ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsK1 Interview Review

My interview was scheduled on 15th July, 2010. I was told to report at 8 a.m. I reached the US embassy at 7.15 a.m. After the security check, I was given a token number. Waited in a hall where immigrant and non-immigrant interviews were to be taken and got my finger print done.
Then I had to wait patiently for my turn. I went to the counter when my token number was displayed. An Indian lady took my papers and went through them.
She returned me few papers such as:
- Call logs, emails, greeting cards,
- Documents showing my fiancés visit to India (boarding pass, hotel and restaurant receipts)
- Birthday gift receipts, original date of birth certificate,
- I-134 supporting documents (bank statement, investment details, 2008-tax return) and X-ray report.

Finally, she told me to deposit the fees and informed me that K1 visa fees had increased to $350 US dollars. I submitted the bank draft and returned her 2 copies of the receipt. You can check exchange rate from the embassy’s website. Also, it is better to call or email them upfront to get the correct exchange rate. http://newdelhi.usem...vvisafees2.html
I had to wait for the final interview which was to be taken by the Consulate Officer who was an American lady. I was asked the following questions.

  • Who was sponsoring me?
  • How did we meet?
  • Was it an arranged match or other arrangements?
  • I previously visited US on J1 visa (Exchange visitor visa) and the Consulate officer wanted to know for what purpose my previous visit?
  • Whether I had gone to US for studying or whether I was working there?
  • a) Consulate officer asked for J1 waiver document (Two year foreign residency requirement documents)
  • When did I return from the US?
  • What is my qualification?
  • When did I get engaged?
  • Where is snaps/pictures?
Finally, the Consulate Officer told me I should get my passport/visa within a week. I was out of the consulate office by 9:30 AM.

TIPS for folks who visited US on J1 visa and applying K1/K3 (fiancé or Spouse visa):
Please ensure that you get the J1 waiver (Two year residency requirement) first before applying for any K1/K3 visa. Without the waiver the consulate officer will not issue K1/K3 visa. Also, getting J1 waiver from India is a real painful task, so start working on it upfront.


Hi to India :)
thanks for very useful post.I have been to the US on J1 visa as an au pair and until yesterday i did not know i need to submit my DS 2019 form to the I-129F package.The thing i did not know is that I should bring it with me to the interview also so thank you.Is the DS 2019 what you mean by J1 waiver right? Just making sure:)
santaleFemaleCzech Republic2010-07-18 10:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reportsso desperate to hear a word from USCIS

HI everyone :yes:

Well at least you have your NOA 2. ( I am very happy for you . It must feel fantastic.) :D
We also filed in August last year , so five months yesterday from NOA 1 ...................not a word.

Getting really discouraged. Trying to stay positive but you are right ... this limbo type of living and planning is not fun.

Any words of encouragement or hope from others in the same boat?
Strength in numbers, right?

T



Thank you:) I bet my shoes you must hear something soon! The thing that helped ME was not really checking everyday and keep myself as busy as possible and go to bed exhausted.Me and my fiancee did apartment hunting online as we want to move to the city of San Francisco once we are married.We talked about the honeymoon destination and the plans we have and things we want to do without mentioning the fact that we are waiting all the time.We are aware of it dont it doesnt need to make our conversation sad and sobby anytime we talk right? :)
Be good and I cross fingers for you!!!!! :)
santaleFemaleCzech Republic2011-01-12 12:08:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reportsso desperate to hear a word from USCIS

OMG - Congrats! But OMG! Our NOA1 date is July 23rd and still waaaaaaiiiiittttting........ Congrats to you but don't forget about us who are still stuck!


Not forgeting about anyone and my timeline is updated...:)We are not at the end yet either! Your NOA2 has to come any day and I cross fingers for you.Hang in there!!!
santaleFemaleCzech Republic2011-01-12 11:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reportsso desperate to hear a word from USCIS
OMG OMG OMG this is scary but just as much as I was down yesterday I am the luckiest today cause we got it got it got it!!!!! We have our NOA2!!! I received an email this morning with the approval while talking to my fiancee on Skype.What a surprise! We didnt know whether to cry or laugh first...well we did both!:)
Thanks to each and every one of you here who tried to cheer me up and whether you are at the beginning of this journey or not I still wish you all the best and fast happening!
santaleFemaleCzech Republic2011-01-12 02:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reportsso desperate to hear a word from USCIS

at least you're nearly at the end of your wait for your NOA2, it hardly ever goes beyond 5 months from what i hear. we are only in our third month of waiting. hopefully everything should go well for us all :) we're lucky to have the opportunity to move to the states and begin our new lives! its so exciting. i hope your NOA2 comes so soon.




