smilingstone

CSC = California Service Centre TSC = Texas Service Centre VSC = Vermont Service Centre From what I understand, the petitioner's (USC) location will determine what service centre the application is sent to. The chart indicates that applications which received an NOA1 on those dates, from those centres, are due to get an NOA2 shortly. TSC is notably slower at processing than CSC and VSC, which is why the dates differ. End of Oct 23 to end of April 24 = approx 6/7 months. That chart does not indicate processing from NOA2 to K1. Looking at VJ user timelines in a similar geographic situation to yourself can help you to understand what to expect there. This is a very useful link that I suggest you bookmark. It will give you a very clear overview on the process and what to expect: Processing times shared by @Crazy Cat are here: https://www.visajourney.com/times/

Can't say for sure but your other thread makes me think you are from the UK. If you are UK, I'd suggest that you get comfortable with the idea of it being an approx. 12 month process from first filing to visa - some VJ users say it's more, some say it's less. For reference, we got our NOA1 in mid-April and my timeline is now estimating adjudication in mid-Oct (7 months). I'm told that once the consulate picks things up, then it will get quicker but you never know. It is not all bad though, as you are still free to visit your partner (and should as it will only benefit your application). Personally, I find that establishing the dates for my next trip (even if we can't buy the flights just yet) gives me a light at the end of the tunnel. I was there in March, but now have to wait until December. I just keep thinking that every day takes me a step closer to being with the person I love again. It's all a matter of perspective.

Sorry to read about your difficult situation, OP. All of the advice here is incredibly valid and should be seriously considered. Especially with regards to finding a more consistent income, moving out of the family home and establishing a positive support network. My thoughts to you is that you won't achieve anything you want in life without taking a chance. Sometimes that means upsetting our friends and families, but it is your life to live - not theirs. The K1 wait is painful, but nothing worth having in life is ever easy to achieve. You can do it.

If it means anything, my personal estimate for adjudication is around 7 months (mid-April to mid-Oct), but I am basing that on what my timeline estimates and am not using TMVN, but there does appear to be similarities. Ofc I am 100% understanding that this is an automatically generated estimate based on user timeline details and am fully of the mindset that if we do get NOA2 in Oct, we will be incredibly lucky!

I'm also unsure what you mean when you say you're "almost there" as it sounds you have only just sent the I-129F. Do you understand that the I-129F is simply the petition to apply for the K1? You can view the full timeline of events here:

I believe that you'll likely get a RFE. Both petitioner and beneficiary need to state that they are both willing and legally able to marry each other. You'll also need to evidence that you have met within the last 2 years. You can't show this with pictures alone as they could have been taken at any time - you need to show travel docs such as all the stuff you didn't send. I have read on here discussions about sending in evidence in advance of a RFE hoping that it will be linked to their application. I'm unsure on success rates of this. It might be safer to just wait for the request and take the hit of added time, rather than potentially confuse the situation. Sorry that you will experience a delay. It is generally a good idea to do as much research as possible before sending anything off. It will do a lot to prevent potential delays/rejection.

Ah, I see, that's actually pretty simple, thank you!

Out of interest, how would one prove that they entered on an ESTA without the intent to marry, therefore allowing them to remain through the AOS application?

Thanks for such an in-depth overview. My medical will be a long way off yet but I'm trying to get my head around what to expect as early as possible. With regards to you vaccination history, did you have any boosters for anything other than Covid? I got a copy of my vaccination history from my GP recently and I had most things they list from when I was a baby into my mid-teens. I haven't had anything since and I'm 33 now so I'm wondering if I should look into getting anything topped up and seeing what my GP can offer if so? On your Covid vaccination, was your booster the 2nd jab? Or did you have 2 doses previously and they instructed you to get a 3rd? I have read that you only need the 2 doses to be seen as "covered" so was thinking I didn't need to do any more for that (I had 2 jabs back in 2021/22). I didn't think they offered Covid boosters now unless you were vulnerable or within a certain age bracket.

A similar thing happened with us (not using Macs). It would appear that the PDF is protected in a way that prevents you downloading, editing and then saving to come back to later. I don't know why this is the case, perhaps to prevent any alteration of the forms. We tried to circumvent this for a while but in the end decided it was just easier to print and manually complete.

Just updating that we got our NOA1 on the 17th. Incase it matters to any future readers, they noted it was received on the 3rd, despite USPS tracking showing it delivered on the 4th. Thank you all once again for your advice and support!

Fiancé did a cashier's check so from what I understand, the money is already gone as the bank withdraws the funds at the time of issuing the check, so we cannot use that to gauge progress. He has also had no mail.

Hello, It's been a little over 2 weeks since me and fiancé posted our I-129F. USPS tracking confirmed it delivered to Dallas PO Box at 5:20am on April 4th - I'd assume it would've been collected shortly after then? Fiancé still hasn't received any update via text/email to say it has been received. Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced waits longer than the much shorter timeframes I'm reading online? I'm starting to worry that it's been missed somehow. Thank you

On the topic of this, I received a copy of my vaccination record from my GP surgery yesterday. Many of them were in my childhood, but the guidance says that shots can't be more than 10 years old or a booster is needed. I could be wrong but to me it reads like your vaccination history won't matter to them if they were all childhood - you would require boosters for everything?

Your passport photos and proof of evidence are to be included in the packet of evidence that you include alongside the I-129F. The "Additional Information" pages are to be used for the continuation of sections that you needed more room to provide details. For example, I used that page to provide further previous addresses and employers.

