dsldesch

I know that's not an easy thing to go through...

I wish you well and I hope you're doing okay?

As for anything officially, I'm not sure what needs to be done. Maybe you could email the embassy and get their direction? I'd make sure to save any correspondence for proof down the road if any need should arise.

Best of luck to you!

Unfortunately, I had seen this coming for a while, so I feel as though I've already grieved the loss...I have my moments of sadness, but overall, I think we're both ok, and it's easier knowing that we ended things on good terms rather than waiting until our life situations led us to hating each other.

Another person mentioned just allowing the petition to die, so I might opt to do that instead and just not worry about what'll happen next.

Thank you!

NuestraUnion, thank you for sharing your story with me. I think that possibility is always open, but we'll see what life brings us.

We discussed those possibilities, but he's unable (or perhaps unwilling) to put in the effort to make some other changes needed to stay together and make this work, to address issues he has said would be resolved when he gets here but hasn't worked on while we've been apart. So while it might seem drastic from the outside, for us, it's necessary.

I want to congratulate and express my happiness for everyone who've had recent approvals in every step of the process! It has always brightened my day to see the message in my inbox.

Unfortunately, about three weeks ago, Harel's family went through some changes that require him to stay in Mexico to support his mom through everything. We've looked at the possibilities we had to continue things, but none of that would suffice to extend our long-distance arrangement indefinitely. So this morning we agreed to end our engagement. However, I want to thank all of you for the support you have given us--and me--throughout this process, and I continue to wish you all the best moving forward.

Does anybody know if I need to formally cancel our petition, or if he needs to cancel the DS-160 he filed? No appointments were scheduled, of course. I just don't want to leave these things unresolved, especially if it could negatively impact either of us in the future.

About three weeks ago, Harel's family went through some changes that require him to stay in Mexico to support his mom through everything. We've looked at the possibilities we had to continue things, but unfortunately none of that would suffice to extend our long-distance arrangement indefinitely. So this morning we agreed to end our engagement. However, I want to thank all of you for the support you have given us--and me--throughout this process, and I continue to wish you all the best moving forward.

Thank you for all of your help and answers. Unfortunately, despite both of us wishing otherwise, we've found it necessary to end our engagement in light of his family's new circumstances.

My fiance and I are up to the point where we can schedule an interview for the K1 visa. However, his parents have just separated, and he's concerned to leave his mom alone during this time. I know the visa is only valid for six months, so if we proceed with scheduling the interview and get the visa, if his mom still needs his support after the six months and he feels the need to stay a little longer before moving to the US, would we be able to extend the validity of the visa without starting the process over?

Neither one of us is sure how this will affect us going forward, but it's better to know all our options before we make decisions we can't reverse.

Hey to Everyone

we finally have scheduled our interview for April 1 and the medical for the previous day. I want to thank everyone for their help and support so far-this has really, really sucked.

I cannot imagine how anyone could make it through this process without a website like this because there really isn't much information coming from the US govt.

An FYI we expected to wait 2 months for an interview in CDJ and only have to wait 3 weeks. So don't count on having a long time between when you pay/schedule and the interview to get your papers in order. If there is a better place I can post that information let me know.

So we will be heading to CDJ in about 2 weeks.

I hope no one is still waiting here. Will post a review of CDJ when we are done.

Good luck to everyone in this process.

That is fantastic news! I am so happy for you both!

And I will pass this along to my fiance, so perhaps the swiftness of your interview date will compel him to treat it with some urgency? Oh, cultural differences... xD

Hey everyone! Just wanted to tell you all.....We were granted the visa. Our life begins now!

Congratulations! So happy for both of you!

Case Was Approved

On February 1, 2016, we approved your Form I-129F, Petition for Fiance(E), Receipt Number SRCxxxxx

I cannot tell you how happy and relieved I am to finally hear this news--trust me, it is music to my ears, and it's brightened a day that up until now, was full of moping around and feeling lazy--but more importantly, it means your wait for approval is over, and now your journey can keep going. I am so happy for you, and so glad to see this news.

Honestly, I can't do this anymore. I just can't -I don't have the strength. I need to do something else like drop the case and move to another country where there is adequate medical care.

Jess, it pains me so much to hear this. A little more than a year ago, Harel had gone through some health issues, and not knowing what was going on and not being with him was one of the scariest things I've been through. Health on top of all these unfair immigration delays, it would be a tremendous burden on anybody.

