DaleandPat

I spoke to a USCIS Rep this morning, and according to her, applications are not processed on a first come first serves basis (or in the order that they are received). There are certain laws that require some applications to be processed before others. can you beleive that?!!

so i ask her what kinda laws would require such atrocities and she said an example will be countries havin treaties with the USA and applicants from those countires get processed first. also, when they receive the applications, they file them away based on individual situations (not by dates). UNBELIEVABLE

To us that are applying for a K1 visa it seems unfair just because the USA and the country from the applicant's home land are not under good relations. I ran across a PDF file about treaties and working within the borders of the USA.

http://www.bakernet.com/NR/rdonlyres/94B48...manual_2009.pdf

After reading a few things in the document I think I see there is a security risk involved in letting people in. Those of us that would rather make love than war the policies are in our way. Maybe the policies will also get in the way in those to like to make war and harm us. We shall get through this.

I spoke to a USCIS Rep this morning, and according to her, applications are not processed on a first come first serves basis (or in the order that they are received). There are certain laws that require some applications to be processed before others. can you beleive that?!!

so i ask her what kinda laws would require such atrocities and she said an example will be countries havin treaties with the USA and applicants from those countires get processed first. also, when they receive the applications, they file them away based on individual situations (not by dates). UNBELIEVABLE

Thanks you so much for that information. The very best on a speedy process for you and yours. I guess then from the laws and such, an applicant from a friendly country with the USA probably will be processed first. I am sure it is difficult to get cooperation between some governments that do not trust each other on even doing background checks. I hope your request goes well. Many many blessings.

Sorry if this is a repeated topic but my forum searching has not yielded the desired answer. I sent in my I-129f to the CA service center 4/16/09 Express Mail and it was delivered 4/17/09. I do not exspect to hear from them for awhile but my check has not been sent to my bank and this does concern me. Any other time I have delt with the Feds my check to them gets posted to my bank account in 48 hours. Do they sit on an I-129f check while they process the petition? I have tried to call the assistance phone that is listed in the Gov't site but it only leads to endless choices for recorded information never a choice to speak to anyone (even though I know the wait time, like for the IRS, would be very long) Any advice? other experiences? One timeline I saw on another internet site the check cleared the bank in 6 days (2003).

John

It might be a couple weeks before they cash your check. My petition was sent on either 8th or 9th of April and check was cashed on 27th. No NOA1 either for me. Hope this helps.

Good luck

That seems so odd how the check is cashed so you know they has to open the I129F package. It is so hard to wait.

MY FIANCE FILED MY PETITION YESTERDAY SO HOW LONG DO U THINK IS MY NOA1 TAKES?

I did not want to sound grim, but USCIS received my petition on April 20, and I have not heard anything yet. We are approaching 2 weeks. It looks like the April workload must have increased because according to the charts the time started increasing in March or April. It may take 2 or 3 weeks. I know how hard it is to wait. It will come.

Sorry if this is a repeated topic but my forum searching has not yielded the desired answer. I sent in my I-129f to the CA service center 4/16/09 Express Mail and it was delivered 4/17/09. I do not exspect to hear from them for awhile but my check has not been sent to my bank and this does concern me. Any other time I have delt with the Feds my check to them gets posted to my bank account in 48 hours. Do they sit on an I-129f check while they process the petition? I have tried to call the assistance phone that is listed in the Gov't site but it only leads to endless choices for recorded information never a choice to speak to anyone (even though I know the wait time, like for the IRS, would be very long) Any advice? other experiences? One timeline I saw on another internet site the check cleared the bank in 6 days (2003).

John

I sent in my petition on April 17 and it was received on April 20th. No NOA1 yet or the check is not cashed yet. Looking at other posts it looks like the check get cashed just days after the NOA1 arrives.

Hi,

I got my I-129F package completed and ready to go but have some last minute reservations about sending it.

I consulted a lawyer yesterday, asking how long this process can take and she said it would take 8 months at the shortest and getting married on a tourist visa would be safer and quicker. The safer part, she argued, is due to the fact that she will be over here in the US anyways so there will be less people and paperwork involved that is going to travel to the other side of the world and thus, less can go wrong. The fact that she already has the tourist visa and she already visited me once with that visa and didn't overstay is another strong argument for this option.

When I asked her about the visa fraud thing, she said there is no way they can prove her intentions were to get married when she was entering the US and they usually don't even bother if you do it after 3 months she enters. This is the third (yes that's right, three in three in fact) lawyer suggesting me to go the "illegal" way and I'm very confused right now.

