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[xbritto 25]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and received the link for the website through a friend who is going through the visa process at the moment.

My fiance and I got engaged on Feb. 14, 2014. We've been in a relationship now for a year and a half. We met working at a summer camp in New York.

I (Brittany) live in the US, and my fiance, he lives in England. We're planning on him moving here.

We'd like to start planning out a wedding. We would like to get married in September of 2015.

Is it a risk to do the wedding planning stuff before the visas are approved?

If were planning to want to get married in September 2015, when should I start the application process?

Thank you very much.

[baron555 934]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and received the link for the website through a friend who is going through the visa process at the moment.

My fiance and I got engaged on Feb. 14, 2014. We've been in a relationship now for a year and a half. We met working at a summer camp in New York.

I (Brittany) live in the US, and my fiance, he lives in England. We're planning on him moving here.

We'd like to start planning out a wedding. We would like to get married in September of 2015.

Is it a risk to do the wedding planning stuff before the visas are approved? Yes

If were planning to want to get married in September 2015, when should I start the application process?

Working backwards, you two will have 90 days within which to become married after he arrives in the US....that's 3 months.

He will have about 6 months to use the visa to enter the US once it's approved.....that's now about 9 months total.

So you would need the case to be received at London about January, 2015.

So look at the Processing Times summary, link at the top of this page and estimate how long from submittal of the 129f petition to NOA2 approval to NVC and then to the Embassy the average cases are taking.. That should give you some idea of timing.

Thank you very much.

[ChicagoSarah 127]

The short answer is Yes, it would be a risk. Processing times for visas are always changing, so there is no way of knowing how long the K1 will be taking by the end of 2014/beginning of 2015.

You can always plan to have a "Big" wedding in September 2015 and be sure to apply for the visa plenty far out. If the visa is approved before that, you may have to have him move and legally marry in order to meet the 90 day requirement of the visa, but you could still have your big Sept. 2015 wedding with friends and family, even if you have to legally marry at the courthouse before that date.

Good luck with everything! :-)

[Boiler 45,403]

I would start early summer. Say it takes normally 9 months, you can extend it a bit and then he still has 6 months when he gets it. Then 90 days once he gets here.

So plenty of time in case something delays you.

[Ryan E 10]

It is a huge risk to plan a wedding before the visa is in your hand. Once once you get the visa in your hand, you have about 6 months to enter the US, then 90 days to get married.

Counting backwards:

Sept 1, 2015 wedding
Aug 1, 2015 - Entry in US (Must marry within 90 days)

Feb 1, 2015 - Medical Exam (Must enter US within 6 months of medical exam, interview is after this date)

July 1, 2015 - Submit Paperwork (assuming 6 months to process. Actual will range between 2 months and 12+)

There is a lot of variation here and I'd be quite hesitant to go through the expense of planning a large wedding and being dependent on the process. You might consider applying soon, holding a civil wedding, and then doing a larger wedding in September.

[SparklePony 238]

There is a lot of variation here and I'd be quite hesitant to go through the expense of planning a large wedding and being dependent on the process. You might consider applying soon, holding a civil wedding, and then doing a larger wedding in September.

This. The visa journey is a gamble from start to finish. So many things can happen that can affect your timings, and it's just too much of a risk, in my opinion. The safest bet is to start, get the visa, marry in the courthouse, then have a big-bang wedding in September.

[D&Wontheroad 3]

This. The visa journey is a gamble from start to finish. So many things can happen that can affect your timings, and it's just too much of a risk, in my opinion. The safest bet is to start, get the visa, marry in the courthouse, then have a big-bang wedding in September.

Very true. Many people here on the forum seem to be doing it this way. This is how we plan it. We will get married ASAP when in the US to get the papers rolling, but we have a big wedding planned for September 2015 for all friends and family. This just seems to be the easiest way and the fastest way to be permenantly reunited with your loved one. Remember that although in most cases they don't make any fuss when your fiance wants to visit you in the US, they have all the right to deny him in customs. if they have any suspicion of him planning to stay in the country, the k1 visa application is a little red flag where they scrutinize your entry.

I would definitely apply now, also it is easier to get things rescheduled or delayed upon your own wish, then expedited when things aren't moving so quickly. Although the turnaround has been really good compared to last year. With an estimate of it taking 6 to 9 month to finish the process on average, it might as well take well over a year if you just have some bad luck or if turnaround goes back to the speed of a year ago..

[Boiler 45,403]

Getting up in the morning is a risk.

They have plenty of time to make it work.

[SparklePony 238]

They actually run the risk of things going faster than expected and having to marry before the September date so they won't fall out of status. Not as big a likelihood, but craziness does happen.

[Ryan E 10]

They actually run the risk of things going faster than expected and having to marry before the September date so they won't fall out of status. Not as big a likelihood, but craziness does happen.

If they apply today, I think there is a high likelihood of that happening. Picking the magic day to apply so they can time it right seems to be July-Sept of this year.

Unless, they apply now and when the file gets to the embassy to early (6 months + 90 days before Sept) they work with the embassy to delay the interview sufficiently.

[Boiler 45,403]

Easier to delay the process than speed it up.

[SparklePony 238]

That's true. Which would mean apply early so delaying the process is possible if necessary.