JANUARY 2021 I-129F K-1 FILERS (merged)

[Kev & Lexi 41]

Just now, stag said:

Wow, is 7-9 months after NOA2 approval the norm now?? 

I suppose it depends on the country and their current set of restrictions. Canada had a pattern of closing everything and then opening everything and then closing again when the wave returned. Which ultimately impacted the consulate and when people could go back to work. Covid has certainly not been a friend to us fiancé(e)s during this whatsoever. 😔

[stag 51]

1 minute ago, Kev & Lexi said:

I suppose it depends on the country and their current set of restrictions. Canada had a pattern of closing everything and then opening everything and then closing again when the wave returned. Which ultimately impacted the consulate and when people could go back to work. Covid has certainly not been a friend to us fiancé(e)s during this whatsoever. 😔

Ay and it's so close  how can I have an idea of how bad that wait will be for me in that respect? 

[Kev & Lexi 41]

13 minutes ago, stag said:

Ay and it's so close  how can I have an idea of how bad that wait will be for me in that respect? 

I would suggest going to Immigration Timelines > Timeline Search and input your fiancé(e)'s country in the field, as well as visa interview, so then you can get a rough idea how long it takes (x number of days) from NOA1 -> interview. I also did a search for myself for an idea of how long it took the Montreal consulate before I discovered the K1 group on Facebook.

[Fordez19 38]

1 hour ago, SandyR said:

How long does the RFE letter take to arrive?  Mine was sent on August 25 and I'm still waiting.  Seems a little long in my opinion (or maybe I'm just anxious!!!).  My address is correct.  Wonder if they don't mail them right away?  ugh - the wait!!!!

I got mine in 4 days( request was Aug 16th, I received the letter Aug. 20th). But it came from California and I live in Washington state. So not a long distance. Also, with holiday coming up soon, mail may be a little wonky. I would give it until Friday this week. 

[Qui 82]

3 hours ago, stag said:

That's atrocious! So almost a year people can't get appointment after NOA2 approval? Doesn't the NOA2 expire after 4 months? 

 

On the official page of my embassy it says:

Why is Bogota so bad?

You’d all be surprised - in the Philippines, they only just started working on 2019 filers. Most people who got approved in 2020 are still stuck in NVC. 

[stag 51]

8 minutes ago, rprprp said:

You’d all be surprised - in the Philippines, they only just started working on 2019 filers. Most people who got approved in 2020 are still stuck in NVC. 

Horrible! How can one have an idea of how bad that waiting time will be ?

Edited September 1, 2021 by stag

[Qui 82]

8 minutes ago, stag said:

Horrible! How can one have an idea of how bad that waiting time will be ?

I know this because I’m a member of a couple of K1 groups in the Philippines on Facebook. Some of them post updates there.

[slavaskii 885]

Am I correct in assuming that your petition's wait at NVC is heavily impacted by conditions at the embassy it's being sent to? That is, if your petition is going to an embassy that's currently closed, it will have a longer wait at NVC than one that's currently operating? I've just been continuously hearing the "500,000" number at NVC and don't know if they go sequentially like the I-129F or just ship them whenever they'll be accepted at the embassy.

 

Also, as an aside question: does the petitioner changing their mailing address affect processing times for NOA1 at all, particularly if it's getting close to when it's likely to be adjudicated? My parents still live at my previous address and I'm uncertain if it's a good idea to do so at this point, especially because my mail delivery is very spotty here.

Edited September 1, 2021 by slavaskii

[Boston_Gary 16]

8 hours ago, stag said:

That's atrocious! So almost a year people can't get appointment after NOA2 approval? Doesn't the NOA2 expire after 4 months? 

 

On the official page of my embassy it says:

Why is Bogota so bad?

I know they can expire at NVC but I’m not sure of the time frame. They have been extending the time limits but they are not required to. It has been suggested to allow applications to expire as a way to get rid of the backlog. I think this is a real possibility if they don’t fix the issue soon. I do know that the Biden Administration is now punishing people that try to sue the embassies by just letting the applications expire. I was advised by an attorney that if I try to sue that this would be the result. 
 