I know once I send my I-129f, there will be no turning back and the tourist visa option will be gone forever. And if after that, the K-1 visa takes like 10 months or even more to get issued, I would be very frustrated to have chosen this way. And as far as I can see from the other posts there are like infinite possibilities for stuff to go wrong so that the process takes longer and longer. That is something we cannot afford.

I'm in desparate need of help on this decision and the more confused I get, the later the process will start.

Another question I have about the timeline is that it says on the USCIS website that the timeline is case specific. Most of the couples I'm seeing here in this forum met on the internet, whereas I grew up in my fiancee's home country, we actually met in college and have been dating since. We even correspond in the native language of her country. So is it safe to assume that these facts might shorten the process?

PLEASE HELP!

Oh, one last question: Do I need to get my passport copy notarized?

thanks

I know someone that married a Canadian. Canadians can come here without a visa for short stays. Getting a visa has turned out to be a nightmare. So they spend half there time in the US and half in Canada. Forget the visiting visa, go for the K1. Send in the package.

Hello Friends

My petition for a K-1 sent beginning of this month (around 8th or 9th) to CSC. INS has cashed my ck for $455 on Monday (April 27th). I have yet not received NOA1 or case number. How soon I should expect this information? Is there a any other way to find out this information? I have also found typo on #15 of I-129F is that critical at this time?

Thanks in advance

Good luke to you. I sent my I-129F package in on April 17 and it was signed for on April 20. I have been waiting for my NOA1 ever since. I hope to see in today's mail.

I am so grateful after two months of waiting, my visa was delivered today..I am so happy..I hope i could find filipino friends in batavia illinois..

Chin and Clifford congratulations. I am sure if you cannot find Filipino friends in Batavia you are in a large metropolis that would have a lot of Filipinos that would be more than happy to have you for friends. I live just next door in Iowa in Cedar Rapids and some Filipinos used to make a monthly trip to Chicago to get ingredients for some Filipino dishes. Now there is a store in this area that carries the ingredients to make anything Filipino or Asian. I think you would be surprised how many Filipinos there are in the Batavia area. If not, please consider looking in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. I live in Marion a town adjacent to Cedar Rapids. In the Marion Walmart there are 4 Filipinos, plus I am told several more live in the area. Good luck on the visa and good luck on making new friends.

How to make the I-129 F petition folder/package to send to Immigration: how I did it:

Ok. This is what I had: the US Citizen will be the one doing all the work at this stage. All the foreigner has to do is sign 4 sheets of paper and submit passport pix to the US Citizen, so that the US citizen can start putting the application together.

First, I bought a manila folder, the kind that opens up, like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_folder

On the cover of the folder I glued a sheet of paper that said, “ I-129F petition” . And I put our names on it.

Ok, now the inside of the folder:

First I put 2 holes at the top and I two hole punched everything, all the papers.

I fastened everything with the ACCO fasteners—

http://www.instaoffice.com/2-piece-paper-f...992-ctn.0.7.htm

Then I had dividers, the kind you put in a Binder with the colored tabs, they are three hole punched on the sides, but I 2 hole punched the top.. these kind of dividers: http://www.jiffysupply.com/servlet/the-298/Dividers/Detail

With these dividers they come with the sheet of paper that allows me to write in what the topic is on the tab.

Ok, so now for assembling—everything I am saying applies to the US Citizen—

A. The first thing you will put in the folder will be the I 129 Cover letter. This letter will look like the following (look below for example - edit it based on your needs. And make sure you put the right USCIS address on it—vermont, Ca, or somewhere else):

US Citizen name,address, number

United States Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Accurate address

Date

Nature of the submission: I-129F ORIGINAL SUBMISSION

To whom it may concern:

Enclosed please find my form I-129F, Petition for K-1 Fiance(e) Visa for (put your fiance(e) name here), and supporting documents.

Contents Include:

-Payment in the amount of $XX – whatever the current amount it—look here:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

-I-129F Petition

-I-129F Supplement: Part B, Question 18, Explanation of meeting in person

-G-325A and Passport Style photograph (petitioner)

-G-325A and Passport Style Photograph (Beneficiary)

Letter Certifying intent to marry (Petitioner and Beneficiary)

Petitioners Birth Certificate

Petitioners Passport –(copies of passport and all the entry /leave stamps that sghow you visited your persons country)

-Letter Certifying intent to marry (Petitioner and Beneficiary)

-Proof of having met in person in the past two years (state the proof you are including)

Copies of documents submitted are exact photocopies of unaltered documents and I understand that I may be required to submit original documents to an immigration or consular officer at a later date.

