I-130 or I-129F, sorry another question.

[AngelnSteve 0]

Apologies for boring you all with another of my dithering posts but we've just learnt that our I-130 and I129-F are currently being reviewed right now (hmm - I know) and that we will need to choose which to go for.

Quick recap:

Petitions @ VSC

Married on in US on 08-08-08

On this site we've been told I-130 is best all round apparantly and to go down the CR-1 route.

We understand it's a more complete option and cheaper in the long run BUT we are both emotionally worn out (well me moreso - my wife has more faith) and simply need to choose the option that gets us together as soon as possible as there are various pressing issues that I won't bore you all with.

So if the main consideration is to get us together again without any further delay should we opt for the I-130 or I-129F?

I feel I've said a lot without saying much - sorry.

[Allie and Nigel 2]

Ok, if you are ALREADY MARRIED, you file i-130 and the i-129.........its called a K3 VISA look it up. Remember the word K3 VISA. Go on the uscis.com or whatever the site is and read all about it. ALSO GO GET THIS BOOK FROM THE LIBRARY... FROM NOLO...ABOUT FIANCE/SPOUSE VISAS. It will save your life in a major way. If you are NOT MARRIED, you get a i-129 only.

[AngelnSteve 0]

With all due respect, you did not read my post and yet you treat me like an idiot - thankyou.

[pushbrk 12,881]

Apologies for boring you all with another of my dithering posts but we've just learnt that our I-130 and I129-F are currently being reviewed right now (hmm - I know) and that we will need to choose which to go for.

Quick recap:

Petitions @ VSC

Married on in US on 08-08-08

On this site we've been told I-130 is best all round apparantly and to go down the CR-1 route.

We understand it's a more complete option and cheaper in the long run BUT we are both emotionally worn out (well me moreso - my wife has more faith) and simply need to choose the option that gets us together as soon as possible as there are various pressing issues that I won't bore you all with.

So if the main consideration is to get us together again without any further delay should we opt for the I-130 or I-129F?

I feel I've said a lot without saying much - sorry.

It's possible you'll reunite a few weeks earlier with the K3. It's also possible it will save no time at all or add time. You'll never know either way, so it's a gamble, a gamble I don't advise. The payoff is minimal, at best for the nearly $700 in extra expense and the hassle of the additional immigration process and interview.

[AngelnSteve 0]

Thankyou, I just wondered - I suppose there isn't much to be said for the I-129F then.

Just will be great to break free from this state of limbo.

[pushbrk 12,881]

Thankyou, I just wondered - I suppose there isn't much to be said for the I-129F then.

Just will be great to break free from this state of limbo.

The original purpose of the K3 visa has been thwarted by the new processing procedures and the difference in expense has been magnified by the fee increases. We did the K3 with good results a year before things started changing. I wouldn't do it again and didn't when advising my wife's sister and her husband.

[imaisha 0]

I'm dealing with the London embassy now, as you will be. For a "good" embassy, they are really quite slow. I've been following the paths for both visas- I know we're going to go for the CR-1, I just wanted to follow through since the K-3 doesn't cost any more until you actually get to the interview.

I'm through NVC already and just waiting to be scheduled for an interview with the CR-1 and London still hasn't even qualified me for a K-3 interview yet. They've received my packet 3, entered it all into the system, DOS says everything's there, they just haven't ticked the "qualified" box yet. The operator says London is very slow in that respect.

So if you don't mind filling in a few more forms, you could follow both. I don't think anyone will save time going for a K-3 in London though since CR-1 interviews are scheduled pretty rapidly by NVC (there are MANY more non-immigrant K applicants than immigrant applicants) and the embassy seems to drag its heels with the K visas.

[AngelnSteve 0]

Thanks for the info and best of luck.

I think all things considered the K3 will be dropped.

Any idea why the embassy is considered to be slow - cause I mean?

[pushbrk 12,881]

I'm dealing with the London embassy now, as you will be. For a "good" embassy, they are really quite slow. I've been following the paths for both visas- I know we're going to go for the CR-1, I just wanted to follow through since the K-3 doesn't cost any more until you actually get to the interview.