Thank you a lot and hope you are right and things will start to happen soon! Wish you tons of luck to you guys :)
santaleFemaleCzech Republic2011-01-11 14:25:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reportsso desperate to hear a word from USCIS
Hi everyone,I know I am one of hundreds and hundreds and I guess I am just venting but I am so desperate to hear something soon.We filled in August last year (feels good to say this) :) It will be our fifth month of waiting next week,then we should probably start to be pests and start calling them.I just hate our lives on hold especially having all the exciting and fun plans that we have.We want to have our wedding on May 1st and I guess soon I will start to worry that we wont make it in time.Well hopefully we will :)Thanks to all of you being helpful and cheerful!I know this journey is worth it and I know I am lucky to have my fiancee visiting once in a couple months.I just want to start living like two normal people without being constantly worried about the whole thing not working out and even having to prove our love to someone who wouldnt care less if we will be together or not....you know what I mean :)
Wish good luck to all of you and have a good new year!!! :)
santaleFemaleCzech Republic2011-01-11 13:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsWedding date!
Wedding date: May 1st 2011
Why that date?: May 1st is known as the day of love in my home country plus I always wanted to get married in May.Love spring :)
129-F Send: we filled in August 2010

I like this topic too :))
santaleFemaleCzech Republic2011-01-16 16:20:00
Australia and New ZealandYAY!
Congratulations and have a safe journey, that was a looong wait for you !!! All the best !
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-20 07:00:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC HAS PASSED 5 MONTHS TIME
:thumbs:
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-28 08:45:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC HAS PASSED 5 MONTHS TIME
Yah, that is what I thought myself. If they are in June....bleh. I dont want to know anymore haha
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-28 03:45:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC HAS PASSED 5 MONTHS TIME
All we can do is hope. Nobody will be able to say what will happen. The most frustrating thing is to wait and not know but thats what we gotta do. Hopefully they will speed up but they might not. Who knows at this point
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-27 15:50:00
USCIS Service CentersEstimated Time Drop for No Reason?

Hello everyone...

I don't really understand why, but when I woke up this morning, our estimated date for NOA2 on our timeline has shortened by a month. The same has happened to the people on Igor's list with approximately the same NOA1 date. Should we start to get excited or is this some kind of fluke?

There have been very few people who have been approved, according to the list. Actually no one since 12/19 if I'm reading it right. I guess I just want to know if Visajourney is messing up or if there is some kind of metric that I don't know about that has changed. Any insight?

Thanks,
Mike


You know what, i just checked the visa timeline thing and it says CSC is on August 27, which is absolutely not true. Someone must have made some sort of mistake when doing their timelines ? I don't know but based on last night's post from someone who actually
called CSC and got mid June as their current processing dates (I thought they were in July...), adding two months might be the best option......sigh.
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-28 04:45:00
USCIS Service CentersEstimated Time Drop for No Reason?
thanks :)
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-27 12:34:00
USCIS Service CentersEstimated Time Drop for No Reason?
Heh I know how that feels. I left my job so we could see each other but now I cannot even fly to the US since I had stayed almost 3 months this year and it seemed to be an issue especially without work and he has flight phobia haha I hate this whole wait, its been hard but hopefully we don't have much longer.

Hang in there , I am happy there is visa journey - support in so many ways :)

All the best to the both of you *crossing fingers*
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-27 11:02:00
USCIS Service CentersEstimated Time Drop for No Reason?
Hey Mike,

I would not really wonder about the VJ timelines...it is based on very little data, it probably means that a number of people got approved on a certain day and so the time changed. Mine did too...apparently we are supposed to hear something November 6th-26th of December and that is not happening :)

So I wouldnt read too much into it or think that you will get news any time soon. I would say it is safe to assume people are still on holidays and nothing much will be happening until after that.

