Should I be worried about the K-1 Visa backlog?

[JeanneAdil 6,276]

2 hours ago, JEANDBR said:

Why? My partner and I didn’t want to be married but living apart for potentially years. If you don’t need to work as soon as you arrive (I’m lucky that I don’t) what’s the benefit of going down the CR1 route? This is a genuine question btw we’re about 6 months in to the K1 process and unless one is significantly faster than the other to get us to be together, the rest is immaterial to us and maybe others, but would there still be a benefit to changing beyond being able to get a job the day you land? 
 

Everything is easier with the spouse visa

1.  easier to get SS #

2.  easier to get DL

3.  easier to be on Credit cards , leases,  mortgage 

4.  cheaper as the AOS is $1225

5.  don't have to go thru the wait time for the AOS and ROC

 

[JeanneAdil 6,276]

14 hours ago, vivster said:

My partner and I just sent away our i-129f and got our NOA1 in August. I have been seeing people concerned about the backlog from COVID and expecting delays for up to two years. Should I be worried; should I be discouraged? I was not sure if this is only for specific countries or embassies, but if you possibly know he is from the UK. Let me know anything that you know! 

You have sent in a fiancee petition 

every petition requires wait times but u chose the one that requires the most 

1. wait for the interview and visa approval

2. wait for the AOS process to complete

3. Wait for ROC to complete 

 

all this extra money to AOS 

and all this extra wait time 

and u can' t  naturalize till 3 years (minus 90 days) after date of green card 

 

what we see here are many coming on K1 and then something back home happens and they have to return and can't  or do and then have to do the CR1

 

[Nikobe 129]

28 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

You have sent in a fiancee petition 

every petition requires wait times but u chose the one that requires the most 

1. wait for the interview and visa approval

2. wait for the AOS process to complete

3. Wait for ROC to complete 

 

all this extra money to AOS 

and all this extra wait time 

and u can' t  naturalize till 3 years (minus 90 days) after date of green card 

 

what we see here are many coming on K1 and then something back home happens and they have to return and can't  or do and then have to do the CR1

 

 

To supplement, the K1 is lengthy in total, but the original purpose is to have your fiancé come earlier to the US and have to do AOS (lengthy) / EAD (currently at 6 months) upon arrival. The difference in processing times between spousal and fiancé visa is at the lowest right now, so yes filing a K1 from - say - European countries, for instance, does not make much sense.

 

USCIS will report record high processing numbers for employment based visas (reduced backlog by hundreds of thousands) for FY22. The further focus is on introducing the promised premium processings on other visa categories (mostly work-related, soon EAD will be available for premium processing - which will help once you're in the U.S., if you can afford the premium (I think it is around 1k extra).

Bottom line is that nobody can tell me that the USCIS does not have the resources to enormously cut down on K1s, however it has not been their focus (yet?). The "yet" is the most interesting part - if they do not shift their focus to us, we are honestly looking into 3 years [a.k.a. we are f'd] 😅. If they do, then they could cut the backlog to their goals by end of Sep23. I have been optimistic that they will do, others are more pessimstic. Realistically, we are looking into anything inbetween.

 

BTW: What is your statistic backing the "many coming on K1 [and return home and do the CR1]"? Or is that merely based on experience?

[mw & rg k1 629]

The backlog is amazing and growing.  I am a NOA1 in Dec 2021 and have been watching my estimated adjudication for NOA 2 slip week after week on VisaJourney.

It is not COVID at this point ....even during the height of covid, K1 visas were making it through the 
Can confirm that the data is bad

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/Quarterly_All_Forms_FY2021Q4.pdf

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/reports/Quarterly_All_Forms_FY2022_Q1.pdf

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/data/Quarterly_All_Forms_FY2022_Q2.pdf

 

Recently, the USCIS has dropped the number of K1 forms being processed from between 10-15K (all the way back to 2013) to ~5-6k PER QUARTER.
That's only about 2K a month .... so it will be bad for new filers for quite some time.

