lasiyo

My fiancee got on the phone with someone at the embassy and they told her that this process can take months. They told her someone has been waiting for 3 months. That's absolutely insane! That can't be right can it? For processing a missing document?

3 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

You would have to search for similar recent Paris experiences.

 

I know that for the consulate in Montréal, it's usually 6-8 extra weeks.  Most locations are faster, a few slower...

 

Jesus, thank god this isn't Canada.

EDIT: My mistake, i misread 6-8 months. We've getting such broad answers from people ranging from "a few days" to i guess the above being the longest at 6-8 weeks.

On 4/25/2024 at 11:13 AM, powerpuff said:

Screenshot with a full case number removed protect the posters privacy. Feel free to re-upload a redacted version.

 

VJ Moderation 

No worries, here's the redacted version.

It's nearing 10 days since we mailed the birth certificate. I would've hopped the status at least to have changed to "Processing", but perhaps we have to wait longer? Has anyone gone through this process before?

Thanks for the additional info! I also just saw that my status is "Refused", i'm assuming this is normal until they receive the birth certificate, right?

My fiancee had her intervirw today and unfortunately they told her there’s a missing document, her birth certificate, and did not proceed with the approval until that gets mailed in.

We’re pretty devestated since it’s been a long journey and I was particularly confident that the interview would be smooth sailing…

Has anyone gone through a missing document process? How long did it take after mailing the missing document? Weeks? Months?

To clarify, i’m American and she’s French. She had her interview in Paris.

My fiancee has interview at the consulate in Paris on April 24th, and we're trying to figure out flight plans for her to come. We've seen some different answers from 7 days to a month to receive the K-1 Visa. I understand it depends on a lot of factors, but we're looking to book a changeable flight on May 11th. Is that soon? Whats the average time to receive the K-1 Visa after the interview?

4 hours ago, IWander said:

The checklist is accurate. 

Perfect, thanks! So, at this point there's not much to do but wait and maybe perhaps start gathering the documents needed for the interview correct?

Me and my fiancee (from France) just received our NOA2 and it has an expiration of Feb 26th 2024. We're trying to figure out the following steps and have a to-do list that we'd like to verify. 

Would really appreciate some feedback if i'm missing something here:

 

1. Wait for National Visa Center (NVC):
   After NOA2, your case will be forwarded to the NVC. This usually takes about 2-3 weeks

2. NVC to Embassy Transfer:
   The NVC will send your case to the U.S. Embassy in France. This phase can take 1 to 3 months

3. Receive Letter from NVC:
   Once the case is at the embassy, the NVC will send a letter to the foreign fiancé(e) to apply for the K-1 Visa and prepare for the interview2

4. Complete Form DS-160:
   After receiving the letter from the NVC, your fiancée should fill out the DS-160 Form, which is the Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application. This form must be completed before scheduling the visa interview

5. Schedule Interview:
   After submitting the DS-160, your fiancée should contact the U.S. Embassy in France to schedule an interview with the consular officer

6. Prepare Documents for Interview:
   Your fiancée will need to gather various documents to bring to the interview, including but not limited to:

• A completed Form DS-160.

• A valid passport.

• Birth certificates.

• Any applicable death or divorce certificates.

• Medical examination records.

• Two 2×2-inch photographs.

• Evidence of financial support.

• Police certificates from all countries lived in since age 16.

• Evidence of a bona fide relationship1.

• Medical Examination: Before the interview, your fiancée should complete a medical examination by an authorized physician.

7. Attend Interview:
   Attend the visa interview at the U.S. Embassy in France. The visa is typically granted within 2 to 10 days after the interview, provided all goes well1
   
   
   Questions:
   
   The expiration for the I-129F is February 26th, however, it looks like we can't schedule an appointment at the consulate until after we recieve the letter from the NVC. Is that correct? If it takes 1 month to receive the letter and then another 3 months to get the appointment, will we be screwed? At what point can we extend the deadline? 
   
   Also, once the K-1 Visa is approved, that means we have 6 months for her to arrive to the USA correct? We're trying to organize logistics and would love some flexibility with the timeline. Ideally, she moves here in April (6 months from now). 

3 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

USCIS must send your case to NVC.  Then NVC assigns a DOS case number before you can schedule an interview or medical.  Approved I-129fs have a validity date of 4 months, after which the consulate can extend them in 4 month increments up to a year.  

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but i'm not following your answer here. I'm still confused as to what the "Validity Date" means for the NOA2. Does it mean that my finacee needs to schedule an interview at the consulate at minimum before it expires? Or does she need to complete the whole process and be moved to the USA before it expires? I find it hard to understand what is supposed to happen before the approved I-129F expires.  

My fiancée and I have just received our I-797A Approval, and we now need to initiate the process of scheduling an appointment at the consulate. We're curious about the validity date stated on the Notice of Action, which is set to expire on February 26th, 2024.

Does this imply that she must secure the consulate appointment, obtain the K-1 Visa, and relocate to the United States by then?
 

The approval came through earlier than we anticipated, and we were hoping for more time to manage the logistics, as we have a lot to organize.
 

