Be Careful Who You Listen To --

[SoCalMark 49]

While getting information on these types of sites is very helpful don't assume the person on the other end is the all-knowing wizard because they have "been through the process."

Unlike most people I have been through K-1 and CR-1 with the same beneficiary. I received very bad mis-information at one time and once I was able to talk directly with the U.S. Embassy in Manila I found out the truth. One of the issues was that under the fiancee visa, my NOW wife, fiancee then had stayed here much longer than the three months required. I found out from the embassy that they really didn't care as long as my intentions were still admirable and that I was honest with them.

I had people telling me she would be banned for ten years, that we would never be approved a second time, that her medical would not be accepted a second time ... and they were all persons with good intentions but without merit or facts. All of our cases are the same yet different. The worse advise came from my wife's own country girls who simply had no clue.

Some petitions take a year while I have seen some whiz through in a couple months.

Google search your way through the process and get reliable VERIFIED information. My friend in Homeland Security in Los Angeles says starting letters to congressmen and petitions will have little to no effect on the process and could endanger your petition from being treated fairly and impartially.

Good Luck to you all !!

[dalidali 0]

From my very short venture into the whole visa process, my fiancees friends and relatives have given her totally wrong information. From "you don't need a visa, all you need is a support letter" to "it will take years to get a visa" to "The Catholic church forces you to have a seminar even if you marry by a judge"

All bogus info.

Rumors abound......it is always much better and far more reliable to get the information first hand and from an authority that has real facts.

Let your particular case be a good example to others that just because an internet poster says it's so.....does not particularly make it so.

Most are well intentioned and are doing their best to help out.....but verify verify verify.

I would suggest to anyone looking for the real deal, find that in official US Government webpages or your local US Embassy.

These Visa Journey pages are an excellent place to find out the processes and visa seeker experiences, but is not the final word. For that, seek out an official version, as stated by the US Government.

I would also strongly suggest anyone not push the limits of officially stated time limits. To do so is at your own peril, as one official may see your case 180 degrees opposite from another official and toss out the red flags and or the dreaded DENY flag.

[FamilyGuyT 9]

While getting information on these types of sites is very helpful don't assume the person on the other end is the all-knowing wizard because they have "been through the process."

Unlike most people I have been through K-1 and CR-1 with the same beneficiary. I received very bad mis-information at one time and once I was able to talk directly with the U.S. Embassy in Manila I found out the truth. One of the issues was that under the fiancee visa, my NOW wife, fiancee then had stayed here much longer than the three months required. I found out from the embassy that they really didn't care as long as my intentions were still admirable and that I was honest with them.

I had people telling me she would be banned for ten years, that we would never be approved a second time, that her medical would not be accepted a second time ... and they were all persons with good intentions but without merit or facts. All of our cases are the same yet different. The worse advise came from my wife's own country girls who simply had no clue.

Some petitions take a year while I have seen some whiz through in a couple months.

Google search your way through the process and get reliable VERIFIED information. My friend in Homeland Security in Los Angeles says starting letters to congressmen and petitions will have little to no effect on the process and could endanger your petition from being treated fairly and impartially.

Good Luck to you all !!

I agree 100% ! Some people on here think just because they went through it 2 years ago that they know every detail of every case. Wrong answer. I've gotten tons of misinformation and speculation.

It's a good site for general information and guidelines, just make sure you verify every piece of information you receive.

So yes, most mean well but make sure you get the "real " answer from the gov. entity involved.

[Ryan H 3,810]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to General Immigration-Related Discussion.

[MacUK 983]

There's only a small handful of people on this site who are truly experts in immigration matters and some of them get berated for their honesty when they don't give the answers the questioners want to hear.

Everyone else here can only give opinions based on their own experiences. It's not always accurate, sometimes downright wrong, sometimes just overly optimistic just so as not to upset the questioner.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

All good advice. The only comment I would differ with is the one about not contacting Senators or Congressmen. There are times when that is the appropriate step to take and it will not harm your petition nor cause USCIS to take a retributive stance against you. The proper process involves working with your elected officials assigned immigration assistant who will contact their liaison contacts at USCIS. These individuals are dedicated to working with elected official offices and do so all the time. They are far too busy to act in retribution. They respond and move on to the next inquiry.

Your elected official, however, cannot change the law nor influence a decision. They can ascertain why a case is taking longer than it should, and sometimes an inquiry will 'shake loose' a file or petition that somehow has been side-tracked or inadvertently filed before its completion (yes, that happens). They can also help you understand what is happening with your case and may be able to help correct an error, if one exists. A really, really good assistant liaison may be willing to do extra steps if they see some other way in which they can help.

To do this there needs to be something in your case that is out of the ordinary. That means it is outside of the usual processing times by a noticeable amount; that it has obviously stalled; that attempts to make corrections through the regular channels have been unsuccessful; or there is something extraordinary in your circumstances that would benefit from some sort of additional support or intervention.

I know this through personal experience on both ends of this process having worked before I immigrated as the assistant to an elected Member of Parliament and liaising on our constituents' behalf with the Canadian immigration system. The American system is set up with the same sort of staffing arrangements so I also worked with immigration officers and liaisons both with USCIS and with US Senators as situations required. After I immigrated, I also requested and received help from my own Senator's immigration liaison staff with my Removal of Conditions petition which was outside of the listed processing time. Within two days of the Senatorial inquiry into the delay, my petition was approved.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Kathryn41