I'm through NVC already and just waiting to be scheduled for an interview with the CR-1 and London still hasn't even qualified me for a K-3 interview yet. They've received my packet 3, entered it all into the system, DOS says everything's there, they just haven't ticked the "qualified" box yet. The operator says London is very slow in that respect.

So if you don't mind filling in a few more forms, you could follow both. I don't think anyone will save time going for a K-3 in London though since CR-1 interviews are scheduled pretty rapidly by NVC (there are MANY more non-immigrant K applicants than immigrant applicants) and the embassy seems to drag its heels with the K visas.

Filing the I-129F has some pitfalls. Yes, there's no fee to do so but once you do, processing on the I-130 stops and the two petitions are processed together. One will not be approved before the other. You could actually delay your I-130 processing by filing the I-129F.

[pushbrk 12,881]

Thanks for the info and best of luck.

I think all things considered the K3 will be dropped.

Any idea why the embassy is considered to be slow - cause I mean?

I doubt the K3 will be dropped but you could be right. There are circumstances under which it is still a great option but they tend to be rare. One key set of circumstances is where the intending immigrant needs a longer transition period during which their life plans don't fit with maintaining permanent resident status. The K3 visa holder has full multiple entry privileges without the restrictions of maintaining permanent residency in the US. This is particularly useful for some Canadians who need to keep their Canadian jobs and visit the US frequently even though the clearly have immigrant intent. With a K3 visa the immigrant intent presents no problem.

[imaisha 0]

Thanks for the info and best of luck.

I think all things considered the K3 will be dropped.

Any idea why the embassy is considered to be slow - cause I mean?

Not sure how familiar you are with the rest of the process so forgive me if i'm saying things you already know.

NVC schedules CR-1 interviews while the embassy schedules the K3 interviews. There are many many more K1/3 applicants than CR/IR-1 applicants, so I think that holds the embassy back a little. Lately NVC has been able to schedule all appointments for the following month (which is the earliest time possible), so it's a little more reliable than the embassy's "we'll get to it when we get to it" policy.

Some other cons:

London seems to pay attention to the intended travel date you give them some of the time, but sometimes not. There have been people who got interview dates well after.

They also arent very diligent about making sure their mail actually gets mailed. My husband still hasn't received his packet 3 a month after they say they generated it- we've long since just returned the forms on our own since we knew what was required. He's in a private home in a big city and has never had mail delivery problems so I'm almost certain they just never got it sent out. There have been others who never received their packet 4 (interview date) which is a bigger problem...

They are difficult to contact- they won't respond to emails. You've got to call their pay-to-play hotline and beg for the code to include in the mail to get a response out of them. Not terribly personable. In contrast, if you want to talk to NVC they're never more than a 3 minute elevator music wait away, and it's free.

I'm really glad that we're lucky enough to deal with an embassy that's relatively easy compared to say, China or the Phillipines, I just prefer the way that NVC operates as I've had a pretty smooth ride there so far.

[imaisha 0]

I'm dealing with the London embassy now, as you will be. For a "good" embassy,

So if you don't mind filling in a few more forms, you could follow both. I don't think anyone will save time going for a K-3 in London though since CR-1 interviews are scheduled pretty rapidly by NVC (there are MANY more non-immigrant K applicants than immigrant applicants) and the embassy seems to drag its heels with the K visas.

Filing the I-129F has some pitfalls. Yes, there's no fee to do so but once you do, processing on the I-130 stops and the two petitions are processed together. One will not be approved before the other. You could actually delay your I-130 processing by filing the I-129F.

They've already filed both forms and are pretty close to an NOA2 now. The I-129f is not causing them any further delays- those happened back in December when it was submitted.

When I said that it won't cost any more until the interview I was referring to the post-USCIS stage. Unlike the CR-1, for which $470 must be paid to NVC before the application is processed, you can follow the K-3 route all the way up to getting inside the embassy for the interview before you pay any more.

It cannot hurt them to follow the K-3 path along with the CR-1 at this point.