Steps after NOA1 and K3 Questions

[taessica 0]

Hi everyone

 

So, i"ve filed my i130 ONLINE back in early June and received my NOA1in the following week. 

As for my online process, should i file i485 as soon as possible or should i wait for my NO2 to come?

 

Is it beneficial to apply for a K3 while wait for the NO2 of i130? (Potomac center is being super slow and my new estimation is May of 2021), has anyone been through this path? 

Any advice?

 

Thanks. 

[Ryan H 3,895]

2 minutes ago, taessica said:

Is it beneficial to apply for a K3 while wait for the NO2 of i130? (Potomac center is being super slow and my new estimation is May of 2021), has anyone been through this path? 

Any advice?

 

No, while the K3 may officially remain on the books as viable; in practice, it's not viable at all.  Procedural changes at USCIS and State Department since the K3 first came into existence have now rendered it virtually unobtainable.

[NikLR 13,234]

13 minutes ago, taessica said:

Hi everyone

 

So, i"ve filed my i130 ONLINE back in early June and received my NOA1in the following week. 

As for my online process, should i file i485 as soon as possible or should i wait for my NO2 to come?

 

Is it beneficial to apply for a K3 while wait for the NO2 of i130? (Potomac center is being super slow and my new estimation is May of 2021), has anyone been through this path? 

Any advice?

 

Thanks. 

The I-485 is only filed if you're filing for adjustment of status.  Are you currently in the USA?

[HRQX 4,146]

13 minutes ago, taessica said:

As for my online process, should i file i485 as soon as possible or should i wait for my NO2 to come?

Are you currently inside or outside of the US? If inside, on which status?

[Just Paul 4,595]

17 minutes ago, taessica said:

As for my online process, should i file i485 as soon as possible

If the beneficiary is currently in the US then an I-485 can be filed.

19 minutes ago, taessica said:

Is it beneficial to apply for a K3 while wait for the NO2 of i130?

Sure you can file the I-129F but it doesn't make the I-130 approval faster.  And of you were to get a K3 you would end up paying more for a process that takes the longer to get a green card than an normal spousal.

[taessica 0]

3 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

If the beneficiary is currently in the US then an I-485 can be filed.

Sure you can file the I-129F but it doesn't make the I-130 approval faster.  And of you were to get a K3 you would end up paying more for a process that takes the longer to get a green card than an normal spousal.

I was wondering because the estimation of i130 gets delayed every week from the email sent by visajourney. So I thought would it be nice to just have my spouse come USA asap while we wait for the i130 NO2. 

11 minutes ago, NikLR said:

The I-485 is only filed if you're filing for adjustment of status.  Are you currently in the USA?

yes, and my spouse is outside USA

[NikLR 13,234]

1 minute ago, taessica said:

I was wondering because the estimation of i130 gets delayed every week from the email sent by visajourney. So I thought would it be nice to just have my spouse come USA asap while we wait for the i130 NO2. 

yes, and my spouse is outside USA

Okay the beneficiary is NOT in the USA?

[taessica 0]

23 minutes ago, Ryan H said:

 

No, while the K3 may officially remain on the books as viable; in practice, it's not viable at all.  Procedural changes at USCIS and State Department since the K3 first came into existence have now rendered it virtually unobtainable.

Really? is there a source about this change? can you please elaborate more on this?

Just now, NikLR said:

Okay the beneficiary is NOT in the USA?

correct

[Just Paul 4,595]

Just now, taessica said:

Really? is there a source about this change? can you please elaborate more on this?

It appears non were issued this past fiscal year (sept data not yet posted). There were 5 the year before and all from Latin America.

[NikLR 13,234]

Just now, taessica said:

Really? is there a source about this change? can you please elaborate more on this?

correct

Then no I-485 will be filed. 

 

Also the K3 is obsolete because of both USCIS and NVC policy.  It is USCIS policy to match up the I-130 and I-129F together.  It's NVC policy to close any I-129F that arrives at the same time or after the I-130. Only an advancing I-129F would cause the K3 to be processed.  It's a terrible visa that costs more than double the CR1/IR1.  The NVC policy is easy to google. 

[HRQX 4,146]

1 minute ago, taessica said:

Really? is there a source about this change? can you please elaborate more on this?

K-3 is extremely rare: https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-of-us-citizens/k-3k-4-nonimmigrant-visas "because USCIS now takes less time to adjudicate the Form I-130, the current need for K-3 and K-4 visas is rare."

 

Odds are the I-129F would be administratively closed: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-spouse-k-3.html

Important Notice:

When both petitions have been approved by USCIS and sent to the NVC or when USCIS approves the I-130 before the I-129F, the availability of, as well as the need for, a nonimmigrant K-3 visa ends. If the NVC receives both an approved I-130 petition and an approved I-129F petition:

• The nonimmigrant K-3 visa case will be administratively closed.
• The application process explained below will not be available to the foreign-citizen spouse and cannot be used.
• The NVC will contact the U.S. citizen sponsor and foreign-citizen spouse, with instructions for processing the IR-1 (or CR-1) immigrant visa. For more information on the immigrant visa process, review the Immigrant Visa for a Spouse webpage.

In Fiscal Year 2020, only 3 visas were issued in the whole world: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html

[Unlockable 7,322]

11 minutes ago, taessica said:

Really? is there a source about this change? can you please elaborate more on this?

correct

Look on page 2 of this annual report from up to 2019, and search for the K3 line.

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2019AnnualReport/FY19AnnualReport-TableXVI-B.pdf

 

As you can see the K3 issuance has been on a steady decline. 182 in 2015, 102 in 2016, only 15 in 2017, 6 people in 2018, and 5 people in 2019 got K3's. And this is out of millions of petitions. Like already said, the chances that you will get K3 is extremely low.

[HRQX 4,146]

20 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

It appears non were issued this past fiscal year (sept data not yet posted).

Sept. data was posted a few days ago: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-statistics/nonimmigrant-visa-statistics/monthly-nonimmigrant-visa-issuances.html

In FY2020, 3 were issued. 1 in Nov 2019, 1 in Jan. 2020, and 1 in Mar. 2020.

4 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

As you can see the K3 issuance has been on a steady decline.

Looks like zero since the late March 2020 DOS announcement of reduction of visa services because of Covid.

Edited October 26, 2020 by HRQX

[SteveInBostonI130 3,492]

15 hours ago, taessica said:

I was wondering because the estimation of i130 gets delayed every week from the email sent by visajourney. So I thought would it be nice to just have my spouse come USA asap while we wait for the i130 NO2. 

yes, and my spouse is outside USA

 

Hello,

 

As others have stated, K3 is obsolete.  It is still there for you to sbumit, but the chances of approval has dropped to nearly 0.  

 

If your spouse is outside the US, she cannot enter and adjust status (I-485).  She can enter the US temporarily if she has a ESTA or tourist visa, but she must return to her country to finish the CR1/IR1 process.  

[SalishSea 18,466]

OP, I suggest reading the guides for a better understanding of the petition process.