Can we file I-129F if we are married and live together?

[mizzem 144]

I’m a little confused on wether or not we can file an I-129F. We filed the I-130 in Dec.2018 and it’s at Nebraska Center. I am a USC and have lived in Canada for many years with my Canadian spouse. We filed so my husband can get his green card so we can move to the US to be with my family. From what I’ve read the I-129F is used if you are not yet married and living apart but others have suggested we should send the I-129F to expedite our process.. any input would be appreciated!

[Pitaya 2,576]

You mention the type of visa you should seek in the third and fourth sentences of your posting.

Quote

 I am a USC and have lived in Canada for many years with my Canadian spouse. We filed so my husband can get his green card so we can move to the US to be with my family.

You are married, you are eligible for a IR-1 Spouse visa. You are not eligible for a fiancee K1 visa, you are already married..

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

Edited September 13, 2019 by Pitaya

[HRQX 4,145]

30 minutes ago, mizzem said:

I’m a little confused on wether or not we can file an I-129F.

Yes, you can file the I-129F. https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/k-3k-4-nonimmigrant-visas "If you are a U.S. citizen and you filed a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative for your foreign spouse who is abroad, you can also file a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)." Odds of K-3 being issued is almost non-existent; "because USCIS now takes less time to adjudicate the Form I-130, the current need for K-3 and K-4 visas is rare." There is no fee for the I-129F; "If you file Form I-129F after filing Form I-130, include a copy of the Form I-797, Notice of Action, to show that USCIS received your Form I-130. There is no fee if you are filing a Form I-129F for a spouse to obtain a K-3 visa."

8 minutes ago, Pitaya said:

You are married, you are eligible for a IR-1 Spouse visa. You are not eligible for a fiancee K1 visa, you are already married..

Seems OP is talking about the following theory:

 

Edited September 13, 2019 by HRQX

[geowrian 22,335]

1 hour ago, Pitaya said:

You are not eligible for a fiancee K1 visa, you are already married..

I-129F is also used for a K-3. A K-3 is almost certainly not going to be issued, though, due to current policies at both USCIS and NVC.

 

There is anecdotal evidence that filing an I-129F for a K-3 may result in faster processing. It's still a long shot IMO, but there is no fee to do so.

That said, given the current timeline of when the OP filed, it would be impossible to know filing the I-129F had any impact at all even if the above turned out to be true.

[mizzem 144]

Thanks to all of you for your answers, it helps me to look into this further and decide which way to go with this!

[NikLR 13,220]

~~moved to K3 process and procedures from k1 process and procedures~~

[mizzem 144]

Thanks NikLR, appreciate your reply..

[Sea Leslie 428]

On 9/12/2019 at 11:57 PM, mizzem said:

I’m a little confused on wether or not we can file an I-129F. We filed the I-130 in Dec.2018 and it’s at Nebraska Center. I am a USC and have lived in Canada for many years with my Canadian spouse. We filed so my husband can get his green card so we can move to the US to be with my family. From what I’ve read the I-129F is used if you are not yet married and living apart but others have suggested we should send the I-129F to expedite our process.. any input would be appreciated!

I filed the I-130 June 2019 and found out that the I-129F can be used to get my spouse her sooner, so I did the I-129F in August 2019. The I-129F has two boxes... one for the fiance visa and the second box for if you are already married. According to my case, the process time for the I-129F is faster when I checked the processing time on the USCIS website. 

[Sea Leslie 428]

On 9/13/2019 at 12:22 AM, HRQX said:

Yes, you can file the I-129F. https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-us-citizens/k-3k-4-nonimmigrant-visas "If you are a U.S. citizen and you filed a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative for your foreign spouse who is abroad, you can also file a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)." Odds of K-3 being issued is almost non-existent; "because USCIS now takes less time to adjudicate the Form I-130, the current need for K-3 and K-4 visas is rare." There is no fee for the I-129F; "If you file Form I-129F after filing Form I-130, include a copy of the Form I-797, Notice of Action, to show that USCIS received your Form I-130. There is no fee if you are filing a Form I-129F for a spouse to obtain a K-3 visa."

Seems OP is talking about the following theory:

 

The I-129 form can be used for a fiance visa or the K3 visa (After marriage).

 

For the K3 visa: First you need to submit the I-130 form, once you get the notice of action form, then you complete the I-129 form and provide them with a copy of the notice of action from the I-130. 

[geowrian 22,335]

9 minutes ago, Sea Leslie said:

The I-129 form can be used for a fiance visa or the K3 visa (After marriage).

 

For the K3 visa: First you need to submit the I-130 form, once you get the notice of action form, then you complete the I-129 form and provide them with a copy of the notice of action from the I-130. 

I-129F (I-129 is a petition for a worker ).

 

You can file the I-129F for a K-3 concurrently with the I-130 OR afterwards with a copy of the I-130's NOA1.

[Sea Leslie 428]

4 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I-129F (I-129 is a petition for a worker ).

 

You can file the I-129F for a K-3 concurrently with the I-130 OR afterwards with a copy of the I-130's NOA1.

Thanks for the correction

[mizzem 144]

Thanks for all your replies.

I'm still a bit confused as I've read on some Facebook sites that the K-3 is pretty much obsolete and they've only processed a few this year and didn't approve them. Most applicants live apart and file the I-129F to speed things up to be together but we have been together for many years now, we're just anxious to get to the US. We may have to ride it out and wait for our I-130 approval.

[mizzem 144]

On 9/13/2019 at 1:24 AM, geowrian said:

I-129F is also used for a K-3. A K-3 is almost certainly not going to be issued, though, due to current policies at both USCIS and NVC.

 

There is anecdotal evidence that filing an I-129F for a K-3 may result in faster processing. It's still a long shot IMO, but there is no fee to do so.

That said, given the current timeline of when the OP filed, it would be impossible to know filing the I-129F had any impact at all even if the above turned out to be true.

Yes I have also read that the K-3 is almost obsolete..

[G&M’s 4]

On 9/14/2019 at 9:26 PM, mizzem said:

Thanks to all of you for your answers, it helps me to look into this further and decide which way to go with this!

Were you married in Canada? I read that the Visa is handled through the country the marriage took place but then also read Canada does not process K3’s? I’m confused. 

[HRQX 4,145]

29 minutes ago, G&M’s said:

Were you married in Canada? I read that the Visa is handled through the country the marriage took place

That is assuming the I-129F isn't administratively closed, as (almost) all of them are for K-3 attempts: "If the NVC receives the approved I-129F petition before it receives the I-130 petition, the NVC will process the I-129F petition. NVC will then send the I-129F petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the country where the marriage took place. If the marriage took place in the United States, the NVC will send the petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate that issues visas in the foreign-citizen spouse’s country of nationality. If the marriage took place in a country that does not have a U.S. Embassy, or the Embassy or Consulate does not issue visas, the NVC will send the petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate that normally processes visas for citizens of that country. For example, if the marriage took place in Iran where the U.S. does not have an Embassy or Consulate, the petition would be sent to Turkey." https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-spouse-k-3.html

29 minutes ago, G&M’s said:

then also read Canada does not process K3’s?

In theory a K-3 could be processed by the Montreal consulate. In reality it's very rare: https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/723034-chances-of-bringing-another-spouse-after-divorce/?do=findComment&comment=9924654

Edited December 23, 2019 by HRQX