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100%. Gotta lean on each other here, it's going to be a rough stage. When the embassy says, "Check with the NVC", they must know that means a dead end for everyone inquiring. All we can do is sit in the dark.

Yep, same. I was in a panic when I got the mail. Thought this is very early for USCIS to send something, is it an automatic denial? Nope, just one of like a dozen copies I have of my birth certificate, lol. They're easy to order from my state so I figured it wasn't a big loss if they kept it.

The back and forth on this is absolutely maddening. I was under the same impression, that embassies request cases be sent to them as their workload allows. I messaged the embassy for a status on the embassy, as in when they expect to make more requests from NVC and was told "your case is not here, talk to the NVC". I can't even lol Just going to sit tight and HOPE I'm not needed to poke anyone else with sticks. We're at ten weeks since it was sent to DOS, by the way.

Hey all: I sent the Johannesburg consulate an email today, after waiting ten weeks "at NVC"; South Africa has a notorious reputation for its government agencies taking forever to process forms. I understand that the consulate is run by Americans, but I have my misgivings about how things are going in Jo-Berg. I kept it simple: status inquiry, any word on backlogs for K1 visa interview times or needed extensions beyond the four month window on the I-797. Case number, petitioner name, beneficiary name, our emails. Been doing the DHL hack and saw something move to Jo-Berg at the end of April; nothing for this week, sadly. Which is what prompted me to poke the consulate. GENTLY. Anyone work with Johannesberg who can give advice on communicating with them? Can poking go too far? I want to avoid any setbacks to the process if our case is blackmarked for us being nags lol! I did search similar timelines but nobody using Jo-Berg for K1s who got their NOA2s in this calendar year have reported an interview date. The last one was December 2023* (with the interview in March, but I digress). Even if it's been a few years, I'd love to hear from folks who have successfully navigated Johannesburg.

Thanks for the info! As I stated, not an economist or a lawyer and this perfectly spells out the information I needed. I apologize for my attempts to make sense of this, but finally we got some real clarity on the issue. Thank you again!

Same here. We were issued our NOA2 the first week of March. Coming up on two months now. Deep breaths, we'll get through this!

A work authorization (EAD) applies to working in the US though. If the company is not located in the US and it is not liable for taxation to the US, I don't see why it's any of the business of the US if you're not violating US employment law. Edit, to present a scenario: suppose my fiance owns properties in South Africa, which he rents out as passive income. Is he expected to sell these properties in order to qualify for a work auth? How does this differ from working for a non-US country while paying taxes to the country of origin, all the while bringing wealth into the US to add to the economy? I'm neither an economist or a lawyer but I am struggling to see the drawback to make this illegal. You're not working in the US illegally and therefore withholding from the IRS. There's not even any way to report these earnings to the IRS because it's literally none of their business. If anyone can clarify this, I'd appreciate it.

Authorization via what means? Can you elaborate on this?

That's very kind of you, but we still encourage you to post your timeline to assess progress. Getting a confirmation can mean different things, depending on the stage you are in. So good luck to you as well!

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-fiance-k-1.html The "date of issuance", many people assume is correlated to the visa stamp. But in order for the packet you present at customs to be valid, the medical packet itself cannot be expired. This is why six months from the medical is a more accurate way of assessing the time you have. Chalk it up to bureaucracy for not spelling that out on the .govs.

Filling out your timeline to provide us with information pertinent to the answer you are seeking is essential. Knowing where you are and who you are (petitioner v beneficiary) will better inform us of your situation.

Why would the K-1 be any faster? Bizarre.

Yeah I'm in the same boat. Although Joberg embassy is closed the last Friday of every month, that shouldn't affect NVC status updates. I will just hope they pick up more in May.

When you reach the point where your petition is improved and your case moves to the NVC, you then have to put in the actual K-1 application (DS-160) and during the interview present any updates to show your relationship remains bona fide. You may actually want to consider the spouse visa if your interests lie in having any wedding celebrations prior to her coming to the US. It's a different timeline that requires processing to occur after marriage, but my understanding is that acquiring a green card/work auth/naturalizing all take far less time overall. Might be worth researching, particularly if you haven't put in the I-129F yet. Check out recent conversations on the forums, there's a good argument to be had for going this way instead.

Hope has very little to do with your personal plan for independence, developing a healthy marriage, and going through the K-1 process. It takes a lot of resourcefulness and motivation to make things happen for you. Advice can be improved on too if you answer questions because then people will better understand your situation. If you want to make this work, I'd take full advantage of that assistance.

trackmyvisanow is a website that some people use for statistical review on the progress of their petitions. They source data from USCIS changes to make predictions on when approvals happen. I've seen some people naysay it on here as inaccurate but I discovered it before these forums and enjoyed watching the progress/algorithm shifts to faster and faster times I'm also a big logistics person so being able to review the charts and see how my day, or range of petition dates near me were progressing was super interesting. And for me, it was pretty accurate. I suppose the biggest selling point is their UI is extremely user-friendly, with easy to read data. Still trying to wrap my head around the graphs here. edit: I should also add that I got the Pro version for $12/month because I got more data, but there's a free month trial to see if the upgrade is worth it. It was for me.

I don't know the answer to this myself but if your status changes, come back and share! I'm in the same boat as you are: something is on its way to Johannesburg, due to arrive Friday. Still "At NVC". Here's hoping this week has a banger end for us!

Sounds like some progress! We're still At NVC, just hoping Joberg picks some up today. Otherwise, it's another two weeks til we cross our fingers again. Hoping you see that email this week!

This is only meant as a gentle jab, but strap in cause it's a long ride in general. If you get used to waiting, using the down times to research the next steps and collecting documentation, you'll be able to keep your sanity through it. Best of luck!

Got it. No worries! For South Africa the embassy supposedly sends packets 3 and 4 together so it's not terribly pertinent to me. Even still, it will be nice to have updated info. Thanks for carrying on the responsibility!

Still nada. I was looking through the NOA2 pdf from OP and am confused. References to Greenbaum and checking to see if packet 3s have been sent: is this outdated information? I see @Greenbaum is an account and that they used to run the NOA2 to embassy threads each month, but that wasn't the case here. Does someone else manage packet 3s now?

Thank you! I just needed a quick bit of reassurance, thanks for entertaining my brain fart

Thanks? I'm not the OP though, and have no allusions to my fiance being my husband 😆

Just to be clear, I only need to verify my income for the 134, right? Is it fine if the sponsor puts N/A for all assets, in the case of a K-1?

We're still waiting, waiting, waiting from NVC/Joberg. Our NOA2 came the first week of March, so I'm just trying to relax and let them get around to it. At the end of March, I got our NVC case number and just status check from time to time. I'm not sure how thorough Zambia is, but Joberg just pushes packets 3 & 4 at the beneficiary's email in one fell swoop. Or so I've heard. Hopefully you're on track for your interview now!