Good luck on your journey and let's hope for the best !!

ps: I add 2 months to the estimated times, in my mind, helps me cope
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-27 09:29:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC APPROVED DECMBER FILERS

Check Igor's List.Posted Image



thanks, just saw one approval there. Is that correct ? If so, then I am not terribly upset yet haha when I see 30 approved from December and months before ours it will bother me otherwise I am staying calm and hoping things will pick up soonish. Before New Years, I was hoping to get NOA2 by the end of January now I am basically praying for end of March /shrug. Nothing else to do but freak out if by March nothing happens. :)
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-04 13:03:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC APPROVED DECMBER FILERS
who said they are approving December ? If they did I would say they are expedited.
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-04 07:49:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC Update
16th of July, sigh. CSC is California Service Center and yes, if you filed at the end of July and you case is in California, you should be getting some response soon.....the word "soon" being used very losely seeing that we are at the beginning of Christmas time
and New Years.

Good luck !

Please God have them get to the end of August by mid February *praying*
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2012-12-21 02:28:00
USCIS Service CentersVSC Making Great Progress

It is amazing how drastic the changes have been for both service centers. I'm sure who ever is in charge at CSC of what cases they process has their reasons for stopping K1 visas. I would just like to know when they are going to start again.

What makes the waiting so hard is the total lack of progress. Even when VSC was slow they were still doing a few a day. CSC can't even do 10 in a month. I hate this feeling of being stuck and going no where. I am grateful to know I'm not only one going through this process and dealing with this frustration. VJ is really a great online community. :)



agreed. If I was not on here, definitely would have gone bonkers haha. This process certainly teaches us all patience and living in the unknown ( I so hate hat unknown part haha). Now that nothing is happening at CSC and even my timeline says "not enough data to give you a date when your case may be adju (whatever the word is) "....don't even look at that anymore.

Maybe all of a sudden we will have a miracle and they will burn thru month worth of petitions in a week :wacko:
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-14 13:42:00
USCIS Service CentersVSC Making Great Progress
I guess they are still celebrating New Years ? :) OR they are holding onto the petitions until the new fees come to effect OR they just decided that having been so fast at some point in the 2012 they can concentrate on other petitions or take it easy until VSC completely catches up....its always...or this or that....who knows whats happening at CSC....it certainly is frustrating.

Funny story, I thought it would be nice to take my mind off this whole process and take trips to different countries I had always wanted to visit with a travel agency. Turns out none are available in my country until end of February. So waiting it is :)

Good luck to you !! It seems by your timeline that you should be very close to hearing something !!!
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-14 11:20:00
USCIS Service Centers8 months and No news from VSC
CSC is not any better. They have been at a standstill for a while now. I keep thinking they are holding out for February when the change in fees takes effect, honestly. I am sorry you are at 8 months, I am not quite sure what I will be feeling when I reach that mark (and seeing how "fast" they are moving, we are well on our way). Did you put in service request ? Called to ask what is going on ?
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-09 06:04:00
USCIS Service CentersProcessing Dates going backwards??....Grrrreat :(

Where are you reading July? I'm still seeing June 4th

Where are you reading July? I'm still seeing June 4th



A number of people have called CSC (December-January) and were told that they are currently processing July 17th. I believe its been like that since September.
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-25 10:31:00
USCIS Service CentersProcessing Dates going backwards??....Grrrreat :(

wow- I started feeling the same way. Now this wait has unfortunately become part of my everyday life. I'm having more days that I wonder if this was all just a bad dream....surreal :blink:



:yes: let's hope this "bad dream" will not last too much longer
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-25 08:25:00
USCIS Service CentersProcessing Dates going backwards??....Grrrreat :(
Hopefully the NVC stage and setting up the interview won't be too long but seeing that your country is Iran...../sigh. Good luck on your journey, I do pray that everything speeds up soon. The more time this takes the more numb I become with less " i want to pull my hair out" days :innocent:
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-24 14:01:00
USCIS Service CentersProcessing Dates going backwards??....Grrrreat :(
oh thanks for the explanation !! You learn something new everyday and this is actually good news. Sorry for possibly freaking someone out about this extra money. :bonk:
:ot2:
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-24 13:26:00
USCIS Service CentersProcessing Dates going backwards??....Grrrreat :(

The new fees don't affect us, because a) k1 is non-immigrant and b) we're already in the system :) It'll be a fee we worry about at AOS, for GC.



