Sent off I-129F, a simple question

[Kozano96 8]

Hi all! So, we sent off our I-129f earlier this December of 2018. We are now just waiting and doing a bit of further research. But as we wait, I can’t help but have a nagging feeling and question; if we were to get the godforsaken denial, or very welcome approval, would we get either answer in 6+ months time? Or if it were a denial, would it come sooner? I know my fiancé and I built an extremely strong case for the both of us, but I can’t help but follow the philosophy of hope for the best but expect the worst. If I may ask, others who have been approved recently, how long did your NOA2 take? We’ve already gotten our NOA1 🙂 thankfully. Thank you all so much for your help! 

[payxibka 10,044]

3 minutes ago, Kozano96 said:

Hi all! So, we sent off our I-129f earlier this December of 2018. We are now just waiting and doing a bit of further research. But as we wait, I can’t help but have a nagging feeling and question; if we were to get the godforsaken denial, or very welcome approval, would we get either answer in 6+ months time? Or if it were a denial, would it come sooner? I know my fiancé and I built an extremely strong case for the both of us, but I can’t help but follow the philosophy of hope for the best but expect the worst. If I may ask, others who have been approved recently, how long did your NOA2 take? We’ve already gotten our NOA1 🙂 thankfully. Thank you all so much for your help! 

You will hear nothing for 6 months.   My noa2 at 173 days 

[Catherine6 118]

3 minutes ago, Kozano96 said:

Hi all! So, we sent off our I-129f earlier this December of 2018. We are now just waiting and doing a bit of further research. But as we wait, I can’t help but have a nagging feeling and question; if we were to get the godforsaken denial, or very welcome approval, would we get either answer in 6+ months time? Or if it were a denial, would it come sooner? I know my fiancé and I built an extremely strong case for the both of us, but I can’t help but follow the philosophy of hope for the best but expect the worst. If I may ask, others who have been approved recently, how long did your NOA2 take? We’ve already gotten our NOA1 🙂 thankfully. Thank you all so much for your help! 

Approved or denied, adjudication time frame is same 5-7 months or as in some cases more.

[Ethan & Shannon 385]

Recently the California service centre changed processing times to 4.5-7.5 months . You could be lucky and hear something in 4.5 months, or it could be longer (every case is different).

[Shiran 1,134]

Keep in mind, most 129F get approved, because it is pretty low bar to meet for most people. Be US Citizen, Meet at least once in last 2 years, be eligible to marry. Pretty much it. It just takes time due to mostly sheer number of cases, and length of background checks. The Interview part at the embassy is a different story altogether and that where denial usually might happen. People will tell you to consider marriage based visa instead, it takes a bit longer but tend to present stronger case, and can be disputed if denied at embassy state. Drawbacks being it takes a bit longer, the upfront cost is a nit higher (but long term cost is lower, and if approved your partner can work right away so WAY cheaper if they are able to find the job) and.. well you have to be married, so in case things go awry, backing out might be harder. 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Shiran

[fluffykim 333]

1 hour ago, Ethan & Shannon said:

Recently the California service centre changed processing times to 4.5-7.5 months . You could be lucky and hear something in 4.5 months, or it could be longer (every case is different).

Oh really?  Where do you find that?

[Shiran 1,134]

9 minutes ago, fluffykim said:

Oh really?  Where do you find that?

It is 4.5 to 7 months now actually for K-1

[fluffykim 333]

5 hours ago, Shiran said:

It is 4.5 to 7 months now actually for K-1

Makes sense. I filed In December and my letter says May. ✅

[carmel34 3,529]

9 hours ago, Kozano96 said:

Hi all! So, we sent off our I-129f earlier this December of 2018. We are now just waiting and doing a bit of further research. But as we wait, I can’t help but have a nagging feeling and question; if we were to get the godforsaken denial, or very welcome approval, would we get either answer in 6+ months time? Or if it were a denial, would it come sooner? I know my fiancé and I built an extremely strong case for the both of us, but I can’t help but follow the philosophy of hope for the best but expect the worst. If I may ask, others who have been approved recently, how long did your NOA2 take? We’ve already gotten our NOA1 🙂 thankfully. Thank you all so much for your help! 

