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1 hour ago, smilingstone said:

 

Thank you for this, it's definitely something I'll be adding to my bookmarks! If I have understood the processing times correctly, we're likely looking at around an 8 month wait to receive our NOA2. I'd estimated around 6 months so if so, I'm not too far off.

 

Plus I am wondering if "low-risk" countries, such as UK, experience quicker processing times?

 

 

 If you look at the approval timeline estimate from USCIS (the best current source) it lists the K1 processing times until NOA2 of about 13.5 months: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ while some will of course get theres faster, some will take longer than that. It looks like currently its about 4-5 months after NOA2 for interview. 

They don't prioritize any processing times, no. Your wait time for an interview AFTER your NOA2 would possibly be less as there are fewer who may be in the queue for an interview - but USCIS does not prioritize one country's petitions over anothers. 

I would have also advocated for the spouse visa, especially after 6 years together - the long wait for the AOS is burdensome to many couples. 

While the K3 isn't QUITE dead - why would you want it?  It has all the frustrating parts of the K1 (adjustment of status) and none of the benefits of the spouse visa. 

In the past few years, K3 issuances have been as follows: 

2018 - 5 K3s issued (Mexico - 2, Bahamas, Brazil, Honduras - 1 each)

2019 - 7 K3s issued(Mexico - 3, Afghanistan, El Salvador, Venezuela and Yemen - 1 each)

2020 - 2 K3s issued (Honduras and Yemen)

2021 - 2 K3s issued (Mexico and Pakistan)

2022 - 4 K3s issued (Mexico - 2, Great Britain and Brazil - 1 each)

2023 - 6 K3s issued (Democratic Republic of the Congo - 2, China, Great Britain, Morocco and Yemen - 1 each)

The only one I know the full detail of was the one from Morocco in August 2023 - basically because they were asking questions on a FB group and I didn't believe their K3 had been approved by USCIS so I asked and they sent me pictures and I kept thinking that they wouldn't actually GET the K3, but they did. In their situation, the couple had filed a K1, then got married and (unknowing the proper steps) filled out the I-130 and a couple days after the I-130 was filed they K1 was approved so they sent a request that, since they were not married and had filed the I-130, that the K1 be changed to a K3 - and surprisingly it was - which they verified through all NOAs and visa issued to me. 

I'm pretty sure they got lucky and it was a fluke. For the others that have been approved - I always wondered if they MEANT to get the K3 or if theirs were by accident also. 

23 hours ago, Edwin. said:

 

Now since we are both gay males and me being in the military with travel restrictions, It’s been difficult to just fly to Morocco and other countries due to their culture which I want to respect fully and then have trouble traveling to accepting countries due to my job in the military and the log process of routing up a special request chit to everyone in my chain of command. We talk all day, video call a lot, he has met my family and I’ve met his nieces and nephews. 

Can you show me where the military indicates that you can't travel to Morocco "and other countries" on your own personal vacation? It's not like he lives in North Korea? 

I've never heard of any restrictions based on a same sex relationship and if that's the case it would be good to have a valid US source to back it up

When my husband got his naturalization in April 2023, they specifically told him that he would need to renew his driver's license after becoming a US citizen. 

No. You must do one then the other

Do you live together?  I would get documents that show you live together - if you both have a driver's license or state ID with the same address on it - a health insurance card, utility bill, car insurance statement, something showing that you live in the same address. It looks like you filed a change of address for to the address the sponsor lives at - which is not the address of your spouse - is that correct? 

2 hours ago, scaredCat said:

Hello folks, I'm following this guideline for sending K3 visa while our I130 is pending. 

 

Just couldn't confirm these 3 questions:

1 - One of the documents listed here is "cover letter", is this required/necessary for K3?

2 - Does it matter if we send black/white copies of documents(Passports, marriage certificate etc) or do need to send COLOR copies?

3 - Is there any ORIGINAL document we need to send? I only have copy of our marriage certificate

 

Any comment is appreciated

 

Brian&Maria

1 - a cover letter doesnt need to be something fancy or formal.  Your name, spouses name, we got married (date) at (location), and submitted our I-130 petition for spouse visa. Please see attached I-129F K3 petition. 