Thanks for a quick reply! I'm a little confused as to what the patient summary looks like. I can access a "Summary Patient Record" via my surgery's website that shows the following info: Allergies and Sensitivities Acute Medication (issued in the last 12 months) Current Repeat Medication Past Repeat Medication (discontinued in the last 6 months My "Patient Record" only shows events (appointments, consultations, etc) going back to Dec 2023. I'm unsure what sort of timeframe the medical exam requires for your medical history?

Did you have to specify Patient Access with your surgery? I went to mine yesterday to gain access to my records, which I can already access via their website and the NHS app/site, but Patient Access isn't showing an option to view my record. Is there an additional step I need to take or did my surgery miss my request for access specifically on Patient Access?

Thanks so much for your response. It sounds like you had such a positive experience and with you also being UK to US, this makes me feel good! Where can I see that they are processing Oct-Nov 2023 filers now? It sounds like something good for me to bookmark. Congrats to the both of you!

I feel that the waiting for an AOS won't be so painful if me and my fiancé can do it together once K1 is approved and we are married, rather than from across an ocean. The only thing that would concern me is when I would be able to see my family again, but they could also come visit me in the meantime. I feel positive about our I-129F. We worked hard on it and I hope that we're as lucky as some of the success stories I've read on here.

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? It was anecdotal from people I know personally. I think one major barrier in this whole process is that the majority of info you can gather is largely anecdotal. USCIS will state numbers and data but it's largely inaccurate due to their own backlogs, other than that I can only read forum posts or advice from websites trying to sell me a service. I understand that it's better to go from information on VJ as you've all jumped through these hoops, but again, your accounts are so varied and dependent on individual circumstances (length of relationship, nature of meeting, specific consulate, etc). In the end, we just went with what felt "right". Nevertheless, I do really appreciate all of the information and guidance that yourself and other VJ members have provided here. It is an amazing resource.

We opted for the K1 route because I had heard stories from some people pursuing CR1s who had major difficulties with the process (France to USA and UK to USA). They actually advised me to go the K1 route and take things a little slower because it can appear as less of a red flag. We would rather that than potentially have our relationship scrutinized more and applications rejected, particularly as November 2023 was our first physical meeting, despite now knowing each other for 6 years. I see many people filing K1s here and with great success. Thank you for your reassurance, it's very helpful to me right now - I am still jetlagged and emotional!

That's amazing! I had read your previous threads/posts and felt your pain. It sounds like it was a really difficult process for you. I'm glad you didn't give up.

Hi all, I am a first time poster but have been reading over threads for the last few months to help me (UK) and my fiancé (USA) put together our I-129F (post-marked 30th March 2024). Now that it's been sent, my mind is rattling forward and I'm starting to have some concerns about how we approached (or will at future points approach) my K1 application. My most recent visit to the US was 16th - 31st March and while I was there we filled out the I-129F together. My fiancé was working Mon - Fri so I helped out by completing my (Beneficiary) sections during my free time. This means that there's a noticeable difference in hand writing when looking at the Petitioner versus Beneficiary sections. We did initially discuss just filling out the form as a PDF file but had some issues with saving our progress on the document. In the end, we decided it was simpler to print them off and handwrite, but now I'm worried. We both had to provide additional information via the blank page at the back, and both signed/dated them so it should be pretty clear that it is my (Beneficiary) handwriting. I can't really find any concrete answers here or elsewhere saying if it's ok to do this or not. Does anyone think that this will pose a problem? Additionally, in our I-129F, we were only able to include one picture of us together (dated a previous visit in November 2023). Even though we told each other that we should get more pics together, we just aren't the type of people who like to take lots of pics of ourselves and others. I don't think this will pose much of an issue with the I-129F as I've read here that others didn't prioritise pics for evidence. For context, here is a run down of what we included: Two Passport-Sized Photos (Petitioner, Beneficiary) Form G-1145 for E-Notification of Application Acceptance (1 Page) Application Fee of $535 via Cashier’s Check Form I-129F, Petition for K-1 Fiancé(e) for Beneficiary (14 Pages) Confirmation of Approved ESTA for Beneficiary (5 Pages) Airline Tickets & Flight Itinerary [November 2023] (3 Pages) Airbnb Reservation [November 2023] (1 Page) Boarding Passes to and from the USA for Beneficiary [November 2023] (2 Pages) Picture Together [November 2023] (1 Page) Airline Tickets & Flight Itinerary [March 2024] (2 Pages) Boarding Passes to the USA for Beneficiary [March 2024] (1 Page) Communication Transcripts (10 Pages) Fiancé Letter of Intent to Marry within 90 days, executed by Petitioner (1 Page) Fiancée Letter of Intent to Marry within 90 days, executed by Beneficiary (1 Page) Statement of Circumstances of Meeting (2 Pages) Proof of United States Citizenship for Petitioner (2 Pages) Passport Copy for Beneficiary (1 Page) Form I-94, Travel History for Beneficiary (2 Pages) I am now thinking ahead to my K1 interview and whether or not we should really prioritise pics between now and then. If we should, then the timing of my next visit could be challenging. It would not be possible for me to make another trip any sooner than November 2024 and if my interview is scheduled for before then (wishful thinking?) then this could become an issue. It also is unlikely that my fiancé would be able to visit me in the UK between now and then. Does anyone think this will cause difficulties? It may be quite clear to many of you that with current processing times, there is a very slim chance of me getting an interview date before 2025. This would actually be helpful to us if you do think we should prioritise pics on the next visit. I am sure that it is probably completely normal to second-guess all of the hard work you have done over months, putting together docs and evidence, as soon as it's sent off and out of your hands. I am just seeking some friendly advice and/or reassurance at this very early stage! Thank you