K-1 Visa Process - Attempt to Clarify

[Lux44 15]

Hello everyone,

I sent in the I-129f at the beginning of May and on May 16th i received the notice that the Alien Registration Number has been changed. This happened after I had received the NOA1 which was dated May 10th.

Now, obviously the Alien Registration Number is a good thing since it is my understanding that this number is what eventually becomes your Green Card number, assuming everything goes smoothly and the visa is approved.

One thing I am attempting to determine is the timeline for the K-1. It seems that the processing time can vary greatly, from 2-3 months to a year.

I have read that files are processed based on the order yours is placed in a stack. Yet, I have read that it may not be so straightforward since the main job of case officers is to simply determine that the marriage is legitimate and meetings the requirements. With that being said, the CO's could very well go quickly through certain one's while taking their time on others. I say this as I would hope and assume that they do handle more than one case at a time.

If it is the case that they all handle many cases at one time, does anyone have an idea of the average amount of cases a CO would handle?

Just a bit of background on my case. Me and my fiance'e have been together since September 2007 and did the long distance relationship since then, travelling multiple times a year to go see each other, staying any where from one week to 3 months together at a time. We sent in the standard information, plus, what is probably overkill, 60 time stamped photos of the two of us since September 2007, including some of us with her family and mine.

Like everyone else, I'm simply trying to determine how long we will need to wait.

Thanks for all of the feedback!

[jenni17 36]

Hello everyone,

I sent in the I-129f at the beginning of May and on May 16th i received the notice that the Alien Registration Number has been changed. This happened after I had received the NOA1 which was dated May 10th.

Now, obviously the Alien Registration Number is a good thing since it is my understanding that this number is what eventually becomes your Green Card number, assuming everything goes smoothly and the visa is approved.

One thing I am attempting to determine is the timeline for the K-1. It seems that the processing time can vary greatly, from 2-3 months to a year.

I have read that files are processed based on the order yours is placed in a stack. Yet, I have read that it may not be so straightforward since the main job of case officers is to simply determine that the marriage is legitimate and meetings the requirements. With that being said, the CO's could very well go quickly through certain one's while taking their time on others. I say this as I would hope and assume that they do handle more than one case at a time.

If it is the case that they all handle many cases at one time, does anyone have an idea of the average amount of cases a CO would handle?

Just a bit of background on my case. Me and my fiance'e have been together since September 2007 and did the long distance relationship since then, travelling multiple times a year to go see each other, staying any where from one week to 3 months together at a time. We sent in the standard information, plus, what is probably overkill, 60 time stamped photos of the two of us since September 2007, including some of us with her family and mine.

Like everyone else, I'm simply trying to determine how long we will need to wait.

Thanks for all of the feedback!

I can't tell you how many cases an officer would handle at a time but if you want a better idea of current processing times check out igors list if you haven't found it already :

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/monthly_filers.php

I see you're from New York which means your petition will most likely be forwarded to the Vermont Service Center. Vermont is averaging a little over 6 months right now for USCIS processing of the petition...that does not include the time it takes to forward the petition to your fiance's respective embassy and the interview process. My Fiance and I sent our packet at the beginning of Nov 2012 and I don't expect him to be here before Aug. That being said Vermont has recently forwarded some petitions to other offices to get rid of some of their backlog so it's possible that their processing time could decrease, but I wouldn't count on your petition being out of USCIS in less than their 5 month processing "goal" that way if you are one of the lucky cases that gets processed faster it will be a very pleasant surprise... but don't count on it taking much less than 5 months based on Vermont's recent approvals. From what I have seen the "straightforwardness" of your case has no bearing on how fast it is processed other than the fact that if you take the time to prepare your case well and send extra evidence you will not receive an RFE which adds extra processing time.

[Azsara 110]

Hey and welcome!

As the above poster said you originally file a petition which takes around 4-7 months depending on how fast your service centre is processing. And once the position is approved (NOA2) you then start th visa process which includes a medical and interview. This usually takes around 3 months from NOA2 to visa in hand. So your looking at roughly a 9-10 month process.

Though of course some are done quicker and some slower. Well done on researching the process, it really is the key to success!

[mpheonix 7]

Hi there! I'm in the same boat as you, so I know how you feel. I hate the "it depends" answer, but unfortunately it really does depend!

It depends on how well your application (and supporting evidence) was put together. It depends on how solid your case is. It depends on how overloaded the processing center your application was sent to it. It even depends on the mood of the person processing your application!

There are a few threads in here which cover the process and what to expect.

There is this one, which covers all the general stuff, which may be helpful to you.

There's this one which outlines the process and all the factors that influence how fast your application goes through the system.

And there's this nifty tool which gives you a more detailed outline of other people's K1 journeys based on beneficiary's country, time the application was submitted, processing center, etc.

Hope that helps!

[TBoneTX 44,679]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the Case Progress subforum. ***