2 - if it's not a huge hassle to do colour copies, I would just make colour copies. Most copy stores have colour copy machines. 

3 - the only original thing needs to be the petition that you signed. You only have a copy of your marriage certificate - where is the original?  I hope you didn't send an original with your I-130 because you will likely not get it back. 

I presume that you understand that the chances for a K3 are extremely slim - maybe only 4 have been approved worldwide in 2023 - and why would you want one anyway, because then you have to do the lengthy/costly adjustment of status process which -- NOT having to do that -- is one of the key benefits of doing the I-130 in the first place. 

I know there are some people who say that they feel it helps them "speed up" their I-130 by linking the two petitions together - but that's anecdotal evidence at best. For most people it does nothing at all - it seems very few it realistically helps. However, as it's free to submit, I guess there's no real "harm" in submitting it, but don't put much faith it will do anything in your favour. 

When my husband had his oath ceremony there were some people in suits and some people in t-shirts. There was a big range. My husband wore khakis and a long sleeve henley type shirt. 

Hi - not my case, my husband already here and has citizenship. 

Another couple I know from online - petitioner filed I-130 for spouse October 2022. 

Petitioner and beneficiary got into big argument, and she sent letter via USPS 8/16/23 to withdraw the petition. 

Next day, her and beneficiary made up and she was remorseful of having sent letter. 

Went to immigration attorney who advised her to write another letter withdrawing the first one. 

Wrote letter and uploaded it in the "documents" section of their case on 8/27/23 indicating that she had previously sent letter through the mail withdrawing their petition but wanted to cancel that. 

On 9/1/23 their case changed to "Active Review" and was then approved by USCIS same day. 

After she wrote the first letter, my advice to her had been to wait and when that letter was acknowledged, to re-file. 

What could the situation be now? If USCIS has NOT seen the first letter, can they still cancel the petition now that it's technically en route to NVC? 

Is it possible that they were "actively reviewing" her case BECAUSE they had received the letter and noticed the second one as well? 

Should they just proceed with NVC and hope for the best? 

10 hours ago, ChelseaPresutti said:

@Boiler Thanks for the clarification.  I have researched the steps post I-130 approval and as far as I understand are this - We are up to no.3 but because i filled in a question I shouldn't have, I have now added on up to 12 months to my case to progress to step 4? And now have to proceed to fill out an I-824? Or would this be a necessary step anyway.  Could I call USCIS on the number they gave me or contact the AU consulate?  

 

1. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Filing - Petition is mailed to USCIS.
2. Notice of Action 1 (NOA1) - Petition is received by USCIS.
3. Notice of Action 2 (NOA2) - Petition is approved or denied by USCIS.
4. National Visa Center (NVC) Phase - USCIS forwards case to NVC and collects fees and documents.
5. NVC to Embassy - NVC forwards your case to the U.S. Embassy in the nation of origin.
6. Embassy Letter - Embassy contacts you with further instructions.
7. Medical Exam - Foreign spouse schedules and completes required medical exam.
8. Embassy Interview - Foreign spouse is interviewed by the consular officer at the U.S. Embassy.
9. Visa Issued - The visa is pasted in the passport and the passport is returned to the foreign spouse.
10. Immigrant Fee - Immigrant fee is paid online.
11. Travel to U.S. - Foreign spouse has 6 months to enter the U.S.
12. Green Card Issued - Green card is mailed to home address within 2 to 4 weeks after arriving in the U.S

So in the above set of instructions - you are between 3 and 4. You have to complete the I-824 and pay the fees as others have said. How did you originally submit your case - online or by mail?  The situation are likely in is that you on the I-130 form, in part 4 - you would have answered BOTH 61 a/b AND 62 a/b/c. If you have a copy of your submission (I know when you submit online they usually send you a .pdf?) and you DID NOT check both of the boxes, then you could reach out and indicate that USCIS made an error. I do know others where they DID NOT check both of these boxes and were successful in NOT filing the I-824 and had their case move on to the NVC. If you did in fact, answer both of those, then you would have to file it as others have indicated. 

