BenAndNida

You may continue to allow them to run independently until the I-130 arrives at a Conslulate abroad. At that point, the K3 is dead. I already explained this.

OK, thanks for the clarification on that issue. That is great.

Ok, I'm through beating you over the head. Of course your I-130 went to NVC. For the past several months even those people with both petitions approved the same day have both petitions sent to NVC. With the exception of about 15 months from November, 2006 to February or March, 2008 that's the way it has always been.

Your assumption that they should have seen that you have and I-129F on file is a fantasy.

Your I-130 will not proceed any further without input from you. It will just sit at NVC unless you respond to their correspondence. You've already been given the link to how to push it through within a few weeks. Once the petition leaves NVC, the timelines are the same. There's absolutely no reason to be confident you can even get your I-129F approved that fast.

You have the information you need to make a decision. It's yours to make. If you insist on stubbornly holding onto your initial expectations, you are quite likely to be severely disappointed in the result.

You had a good plan. A really good thing happened to that plan. Your I-130 got approved in 30 days. Enjoy it. You may well have a CR1 visa faster than you ever dreamed of having a K3.

Or, you could shoot yourself in the foot and take a year to get the K3.

You've touched upon a couple excellent points here that I have not been clear on, and I appreciate that.

First of all, I was under the impression that if an I-130 and I-129F were concurrently approved by USCIS, only one resulting case would be forwarded on to NVC. But as you indicated, that is apparently not the case. (They would still apparently be considered as two entirely separate and independent cases.)

So far, I have not received any correspondence from NVS, but I am curious about the following: If I initiate the processing of my I-130 at NVC, will that preclude/prevent the possible subsequent processing of my I-129F at NVC?

In other words, is there a point at which I will specifically have to choose between the processing of the I-130 or I-129F at NVC? Or can I just let both processes unfold at NVC and accept whichever is ultimately approved first?

I just spoke with USCIS again (because I wanted to inquire how to "expedite request" processing of my I-129F, based upon what the first USCIS person told me).

However, this second USCIS person indicated that there is no reason to expect that my I-129F should be approved concurrently with my I-130, despite the frequency of that occurrence for many other people.

She indicated that the I-130 and I-129F are essentially two completely separate and independent paths, the speeds of which are highly variable.

So, she recommended that I simply allow my I-130 to proceed at NVC and continue to wait for my I-129F to be processed by USCIS.

Everything about this whole process is so crazy, imo. We're essentially filing two separate applications (I-130 and I-129F) for a variable type of visa (either K-3 or CR-1 depending upon random processing times).

Please stop complaining about a mistake. They didn't make a mistake. They approved your I-130 before it was possible to connect the two petitions.

They most certainly did make a mistake. Whoever was processing my I-130 should have seen that I have an I-129F on file.

There is no way an I-130 petition should be forwarded to NVC if I have an I-129F on file.

We don't call this the misinformation line for nothing. Yes, anybody can request expedited service for any reason but there's no telling what the result will be or how long it will take to know that result. While you're waiting, I'd be pushing that I-130 through NVC.

You seem to be stuck on the K3 being better for you because it's faster. It's only faster when it actually is faster. This doesn't look like one of those times to me.

I agree with your first point above: My I-130 should continue to be processed by NVC (regardless of what I do now).

But I don't see how it could hurt to attempt to get my I-129F approved as well. That would seem most likely to lead to a faster path through NVC.

From this point, the K-3 route still seems to be about twice as fast as the CR-1 route, so that is why I want to do that.

Sadly, I agree that none of these processing times are predictable. (And btw: I do feel *very sorry* for all of the other people waiting, particularly at VSC. The fact that these processing times are so arbitrary really only highlights the huge problems of the USCIS, which I have written about extensively elsewhere. [The main problem is that USCIS in insufficiently funded/staffed, imo. In a sane world, visa processing should only take about 6-8 weeks, not 6-8 months.])

Happy to clarify. If an I-130 is approved before USCIS receives an I-129F, the I-129F will be rejected because one of the conditions for filing the I-129F for a spouse is that an I-130 be "pending". On another score, if your I-130 is on station at a US Consulate abroad, a K3 visa cannot be issued because an immigrant visa is "immediately available". I wasn't referring to quotas.

Right, but that wasn't the case. USCIS approved my I-130 and sent it on to the NVC, despite the fact that my I-129F was already on file for nearly three weeks.

So, they made a mistake, and that is the issue.

I just called USCIS, and the person I spoke with suggested that I could request expedited processing of my I-129F to resolve this situation, as my I-130 has already been approved and my I-129F should have been approved along with it.

I think that is what I should do.

Moot, as your I-129F was not approved along with your I-130. K3 visas are not available when an immigrant visa is immediately available. There's even a possibility your I-129F will be rejected altogether because you have an approved I-130.

Hmmm... I don't understand what you mean here.

From what I understand, K-3 visas can be issued at any time, as can CR-1 visas. This petition is for my wife, so I don't believe there is any sort of visa quota involved here in my case.

That is exactly why I applied for a K-3 visa, not a CR-1 visa.

Let's be perfectly clear about something... You have NOT applied for a visa. As a USC you do not need a visa. What you have done is petitioned the USCIS to determine eligibility for a spousal visa for your SO. Your spouse will sometime in the future apply for a visa.

Unfortunately there is no way to avoid submitting an I-130 petition as that is a pre-cursor to the I-129F. So it is either petition for determination of eligibility for a CR-1 or petition for determination of eligibility for a CR-1 AND a K-3. You cannot petiion for the eligibilty for K-3 alone. As sad as that is that is how it works.

I understand your attention to precise terminology, but when I say "I applied for a K-3 visa, not a CR-1 visa," that is merely shorthand, and I think everybody knows what I mean.

