I-129F Did we do this right?

[javierdpvelez 5]

Hi all,

 

Just recently found this forum and figured I'd reach out in order to better understand this process. 

 

A bit about us:

My fiance is a Lithuanian citizen based in Dublin, Ireland.

I, her petitioner, am a US citizen based in Los Angeles. 

 

We have been dating long distance for a few years and decided to move forward with our relationship. We went back and forth regarding who should move and ultimately decided she should move to me. We also decided to do the fiance visa as opposed to the spousal visa as she felt that rushing into a marriage for the sake of papers would freak both her and her parents out. To that point I agree it was the right move as it has given time for our relationship to grow as engaged partners as well as allowed me to bond with her parents.

 

I submitted the I-129F paperwork on June 7th 2021 and shortly after received a notice in the mail mentioning that the application was received. Since then we have been playing the waiting game watching the processing time grow larger and larger. At this point we try not to look at it as seeing a delay in our relationship and our future is really starting to stress us out.

 

As we wait I figured I would ask some questions (which I truly appreciate anyone who takes the time to answer):

-Should we have just bit the bullet and gotten married and applied for the spousal visa instead of going through the fiance visa? Would it have been any faster?

-To that point should we just continue to wait or if it is faster does it make any sense to apply through a different means at this point?

-How long after my application is approved is it currently taking for her to get the interview?

-Is it really taking 6-8 months to get approval for work/travel after AOS is submitted?

 

Luckily she has been using this time to build up her savings but these delays are really gonna just make it so we go through all of that...

 

 

 

 

[Mike E 11,740]

34 minutes ago, javierdpvelez said:

   

-Should we have just bit the bullet and gotten married and applied for the spousal visa instead of going through the fiance visa?

yes 

34 minutes ago, javierdpvelez said:

Would it have been any faster?

yes 

34 minutes ago, javierdpvelez said:

-To that point should we just continue to wait or if it is faster does it make any sense to apply through a different means at this point?

It’s a tough call given you have invested 13 months so far. 
 

34 minutes ago, javierdpvelez said:

-How long after my application is approved is it currently taking for her to get the interview?

 

 

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/ has several tools you can use to answer this

[Daphne . 1,880]

Yes, the spousal would have been a better option overall, especially since you also had a question about the EAD timelines. It takes a long time..

 

BUT: not sure if going the spousal visa route at this point is the best option because you will have to start from scratch again. 

[powerpuff 6,722]

Spousal is a superior option from the two, no doubt about that. It’s up to you if you want to restart again with a spousal, if working and traveling is critical, I’d probably start over.

 

5 hours ago, javierdpvelez said:

Is it really taking 6-8 months to get approval for work/travel after AOS is submitted?

The timelines shifted and now it’s about 8-12 months on average