CA K1 Processing times

[Falstaff 0]

Hi all,

received my NOA1 confirmation on 12/16/15. Just called the USCIS customer service line today and was told that the California service center was running about 5 months in terms of processing K1 I-129f. Was curious if other K1 petitioners were seeing 5 month processing times as well for I-129f submitted in December 2014 destined for the California service center.

Not that I'm impatient but the fiancée is pregnant (Dekichatta kekkon 出来ちゃった結婚) and due in June. I need to figure out what to do if I can't get her to the US by the time the baby is born. Appreciate anyone sharing their experience on this subject.

Thanks!

Falstaff

[Marco&Bettina 502]

Hi all,

received my NOA1 confirmation on 12/16/15. Just called the USCIS customer service line today and was told that the California service center was running about 5 months in terms of processing K1 I-129f. Was curious if other K1 petitioners were seeing 5 month processing times as well for I-129f submitted in December 2014 destined for the California service center.

Not that I'm impatient but the fiancée is pregnant (Dekichatta kekkon 出来ちゃった結婚) and due in June. I need to figure out what to do if I can't get her to the US by the time the baby is born. Appreciate anyone sharing their experience on this subject.

Thanks!

Falstaff

Realistically, your NOA2 could occur anywhere from 6 days to 6 weeks. Only TSC is currently running anywhere from 5.5-8 months.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Marco&Bettina

[PDXDD 28]

You mean.. 12/16/2014?

They always tell you 5 month waiting is necessary . In reality it can be much faster. Some people got approved in several days. Fingers crossed.

But there will be other steps after you get approved. Timeline can be unpredictable. So you gotta have backup plan.

[-Shana- 152]

No one can say for sure when you'll be approved, because a lot of it does ride on your application itself. But I think in general California's reputation is a lot speedier than Texas at the moment. Looking at the September 2014 filers thread, some of them still haven't received an NOA2 since their case remained in Texas, whereas those who were transferred to California seemed to have been approved (mine took 26 days for example). BUT, don't take my answer too literally because it could very well be 5 months.

Edited January 26, 2015 by shana.mike

[baron555 934]

Hi all,

received my NOA1 confirmation on 12/16/15. Just called the USCIS customer service line today and was told that the California service center was running about 5 months in terms of processing K1 I-129f. Was curious if other K1 petitioners were seeing 5 month processing times as well for I-129f submitted in December 2014 destined for the California service center.

Not that I'm impatient but the fiancée is pregnant (Dekichatta kekkon 出来ちゃった結婚) and due in June. I need to figure out what to do if I can't get her to the US by the time the baby is born.

Probably won't happen in time. 5 months out is May and that's just to NOA2, you have to add about 2-3 months for NVC and then the Embassy.

[EmilyRosePF 34]

My petition is at CSC and at just over 8 weeks, I got an RFE. Some people get an NOA2 very quickly though. Hope yours is one of the fast approvals - good luck!

Edited January 27, 2015 by emilyrptimm

[Wooderz 314]

No one can say for sure when you'll be approved, because a lot of it does ride on your application itself. But I think in general California's reputation is a lot speedier than Texas at the moment. Looking at the September 2014 filers thread, some of them still haven't received an NOA2 since their case remained in Texas, whereas those who were transferred to California seemed to have been approved (mine took 26 days for example). BUT, don't take my answer too literally because it could very well be 5 months.

Just to clarify, you weren't transferred to California. Everyone mails their petition to the lockbox, which happens to be in Texas for I-129f petitions. Other types go to different lock boxes. The lock box just assigns it the appropriate service center, one of which just happens to be in Texas also. They are not the same thing. Where your petition goes depends on the state the petitioner lives.

And yes, TSC is about 5-6 months behind CSC. TSC is just beginning July petitions.

[Pianist27 31]

16 days from NOA1 to NOA2 at CSC, just noticed my case status this morning when I checked the USCIS website. This was not an expedite, although perhaps with my fiancé in Ukraine they are a bit faster? It's actually the second application for us, our initial one in September was denied because I stupidly kept submitting a G325 instead of the G325A, even despite an RFE.

The imbalance between the two service centers is an outrage. It almost feels like it violates the equal protection clause; your access to government benefits should not be so different based on your state of residence.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

~ Moved from K-1 Process to K-1 Progress Reports -topic is case status ~

[Falstaff 0]

You mean.. 12/16/2014?

They always tell you 5 month waiting is necessary . In reality it can be much faster. Some people got approved in several days. Fingers crossed.

But there will be other steps after you get approved. Timeline can be unpredictable. So you gotta have backup plan.

Yes, I meant 12/16/2014. Already got used to putting 2015 for the year. :-)

Falstaff

[Falstaff 0]

All,

thank you for all the generous and kind responses to my rather newbie question. When I looked at the timelines posted on VJ I noticed CSC processing times seemed to be a lot faster than the published five months. It's only been six weeks since my NOA1 so I'll just sit tight and wait. Hopefully, I filled out all the forms correctly.

Falstaff

[Pheebs1201 269]

We had four days between NOA1 and NOA2. You really never know with CSC. And no, we weren't expedited in any way, for any reason. Just got lucky I guess.

Chances are, it will be less than five months.

[-Shana- 152]

Just to clarify, you weren't transferred to California. Everyone mails their petition to the lockbox, which happens to be in Texas for I-129f petitions. Other types go to different lock boxes. The lock box just assigns it the appropriate service center, one of which just happens to be in Texas also. They are not the same thing. Where your petition goes depends on the state the petitioner lives.

And yes, TSC is about 5-6 months behind CSC. TSC is just beginning July petitions.

Cheers for clearing that up, I was under the impression everything went to Texas and then it was transferred from there. I probably understood this way because of the whole "transfer" section in the Timeline.

[Wooderz 314]

No worries. It's a VERY common confusion around here. In reality, very few petitions are actually transferred. I heard that someone is working with the mods to try to add a field to the timeline that should help reduce that error.

The problem with that issue is that if people are confused and do their timelines wrong bc they're confused it skews the data and makes igors list less reliable.

Basically, if your receipt number starts with wac you're at CSC and if it's src you're at TSC. And you'll know it if you were truly transferred because you'll get a letter stating you were. Whereas the noa1 just said your petition is being routed to CSC/TSC...

[-Shana- 152]

No worries. It's a VERY common confusion around here. In reality, very few petitions are actually transferred. I heard that someone is working with the mods to try to add a field to the timeline that should help reduce that error.

The problem with that issue is that if people are confused and do their timelines wrong bc they're confused it skews the data and makes igors list less reliable.

Basically, if your receipt number starts with wac you're at CSC and if it's src you're at TSC. And you'll know it if you were truly transferred because you'll get a letter stating you were. Whereas the noa1 just said your petition is being routed to CSC/TSC...

I've just edited my timeline to show I wasn't in fact transferred but I went straight to CSC as I initially thought!