pending k-1 visa because of trump?

[tkl_82 0]

Hey guys, I did a quick glance at the most recent topics but didn't see anything, and this doesn't seem to be appropriate for the speculative sticky trump thread...

 

So I applied for a k-1 visa for my fiance in South Korea around early Dec.  My lawyer told me my fiance should be getting paperwork from the Korean government a little bit after a month.  It's now almost mid February and my lawyer called immigration and they told it's still pending.  Is this normal?  Or does the immigration ban have any effect on k-1 visas??  Any insight would be helpful.... thanks!

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

 

Nothing was ever imposed for Korea in the ban... the ban has been lifted now anyways....

 

Your fiance will not be getting any paperwork what so ever from the Korean government as they have nothing at all to do with it, so sounds like maybe this lawyer has no idea what they are talking about.

 

Generally it takes 2-3 months before you get the NOA2 from USCIS, or approval of the I-129F petition, then it will goto NVC where they will give it a case number, then they will forward it on to the US Embasy in Korea. 

 

Depending on how exactly the process works there, each country is different, they will mail information or paperwork to your fiance. Again the US Embassy, not the Korean government.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Ben&Zian

[tkl_82 0]

Ah thanks for the info... if I can recall correctly, I think my lawyer was talking about getting her biometrics done and how that would be sent to my fiancee in Korea.  So far I have received a letter from USCIS about receiving the application.  

 

So the time frame is normal right now?  

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

So far you are in normal time frame yes. December was a bit slow anyways because of the holidays.

 

As for her biometrics, that will still be done at the embassy during her interview, not prior to.

 

Look through this guide for steps to understand process better: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow

Here's some tips for certain steps during the process: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1tips

 

Also check here in the portals for the South Korea portal, there you can find a lot more specific information on how the process works with the embassy in South Korea, again each country works a little differently.

 

Again on the Flow Chart even it says "Embassy sends beneficiary paperwork" but not every embassy does this. The Philippines, for instance, does not send anything at all.

Edited February 10, 2017 by Ben&Zian

[geowrian 22,337]

Almost nobody in Dec. has gotten a NOA2 yet. They are still processing mid-November (and earlier). Expect about another month or 2 before hearing back on the I-129F.

 

The EO has nothing to do with this.

[Georgia16 2,858]

I would think twice about using that lawyer. He/she don't know what they are talking about! SAVE the money!

[tkl_82 0]

Thanks for the responses and links.  To be fair to my lawyer, I might've misunderstood exactly what he was saying.

[tkl_82 0]

I just emailed my lawyer to clarify things... here was his response...

 

She’s going to be receiving an envelope with information as to what she needs to do there in Korea, from the U.S. Embassy in South Korea. But I will let you know when she should be expecting. Like I mentioned yesterday, immigration told me your case here in the U.S. has not yet been approved…once it’s approved, they will transfer the case to U.S. Embassy abroad.

[Georgia16 2,858]

W

12 minutes ago, tkl_82 said:

I just emailed my lawyer to clarify things... here was his response...

 

She’s going to be receiving an envelope with information as to what she needs to do there in Korea, from the U.S. Embassy in South Korea. But I will let you know when she should be expecting. Like I mentioned yesterday, immigration told me your case here in the U.S. has not yet been approved…once it’s approved, they will transfer the case to U.S. Embassy abroad.

Once it's approved it will be send to NVC to get case number and all that and after that it will be send to the embassy.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

19 hours ago, tkl_82 said:

I just emailed my lawyer to clarify things... here was his response...

 

She’s going to be receiving an envelope with information as to what she needs to do there in Korea, from the U.S. Embassy in South Korea. But I will let you know when she should be expecting. Like I mentioned yesterday, immigration told me your case here in the U.S. has not yet been approved…once it’s approved, they will transfer the case to U.S. Embassy abroad.

I guess for better clarification for you.

The K-1 visa wasn't approved and you didn't apply for the K-1 visa.

You sent off a I-129F petition ASKING the government if it's okay for your fiance to THEN apply for a K-1 visa based on being engaged to you. 

It usually takes a couple of months for the I-129F to be approved, and then it has to have travel time from the service center to the NVC, then it'll spend 3-4 weeks at the NVC, and be sent to the embassy in South Korea. All of that takes time as well, after that, they will contact your fiance on what she needs to do such as what forms to gather and how to apply for the K-1 visa, how to schedule her medical and when she can schedule her interview. I don't know about Korea, but some people wait another month or two just to get their interview in.

Normally you're looking at around 6 months from sending off the I-129F forms to USCIS all the way until the interview.

According to our processing times page, which is based off information gathered from people on VJ, they are processing early December applications now. http://www.visajourney.com/content/times/




ALSO, if you have your own case number for the I-129F, you can track your own case so you don't have to ask your lawyer. https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/landing.do

[poh 125]

I think it is best to understand the process so you know what your lawyers are talking about.  I think most of the folks here did it without an expensive lawyer. 

[TBoneTX 45,469]

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