 

For the graph below ... Deficit is the number of received - number of processed (i.e. number added to the backlog)
Showing Averages of the quarterly data by Fiscal year

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by mw & rg k1
Details on graph and more attachments

[JeanneAdil 6,276]

4 hours ago, Nikobe said:

 

To supplement, the K1 is lengthy in total, but the original purpose is to have your fiancé come earlier to the US and have to do AOS (lengthy) / EAD (currently at 6 months) upon arrival. The difference in processing times between spousal and fiancé visa is at the lowest right now, so yes filing a K1 from - say - European countries, for instance, does not make much sense.

 

USCIS will report record high processing numbers for employment based visas (reduced backlog by hundreds of thousands) for FY22. The further focus is on introducing the promised premium processings on other visa categories (mostly work-related, soon EAD will be available for premium processing - which will help once you're in the U.S., if you can afford the premium (I think it is around 1k extra).

Bottom line is that nobody can tell me that the USCIS does not have the resources to enormously cut down on K1s, however it has not been their focus (yet?). The "yet" is the most interesting part - if they do not shift their focus to us, we are honestly looking into 3 years [a.k.a. we are f'd] 😅. If they do, then they could cut the backlog to their goals by end of Sep23. I have been optimistic that they will do, others are more pessimstic. Realistically, we are looking into anything inbetween.

 

BTW: What is your statistic backing the "many coming on K1 [and return home and do the CR1]"? Or is that merely based on experience?

I am saying that lately we see many come here on a K1 and need for personal reasons to return home (illness in family, etc)  and since they have married in the US and did not wait for the AP,  EAD AOS process,  now they must do a spouse visa.

no stats

just reading daily the VJ posts 

[Rocio0010 5,573]

11 hours ago, JEANDBR said:

you don’t need to work as soon as you arrive (I’m lucky that I don’t) what’s the benefit of going down the CR1 route? This

Personally, I’d go for having the chance to work if I need to. Unfortunately in this day and age you never know how your finances will do. I like security and having open possibilities, so CR1 would be better. Additionally, even if you don’t need to work, for some people staying home can be quite isolating and lonely, especially when you’re just landed. My two cents.

[maryliz 4]

It's a topic many of us struggle with.  It's a personal choice for everyone-don't let anyone tell you it's a bad choice or make you second guess your decision.  Personally, I chose the K1 because I could not bear to marry my fiancée and then leave him.  I also want him to see where I live before we get married. I realize in the long run it will cost more money but for me it's worth it. The headache on top of the heartache if we were married and then he came here and hated it and wanted to go back is not something I'm willing to risk.  Sure, it could still happen down the road but I still think K1 is the right choice for us.  I'm trying to remain optimistic that they will be able to make progress and clear the backlog but really know one knows. It's all speculation.  Hang in there!

[Lynxyonok 316]

9 hours ago, mw & rg k1 said:

That's a terrific chart. It is from a site or a home-made recap from USCIS quarterly reports?

[jaysaldi 209]

On 9/27/2022 at 5:52 AM, JEANDBR said:

Can you point me in the direction of the data that shows the process taking up to three years soon please? I’m 6 months into a K1 but if it’s going to take 3 years we might consider him moving here in the interim. 
thank you 

How can he move to the USA in the interim? Isn't he limited to 90 days at a time under ESTA?

 

K1 makes a bit more sense when the immigrant fiancee is from a developing country and can't easily visit the USA and has low earning prospects in the USA or just plans to be a housewife or has a crappy living situation in his/her own country.

 

It traditionally reunites the couple the fastest and allows them to live together the fastest, but the detriment is a longer path to work authorization and permanent residence.

 

A European boyfriend/girlfriend can visit the USA easily for up to 90 days and there usually isn't the urgency to get a K-1 to get that person to the USA as soon as possible.

 

 

[Mary0221 3]

On 9/26/2022 at 8:55 PM, vivster said:

My partner and I just sent away our i-129f and got our NOA1 in August. I have been seeing people concerned about the backlog from COVID and expecting delays for up to two years. Should I be worried; should I be discouraged? I was not sure if this is only for specific countries or embassies, but if you possibly know he is from the UK. Let me know anything that you know! 

