MalloryCat

just dropped ours in the mail today!

you should go the visa route that you think will be best for your specific situation. last i heard at this time, the K1 and spousal visas have similar timelines, but that will more than likely change in the next few months. while the spousal visa is better than the K1, the K1 visa exists for a reason. for some people the K1 visa just makes more sense for them. for myself, in hindsight i wish we would have gone the spousal visa route.

an ESTA doesn't necessarily prove you met in person. ESTAs are valid for 2 years or until the passport expires, whichever happens first. proving you met in person is better shown with the I-94, passport stamps, boarding passes, hotel bookings, pictures together. passport stamps/I-94 prove that they were inspected at a POE and were legally allowed to enter. theres no need to include that they used an ESTA. my husband also used an ESTA to visit me, it wasn't included cause in the instructions for the I-129f it doesn't say it should be. the ESTA just isn't relevant

you can check the NVC (which the the DoS) processing times here https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/nvc-timeframes.html they are currently processing cases they received on december 27th. keep an eye on the processing times for the NVC but you will more than like be waiting between 45-60 days. the beneficiary will be the one to received anything from the NVC. but either one of you can contact the NVC to get your case number emailed to you. you will have to wait at the very least 45 days to contact them. or go based off the estimated processing times from the link above. USCIS sends I-129f petitions to the NVC through the mail. so I would add 7 business days to the date USCIS says they sent it and go off that date when looking at the processing times. for example, if your petition was sent on January 14th, use January 21st when looking at the processing times. you can contact the NVC here https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/ask-nvc.html?wcmmode=disabled

Hello all, We are going to be submitting my husbands AOS packet in the next few days and have a question. For this section of I-485, how scrutinized is this for AOS from K-1? We are trying to figure out exactly what to put for number 66. My husband went to school in Germany. He completed 10th year and then did 2 years in vocational training, completed it, and earned a certificate/diploma for this. This isn't a high school diploma. Our question is, what box do we need to tick? Grades 1 through 11? high school diploma, GED, or alternative credential?

correct just a normal update

chances are they are still processing your visa if they found no issues with whatever documents were requested from you they may just be in the process of further visa processing or just printing the visa in general! usually asking for your passport (automated email or not) is a better sign than any don't worry too much, you will just have to keep waiting your CEAC status will update to "issued" if they don't have any problems with your case

yea its unfortunate with the upcoming administration change USCIS is more than likely getting an influx of cases so everything is probably gonna slow down for awhile

if you got a tracking number from whoever you mailed it with you can check that to see if it was delivered but i believe USCIS is taking 8-10 weeks to send out receipt notices

OH nah i think you'll be fine i don't think the the SSA and the offices that handle marriage licenses are really connected in anyway if it was an issue they probably wouldn't have let you get the license in the first place lol

i think it depends on the state really in Michigan we were able to apply for our marriage license (and get same day) without my fiances SSN, even though we had already applied for it. (we ended up going to the SSO after getting our marriage license and had them tell us his SSN verbally since it had been 2 weeks at that point) We called the office we had to go to, to get the license beforehand to make sure he didn't need it, and they told us we just needed his ID (in this case his foreign ID was fine) and his birth certificate (translated in our case) i think your best bet would be to try calling the office that does marriage licenses and see what they say

i believe we submitted 5-10 photos. 3 or 4 were selfies, the rest were pictures that family had taken of us. photos are great but USCIS prefers passport stamps, flight itineraries, etc. we aren't really picture people either and we had zero issues with submitting very few photos

border patrol should have sent the information in that packet to USCIS so they should already have it

a prenup would not affect a CR1 either as you get married before filing for the visa at all

as i said USCIS is more than likely getting an influx of petitions with the upcoming administration change and since I-129f are all still done on paper, your petition is probably still sitting in a pile on someones desk it is incredibly unfortunate and i'm sorry you're in the situation. it is just an unpleasant waiting game