I'm reading a book called the Upside of Stress by Kelly McGonigal, and it's been changing my life by helping me change the way I view stress--in many cases, it can help us find inner strength, forge stronger connections with others, and become more resilient to future stress. I highly recommend the reading if you need something to occupy your time.

As others have said, though, your health is the most important thing. Take care of yourself, and let your fiance knows the ways he can support you even while you're in different countries--it'll make him feel better, and you'll have the support you need, helping you to feel better. And if nothing else, remember that we're here for you, too--and we've all either gone through the waiting game, or we're still waiting on something. You'll make it through this, I know we all will.

Result: 307 days

It is 307 days from the start date to the end date, end date included

Or 10 months, 1 day including the end date

This is so frustrating and angering and disappointing. Every day that goes by without an update, I often find myself wondering if you both have been approved yet, hoping you were just so excited you forgot to share the news... I wish there were more I could do to help. If nothing else, you have my support and prayers.

Zuluweta, your documentation should be from the time you married.

Most important: documents that prove you have been living together (Lease, deed, mortgage)

Documents that prove that you have combined your financial life (bank statements, credit card statements, insurance).

Docs that show you plan a future together (wills, medical powers of attorney, docs that name your spouse as your beneficiary).

Next: Children, if applicable.

Docs that show you are living life together (travel, automobile, boarding passes)

Docs that show you have a social life together - pictures, affidavits

Best to you and yours!

Sukie in NY

How strict are they in combining a couple's financial life? My fiance was raised in such a way that he's very uncomfortable financially depending on another (he even gets agitated when I pay for the grocery shopping), and while we've never really spoken about it, I foresee him being opposed to sharing a bank account (I don't mind having separate accounts, so I wouldn't push it on him). That said, since I'll be working full-time (he plans to go back to school as soon as he can), more than likely he'll be on my insurance plan, so we should have that for us at least.

Been a while since I was here, so I thought I'd jump in for a quick update. We were approved back in September, made it to the Ciudad Juarez consulate mid-Novemberish (the exact dates are in my timeline), and began work assembling all of the documentation for the DS-160; it's been a slow process because Harel has been given more responsibilities at his job, and with the long commute to and from, he's got no energy left at the end of the day (or even the start of the day, most days), not to mention my being deep in grad school and working at the moment.

Anyways, things were progressing smoothly if slowly until he realized his new passport has a clerical error, showing the wrong year of birth. So he did everything he could to replace it, but the earliest appointment he could get is January 20, and then it'll be at least a week after that before he gets the corrected passport. Thus, in the mean time, we're just waiting. Again.

However, of all the things that could have gone wrong, this is very manageable--we've contacted the consulate, they've informed us the delay won't prevent us from getting an interview, so it's more frustrating and disappointing than stressful, which I guess is easier to manage.

The USEM uses the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) as their standard operating procedures (SOPs). Section 9 is all about how they handle different kinds of visas. Right now, that part is under construction (online), but the PDF can be found here: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87391.pdf

It says:

9 FAM 41.81 N6.2 Validity of a K-1 Petition

An approved K-1 visa petition is valid for a period of four months from the date of USCIS action and may be revalidated by the consular officer any number of times for additional periods of four months from the date of revalidation, provided the officer concludes that the petitioner and the beneficiary remain legally free to marry and continue to intend to marry each other within 90 days after the beneficiary's admission into the United States. However, the longer the period of time since the filing of the petition, the more the consular officer must be concerned about the intentions of the couple, particularly the intentions of the petitioner in the United States. If the officer is not convinced that the U.S. citizen petitioner continues to intend to marry the beneficiary, including instances where no action has been taken on the application for a year (while refused under INA 221(g)), the petition should be returned to the approving office of USCIS with an explanatory memorandum. (See 9 FAM 41.81 PN5 for revalidation procedure.)

Here are a few other posts:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/574726-noa-2-expiring-soonwhile-im-still-on-ap/#entry7888884

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/574754-help-i-need-help/

Thanks you, Amhara! I feel much more relieved after reading these threads.

It's 250 days today.

That is ridiculous. I wish there were some way we could all help.

So the USCIS website dated Aug 31 said they were processing Feb 20 applications.

Now, the just updated today website fully two months later says they are processing Feb 23 applications.

Really in 2 full months they have only moved ahead by 3 days? This seems bizarre even for Texas.