1 hour ago, K+S said:

Well the reasoning is that one of the passports could be sent away in order to apply for a visa and you still need to be able in the meantime

when the passport is "sent away: for the visa it's maybe gone for a week or two. You wouldn't plan on then leaving the country on a different passport and then returning a week later to get the passport with the visa in it? 

You don't apply for either - you just submit off the I-130 for your spouse -- the visa you get is based on the length of marriage when your spouse enters the US. I hope you haven't waited all this time thinking it was based on length of marriage at time of petition!

3 hours ago, manyfudge said:

If OP got CR-1 visa, would that not also have the name of petitioner?

 

Is he better off getting a round trip ticket to doha and then Doha to JFK?

the CR1 / IR1 does not have the name of the petitioner. And why are you assuming this person is a "he"?

So this person messaged me with the same on FB yesterday. He says that his parents are elderly and live 4 hours from Cairo and in Egypt you have to sign the paperwork there and it wasn't a "wedding" in Cairo, they were just signing papers which he explained during the interview. He said that she has been there with him 3 times and that he felt confident about all the questions they asked at the interview. I asked him if they had chat logs/phone logs that they just did not submit and he did not say. He told me that the photos were regular pics - taken at the pyramids, with family, at McDonalds, just wherever.  I asked him to have his wife message me and I would try to give some basic suggestions (include more of the chat logs, write down all the questions they asked at the interiew to the best of his recollection and how he answered them) but the wife did not message me. 

On our Morocco/US visa group - K1 interviews are taking about 6-8 months. People who received their NOA2 for K1 interviews last November have interviews scheduled for late July. Medicals are often after that. Maybe this was an auto generated email response not updated for awhile. 

4 hours ago, balba said:

 

 

 

My husband (also Moroccan) and I had a similar experience. We went to the interview, about 3 hours drive from where we live and it was something about the 10 year green card file not being received yet (unlike you he had not received his). We reached out to the senator's office, got the 10 year green card a month later, and his N400 interview a few months after that. Inshallah yours will be going through soon. 

5 hours ago, Missthanger said:

Ok , I understand now . Thank you so much 

Not that you keep wanting to apply over and over and over but if you could get some estimates of how much surgery/treatment would be either in Gambia, or in a country that he can travel to easily - and it would likely be an exorbitant amount of course - you could try based on your financial hardship for needing to help pay for this (presuming he is not able to work with this type of injury). As a nurse - I'm presuming you mean a brachial injury? If you are going to do try to do this I would also how how your insurance will cover this upon his entry to the US and proof of overseas cost. It may, of course, still be a no - but technically you would be applying for financial hardship to help him pay for this, not because of this injury. 

2 hours ago, HaileyD98 said:

Did your English translation have the certification? Mine only has the translators sworn seal and signature…

Yes. I would think that the translators sworn seal and signature would have been enough though. I can send you pics of what we sent, etc if you send me a message

11 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

you need the Rabat actual one

 

they will want to see the original at the interview and it must match the one u send to NVC /  if it doesn't , there will be AP like the Philly man was in so he could get matching ones

We had a different translation at USCIS, with the RFE, and at his interview and all was fine. 

21 hours ago, HaileyD98 said:

I received an RFE yesterday stating that my marriage certificate didn’t meet country requirements. However the original marriage certificate has everything they’re asking about. It was prepared by the adoul, it has all the required signatures and judges stamp and signature. I also have the English translation! They said it needed to be an Aakd Zawaj?? I’m feeling so stressed can someone help me?

This happened to us too (my husband is from Morocco also). Ours said that it wasn't signed by a judge, but it WAS signed by a judge. We got a new translation for it from a US based company using a "USCIS guaranteed" agency - I think it was $20 and had a 24 hour turnaround time. We submitted that and our case was approved 2 weeks later. I think the bigger problem is your lawyer just doing whatever and not consulting you with feedback/etc. 