1. a prenup has no affect on the K-1 visa process. it is a personal choice if you choose to both sign one. however if you do go this route, and you do get married, and apply for adjustment of status, you file an affidavit of support (form I-864) that makes you legally obligated to support the person you're sponsoring, prenup or not. from the I-864 instructions: NOTE: Even if one or more Form I-864s are submitted for an intending immigrant, the petitioning sponsor remains legally accountable for the financial support of the sponsored immigrant along with the joint sponsors. this lasts until the immigrant either: becomes a citizen, works 40 quarters in the US (usually 10 years), the person loses residency status (leaves US and gives up green card, etc), and a few other reasons. 2. a prenup is not something that gets submitted at any time during the I-129f process or K-1 process, so any steps toward getting one would be questions for a lawyer 3. A family law attorney or a prenuptial agreement attorney 4. if you believe you have a simple case (no criminal background on your part etc) then the I-129f/K-1 visa process is very DIY 5. no an engagement party is not required. that is purely a cultural thing. USCIS just wants to see that you've met in person at least once within 2 years of filing the I-129f petition. this is best done through flight itineraries, passport stamps, hotel bookings, photos together, etc.

you only need 1 dose of each vaccine series for AOS from a K-1 visa https://www.uscis.gov/tools/designated-civil-surgeons/vaccination-requirements "You are only required to receive a single dose of each vaccine when you visit the civil surgeon. "

if it was approved on september 30, it was more than likely not sent the same day i don't think USCIS has ever sent a case to the NVC the same day. but yes at the very least you will have to wait 30 days. or check the NVC time frames and contact them based off that https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/nvc-timeframes.html I see on the time frame it says they are working on cases that they received on Nov. 29. if yours was sent on the 15th, giving about 7-10 business days for the mail to get there (since USCIS still sends I-129f cases via post) you could try contacting them now to see if they have it. being the end of the year, and also an upcoming administration change, USCIS and the NVC are more than likely receiving an influx of cases. Slowing everyone's case down. the NOA2 is a copy paste for everyone and they aren't going to update it really to keep current with actual time frames. someone a few weeks ago was told by NVC through email to wait 60 days after their case was sent to the NVC to contact them again.

have you tried going back to the SSA office and have them tell it to you verbally? thats what we ended up doing when USPS didn't deliver his (that was an issue with USPS at the time, it ended up coming in the mail about 3 weeks later, 2 weeks after it was supposed to) we waited 2 weeks from the day we applied to go back in and ask for it. assuming you only need the number for the marriage license, and they don't need to see the physical card?

I assume you are referring to the section on page 6? under other information about your beneficiary? starting at 38.a, you only fill out that section if the beneficiary (your fiance) is currently in the united states at the time of filing. so no, you can put "N/A" for sections 38.a - 38.h that is what we put for my fiance as he was not in the US at the time of filing, but he had visited multiple times before.

your fiance should have received a form DS-3025, Vaccine Documentation Worksheet, showing that she received all required vaccines from the doctor who did her medical. she would have gotten this at the end of her medical it is best practice to send a COPY of this form along with the adjustment of status packet. but yes, the I-693 is not required for K-1 visa holders if filing the AOS packet within 1 year of the medical exam date. The envelope that she gave to border patrol at her POE had her medical in it, that information gets sent to USCIS, so they should already have it. sending a copy of the DS-3025 is just to show that she did complete the medical. cause sometimes it can get lost between border patrol and USCIS if she didn't get this form, she can try contacting where she had her medical to see if they can email her a copy of it

https://do.usembassy.gov/fiancee-visa/ "Some visa applications require further administrative processing , which takes additional time after the visa applicant’s interview by a consular officer.... Most administrative processing is resolved within 60 days of the visa interview. When administrative processing is required, the timing will vary based on the individual circumstances of each case." looks like admin processing can take up to 60 days at that embassy. **and every case goes through admin processing after the interview you could also try using their visa navigator to try and contact someone https://do.usembassy.gov/visa-navigator/ if you do that just make sure you click "nonimmigrant visas" when it asks.

which embassy was their interview at? some embassies have longer processing times after interviews also verbal approvals don't necessarily mean definite approval. there is still administrative processing that it has to go through before final approval.

the 5 year rule does not apply in your case, as you said she has had her green card for almost 10 years in my opinion, chances are she will not be asked about it since you never married your ex-fiance and since how she got her green card in the first place had nothing to do with you but yes you also have no legal obligations to your ex-fiance since you never married and didn't continue the immigration process with them

the letter from the NVC will go to the beneficiary (foreign fiance), this letter has your new case number for the embassy but either of you can contact the NVC to get your new case number, but you typically have to wait 30-45 days after its been sent to the NVC before contacting them