OCTOBER 2020 I-129F K-1 FILERS

[Greenbaum 12,258]

12 hours ago, Cheburashka34 said:

@Greenbaum

They will return the entire packet back to the petitioner requiring the updated amount. They process nothing if the payment is not right on the money so to say. They could call USCIS customer service to determine if that is the issue.

 

On 11/13/2020 at 10:14 AM, Einhver said:

We filed I-129F at the beginning of October with a check for $510, because we had seen the news about the fee going down as of 2nd October 2020 but did not see the news in time that the fee changes had been cancelled.

 

It has been over 4 weeks now and there has been no money withdrawn from the bank account, no SMS and no NOA1 letter.

 

What is likely to happen at this point? We are well behind the schedule of the other filers in this thread to have the payment taken and receive the SMS. It seems likely that the missing $25 is causing the delay as we had certified delivery that USCIS definitely received our I-129F packet over a month ago now. Retrospectively it would have been far easier to just pay the extra $25 but we had no idea that the news about the fee changes being cancelled would come out just a couple of days before they were supposed to go into effect.

 

[Kimmy H 31]

On 11/13/2020 at 7:58 PM, JL & JT said:

@Greenbaum and @Kimmy H, thanks! Just to give others on the thread an idea, here was our timeline:

 

I-129F Sent: 2020-10-10

I-129F Received: 2020-10-20

I-129F Payment Processed: 2020-11-11

I-129F Text Received: 2020-11-12 (about 24 hours after the payment was processed)

 

NOA1 to follow soon!

Thank god ☺️

[Einhver 5]

6 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

They will return the entire packet back to the petitioner requiring the updated amount. They process nothing if the payment is not right on the money so to say. They could call USCIS customer service to determine if that is the issue.

 

Thank you for your reply and insight. We still haven't received the packet back or any response from USCIS. Not feeling great that this could add another 2-3 months to our wait if we get told we have to refile. >.<

 

The only upside of this that I can see is that if fees stay at the current level until we get to the AOS stage then we'll save over $1000 getting the work permit and travel authorization compared to if the October 2nd 2020 Final Fee Rule had come into effect, but of course there is no guarantee that the fees won't change before we reach that point.

Edited November 15, 2020 by Einhver

[Greenbaum 12,258]

3 hours ago, Einhver said:

Thank you for your reply and insight. We still haven't received the packet back or any response from USCIS. Not feeling great that this could add another 2-3 months to our wait if we get told we have to refile. >.<

 

The only upside of this that I can see is that if fees stay at the current level until we get to the AOS stage then we'll save over $1000 getting the work permit and travel authorization compared to if the October 2nd 2020 Final Fee Rule had come into effect, but of course there is no guarantee that the fees won't change before we reach that point.

If you are able, you may want to go the CR-1/IR-1 visa process instead of the K-1 as it's cheaper and the beneficiary can look for work immediately after they arrive.

 

If you want to consider it I have the cost breakdowns for each. The timeline is about the same for both visas now.

[avhaynes89 1]

Thank you for creating this!!! So helpful and crates a sense of ease!

[AlmightyS 1]

Hey, everyone!

Glad to hear some good news from fellow applicants.

 

Well, our packet was delivered 3 weeks ago. Should we keep on waiting or is there a way to check up on it?

[Greenbaum 12,258]

3 hours ago, AlmightyS said:

Hey, everyone!

Glad to hear some good news from fellow applicants.

 

Well, our packet was delivered 3 weeks ago. Should we keep on waiting or is there a way to check up on it?

USCIS is notorious about not sending an email notification even with a G-1145. Most don't receive an email but it's not typical not to receive a NOA1 or NOA2 by snail mail so keep an eye out for those. Normal processing times are two to four weeks. If you are beyond four weeks you should call USCIS customer service.

[ML2063 9]

GUESS WHO received their NOA1 yesterday in the mail?!? WE DID! I know the waiting begins now. All good - I am super positive that things will get better and hopefully surprise us with some faster approvals than we are expecting!

 

[dmeister3 92]

34 minutes ago, ML2063 said:

GUESS WHO received their NOA1 yesterday in the mail?!? WE DID! I know the waiting begins now. All good - I am super positive that things will get better and hopefully surprise us with some faster approvals than we are expecting!

 

YAY!! I should be about a week or week and a half behind you then 🙏🏻

[gm2020 17]

Received the letter NOA1 today!

 

For reference, I sent the packet on Oct 22, they received it on Oct 23. The Notice date on my letter NOA1 is Nov 14. I received the NOA1 text from USCIS on Nov 16.

[AlmightyS 1]

Our day has come!

We received a message with receipt notice on Nov 19. 

It says form was received on October 26.

Waiting on the NOA1 letter now.

 

On 11/17/2020 at 2:42 PM, Greenbaum said:

USCIS is notorious about not sending an email notification even with a G-1145. Most don't receive an email but it's not typical not to receive a NOA1 or NOA2 by snail mail so keep an eye out for those. Normal processing times are two to four weeks. If you are beyond four weeks you should call USCIS customer service.

 

[Greenbaum 12,258]

2 hours ago, AlmightyS said:

Our day has come!

We received a message with receipt notice on Nov 19. 

It says form was received on October 26.

Waiting on the NOA1 letter now.

 

 

Congratulations. You have officially started your journey. We are seeing 7-8 months to NOA2 so keep busy and keep your expectations low, so disappointment does not set in.

[Maki&Kiki 123]

@Greenbaum

 

Woah, does it really take that much time ? 7-8 months to NO2..? 

 

I knew it was gonna take longer, we were prepared to wait like 1 year and the whole reason we decided k1 route was to get together faster, but due to Covid, seems like the processing time is all messed up.. Not to mention that more than 30 days ago we sent our application, and yet to receive NO1 (no cash charged), and that stage used to take way less time..😔

 

 

[Greenbaum 12,258]

56 minutes ago, Kittinpaw said:

@Greenbaum

 

Woah, does it really take that much time? 7-8 months to NO2? 

 

I knew it was gonna take longer, we were prepared to wait like 1 year and the whole reason we decided k1 route was to get together faster, but due to Covid, seems like the processing time is all messed up. Not to mention that more than 30 days ago we sent our application, and yet to receive NO1 (no cash charged), and that stage used to take way less time. 😔

 

These are different times we are in, so your expectations will need to match. Many are finding their NOA2 took upwards of 7 months currently, some more some less. There are others who are experiencing more than a year, but they are unusual cases and not the norm. They tend to go to Vermont Service Center for adjudication.

 

CR-1/IR-1 would have been the better choice if you had known that in the beginning. Since embassies were processing CR-1/IR-1 cases through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic you would have been adjudicated sooner than a K-1.

[AlmightyS 1]

22 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

These are different times we are in, so your expectations will need to match. Many are finding their NOA2 took upwards of 7 months currently, some more some less. There are others who are experiencing more than a year, but they are unusual cases and not the norm. They tend to go to Vermont Service Center for adjudication.

 

CR-1/IR-1 would have been the better choice if you had known that in the beginning. Since embassies were processing CR-1/IR-1 cases through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic you would have been adjudicated sooner than a K-1.

Interesting about CR-1/IR-1.

We had a consultation with an immigration lawyer and they suggested that K1 process, even during this uneasy time, is faster and safer route to take.