I'm convinced the USCIS (in particular, TSC) changes their processing dates to reflect the very oldest petition they're working on so that ALL petitions are ALWAYS within standard processing times. This means that they are then accountable to nobody, since no one ever exceeds standard processing times.

D=

It's unethical and unfair, but I can't believe they're doing anything else. It's just a way to be lax without consequence.

That said, it may be that the oldest petition is from Feb. 23 due to RFEs, but the majority of the petitions they're working on currently (that is, not held for RFEs) are from future months, although we've also seen that they don't seem to work sequentially, so who knowns what worth speculation has.

I'm a little confused about where my fiance is supposed to get police certificates in Mexico, and for which places.

He grew up in Santiago de Queretaro, QRO, but now resides in DF. Does he need police certificates from both cities and/or states? How would he go about obtaining these? He is about as lost as I am, and we're both concerned with how quickly they can be obtained.

Additionally, we're not sure if he needs police certificates from the US. Between 2011 and 2012, he was in the US on a toursist visa for 5 months and 15 days. According to the consulate PDF (here), police certificates are required for any country in which he resided for 6 months or longer (so I suspect, being so close to that cusp, we'd need police certificates from here as well). However, on the consulate's website (here), it says police certificates are required from the country of current residence and only any countries of residence for longer than a year, implying that he wouldn't need them from the US.

So...it's a bit of a conundrum, and neither of us are certain what to do. Any sort of feedback would be appreciated.

(And although it's a separate question, the latter webpage strongly recommends the fiance--implying the original petitioner, that is, me--attends the interview, but half the page below implies that the fiance won't even be allowed in the consulate, so all these contradictions are confusing me. Do I go to the interview with him, or do I not?)

We are still waiting for the NOA2....hard to believe, isn't it?

I read somewhere on VJ that it is hard to get an appointment at CDJ. Someone posted they had to call back every day until an appointment was available (as if the process isn't bad enough). So yes, that's something you might want to follow up on if you can possibly find the time. If I find the post I will send you a link. Or maybe your S.O. would be able to make the calls if you're at the point to do so.

I also think that the Consulate in Mexico is closed for all US holidays and all Mexican holidays. So soon Thanksgiving,Christmas, New Years Day, etc. and we will miss a lot of days, pushing things back even more. I'm not sure what Mexican holidays are upcoming. I expect ours to take over a year by the time we are done.

But I'm leaving for Mexico in a few days anyway. And might try to have his physical in DF.

Keep us posted on your plans and progress-maybe we'll be in DF at the same time.

That is such an injustice! I am so sorry you're still stuck at TSC, this is not right, nor fair, not one bit. *hugs*

If scheduling is that lengthy a process case, perhaps we should rush ahead with the DS-160 (he actually said the link on the letter goes to a missing page, hahaha! but what do we expected from the government, honestly?). However, he hasn't received the consulate letter yet, even though I have, so I'm not sure if he should schedule something yet or if he'd be forced to reschedule (I think I read that happened to someone who scheduled the interview too soon). In any case, not knowing how long it'll take to get police certificates, I'm afraid of scheduling an appointment too soon.

We're also looking to do the medical examination in DF. Luckily it isn't far from where he lives, which is nice. (=

I'm not sure when I'll be visiting again. I want to make a trip in December, but money is a little thin, and knowing I'll need to make another trip for his interview date, I don't want to risk drying up the money I've got set aside for travel faster than I'm able to replenish it. We were able to talk today (apparently it's a Mexican holiday on Friday, so they got Monday off, but still have to work on Friday?), and being able to discuss things made it seem much more manageable--it's still a lot to do, but so much less than it felt when I was only looking at it by myself. He also said his mother always asks how I'm doing, and is asking if I'll be visiting next month, so it really would be lovely to make another trip there. If you don't mind my asking, what are you travel dates?

Your NOA2 expiration date has no bearing. The USEM can and does extend the date as many times as they want/need to. As long as you don't abandon your petition, you are good.

That is a relief, but how does the embassy know the difference...?

Hi

When are you going to the interview. Have you been able to schedule that yet?

We got our consulate letter about two weeks ago, but the timing hasn't allowed us to do much--I'm struggling to keep up with grad school on this end, and his work is keeping him busy on the other, so our schedules have yet to align at a time when we can talk and sort through the next steps we need to take.

Every day that passes makes me more nervous, since our NOA2 is only valid through January 24, and I have a creeping suspicion that interview dates in Ciudad Juarez are going to be very, very sparse.

Where are you both in the process?