Could someone clarify what the expiration date on the I-797A signifies? If we prefer for her to move in March or April, is there a possibility of an extension? What options do we have?

11 minutes ago, Bh_sarah said:

Oops, I added the July 2021 there by mistake, my bad. This is the one I mentioned, OP. Many approved in a year, but activity is just starting for July.
 

Thanks for the information! Looking at all the data it seems like most get approved at around the 12 month mark. So we're aiming for that now, we got our receipt early December 2023, so hoping that by December 2024 we get some news!

2 hours ago, AndiB said:

Also curious how you plan to spend 6months there as both visa free and tourist visa are 90 days. I think 90 days per 180 day period for tourist free and 90 day sin 6months on tourist visa. A long stay is usually 3months but can be longer I think but has complications and not sure how they'll feel about you working. It's vague on whether they care as you can get permission to work IN France.

Yeah, that plan is not happening anymore. Just gonna visit here and there for short visits under 90 days.

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Working in France is not easy, just wondering if this is more a wish than a reality.

Yeah, literally just came up with the thought this morning. My company let's me work from anywhere in the world and figure it's a possibility to spend 6 months or so there, but quickly googling seems like it's not easy to work in France whilst working at a US based company.

Just now, AndiB said:

Won't affect it but you may have to request embassy transfer at nvc/embassy stage which can delay it. 

 

I've not looked into it much, it's def do-able with no issue for the k1. Will just maybe affect your timeline. 

 

I'm assuming you're beneficery? If you're petitioner you'd need a cosponsor if living abroad

I'm the petitioner, my fiance is the beneficiary in France. I would probably look for sponsored work over there if anything. It's been rough for us and we just want to be able to be together if this is going to take another 12+ months

3 minutes ago, Mike E said:

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php?history=90
 

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/irstats.php?history=90
 

Data does not support your assertion

 

 

 

 

Regardless, I'm already 7 months in. The data there points that it's a similar timeline, so it wouldn't make sense to withdraw K-1 and file for CR1

4 minutes ago, AndiB said:

You're right. A CR1 is faster for a greencard, it is NOT faster for US entry and certainly not if you're 7 months in. VJ is obsessed with spousal visa and literally any question you ask, someone will find a way to bring it up.

 

At the moment the USCIS stage is taking 12-15months for bulk of people with some a bit longer. It is speeding up slowly so you may be looking at 11-14 or such for yours. There's literally no info you can get until it's approved, denied or you're sent a request for evidence. It's complete silence and you won't be told anything until then, even if you get someone on the phone. 

 

It's, as others have said basically sitting on the pile waiting. 

Thanks for clarifying! I guess it's a question of waiting now... Btw, do you happen to know if I could technically move to France while we wait (assuming I have the correct visa and permissions), it shouldn't affect the K-1 process no?

3 minutes ago, Verrou said:

i dont know where did you get the understanding. back 5-20 years ago K1 is faster that's correct. nowdays, CR1 is way "faster", when i say "faster" because it still roughly 2 years from filing the application until visa in hand

From this forum. CR1 is faster than before, but it's still about 2 years (maybe even longer). If I was to start the process from scratch, I would do CR1, but after 7 months into the K-1 process, it doesn't make sense.

Just now, Verrou said:

no... just the 1st step...approval from USCIS

u still need to deal with NVC and interview at the consulate/embassy

best bet if u want to be quick, get marry, file i-130, withdraw K1, wait to be approved by USCIS, then NVC + consulate and get the visa. arrive in US as LPR instead of need to do AOS and wait wait again

From my understanding i-130 is a bit longer and we already have 7 months with K-1... Don't think it would make sense to withdraw.

Just now, Mike E said:

No. That ia the time to approve I-129F 

 

The visa is a separate process.

Yeah, that's what I meant.

24 minutes ago, Verrou said:

u can call USCIS but they wont give u any update that u dont know about.

k-1 approval is long. i will just wait for it and focus on something else.

https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/ average time 16.5 months now for california

This is simply the process time to approve the visa?

Me and my faincee sent our I-129F form 7 months ago in early December. We got a receipt document that they received it and we have a receipt number that we can check on USCIS but it's been 7 months and we still haven't heard back. I'm aware that the K-1 Visa is a very long process but we're both wondering if there's any way to check the actual status of it other than the USCIS site. Is there anything we can do? Anyone we can call?

I'm filling out the I-129F for my French fianceé, and we're a bit confused regarding provinces. I'm currently filling out some more addresses as an attached file for additional info and most of them look like this. Is this the correct format? I'm worried that we're not filling out the "Province"section correctly.



 

Perfect, so this would be enough [Example]:



Correct?

I looked up some older threads and it seemed that in order to prove citizenship with a passport you need to send a copy of all the pages of your passport. Some thread from 2019 said that this is no longer required. Is that true? I couldn't find info on this on the main page.

 I'm considering digging for my Birth Certificate to avoid printing 20 pages for my passport, but if it's not necessary I'll just use my passport. 

When filling out the I-129F form, do we need to provide documents for address and employment history for the past 5 years? Or is it enough to write it down? 

If required, my fianceé is French, and her documents are in French, i'm assuming I would need to translate the whole document and have it notarized somehow correct?