lawyer's help in filing though, but I'm unsure if G1145 was sent.

Nowhere on USCIS website did they mention anything about G1145

So if we filed through a lawyer, would it be obvious that they'll get the e-notifications or not?

[soulstriker 274]

I have not sent a G1145 form along with the i129F. Does it mean i will no have any notifications over email?

we got a lawyer's help in filing though, but I'm unsure if G1145 was sent.

Nowhere on USCIS website did they mention anything about G1145

So if we filed through a lawyer, would it be obvious that they'll get the e-notifications or not?

this is why doing it yourself is better than going to lawyers, only way ull know now if your approved is using the uscis app or going to case status on uscis.com

the processing speed for this year changes depending on the workload and season

the fastest period was september - october 25-40 avg , june - july was 50/60 days avg , march-may was 80 days avg

and now november to december its slowing down again because of holidays

[geowrian 22,335]

I have not sent a G1145 form along with the i129F. Does it mean i will no have any notifications over email?

we got a lawyer's help in filing though, but I'm unsure if G1145 was sent.

Nowhere on USCIS website did they mention anything about G1145

So if we filed through a lawyer, would it be obvious that they'll get the e-notifications or not?

Correct. You will not receive electronic notifications if a G-1145 was not completed and included in your I-129F packet. You will only receive notifications via hard copies and manually checking the case status on the USCIS website (once you receive the NOA1 with the receipt number).

Actually, the G-1145 is clearly specified on the USCIS website for an I-129F: https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f. Also, both the I-129F instructions and the I-129F checklist mention this form.

And I agree with the other posters that unless you have unusual/complex circumstances, I-129F is a DIY process. There's no need for an attorney for most cases.

Edited December 19, 2016 by geowrian

[Dutchster 1,106]

Please let us know how what are the approx. timelines for Texas NVC for K1 this year.

Would love to hear your experiences from this year. From what i read, these processes used to be much faster till 2011.

I was reading that these days all i-129F petitions are to be sent only to Texas. (I believe California is much faster!)

Where did you get that information from? You send your petition to a Texas Lockbox (not a service center) and they will send the petition to the service center that processes that petition at the time. Since 2015, that's California Service Center because Texas has an enormous backlog. They don't handle I-129F's straight away anymore.

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

Even having filled out the notification form sometimes you still don't get alerts.

I received a text and email for NOA1 but nothing else after that. People have said it's farily common.

With the holidays definately have to be a bit more patient and wait for NOA1 by mail.

And yes you sent the petition to the Texas lockbox in Lewisville. They will then receive it and ship it to the proper service center. Most likely CSC.

Edited December 19, 2016 by Ben&Zian

[MsGee 35]

Be patient ..timeline for K-1 from filing to I-129 approval,NVC to medical,interview and visa approval total of 5 to 6 months in our experience.

[Ray&Ash 271]

Even having filled out the notification form sometimes you still don't get alerts.

I received a text and email for NOA1 but nothing else after that. People have said it's farily common.

With the holidays definately have to be a bit more patient and wait for NOA1 by mail.

And yes you sent the petition to the Texas lockbox in Lewisville. They will then receive it and ship it to the proper service center. Most likely CSC.

We sent the petition to Dallas not Lewisville.

And yes I read that california centre is faster as well, so ill be happy if thats where it lands

It's too early to feel anxious I know, but we did not fill the G1145 for e-notifications and hence all this

[MsGee 35]

Dont worry i did not fill up the G1145 e notification form either. Mailed overnight the I129 application Last june 26,2016 got in the mail the notice of action first week of july. I-129 approved aug 26,2016.

[wheresmykoala 52]

Hey, from my experience USCIS received our case 10/24 and we were approved 11/28! It also took about a week after each NOA to receive a hardcopy in the mail. From USCIS receiving our case to it arriving at NVC, it took about 53 days!

For the G1145- even though I included it in my petition, I only received a text notification for NOA 1. I never got any notification for NOA 2 and only found out by checking on the website, so I wouldn't worry about not filing it. Makes waiting for NOA 1 a bit more annoying but I'm sure you'll hear from them soon.

The holiday has also made processing times slow down a bit, and there are quite a few October/November filers who have waited well over a month for NOA 2, and are still waiting if that helps you estimate. Hopefully it will pick up after the holidays! Good luck