Average time to I-129F petition decision right now is 6 months, but that's only the USCIS stage of the process.  From there to the visa interview at the consulate abroad is another 4 months, for a total (average) time for a K-1 of 10 months.  Denials are more often at the consulate interview stage, and keep in mind that some take less and others more time than the averages.  You can see the average times here on VJ, just click processing times and then K1.  These are actual times in the last year for VJ users.  Plan on at least the average of 10 months until a final decision and maybe more, depending on RFEs and other issues that can cause delays like lost paperwork at USCIS or problems at the interview abroad.  If it takes less than a year, consider yourselves lucky.  Make the best of the waiting and stay positive!  Best of luck to you.

[Kozano96 8]

6 hours ago, carmel34 said:

Average time to I-129F petition decision right now is 6 months, but that's only the USCIS stage of the process.  From there to the visa interview at the consulate abroad is another 4 months, for a total (average) time for a K-1 of 10 months.  Denials are more often at the consulate interview stage, and keep in mind that some take less and others more time than the averages.  You can see the average times here on VJ, just click processing times and then K1.  These are actual times in the last year for VJ users.  Plan on at least the average of 10 months until a final decision and maybe more, depending on RFEs and other issues that can cause delays like lost paperwork at USCIS or problems at the interview abroad.  If it takes less than a year, consider yourselves lucky.  Make the best of the waiting and stay positive!  Best of luck to you.

I see, thank you for so much info! If I may ask, would you happen to know why denials are more common during the interview stage? 🙂 I’ve read a few stories on VJ, and some people, they have very few questions for thankfully, and I did my best to answer as many questions as possible that I foresee them having for us in the I-129f at the interview. Is there a place I can research why there are more denials at that stage further? Or keyword I can use on VJ?(: I just want to be so careful ;~; thank you so much for all of the info. I just am so anxious to be together with my fiancé once again. 

[NDP22 11]

17 hours ago, Kozano96 said:

Hi all! So, we sent off our I-129f earlier this December of 2018. We are now just waiting and doing a bit of further research. But as we wait, I can’t help but have a nagging feeling and question; if we were to get the godforsaken denial, or very welcome approval, would we get either answer in 6+ months time? Or if it were a denial, would it come sooner? I know my fiancé and I built an extremely strong case for the both of us, but I can’t help but follow the philosophy of hope for the best but expect the worst. If I may ask, others who have been approved recently, how long did your NOA2 take? We’ve already gotten our NOA1 🙂 thankfully. Thank you all so much for your help! 

Our NOA1 came around June 1st. We got our NOA2 November 16th so we got our approval right at 5.5 months. It's definitely a test of patience so get ready for a few months of nothing. Haha! It's definitely worth it though!

Edited December 21, 2018 by NDP22

[C-ma'am 684]

**Post moved from K1 Process to Case Filing and Process Reports where similar posts are discussed

[carmel34 3,529]

3 hours ago, Kozano96 said:

I see, thank you for so much info! If I may ask, would you happen to know why denials are more common during the interview stage? 🙂 I’ve read a few stories on VJ, and some people, they have very few questions for thankfully, and I did my best to answer as many questions as possible that I foresee them having for us in the I-129f at the interview. Is there a place I can research why there are more denials at that stage further? Or keyword I can use on VJ?(: I just want to be so careful ;~; thank you so much for all of the info. I just am so anxious to be together with my fiancé once again. 