I'm in a similar position to the original poster, and feeling very overwhelmed with what to do (or not do) next.

Should we compile all of the needed forms and then complete the DS-160 and schedule an interview? Or do we complete the DS-160 now, schedule an interview, and continue to compile things in the time until our interview date?

Additionally, what do we do about obtaining police reports from Mexico? And he lived in the US in the past, so will we need US police reports--and if so, how do we get them?

I am so excited that we're at this point, but goodness, how I wish it didn't have to happen right in the busiest time of the semester.

Tom, thank you so much for your informative replies. I cannot express how gracious I am for all your kindness and support.

Can someone also tell me where to find "normal processing times" so I can mention this to my Senator as well?

I have the sour feeling that TSC updates their "normal processing times" with the oldest date such that all petitions prior to that date have been approved, so that all outstanding petitions fall within their listed normal processing times. It's infuriating and borderline unethical, but it limits their accountability and almost entirely strips us of any recourse regarding our petitions, so it makes sense why they would do it if we're not a priority for them.

However, with that being said, it seems random how they're approving cases, so while I suspect most everyone here will be approved within the next month or two (seriously, how could they drag it out onger than that? though I don't really want to know), the order in which people will be approved appears at best random.

I just got an update from USCIS and I felt a strike of panic--what update could possibly come at midnight? Turns out it was letting us know our petition has been sent to the Department of State. Seeing that made me realize how unprepared I've become in staying ahead of the game--grad school in math has taken up all my time, but thankfully fall break starts tomorrow night. Other than the guides and FAQs, are there threads on the forum of particular interest in preparing for the next step of the journey? Especially for couples working through the Mexican consulate?

Let me clarify: When speaking with USCIS and telling them of all these cases approved in the last few months, she acted as though they could care less because to USCIS VJ is not something they are concerned with nor care about. They say that they cannot speak of "those" cases.

This site is real for us. Not for them. They regurgitate the same vomit call after call after call. That is why i stopped calling last week.

It's perfectly understandable that USCIS can't acknowledge the cases spoken about here, because for any number of political and common sense reasons, it's irrational for them to do so. However, as others have pointed out, the VJ data is not without errors, and it's only a small sample of the larger number of cases USCIS is working on, and we have no reason to conclude it's a representative sample either (it very well might be, but we have no way to show this).

In any case, trying to point out other approvals on VJ is probably not the best approach while talking with anybody, whether a member of Congress or VJ; rather, it's better to highlight the extreme number of people waiting for extreme amounts of time, and hoping some sly but sincere wording might strike some heartstrings and play a tune that gets them to care, or at least acknowledge, what we're all going through.

Also, for all those who just hit or passed Day 200, 210, etc...our petition was approved on Day 205, so I certainly understand your pain. To be honest, I don't think I realized how much continual stress I was under not knowing anything, stress that I've not felt nearly as strongly since we were approved. Your day is coming. Until then, the best thing you can do is either take the time to focus on mindfulness and accepting the situation for what it is, or putting your stress into contacting representatives and senators to try to put pressure on the USCIS to ask--especially contact newly elected members of Congress, as they stand the most to gain from helping constituents--or do both. Take action, but also take solace in the fact that your days of waiting are numbered, and rather than staring off into an unknown future, focus on all the wonderful things you have right now--something worth fighting for, someone worth fighting for.

It's much easier said than done, but it is possible, and it'll help ease the burden until all of us have been approved.

Hello every one, i think they are transfering New TSC cases because i saw people from New York that are routed or transfered to CSC

To the extent of my knowledge, this has been the case since the end of March. I don't presently foresee TSC taking up I-129Fs for a while once they're finished with their backlog, if they have any common sense whatsoever. CSC is far too efficient to make sending anybody back to TSC for this particular form a rational decision.

Yea that was a joke.

This is, sadly, no surprise, but I'm grateful nonetheless for those who took to the phones and reported back to us. Thank you.

Could our K1s be delayed in the TSC because of the 20,000 Syrians that are coming here???

It's possible, but I don't know if there's any true way of knowing. They were saying DACA was a cause of this same delay, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone, somewhere will assert anything as a cause of TSC's poor efficiency.

Tamcloud, welcome to the VJ forums! I am always encouraged to hear of couples together for so long, and I'm very happy that you recently had your petition approved!

To add to the good news, this Friday our own petition was approved--and it was amazing how happy Harel and I both were, it was perhaps one of our happiest moments, even more so than when we first met or became engaged.