Brand83

Not really. I checked a few days ago and it was still "received."
When I look at the case history tab right now, it says "reviewing" on 21 April and "approved" on 22 April.
 
I don't know if this played a role in the decision, but we've been married for about 6 1/2 years (originally, we didn't plan on moving to the US) so we've got 6 years of financial records and stuff validating our marriage. But I'd like to hope that things are just picking up and everyone will get their cases approved faster.

I think this is good news for everyone filing.
 
USCIS received my I-130 petition on March 2, 2021 and informed me it was being processed in Nebraska. Two weeks ago I filed for K-3 just because I've heard the rumors that it can speed up the I-130 process. 
 
My petition was approved yesterday (April 22). Actually kinda amazed at the turnaround time because I'm still waiting for the IRS to process my paper returns (yikes!)

Interesting that this topic is getting traction again. I can confirm that the K-3 “trick” did indeed work in 2019. We filed February 2019 and were assigned to Nebraska and settled in for the long wait. Around May/June that year, I started seeing conversation relating to filing for the obsolete K-3 visa in order to cause your I-130 to be pulled and worked faster. Reasoning being, they can deny the K-3 if your I-130 is already approved. In July we filed, and it worked. I think it took about a month, and we were on to the NVC stage. 
 
However around October 2019 it seemed USCIS caught onto the sudden influx of K-3 petitions and stopped pulling cases out of line, so people stopped filing. Perhaps now that things have calmed down, they are going back to their usual operations, aka pulling cases out and sending them on if they get a K-3 request... 
 
And don’t let anyone shame you for “jumping the line.” Immigration is different for everyone, sometimes faster and sometimes slower at different points in history. Some people get faster service centers, or get lucky with wicked fast approvals in the NVC stage. If you’re willing to do the extra work for a chance of your spouse being here sooner, then why wouldn’t you? If I hadn’t taken the chance there is no way my husband would have made it here before COVID... in the end, his flight touched down nine days before the borders closed, and all in all even with the K-3 request speeding things up, the process took a full year. 

Not really. I checked a few days ago and it was still "received."
When I look at the case history tab right now, it says "reviewing" on 21 April and "approved" on 22 April.
 
I don't know if this played a role in the decision, but we've been married for about 6 1/2 years (originally, we didn't plan on moving to the US) so we've got 6 years of financial records and stuff validating our marriage. But I'd like to hope that things are just picking up and everyone will get their cases approved faster.

Could be a coincidence. I honestly don't know, but I was bracing for 10-12 months of waiting. So to me it was worth the time to complete the form and the $35 to send it from South Africa to the US via DHL just to see if it works.

Thanks!
 
I did everything online. Not long before I made this post, I received an email update from the USCIC saying they have taken an action on my case. After 10 solid minutes of anxiety, I checked it and saw that I was approved. They said they'll be mailing me an approval notice, but if I don't receive it by May 22, the message included a link to request a copy. 

I think this is good news for everyone filing.
 
USCIS received my I-130 petition on March 2, 2021 and informed me it was being processed in Nebraska. Two weeks ago I filed for K-3 just because I've heard the rumors that it can speed up the I-130 process. 
 
My petition was approved yesterday (April 22). Actually kinda amazed at the turnaround time because I'm still waiting for the IRS to process my paper returns (yikes!)

Hi CG3. There is absolutely nothing official about this. There has been a rumor on this board about it, but there are no facts supporting that it works. 
 
With that said, you have nothing to lose except the time it takes to complete the K-3 form and the money it costs to mail it.

Thanks!
 
I did everything online. Not long before I made this post, I received an email update from the USCIC saying they have taken an action on my case. After 10 solid minutes of anxiety, I checked it and saw that I was approved. They said they'll be mailing me an approval notice, but if I don't receive it by May 22, the message included a link to request a copy. 

Not really. I checked a few days ago and it was still "received."
When I look at the case history tab right now, it says "reviewing" on 21 April and "approved" on 22 April.
 
I don't know if this played a role in the decision, but we've been married for about 6 1/2 years (originally, we didn't plan on moving to the US) so we've got 6 years of financial records and stuff validating our marriage. But I'd like to hope that things are just picking up and everyone will get their cases approved faster.

Could be a coincidence. I honestly don't know, but I was bracing for 10-12 months of waiting. So to me it was worth the time to complete the form and the $35 to send it from South Africa to the US via DHL just to see if it works.

That is usually the process.  You might want to look in the South Africa forum for more specific answers there.