Maria Medina

Good point. Since the receipt notice was from October, a lot could have happened since then. Another reason to reach out to USCIS to try to confirm where the case is currently.

Not necessarily, this can change, and sometimes it changes multiple times for people.
processing times can also change, Nebraska used to be notorious for how long they took and Texas one of the fastest.

Have you visited each other in person since sending in your initial petition? If you have, provide a copy of the flight itinerary along with boarding passes and passport stamps. If you don't have old boarding passes you can contact the airline and have them give you a "boarding letter" (the name of this will vary depending on the airline) that confirms you actually did take the flight(s).
 
Even if you haven't visited each other since sending in the petition, you can do the same thing for any previous in-person visits if you didn't do that the first time. If doing that I would make a cover sheet that summarizes whatever meetings you have evidence for (where/when/number of days, etc.) followed by the evidence itself.
 
Is your husband the one in the US? He should add you as an Authorized User to some of his credit cards. This is easy to do even without a SSN with some banks, and you don't need to be living together. Barclays and Chase were the easiest for me as they can be done online. Once that is done, make a copy of any confirmation from the bank about the Authorized User being added and send in a copy of the cards (yours and his), blacking out all but the last four digits of the card number. If this is difficult with any of his current cards he could sign up for a new card and add you as an Authorized User immediately during the application process. I would probably pick a card with no annual fee if going that route.
 
If your husband has any retirement accounts, etc. where he can name you as the beneficiary, have him do that (making sure to mark you as spouse) and provide that documentation (any letter from the institution that says they have updated the beneficiary information + printout of the beneficiary information on the account). Most of the time that can be done online very easily and without needing a SSN. In our case, even in the one account where it wasn't possible, I had the institution provide me a letter saying that my wife's information is on file and that she would still be entitled to any benefits in the event of my death provided that she had a SSN or TIN at that time, and I included that letter.
 
I sent 88 photos with our petition. That's probably much more than most, but they were over the course of 10 years. Photos with friends/family, that show you visiting different places together, celebrating holidays or special occasions, or that mark an obvious passage of time (different hair styles, etc.) will help. We even had some photos that we "time stamped" by standing in front of signs that had dates on them (like the dates for a museum exhibit), or holding tickets to something that had a specific date, etc. I labeled all of our photos by date and location.
 
 
 

The attached document was shared somewhere else on the forum and I saved it at one point. It comes directly from CBP, so the more things you can provide from here, the better.
 
Also look at this page, which is still relevant to CR-1/IR-1 beneficiaries although it is directed towards those doing the K-1 process:
 
 
CBP.Ties.pdf

My husband went on a few trips to the US (before the pandemic) on a tourist visa after having filed for the IR1. It was never an issue.  

The #1 thing is to be honest with the border officers.  Tell them how long you'll be here, what you'll be doing (visiting, NOT working in any way, even remotely for a job in your home country), and be prepared to show evidence that you intend to return home (a plane ticket, letter of employment, lease, etc.)
 
Then leave when you said you would.  My wife's visited me many times this way.  If you lie to the officer, or they think you're not being fully honest with them, things can go sideways.

I'm sure all the vets on this board are tired of this daily question, but keep in mind that dozens of people are just starting this process every day, and the "can I visit while the application is pending?" question is one, if not the, most pressing matters to most of them.
Information about this is all over this site, but scattered. I for one am a person who likes to hear personal experiences too, so I can make a decision based on what others in my similar situation have gone through.
The answer is yes, visits are allowed. But whether you will actually be admitted lies entirely in the hands of the officer questioning you upon entry. And face it, hearing you've got a sweetheart you're intending to/have married waiting for you in the US is going to set off a "he/she is just going to stay here forever" bell to that officer. It's your job to convince that officer that you have a life back in your home country that you fully intend, and will, go back to.
Anyway, I'm hoping people will post their experiences visiting the USC before and during the visa journey. I'm sure that all of us do visit legally, and do leave when we're supposed to. So, is there anything that worked for you? Hindered you? If you were ever denied, why? Were you able to remedy the situation and try again?
Going through customs can make your stomach turn, and make you feel like a criminal even though you've done nothing wrong. So, let's try to calm each other down and tell each other our experiences. I think we'll find that most of us are admitted (albeit with a little hassle, perhaps).
Vets, maybe this will cut down on having to answer the question 5 times a day!
Michele