How long is the process??

[shenee_18 0]

Guys..how long will it take to process the fiancee visa? how about the spousal visa? which is the best and less complicated to process? Your response will be very much appreciated..

[kzielu 1,149]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[Peter_Pan 661]

K1 is shorter by 2 months, takes 6ish months if you are lucky and might be slightly more expensive.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Peter_Pan

[shenee_18 0]

K1 is shorter by 2 months, takes 6ish months if you are lucky and might be slightly more expensive.

If ever, what would be the hindrances for it to process longer than 6 mos? and how much will be the exact cost of processing?

[Oksana & Max 94]

Try not to look at that from the cost perspective. But look on the processing time, and what is required for each one of the visa. Usually K-1 is about a $1000 more then a CR1/IR1 visa. It is really hard to estimate the actual cost but if you are doing without a lawyer you are looking at at least $3000 plus travel tickets etc.... Not a cheap process.

I wouldn't say 6 month as a reality, I would say 7-8 more realistic. Yes there are people who got it quicker it took me only 5.5 month, but I just got lucky. Realistic time for fiancee visa 7-8 month, and for CR1/IR1 8-10 as this is an immigrant visa and takes longer.

There are also few things to consider since you are from Philipines, if the petitioner makes over 125% of poverty guidelines you can go either route. However if not and will need a co-sponsor, you better off with CR1/IR1 as US Embassy in Manilla, don't accept co-sponsors for fiancee visa.

Good luck on your journey

[OurHappyEnding 3]

Wow 6 months for the entire process? Some of you are extremely lucky that your consulates work so fast! Montreal on the other hand...Ill be lucky if I get an interview within 9-10 months from NOA1 lol

Also it depends on your service center and whether you are applying for K1 or CR1.

Good luck!

[LeftCoastLady 441]

Wow 6 months for the entire process? Some of you are extremely lucky that your consulates work so fast! Montreal on the other hand...Ill be lucky if I get an interview within 9-10 months from NOA1 lol

Also it depends on your service center and whether you are applying for K1 or CR1.

Good luck!

That seems to be one of the misconceptions in reading some of the threads started as of late. The six months estimate for the K-1 refers to actual adjudication of the petition and the timeframe for receiving the NOA2 approval...not[/] the actual receipt of the K-1 visa by the fiancé(e).

From there, there's still 2-3 months (again, estimate) ahead for the medical exam, gathering/sending the various docs, scheduling the interview, etc.

[shenee_18 0]

Try not to look at that from the cost perspective. But look on the processing time, and what is required for each one of the visa. Usually K-1 is about a $1000 more then a CR1/IR1 visa. It is really hard to estimate the actual cost but if you are doing without a lawyer you are looking at at least $3000 plus travel tickets etc.... Not a cheap process.

I wouldn't say 6 month as a reality, I would say 7-8 more realistic. Yes there are people who got it quicker it took me only 5.5 month, but I just got lucky. Realistic time for fiancee visa 7-8 month, and for CR1/IR1 8-10 as this is an immigrant visa and takes longer.

There are also few things to consider since you are from Philipines, if the petitioner makes over 125% of poverty guidelines you can go either route. However if not and will need a co-sponsor, you better off with CR1/IR1 as US Embassy in Manilla, don't accept co-sponsors for fiancee visa.

Good luck on your journey

since u've experienced all these stuffs, if im gonna ask you, what would you advise me? to undergo the fiancee visa or we better get married and just choose the spousal visa? considering the processing time, all the expenses that will be incurred, the documents that will be processed and so on.. thank you for the response..it is really appreciated..you know hard it is to be separated with a love one a thousand miles away and we've waited long enough for this..Godbless..

[NoneYa 73]

My fiancee is arriving next week from the Philipppines. We were approved February 15th and she took a extra month to be with her family before coming here.

From the time we filed till the interview approval for us was just under six months. Be patient. There is no short cut. The fiancee visa is faster but I would advise you take your time and fill out your forms and and compare them to the forms online because I even made two minor mistakes but I didnt get an RFE. Getting an RFE will set you back a 3 weeks or more.

Just make sure you do it right, read this board a lot to educate yourself. That helped me spend my time wisely. We are happy. Don't stress about it. Keep your eye on the goal of you being together in the long term, not the short term.

[shenee_18 0]

My fiancee is arriving next week from the Philipppines. We were approved February 15th and she took a extra month to be with her family before coming here.

From the time we filed till the interview approval for us was just under six months. Be patient. There is no short cut. The fiancee visa is faster but I would advise you take your time and fill out your forms and and compare them to the forms online because I even made two minor mistakes but I didnt get an RFE. Getting an RFE will set you back a 3 weeks or more.

Just make sure you do it right, read this board a lot to educate yourself. That helped me spend my time wisely. We are happy. Don't stress about it. Keep your eye on the goal of you being together in the long term, not the short term.

My fiancee asked this one lawyer in SD, and he advised him that we should just get married in the philippines and just choose the spousal visa rather than the fiancee visa..because fiancee visa is a lot more complicated to process considering the documents to be filled out and the costs of the processing..but anyway thanks for the advise..and i wish you both happiness and success in marriage life.Godbless noneya..

[NoneYa 73]

You ask 10 lawyers, you will get 10 different answers. Take it from those who have done the process. The fiancé visa is the fastest and it is not hard if you follow the instructions. Our process went from August 22, 11 (filed) and she was approved Feb 15th, 2012. She arrived March 22nd, 2012. It's been a great year for us.

[NikLR 13,227]

*** moved to general immigration from K1 process and procedure as OP has not decided on a visa path and is asking about spousal vs fiancé ***

FYI - my spousal visa took about 8 months (minus 3 days) total from filing to living in the USA. Granted 4 months at USCIS is quicker than normal and we were already married so we didn't have to wait for a marriage certificate.