naija_glam

8 hours ago, Trinab80 said:

Aww, no thanks is needed. I just hate to see people hurt and despair. This process is clearly not for the faint hearted but I think that all of these emotions are coming from a place that none of us have a control of this situation.

 

Truthfully, the rate things are coming, doing the spousal visa would have been the rest sometimes when I think about it. It cost a how lot less, you get all your AOS paperwork upfront and for this now to become a 7-9 month process, an extra few months probably wouldn't have made much of a difference, especially since I got every 2-3 months to go see my fiancé. But the "should of, could of, would of" is a waste to think about.

You spoke my mind exactly!! USCIS received our case on May 30th. Based on people who have filed as recently as last year I was expecting to hear back within 3-4 months tops. We filed K-1 because we thought it would be the fastest way to be together, and we would still have have time to plan a wedding. Had I known how long we would be waiting, we would have done spouse visa for all the reasons you mentioned. Oh well, the wait continues.

7 hours ago, Jessica829 said:

I'm a June 12 filier so bit much behind you. My fiancé and I have put down a deposit for a wedding on August 11 next year. Our lawyer said to expect 8-12 months so we went with 14 to be safe. Best case we have a court house wedding ahead of time. There's a bit of a risk, but I'd rather pay a change fee than miss out on having my dream wedding. Obviously not everyone can take that risk, but in our case it was worth it. 

 

I hope you receive your NOA2 before you visit your fiancé (it seems like you should). I'm not sure of Nigerian timelines, but that will hopefully relieve some of your stress.

Thanks, Jessica all we can do is hope to hear back by November. We planned on doing a court wedding to fulfill the marrying in 90 days requirement for K-1 visa , and doing a wedding ceremony after. I have witnessed two Nigerian couples who paid deposits and planned weddings (during the K-1 visa process) and had to cancel their plans due to the visa not being issued by the time of the wedding.  This was in 2012, when I'm assuming the process went faster. Though I did not ask them how far in advanced they planned. I would not want to take the risk of paying any money before the visa is issued. I talked with my fiance and we agreed to wait, but we are considering reserving a date later next year in Nov or Dec. The places that we reserved initially included food, decorations, photographers, etc. Our initial plan was to pay the deposit and start a payment plan up to the wedding date of Aug. 25th. The venues made it clear that deposits paid were non-refundable. We are planning a large wedding with around 450 guests, and the estimated cost is a lot. Honestly, I have been feeling better since I have stopped stressing over if the visa will be issued by December, which was what when we thought the K-1 process would be done by. 

Let's hope we get our NOA2 before the month!!!

Hello all. I'm here waiting just like everyone else. It's day 129 for me. This fiancee visa process has been very stressful for me (and everyone else of course ). The VJ site and especially this thread has been helpful, and let's me know that I am not alone lol! USCIS received my case on May 30th. From the way things are processing, I would consider myself lucky to hear back by the end of November. I was originally planning for an August 2018 wedding in the US, but the way things are progressing that would be difficult to arrange because we were wanting a big wedding. From the way things are going, it is possible that he may not be issued a visa until Feb '18 or March '18. There will be an additional wait if an RTE is issued.

I've read that it is recommended to hold off on paying deposits, paying vendors, and securing a date for a wedding until a visa is in hand. We don't want to lose our money. While we are counting the days, I will be going to Nigeria this December to visit my fiance. I was very nervous at first about not hearing back before I go, but I haven't seen my fiance since May and miss him so much. I've made peace with myself that I will enjoy my vacation with my love whether I get a response or not before I leave. Thanks for reading my little vent/introduction lol! I pray everyone who filed in May hears back within the next 3-4 weeks!