Quick Question about the waiting process

[Phillip R 0]

Hey everyone, i was just wondering if there is anything specific that needs to be done after the K1 application has been sent and received? I had received the notice in the mail that my case had been taken, but im wondering if there was any actual instructions on that letter or if im supposed to just keep waiting? The notice gave me the impression that they essentially they received my case and are just working on it now. It was received about 2 months ago and i haven't heard a word since then. 

[KULtoATL 1,551]

What you received was the NOA1, simply an acknowledgment of receipt It's currently taking at least 4 months till you get the NOA2 (approval notice), denial notice or RFE. 

 

In the meantime, you can read up and/or start gathering the documents that you may need for your foreign beneficiary's K-1 visa application. Refer to: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide.

[SocratesJohnson 6]

1 hour ago, KULtoATL said:

What you received was the NOA1, simply an acknowledgment of receipt It's currently taking at least 4 months till you get the NOA2 (approval notice), denial notice or RFE. 

 

In the meantime, you can read up and/or start gathering the documents that you may need for your foreign beneficiary's K-1 visa application. Refer to: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide.

4 months is not bad!

[Richard Moss 17]

you will need more documents for the DS-160 than you ever thought possible.... especially if you are self employed!! My fiancee walked into the embassy with a stack of papers so large it looked like the book "war and peace" .

 

 

[KULtoATL 1,551]

3 hours ago, SocratesJohnson said:

4 months is not bad!

That's only the petition stage  Moving on to the visa application stage, it's another month or two, sometimes more depending on the speed of case file transfer, the local embassy contacting the foreign beneficiary, interview availability etc.

[SocratesJohnson 6]

8 minutes ago, KULtoATL said:

That's only the petition stage  Moving on to the visa application stage, it's another month or two, sometimes more depending on the speed of case file transfer, the local embassy contacting the foreign beneficiary, interview availability etc.

It's still better than 6-8 months at the petition stage. Our embassy is London, so I've been following others' timelines from the U.K. Overall, it seems like a less stressful process than in other countries. I feel so badly for those who have to go through extra headaches and wait times....not to say that I won't, but comparing averages. It's a weird world with all these borders. 

[KULtoATL 1,551]

It is getting slower and slower these days. There's always a possibility that a petition drags on being  outside the "normal" processing times. I'm surprised to read that it's tougher or taking longer for the UK embassy (assuming that's what you meant, of not please correct me). 

[geowrian 22,337]

There's not really a relation between nationality and I-129F processing time that I can tell (with very few exceptions). I covered this in another post recently (Sept. 7th, 2017), but will copy/paste it below:

 

From my experience, there is little impact across foreign nationals at the I-129F stage (Edit: Except for certain high-risk countries where background checks are suspected to take longer). The I-129F is primarily about the petitioner. The searches take a little bit, but:

 

URL: http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/filterlist.php?cfl=

Options:

Visa Type: K-1

Beneficiary's Country: <Varies>

Service Center: CSC

Date I-129F Sent to the Service Center (start) : 2017-01-01

Date I-129F Sent to the Service Center (end) <empty>

 

Taiwan (2017 filers): 116 days from NOA1 to NOA2 on average

China (2017 filers): 115 days from NOA1 to NOA2 on average

UK (2017) filers: 111 days from NOA1 to NOA2 on average

Ghana (2017 filers): 100 days from NOA1 to NOA2 on average

India (2017 filers): 119 days from NOA1 to NOA2 on average

[LorRie 37]

There is nothing to do per se, but here are some suggestions on things you could do to prepare for what may be coming next if your case proceeds : 
- Join one of the forums on here for the month that you filed (eg: August filers, September filers) or create one if it isn't available. It is a good place to share thoughts, bounce ideas off one another, hear others' perspective and situation that could apply to you down the line, see where the others who filed in the same month/date as you are in their process, hear words of comfort when you feel like you cannot wait one more day, etc
- get beneficiary's birth certificate (and have them translated to English if you haven't already) 
- take passport photos (see what size photo and how many is needed for the medical in your country.. for example, I needed about 15 tiny ones) - you may need to take the US passport sized one for the consular interview later as you need a recent photo (within a few weeks?) 
- get all your chat logs, emails, text messages, letters, gift receipts, and other correspondence with your fiance organized - showing ongoing relationship

These are just a few of the things I thought of. Some of the other documents will need to be collected closer to the end of the finish line. 
Good luck on your journey!