The first step, filing the petition, which takes about six months to get approved at USCIS, is looking at eligibility to file for a visa--they look at the petitioner's information to determine this, such as proof of US citizenship, divorce documents if previously married, intent to marry statements, and evidence of the meeting the beneficiary at least once in the previous two years.  If the requirements are met, all documents included, forms filled out correctly and completely, they will usually approve the petition.  If there is a concern or missing information, they will send an RFE (request for evidence) and if that is satisfied, the petition will eventually be approved.  The petition approval is really just to establish the petitioner's right to sponsor their fiance.  Then the file goes to the embassy or consulate to schedule the visa interview, about four months after the petition is approved.  The reason denials are more likely at the interview is because the focus there is on granting the visa to the beneficiary, so more scrutiny is involved to prevent visa fraud, looking at the beneficiary's documents, intent, and whether or not the relationship is real or fake.  Some countries are high fraud countries, so denial rates are very high at the interview stage.  Others are not and approvals are more common.  I would suggest that you read the K1 visa threads here on VJ to learn more, and visit your specific country portal to read about interviews at your consulate, to know what to expect.  Consular officers also are trained to look for signs of fraud, red flags like a big age difference, only one face to face meeting, and very little evidence of meeting at all.  Spend some time here on VJ and you will learn a lot.  You can also look at average processing time for your specific country.  Good luck with the process.  It takes a long time but it's worth it if you really love each other.

[JFH 12,189]

Whilst denials based on eligibility are very rare for an I-129F for a fiancé, note that USCIS has now adopted a clause into their procedures that allows them to deny purely because a form is incomplete. That’s is what you need to worry about but too late for that now. For an approval you must satisfy the following criteria:

 

- the petitioner is a USC

- the two people have met at least once in person in the last two years

- both are free to marry

- both are willing to marry within 90 days of the beneficiary's arrival

- the petitioner is not excluded from petitioning due to provisions of the Adam Walsh Act

 

This stage is just a petition. An approval at this stage has no bearing on the success of the visa application. They are independent of each other. 

Edited December 21, 2018 by JFH

[Kozano96 8]

2 hours ago, carmel34 said:

The first step, filing the petition, which takes about six months to get approved at USCIS, is looking at eligibility to file for a visa--they look at the petitioner's information to determine this, such as proof of US citizenship, divorce documents if previously married, intent to marry statements, and evidence of the meeting the beneficiary at least once in the previous two years.  If the requirements are met, all documents included, forms filled out correctly and completely, they will usually approve the petition.  If there is a concern or missing information, they will send an RFE (request for evidence) and if that is satisfied, the petition will eventually be approved.  The petition approval is really just to establish the petitioner's right to sponsor their fiance.  Then the file goes to the embassy or consulate to schedule the visa interview, about four months after the petition is approved.  The reason denials are more likely at the interview is because the focus there is on granting the visa to the beneficiary, so more scrutiny is involved to prevent visa fraud, looking at the beneficiary's documents, intent, and whether or not the relationship is real or fake.  Some countries are high fraud countries, so denial rates are very high at the interview stage.  Others are not and approvals are more common.  I would suggest that you read the K1 visa threads here on VJ to learn more, and visit your specific country portal to read about interviews at your consulate, to know what to expect.  Consular officers also are trained to look for signs of fraud, red flags like a big age difference, only one face to face meeting, and very little evidence of meeting at all.  Spend some time here on VJ and you will learn a lot.  You can also look at average processing time for your specific country.  Good luck with the process.  It takes a long time but it's worth it if you really love each other.

Ohhh, thank god! xD first of all, thank you so much for writing out all of that info 🙂 I am absolutely sure now my fiancé and I will be fine during the interview. I only asked because I thought I had missed something technical, or had to prepare for something technical for the interview that I had missed. But no, we are ridiculously in love and we are both prepared for the interview and for them to see that, we already knew about that as well anyways. Thank you for reaffirming all of that info for me so much, I feel much better (:. This truly is a test of patience, I really did think I was the most patient person in the world. ;~; but then comes this.