Sincerely,

your name, sign it

-------------------------

Ok, so lets talk about the contents of the package:

1. The petition –the I-129F petition- you the US Citizen will sign that petition.

2. i-129 F supplement: this is just a brief detail of how you met your honey.thats all—just type it up on a sheet of paper because that box they give you in the petition is too small. Sign it and date it.

3. the G 325 A- the Us Citizen will fill out 4 copies of it and sign each copy. The immigrant also needs to sign four copies of it and sign it. You will see how each copy says something different in the left bottom corner, like consulate, etc. Make sure you, the US Citizen send immigration the copies with the ORIGINAL signatures. So if you need to send the immigrant the forms to sign and then have that person send them back to you in the mail, that is what you will have to do.

Make sure you fill out these forms accurate and accordingly. Look here for

examples of how to fill out the form right.

This website is GOLD!!! Look at it because it gives you EXACT examples of what you will need: Look at how they filled out the I-129F petition and the G-325A.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;page=examples

4. You and your honeys passport pictures. Write your name in pencil on the back of your passport picture and on the back of the foreigners picture, write their name and “ No alien number” on the back of the foreigners pix cuz they probably dot have an alien number... When your foreigner goes to take his/her passport picture , make sure HE/She tells the photographer that it is for a US PASSPORT/Immigration, so that the photographer will give the foreigner the picture in the RIGHT size. It needs to be the right size.

So when you have the picture, and you have written on the back, stick it in a clear Ziploc bag. Zip up the Ziploc bag. Print a sheet of paper that has your name on it. Put the picture in the bag. And staple the bag to the sheet of paper that has your name on it. Do it for both pictures.

Proof of relationship:

You , the US Citizen, can include: used phone cards, copies of envelopes you have been sent through the mail, some emails, some Skype calls, pictures, your plane itinerary when you went to the foreigners country, the boarding pass, the stamps in your passport are proof, receipts of things you may have purchased while in the foreign land, the stickers they stick on your suitcase that show the destination, copies of the money receipts you have sent to the foreigner- like money gram or western union, post office receipts that show you sent something to the foreign country.

On the back of the photos, make sure you write your names, date, and where you were in the photo.

ASSEMBLING

So you will have the manila folder and all your stuff will be 2-hole punched at the top. Don’t STAPLE ANYTHING – only staple the Ziploc bag with the picture to a white sheet of paper that has your names on it. So you will only use two-3 staples.

Ok, you have your manila folder:And all your papers, including the dividers that are 2 hole punched at the top

1. get your cover letter , the one that says what is in the folder, example above. Type this letter (US citizen) and date it and sign it. turn it over.

2. get the divider and write i-129F on the white tab that comes with it. Turn it over.

3. get your 1-129F petition form. Make sure it is signed and dated by the US citizen, Hole punch it and turn it over. Take your 1-129F supplement, sign and date it and turn it over

4. get the divider and write G325A. turn it over

5. get the US Citizen G-325 As. There should be 4 with the same exact data,all with the original signatures and all signed. All 2 hole punched at the top . Flip them over

get the US Citizen photo. Write the name in pencil on the back. Stick it in a Ziploc bag. Staple the bag (make sure you don’t staple the actual picture) to a sheet of paper that has the US citizens name on it. Flip it over

get the foreigners G-325 As. There should be 4 with the same exact data,all with

the original signatures and all signed. All 2 hole punched at the top . Flip them

over.

Get the foreigners pic. Write the name in pencil on the back and write ,”no alien number”. Stick it in a Ziploc bag. Staple the bag (make sure you don’t staple the actual picture) to a sheet of paper that simply has the foreigners name on it. Flip it over

6. Get the divider and write : Letter of intent on the tab

7. print out the letter of intent which should have original signatures by both of you. Us citizen can type the letter and email it foreigner. Foreigner prints it, signs it, and sends it through the mail to U S citizen. Then Us citizen gets that letter and signs his/her signature too—this way two signatures will be on the same page. Hole punch this letter and flip it over.

8. Divider – write birth certificate or passport . Flip it over on top of everything else that is flipped over.

9. Get your birth certificate. If you don’t have it, you can submit a copy of the pages of your passport (copies- do NOT send the original of these document). On the copies of your passport pages, highlight the stamps which show when you visited the country of your fiancé. Hole punch the copies and flip them over.

10. get divider tab and write : Proof

11. Now, put a sample of your phone cards on a photocopy machine and photocopy the front and back, if you have any. Hole punch, flip over.

