K1 visa time frame

[windo 0]

Hello everyone, I am new to this whole process and I have looked around the site at some of the other forum threads but they really do not answer my question. When I look on the USCIS website they state that it will take about 5 months to process my K1 visa app. My question is this, the time frame stated of 5 months, is that for the service center and the time it will take them to approve and send to the embassy for the interview and final approval, or is this statement for the entire process, meaning 5 months and she will then have her visa in hand? Sorry if this has been asked before but I could not find this anywhere in the forums. Thank you for your help.

windo

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

That is for the service center and only a guideline. Texas service center is currently very slow and CSC is fast.

When you are approved it goes to NVC and takes about a months.

Then additional time for your interview appointment, which is embassy specific and I do not know how long that

wait time is for your embassy.

[windo 0]

Thank you for the reply, that is what I was thinking, but I wanted to check with others that have gone through this process.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/monthly_filers.php?cfl=

You can filter by service center to give an idea how long VJ members waited, it is not an exact estimate but was very close for me.

[sassyseawitch 1]

We filed at CSC. Ours went very fast. We had nothing missing and no RFE. We filed in late Feb. We have been trying to get an interview appointment for a month. That is what took the longest time.

Last night, we finally got one for Aug. 14.

They are getting their medicals July 7 and 8 and the CFO on July 10. We had this already set up while we waited for the interview openings.

After they get their visas, they will fly to Cebu for the stickers, and then fly to the US.

Our timetable was from Feb-Aug.-- about 6 months.

[_Paul&Jesica_ 70]

Thank you for the reply, that is what I was thinking, but I wanted to check with others that have gone through this process.

You can see from my timeline in my signature below how longs took for us for K-1 in Manila. USCIS varies in processing time, but for us, the biggest hurdle is actually getting an interview appointment at the embassy in Manila. I was really really really lucky to secure an appointment (someone canceled theirs) almost immediately but some people have trying for weeks and weeks to get an appointment.

Good luck and have patience

Edited July 3, 2014 by _Paul&Jesica_

[Dregs 0]

Apparently, it all just depends on the status of where your petition is sent to. Mine was received in Texas April 12th, approved in the California Service Center on April 23rd. Exactly one month later the embassy in Tokyo received it. She got her medical done in June and will schedule her interview in July. If nothing goes wrong during interview, she'll have her visa in hand only 4 months since we started this whole thing.

The biggest problem has been saving up enough money. We were anticipating 6 - 12 months, including accounting for possible minor complications.

Hopefully you'll hit some luck too! From what I understand, according to the general guidelines of all this, the time it takes the service center to approve your petition once they receive it could average 4 months by itself. Only after that you'd get medical and interview, which may take another several months depending on how busy either are.

Edited July 3, 2014 by Dregs

[Hank_ 9,174]

Hello everyone, I am new to this whole process and I have looked around the site at some of the other forum threads but they really do not answer my question. When I look on the USCIS website they state that it will take about 5 months to process my K1 visa app. My question is this, the time frame stated of 5 months, is that for the service center and the time it will take them to approve and send to the embassy for the interview and final approval, or is this statement for the entire process, meaning 5 months and she will then have her visa in hand? Sorry if this has been asked before but I could not find this anywhere in the forums. Thank you for your help.

windo

That is for the petition process at USCIS only. After that there is the wait for your MNL # from NVC and then FINALLY the process in Manila which normally takes 6-8 weeks but as of late is taking longer because of a shortage of appointment openings at the embassy.

For sure pop over to the Philippines forum and say HI! http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

[windo 0]

Thank you everyone for you replies, they have helped to establish a prelim timeline for us. I have another question if I may. I saw that once we get married and file the change of status form that she will get a temp conditional green card, if I understood that correctly, my question is, can she travel outside the country with that green card or will we need to file other paper work for her to travel outside the country? Thank you for your time.