Each month, VisaJourney dives into the official US State Department data and captures the latest Family & US visa approval trends for K1, CR1, IR1 and IR5 visas. This page is updated monthly.
K1 Visa processing is WAY down but in July we saw a 3x improvement from June! Overall, levels are still down more than 10x from pre-Covid levels (~500 a month pre-Covid to ~50 on average a month now). There is likely to be a significant backlog. Even one month of cases (pre-Covid) would take 10 months to clear at this pace, assuming no new petitions!
IR1 Visa processing is above pre-Covid rates. There is likely a backlog that will take months to clear given the slow down last year.
CR1 Visa processing (couples married less than 2 years) is roughly the same as pre-Covid. Could folks be preferring the IR-1 route over a K1 visa? This seems possible given the major backlog on K1 Visas. For some couples, this could be a legitimate route to living together in the US sooner.
What do you think of the data (below)? Do you think the US consulate in Manila is artificially slowing don K1 Visa processing to prioritize other work or for other reasons?
Chancy reacted to Captain Ewok for a record, Philippines US Family & Marriage Visa Approvals by Month