casinoroyale

Thank you!

This USCIS page (https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt) shows historical processing times for different kinds of immigration applications, among them I-131s. However, it splits the I-131s into 3 categories: "Advance parole document," "Parole in place," and "Travel document." The first two categories have much shorter current timelines (5-6 months each) than the third, which sits at 14.5 months. Which of these categories is relevant for a K1 visa holder who has arrived in the US, married, and filed for a I-485 adjustment of status? Or perhaps are they all relevant, meaning that the whole process may take the sum of all of those timelines? 😱

And as for the additional wrinkle of such a person applying for such a visa while already having a pending I-130, showing immigration intent, isn't the point about immigration intent on that stay in the US, rather than more generally, at some later point in the future? It would seem to me that an existing I-130 in process, if anything, would show a lack of immigration intent on that specific journey, vs. your average applicant/petitioner. That person has gone through the trouble and cost to apply, so why would they want to f*** up their application by overstaying?

I've been reading a few threads on this topic. My question is, how does any recent high school or college graduate (from any country) prove non-immigration intent on their application for any kind of visa, let alone one that allows them to continue their studies in a long-term program in the US (F1 bachelor's, master's or PhD, or J1 apprenticeship/traineeship)? None of these applicants are going to own property, have a job waiting for them, or a degree they need to finish in their home country whenever they get back from the US in 1-however many years their program lasts. And if the applicant has a family, chances are they're bringing their family with them on J2/F2 visas. But clearly plenty of people with these backgrounds are getting approved for these kinds of visas, so there must be something else afoot. Maybe they just need to meet some minimum level of credibility of their academic background/qualifications to pursue whatever program it is that they want to pursue in the US, and that program itself has to have some minimum level of credibility/accreditation? And then plenty of these programs require showing a big chunk of cash to support oneself during your time in country, so perhaps that's the main area where gatekeeping takes place.

I'm planning to propose to my long-time girlfriend soon, and we might go the K1 route, or just do a courthouse marriage (bigger ceremony/party later) and go the CR1 route. She's Colombian, has a tourist visa, and will soon be graduating from her university there with a bachelor's degree. The thing is, we would really prefer to close the distance (to the extent possible) in a timeframe shorter than the 1.5-2 years I understand it takes for those visas to be granted, and if we can do so while she's working/studying here in the US in a way that advances her career goals, all the better. It seems that her doing a relevant Master's (or other graduate certificate) program in the US on an F1 visa or a long-term internship/traineeship for a company here on a J1 visa would both be options that would fit the bill, in terms of advancing her career goals, and allowing her to stay in the US for a longer period of time than her tourist visa would (12-18 months for the J1/F1, as far as I can tell, vs. 6 months for the B2). My question is whether she will run into any issues filing for a J1 or F1 visa for the purposes I described above, if she has a K1 or CR1 visa petition already pending/being processed? Also, I'm assuming here that it would make sense for her to file for the CR1/K1 before the J1/F1, given the longer lead time, but if the reverse would make more sense for some reason, I'd love to hear differently. Thank you!

Reading through this thread, and I just wanted to say I couldn't agree more! Hopefully the many posters here who seem to think it's the opposite (i.e., K1/CR1 petition filers pose a greater risk of overstay than non-filers) are wrong, and CBP officers think like you do!