11 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

BTW you should not have the document the judge signed /that is kept in Rabat in Morocco's records 

if u have it ,,  the marriage was not registered properly

My husband and I both got a copy of our marriage certificate signed by the judge. Ours was registered properly and he has been here over 4 years. 

1 hour ago, RedaAd said:

Also how was his English level at that time ?

 

It would very help me to learn from your experience, what happened at the interview day and did you have proper evidence ?

His English was very good, he had a low paying job and no travel history.  I will send you a list of questions they asked him if you msg me

22 hours ago, RedaAd said:

Here is the situation: My fiance an American lady, we have been able to meet one time last year and we applied for K1 and since we are afraid that we didn't front load the i129f application with enough proof it might get rejected

(my husband is from Mohammedia too). A K1 is hard call in Morocco - it can either go fine, or not go well at all. USCIS does not post statistics on how many visas are not approved, but very few K1s are issued. We had an unapproved K1 years ago. Another frustrating thing that most people encounter is that there is NO requirement - NONE! - for them to look at ANYTHING you bring to the interview. So even if your fiance had been with you for a year, it could still be denied because you submitted after 1 visit. Getting married in Mohammedia isnt that awful - we did it in 5 days after our K1 disaster, and my husband has been in the US over 4 years now. 

16 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

No one here would say realionship is not real or that the embassy would or would not approve it (not for certain) but we look at what happens with high fraud countries like yours and mine

 

USCIS acutallly puts out stats on this and from the site

 

# 5 reason for denial

 

5.  a short courting period before the filing of the K-1 petition (e.g., mail order brides, spur-of-the-moment proposals after a first visit)

https://visarefusal.com/inadmissibility/k-1-visa-

 

refusals/#:~:text=According%20to%20those%20statistics%2C%20approximately,initial%20denial%2C%20some%20do%20not.

 

 

This link is not a USCIS site that reports factual statistics - it's a private attorney's webpage who wants you to hire them 

USCIS puts out statistics of approved visa issuances only - not how many are refused from each country. 

13 hours ago, W199 said:

 

 

What I am trying to say is making a decision based on "which is better" is not the right attitude, it should be what do you need. A cr-1 because you are getting married, or a k-1 because you want to be engaged, or a cr-1 for work, etc....  not comparing the features like you compare different credit cards.

 

Another realistic considering is the possibility of divorce. Getting married and divorce in Thailand was trivial. In the Philippines, both are very dif

Keep in mind that the worldwide visa issuances for K1 are around 45%. When my current husband and I first met and started researching the K1 you can google K1 approval rate and its like 98%-99% - but that's the USCIS approval rate for a K1 - not the rate of people who actually receive visas. 

So during my husbands K1 interview, we ended up being put into administrative processing and the visa petition was returned to the US - as the K1 only has a validity of 4 months they just say it's expired and you have to start over again. So we weren't DENIED a K1 but we had an unapproved K1. After that experience we started researching more and found the approval rate worldwide. 

In addition, rates of visa issuance worldwide are also going down. You mentioned Philippines and Thailand. While Philippines issued 4,804 K1s in 2022 (which is BY FAR the highest number of ANY country - the 2nd highest, Mexico, issued 1,166) - they were issuing 8,000+ pre-pandemic. Thailand has also decreased slowly - 700-900 routinely pre-pandemic but only 273 in 2022. Most countries have had their K1 totals start going down, and many countries have longer wait times for K1 interviews after USCIS approval. It's not just about the wait for a green card/the money - and you mention if you waited two years to marry then did a spouse visa it would be 4 years total - well keep in mind that if you wait 2 years for a K1 and it's not approved for whatever reason (and there's no requirement to tell you why a K1 was not approved and no grounds for an appeal, unlike the spouse visa) then you're back at the beginning again. 

Our spouse visa was approved at my husband's interview and we are now waiting on his naturalization, but the process made me realize how the K1s are less prioritized and less of a great thing than the spouse visa is.