If my I-129F is approved along with my I-130 and submitted to NVC, we will end up with a K-3.

If only my I-130 is approved and submitted to NVC, we will end up with a CR-1.

I want a K-3, not a CR-1.

You can finish with NVC in less than 6 weeks. It is a much better visa. She can work almost right away. You wont have to pay Adjustment of Status later on. So it's cheaper as well. I have decided to go this route, even though it maight take an additional 30-45 days. You are already way ahead by having your I-130 approved so quickly. I would take advantage of that.

Where are you guys getting your data?

According to the historical data on this website, the NVC processing time for an I-130 application is currently about 115 days. (So, that is about 15 weeks, rather than 6 weeks.) Then, the following consulate processing is another 37 days.

So, the CR-1 route looks to be very slow to me, relative to the K-3 route (assuming an I-129F has already been approved by USCIS).

Btw: I totally don't care about the cost savings of CR-1. And we don't care about AOS time. We have no intention for my wife to work anyway. I just want my wife here in the U.S. with me ASAP. And that is why we went the K-3 route, and why this CR-1 diversion is so maddening to me.

The question you must answer is the NVC processing for the I-130 going to be longer than the remaining processing time for the I-129F AND NVC. Unfortunately that is an unknown at the moment...

Actually, it is somewhat known, according to historical data on this website.

If my I-129F were processed along with my I-130 (as it should have been), the remaining wait time would only be about 77 days.

If I have to wait for NVC processing for my I-130 instead, the remaining wait time is over 140 days.

So, in summary, the remaining wait time (based upon the history/data on this website) is about *twice* as long for CR-1 as for K-3.

That is exactly why I applied for a K-3 visa, not a CR-1 visa.

If the I-130 is complete and is going to be faster, then why the continued desire for I-129F for K-3?

Based upon the timelines shown on this site, I disagree with what you've written. (So, why do you say that?)

For example: The processing time at the NVC is much longer for a CR-1 than for a K-3.

Real quick story:

USCIS (CSC) received my I-130 around July 1.

USCIS (CSC) received my I-129F around August 1.

On August 18, USCIS sends me a notice saying that my I-130 has been approved.

That is great, but I really want a K-3 visa, not a CR-1 visa! (I repeatedly stressed that in both of my application packets.)

Notice letter says that my petition has been forwarded on to the NVC.

(Last touched date for my I-129F is listed as August 3.)

What can/should I do?

Thanks,

Ben

Congratulations!!!!

That is remarkably fast service.

Is there anything you can think of that might have made your processing so fast?

Did you do anything special at all (e.g., in the assembly of your package), that you can think of?

Thanks on behalf of all of us still waiting.

Why choose to live in such a crappy country then? maybe you suffer from one of the afflictions you named. B)

I already explained that above. (I'm trying to emigrate to Canada, while my K-3 visa application collects dust in USCIS.)

Have a good day.

Wow, gotta love the personal attacks... (When you can't debate the facts, what else can you do?)

Well, you're all correct, in a sense. U.S.A. is #1 (statistically leads the world)...

in mental illness, drug use, obesity, gun deaths, military expenditures, debt, divorce, and prison population.

So, yes, U.S.A. is "great" at something.

But whatever...

Have a good day, all. (You probably shouldn't waste any more of your time hating me.)

Think of your spouse, whom you love. And good luck to all of you, wherever your path takes you.

Peace out,

Ben

Sounds like your stuck here, pal.

Yeah, I'd have to agree with you. (For now, at least.)

Still attempting to emigrate to Canada at the moment, but it is surprisingly difficult.

I love this country and would die for it.

Great. Feel free to do so.

Your local armed services recruiting office will be open on Monday.

I would love to move to Thailand (but don't speak Thai fluently enough to succeed professionally there)...

or any other nice country, such as Canada or Australia.

But, if one would take the time to research the issue a bit, one would find that it is very difficult to arbitrarily emigrate elsewhere.

(Most countries protect their own highly-skilled workers from foreign immigration at least as rigorously as we do.)

So: "U.S.A. - Love it or leave it" is really not even practical in most cases.

Just fyi.

Btw: If one is sharply critical of the U.S. government (as many U.S. journalists and academics have been), then one can arbitrarily be refused permission to board a U.S. aircraft ever again (such as to visit an overseas spouse, for example).

From the Wikipedia entry for No Fly List:

"The No Fly List, sometimes called the watch list, is a secret list created and maintained by the United States government of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in the United States. It includes at least tens of thousands of names.

The list has raised civil liberties and due process concerns, due in part to the potential for ethnic, religious, economic, political, or racial profiling and discrimination. It has also raised concerns about privacy and government secrecy."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Fly_List

So much for your "freedom"...

What are you talking about???

A "great" country doesn't make its own citizens wait NEARLY A YEAR to see their own spouses!

A "great" country doesn't expedite the processing of foreign worker visas (within a week!), contributing to lost jobs for U.S. citizens, while the spouses of U.S. citizens are made to wait nearly a year for a spouse visa!

A "great" country doesn't waste $3 trillion on useless foreign wars while underfunding the most basic government office functions (USCIS), such as the processing of paperwork for U.S. visas for U.S. citizens!

And as for being "free" in this country... HA!

Try this: Come on up to Washington state and place a $1 bet on a Seattle Seahawks game online.

For that "crime" you will be subject to prosecution for a Class C Felony (a classification equivalent to rape or child molestation). And when you get out of prison, you would probably not be able to find good employment anywhere in this country ever again due to your felony conviction. (Helps explain why so many felons re-commit crimes; they have little employment prospects. Also helps explain why U.S.A. has the largest prison population in the world.)

I could go on and on...

This country is certainly neither "great" nor "free" at this point in history.