Is our wedding date safe?

[SarahPT 0]

Hello fellow K-1 friends! I'm new to this process as it was only 1.5 weeks ago that we found out the entire fiance visa process will likely take more than the 5 month "processing time" the USCIS website said it would. We worked for a week straight getting our packet together and just sent it out to Dallas on Wednesday (12/7/11, 1 day shipping). I have taken a day to breathe, but now I am trying to figure out if the date we originally set for our wedding is safe. We have it planned for July 28, 2012, that's just over 7.5 months away. We had just sent the save the dates out, and already have a perfect venue and caterer. I have come to terms with just doing a "commitment ceremony" on that date if we have not obtained the fiance visa at that point, and legally get married at a later date. However I am unclear about if he is allowed to come into the USA while this visa process is going on. If there is a likely chance he will not be let in under a tourist visa it may not be worth keeping our current date. Not only would we lose a lot of money in wedding prep but we have all of his friends and family who will be coming over here for the ceremony. So what are your thoughts? Not worth it, push it out; or we should be fine, keep the date? I talked with a friend who went through the same thing 1.5 years ago, her fiance also was from the UK, and she said their application didn't come in time and he was allowed to come in for the "commitment ceremony" and then leave again afterwards. She eased my worries a bit but I'd love more input! Thanks!!

Sarah (& Jim)

[Boiler 45,486]

Many visit whilst the progress is underway.

Yout timeline is very tight, rule number 1 is not to make commitments until the visa is in hand.

[paojack 41]

I would not risk it, specially if you have to pay to book venue and all that stuff and also make friends plan a trip they might end up cancelling because of your guys' visa. Your timeline is tight... Just take a look at my timeline, I filed also beginning Dec last year and I made it to the US on July 23rd and I did not really wait to long to come...In my opinion I would not plan anything until visa is in hand or AT LEAST until you are close to the interview stage. good luck!

[xxxwabbiexxx 70]

We sent our package off at the beginning of February and I have the visa in hand on like July 7th or something like that - we had a Military expedite though. But once the expedite was approved and subsequently the petition, it was still 3 months after that. You could be approved in like 1 month but sods law is that you make plans and then don't have the visa, people spend money, you spend money etc and then its all f**ked up. I personally wouldn't make a single plan until you're at least at the embassy stage.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

You can't really plan based on other people's timelines because~~

• You might get a Request for Evidence (RFE) for a mistake or something missing that delays it.
  
• The timelines for petition, NVC, and embassy can change. (Example: People in Aug/Sept were averaging 75 days (CSC) for petition approval. In Dec the chart is showing 138 days. What would an additional 50 day swing do to your timeline? London averages have swung between 50 and 100 days.)
  
• People from other countries will tell you their timeline and each embassy has a totally different procedure and varies with how long they take.
  
• Some people may have been more prepared with their embassy forms and had everything in order to move on it the day they got the okay from London. Others didn't plan ahead and spent a month or more getting their ducks in a row for the visa application procedure.
  
• People get to the interview and find out they didn't have the right birth certificate or police report, or their passport was expiring too soon, or it had been washed and not acceptable, or the were put in additional security processing because they weren't born in the UK. So the visa isn't issued the next day and you fix what was wrong or wait out the AP.
  
• Every application is as different as the people filing them

With all that said, you can minimize your time (after petition approval) by being extremely knowledgeable about what comes next, especially in London. You will learn alot from the UK regional forum. There's alot more UK experience over there. Start reading the posts and learning the tips and tricks or learn from the mistakes people make. My opinion is once you've learned how to file a fiance petition, then bail out of the K1 forum and start learning from the experiences of people going through your embassy or those who have already done it. The petition is generic, but the visa part is very country specific.

[SarahPT 0]

Thank you truly everyone for their advice! I totally understand that it is risky to assume we will have the visa by July, but my main question is that in the event our I-129F is not approved yet, there is nothing stopping my fiance from 1) coming to the US under a tourist visa in July so 2) we can have a party and confess our love to each other surrounded by friends and family but NOT obtain a marriage license? Then he goes home waits for the process to complete, comes back, and we go to the Court or Vegas to legally marry? I guess it sounds silly and backwards, trust me the most important thing is to get married to the man I love, but I'm also a girl who has dreamed of her wedding since she was little and I don't want to throw the wedding we have already planned away because of a snail's pace government and a tiny 90 day window...

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

It should be fine. It's not illegal to enter on VWP while a petition or visa is pending, anymore than any person going to Disneyland. They don't even know what's pending on the airport CBP computers. They can ask for proof that he has strong ties to the UK as an assurance he's not going to stay and try to adjust status on a tourist entry. Proof of job, lease, bills, bank account, and a return ticket are frequently mentioned in that regard. It would be best for him to not close out his UK life before then so he has some ties to show. Often they don't even ask. It depends on how often and how long he's visited before too---like if a person stayed 90 days, went home 3 weeks and came back saying they intended to stay 90 days again. That would draw more questioning. If he brought 3 suitcases full of winter clothing and it was inspected, that wouldn't look like a person going on summer holiday for a few weeks. And he should answer any direct questions but he doesn't have to volunteer his whole life story. May your profile "Friends Only".

If the timing looks like a visa interview conflicts with his trip, he can ask for a later date. If they schedule him one on August 1, he can ask for a sooner date or for any cancellation that opens up. They often do that. This is the kind of chatter you'll pick up in the UK forum that may come in handy when you're in that spot so start following that forum now http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/99-united-kingdom/

If you have a celebration that looks like a wedding, best for him to not carry bride/groom looking photos or either of you making them your facebook profile pic. Yes, they can look you up on facebook to check you out. I've heard stories of people denied when they entered with their K1 visa because they had wedding photos and were told a K1 visa wasn't appropriate because they were already married. Small things can trip you up so think it through.

If you post in the UK forum, I'll give you my list of what you can be doing while you wait on the petition approval.