B. Print phone records of the times you have called your foreigner or/anf when the foreigner called/texted the US American. Hole punch,flip over

C. Us citizen should photocopy plane itineraries, boarding passes, luggage tags. Hole punch the photocopy and flip over.

D. US Citizen should photocopy envelopes he/she has received from foreigner. Hole punch and flip over.

E. US citizen should photocopy money receipts he/she has sent. Hole punch and flip over.

F. US citizen should photocopy some emails that have been sent to each other. Hole punch and flip over.

G. US Citizen should photocopy receipts from post office showing he/she sent packages/letters to the foreigner.

H. US Citizen should submit pictures of the couple together – at least 2. Make sure you write your names and locations on the back of the pictures..Put these pictures in an envelope or a strong Ziploc bag.Seal the bag and punch two holes in the bag so you can fasten it. Flip it over.

That’s it. Now flip everything over and put it on the fasteners – the two pronged fasteners. Everything is in order. Get a paperclip and attach your check/money order to the cover sheet in the folder. Everything is in order – make sure your pictures are not backwards. Make sure the check is the right amount.

Now, make two copies of this file—the petitioner and the beneficiary will need EXACT copies of the file. So now you, the US Citizen, will have 3 files which are IDENTICAL. Us citizen keeps one for themselves, foreigner will eventually get the other copy when the US citizen gives it to him/her, and the copy with the live check will go to USCIS.

Send it off and wait.

It does sound like you have put some thought into the packaging of the submission for organization. You have come up with a good procedural process. Your post may be of interest to someone trying to figure it out. Before I put mine together I ran accross a page at the USCIS site that advised not to use folders and dividers. The reason was for filing the petitions. This is the web page: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...45f3d6a1RCRDThe Acco fasteners were advised because it made the package easy to disassemble.

Regards,

Dale

I'm just wondering why filers thru CSC are getting approved WAYYYYYYYYY faster than VSC filers?? makes me wish I lived nearby CSC to have filed thru them.................they are doing the paperwork in half the time...not fair..........

I know how waiting seems to take such a long time. I have read in some posts how Califiornia was so slow. Maybe after the number of service centers was reduced to two both centers had to expand their capacities. I sent my I129F to the California center on April 17th and no one has signed for receiving it as of Friday 24th 2009. Some seem to get the NOA1 in just a matter of a few days. I know it is hard to be patient, but it will come for you.

Good luck,

DaleandPat

We are so excited....my K1 Visa came in the mail today. Now the sleep countdown is on! Thanks to all who gave us help along the way. I was also very pleased to have meet two fellow V-Jer's in Montreal. My honey is already planning AOS, I just want a little break from it all. Good luck to all still waiting.

Congratulations. The time from the time your I-129F was sent to NOA1 was fast too only days. USCIS still has not picked my I129F up at the post office. It has been 7 days since I sent it. Good luck to you both.

My fiancee and I recently sent in the paperwork for our K-1 visa, does anyone know how to track the process?? And how long does it usually take for them to send word if it has been accepted?

I just sent mine in of April 17th. It has not even been picked up at the post office. So I hope they will soon or the post office will sent it back. Good luck to you.

I've read on previous topics that exchanged e-mails are good for proof of ongoing relationship. I'm wondering how I should pick them? Can I just pick random e-mails from the both of us or whatever e-mails I include should have a "time line"? For example: if I add one e-mail from him, the e-mail from me should be an answer to that e-mail of his? I'm confused. I'm sorry if I don't sound very clear.

I picked random e-mails. I added 3 from him, one from 2007, one from 2008 and one from 2009. From me I picked 4, from 2006 to 2009. Should that be ok? Please tell me how you guys did it. I'm afraid I will get an RFE if that doesn't sound very consistent to them.

I was wondering about e-mails and instant messages. I did like you and picked a few random e-mails plus I created a listing of all the e-mails and printed them off. That way USCIS can see all the e-mails over time with some samples. I did the same for the instant messages. I hope I did it right.

I've read on previous topics that exchanged e-mails are good for proof of ongoing relationship. I'm wondering how I should pick them? Can I just pick random e-mails from the both of us or whatever e-mails I include should have a "time line"? For example: if I add one e-mail from him, the e-mail from me should be an answer to that e-mail of his? I'm confused. I'm sorry if I don't sound very clear.

I picked random e-mails. I added 3 from him, one from 2007, one from 2008 and one from 2009. From me I picked 4, from 2006 to 2009. Should that be ok? Please tell me how you guys did it. I'm afraid I will get an RFE if that doesn't sound very consistent to them.

I just sent in my I-129F package on April 17, 2009. I made two copies of the package plus I scanned the original and saved it as a PDF so I could reconstruct everything as it was originally. Then I have backup copies of the documents that need an original signature.

I sent a personal check and insured the package for the amount of the check and sent it USPS. When insuring the package then you automatically have access to the tracking and confirmation feature. It has been 6 days and so far USCIS has not picked up the package.