They say it’s not safe to fully open because of Covid which is a lie. Everything is open in Bogota,  but the US embassy. The issue is they don’t know how to fix the backlog so they will just keep using the Covid excuse. That way there is no accountability. It’s the same thing with anything in the process. 
 

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by Boston_Gary
Additional info

[AishaniA93 108]

8 hours ago, Kev & Lexi said:

I suppose it depends on the country and their current set of restrictions. Canada had a pattern of closing everything and then opening everything and then closing again when the wave returned. Which ultimately impacted the consulate and when people could go back to work. Covid has certainly not been a friend to us fiancé(e)s during this whatsoever. 😔

Same with Sydney - the minute we go into lockdown, the consulate shut. We were COVID-free for the better part of a year so everyone became complacent. We are now relying on vaccinations here as they have FINALLY conceded that with Delta, we can never get back to 'COVID-zero'. It seems that as soon as there is a lockdown, the consulate shuts. I am judging this based off countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and even some European countries which have sky high cases (compared to Aus) but the consulates have remained open as they have not issued lockdown orders. 

 

Very frustrating. In Sydney, it is clear they are still processing what they deem 'emergency' - work visas and student visas. I can't understand how the threat of COVID seems to disappear if it's an emergency visa...?

[stag 51]

1 hour ago, AishaniA93 said:

Same with Sydney - the minute we go into lockdown, the consulate shut. We were COVID-free for the better part of a year so everyone became complacent. We are now relying on vaccinations here as they have FINALLY conceded that with Delta, we can never get back to 'COVID-zero'. It seems that as soon as there is a lockdown, the consulate shuts. I am judging this based off countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and even some European countries which have sky high cases (compared to Aus) but the consulates have remained open as they have not issued lockdown orders. 

 

Very frustrating. In Sydney, it is clear they are still processing what they deem 'emergency' - work visas and student visas. I can't understand how the threat of COVID seems to disappear if it's an emergency visa...?

I checked the monthly non-immigrant visa statistics and I think based on that it's possible to tell if K1 issuances are going along or not. Not sure how else to gauge how bad the wait is going to be after the recent NOA2.

[Qui 82]

61 cases processed today, 09/01 - 42 approved, 19 RFE. Most of the movement is in the 48001+ case nums. 
 

[MeG@Am 110]

46 minutes ago, rprprp said:

61 cases processed today, 09/01 - 42 approved, 19 RFE. Most of the movement is in the 48001+ case nums. 
 

Hey rprprp, I'm curious if you painstakingly check each and every case numbers or is there an app or program that you use to monitor the progress.  I'm May 2021 NOA1, so big chance they will not process my case yet, but I'd like to know how to do it easier... for when USCIS will start working on our case range.  Thank you!  

[Qui 82]

22 minutes ago, MeG@Am said:

Hey rprprp, I'm curious if you painstakingly check each and every case numbers or is there an app or program that you use to monitor the progress.  I'm May 2021 NOA1, so big chance they will not process my case yet, but I'd like to know how to do it easier... for when USCIS will start working on our case range.  Thank you!  

I use the USCIS Tracker on iOS - it has the option to search 500 apps at a time - so I start from 39501, then search for 40001 next, so on and so forth  I do this manually everyday for all the ranges mentioned above since Monday - it helps with all the anxiety I’ve been feeling and I’m just glad to provide the information to others. I know it helps to see that there’s progress even if it’s not ours yet. 

[MeG@Am 110]

11 minutes ago, rprprp said:

I use the USCIS Tracker on iOS - it has the option to search 500 apps at a time - so I start from 39501, then search for 40001 next, so on and so forth  I do this manually everyday for all the ranges mentioned above since Monday - it helps with all the anxiety I’ve been feeling and I’m just glad to provide the information to others. I know it helps to see that there’s progress even if it’s not ours yet. 

WOW!  Thanks for what you do, for giving us updates.  

I did maybe 200 cases manually in my case range 76500, and I think I saw one approved case.  I wonder if it was expedited.

Anyway, I did it manually too and put it on excel sheet... but let me tell you, I don't think I will do that everyday because it will drive me crazy.  I just thought if there's anyway I can do it better, easier, and quicker.  I'll check that app.  Thank you!!!