I am pretty positive there is 200 USD fee that we need to pay before K1 visa holder actually flies out...or did I miss something ? This new fee should go into effect in February ?
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-24 13:19:00
USCIS Service CentersProcessing Dates going backwards??....Grrrreat :(
Looks like they really love July :) ..Honestly, I doubt anyone knows what the hold up is about...could be they were just taken off doing K1s completely in order to work on other types of visas and what not. The hope is (on my side anyways) that they will speed up eventually to come back to their average of 5 months (now they seem to be averaging 7.....that is just my calculation). Maybe they are waiting till the new fees hit in february ?
Either way....sucks.
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-24 13:10:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC AUGUST FILERS
yah I have a little calendar...it used to be marked at 150....now its marked at 200 and 210. :bonk:
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-31 15:28:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC AUGUST FILERS
I just read that someone called CSC today and they said they are STILL on 17th of July....come on at least finish July this month geez.
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-24 06:28:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC AUGUST FILERS

LOL ... I'M glad you answered , at least i know where am standing-- i wouldnt believe CSC will take such a long -- all my plans for this year are placed n hold--- sigh :crying:



tell me about it ! I spent last year flying back and forth - no job, so we can actually spend time together, hoping this process would be close to over by end of February... :rofl:

Now, the hope is by April to at least have something sorted......

all the best !
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-23 09:47:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC AUGUST FILERS
If only they were on August ! It's all moving like snails !!

Sorry , I know you want only the people approved to respond but....aaahhhhh I thought by now August would be at least half way done. No such luck, sadly.

Edited by JTB11, 23 January 2013 - 08:50 AM.

JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-23 08:49:00
USCIS Service CentersWhat's creating the delay with CSC? How long is it going to last?

As I stated before I think Deferred Action cases are causing the delay. http://www.visajourn...eferred-action/

The real question is when are they going to start actually processing K1 cases on a regular basis, unfortunatly nobody knows. There was a little sign of life last week, but they have flatlined again this week.

What will get them working on K1 cases again? Maybe the new fee starting on Feb. 1st? Maybe the K1 backlog needs to get bigger? Maybe once they get enough deferred action cases approved? Maybe some USCIS employees will pull their head out of their ####? I'm definietly not counting on the last one, but I think within the next month we will see an improvement.

I know it's hard to keep looking at the timelines and see almost nothing from CSC and also seeing VSC approving like crazy. Just keep hanging in there like the rest of us and we will all get through this eventually.


:thumbs:
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-30 11:35:00
USCIS Service CentersUpdates on CSC
Good luck, 6 months and something sounds absolutely horrible. I wish they would speed up. Last year, same time, they were already somewhere in August.
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-01-29 04:34:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC is processing Oct 5th now!

I was replying to retemad's post. I figured the 'haha' came from someone who knew that the oct. 5 couldn't be true. :P It'd be nice if it was, though! :)


:thumbs: ah ok gotcha ( I am doing 10 things at the same time in an attempt to keep busy so I did not read other's posts....not working btw hehe) And yes that would certainly make life a little less stressful :)

Let's keep the faith
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-02-02 16:57:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC is processing Oct 5th now!

I'm guessing you saw that date from this site on the timelines section. That date jumps around a lot, and isn't always accurate. Based on people's timelines and approvals on here, it seems like they are still working on July. Sorry, I don't mean to dampen your excitement. Hang in there. Hopefully things will speed up and you will be approved soon! :)


oh I was not excited, I was laughing because I know that to not be true. That would be a cruel joke on someone who just got here hoping to get info :bonk: shame on you ! :P
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-02-02 16:08:00
USCIS Service CentersCSC is processing Oct 5th now!
haha and you heard that where ???
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-02-02 15:13:00
USCIS Service Centerscsc slow
hopefully it is not one of those .....lucky ones...and they are actually processing that date but I really doubt it..
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-02-05 13:13:00
USCIS Service Centerscsc slow
the updated processing times are no longer showing 5 months for CSC but say 18th of July ( as of end of December)...../sigh
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-02-05 12:54:00
USCIS Service Centerscsc slow

I was being sarcastic when I said March or April a couple months ago, but now I really am hoping to hear something by then. :(


I am right there with you. This is driving me insane....without a job, already in another country that I haven't lived in for 12 years and in the middle of nowhere, leaves me sitting in a room like a dog in its cage. Sorry vent over.
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-02-05 10:54:00
USCIS Service CentersWhat this means!!!!!
for now...its 6-7 months of wait time yes, it seems. Hoping it will not get any slower than this. Sorry for the bad news.
JTB11FemaleCzech Republic2013-02-06 10:03:00