I came from the Philippines and I think the USEM in Manila had one of the worst backlogs compared to other countries. Our NOA1 was December 30 2019 and NOA2 was March 2021 but because of the pandemic our case got stuck at NVC until February 2022. I believe almost all embassies are catching up on backlogs though. I've seen posts on Facebook groups that people have been getting NOA2s after 12-14 months and then 2-4 months at NVC. Not so bad compared to our timeline. 

[Ontarkie 13,975]

NVM I read it wrong 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Ontarkie

[Abenajj 1]

On 9/26/2022 at 10:04 PM, Letspaintcookies said:

How's that? Many are still applying for it so why is it suddenly unusual?

I dont believe it's unusual either.  i130 also isn't too quick.  They are both similar waits now. I think the fact that they get green cards immediately is what lures some to not choose k1. 

[LizaJane 13]

On 9/26/2022 at 7:55 PM, vivster said:

My partner and I just sent away our i-129f and got our NOA1 in August. I have been seeing people concerned about the backlog from COVID and expecting delays for up to two years. Should I be worried; should I be discouraged? I was not sure if this is only for specific countries or embassies, but if you possibly know he is from the UK. Let me know anything that you know! 

My husband is in the UK, we went with the spousal visa (cr1/ir1) route. It's been sitting at USCIS Potomac service center for nearly seven months now, untouched, and USCIS case check estimates six or more months until a decision from them, and then we have to wait who knows how long through the NVC stage and eventually for his interview at the embassy in London. Honestly at this point it seems there is no "good choice" with the mess that our immigration system currently is. 

[MLA 2]

First off, don't be discouraged - time really does fly by and "would have," "should haves" feel really miserable!

 

In retrospect, my Fiance and I wish we had married in France, and then applied for the CR1 so he could work sooner, but we applied for the K1 believing it would be faster. Our application was received March 2021, and we received approval of petition around February 2022, Interview September 6, 2022- and he was approved that day and had his visa two weeks later. We're marrying December 20th of this year (literally the only time his overseas friends and family could come). All of that said, from beginning to end it took 18 months for the interview and approval, and will have taken 21 months for him to get here. 

 

He could have come sooner after getting the visa, but because we can't apply for AOS on K1 visa until AFTER the wedding, that likewise means he can't apply for his work visa before. So that's the downside of a k1. HE could come sooner if it wasn't such a loss economically.

 

Anyway, we applied at the tail end of covid shenanigans- right when they were processing again, and while there will be delays for some time, I honestly expect them to be about the same length of time as our visa, or even less since we are now more than a year out from our initial application (almost 2). There's a great guy on youtube who tracks 2022 visa applications, and he was saying 13-16months as an average for applications made in 2022. I hope that helps!!

 

The worst part is waiting for the processing. It will be a really long wait, possibly up to a year BUT once it moves the NVC, it can start to pick up pace, and once the interview is set, it really goes by fast. Is interview was LITERALLY 5 minutes. They asked 4 simple questions, and it was done. I ranted a lot about the waste of time for 4 questions and 5 minutes, but that's just our immigration process, and at the end of the day, we're just so lucky to have that visa.

 

I wish you all the luck!

Edited October 3, 2022 by MLA

[TBoneTX 43,481]

Folks, this legal-immigration process is dysfunctional at best and broken at worst.  The tension and frustration become unbearable, seemingly with no way to fight against it or relieve it.  Please remain unfailingly supportive of each other.  Remember that if you hold one pencil and snap it, it will break; conversely, if you hold a handful of pencils and try to snap them, they'll remain undamaged.

Remember, too, that those of us who are finished with this infernal process are hoping and praying for your progress almost as intensely as you are.  You're not alone, and you're never forgotten.  Take comfort and find renewed strength in this.

Edited October 3, 2022 by TBoneTX