I-129f June 2017 filers (merged)

[John & Rose 7,239]

2 minutes ago, Paul & Mallory said:

Ah, we are as well. Got our NOA1 on June 12. Feels like an eternity between these steps, but it does lend an opportunity to save up money and prepare. My fiancé has used his time preparing for things, such as what he's doing with his home once he moves and planning on how to get the remainder of his belongings that he's bringing with him over here. There are so many things you don't think about right off the bat until they become pertinent!

You should take some time to fill out your timeline.  It helps the site more accurately tack overall progress and it will also give you estimated timeframes for your approvals.

[ThisGirlsCurls 32]

12 minutes ago, Paul & Mallory said:

Ah, we are as well. Got our NOA1 on June 12. Feels like an eternity between these steps, but it does lend an opportunity to save up money and prepare. My fiancé has used his time preparing for things, such as what he's doing with his home once he moves and planning on how to get the remainder of his belongings that he's bringing with him over here. There are so many things you don't think about right off the bat until they become pertinent!

I know right! I read all the updates and think I’m either hugely under prepared to not be rushing or just a bit too researched to be firm with myself to not get there and go broke lol! If I was wealthier I’d go right now...but i’m not sadly so I got to save so we survive this journey for the long haul x

[Hadassah123 523]

18 minutes ago, Paul & Mallory said:

I've heard many more positive stories than negative about visits stateside while waiting. We read a lot in the beginning about how he can't visit here once we start and until it's approved, so out of fear of making any wrong move, I think we were very literal with things we came across. Only in more recent research that we've done since sending our paperwork have we found that it's actually pretty common. Like you said, I think the main thing is having evidence that you intend on returning and not staying illegally, which isn't a problem. I'm planning a trip to Sweden soon myself, but it's nice to know we may have the option of him coming here, especially if things take longer than expected. It's easier for him to come here than vice versa, for work and financial reasons, so that was a big strain.

 

I'm excited for your visit! I know it will go by fast, but I hope you enjoy every second of it (I know you will).

I'd been reading stuff on here before we started our application. There was a sticky at one point that said you could visit, with people writing about their own experiences. Based on that, we planned our visit.

 

Thanks! I know time will fly by, but I know I'll enjoy every second

 

Hope you get to see each other soon too!

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

On ‎7‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 3:54 PM, DandY said:

It is really distressing. We are likely going to experience the longest processing times in recent history, perhaps the longest ever. There is a lot of good information in the March 2017 thread along with one member posting some good statistical analysis. The "good" news is it is rare for it to take over 180 days. The bad news is we may take 140 or more days we is way above average for the last two years (from what I could find). As shown in the March 2017 thread, K1s are 0.4-0.5% of the overall visas. In other words, we are not even a rounding error, we are not that important. It seems that in early April, someone somewhere decided that H1B visas to help foreign companies like TCS, Infosys, and Cognizant were far more important that any other type of visa, and they started banging those out increasing the backlog of other visas including K1s.

 

What is even worse is that our files will sit in a box for months and months to be adjudicated in about 15 minutes (based upon a report from a former employee). The worse thing is, in 2017, this could be automated to reduce the human intervention time to under 5 minutes, then they could process 3 times as many.

 

We are all on this heart wrenching journey together. I guess we sit back, get frustrated, get sad, and hope against all odds, they dedicate resources to get back to reasonable processing times. I look back at the processing times from 1 year ago, and I must say, I am so envious of them. If we were a year ago, half of us would be adjudicated in the next week. I think we are in for a long ride, so this thread could get pretty long.

 

Good luck to all of us.

It's super discouraging sometimes. I noticed over the weekend that the "As Of" processing dates on the main website went BACKWARDS, like, a month and a half. I felt like I got punched in the stomach. If feels like taking three steps forward and two steps back sometimes. But just when you get to the point where you feel like you can't take it or do it anymore...you have that split second of imagining what giving up looks like. And that means not being with the person you love, and that's far more tragic and terrifying for me.

 

It has certainly helped coming across this website and forum, and finding people that are in the same boat with us. Weather our boat is taking on water or we are sailing the open seas...we're in it all together!

[John & Rose 7,239]

2 minutes ago, Paul & Mallory said:

It's super discouraging sometimes. I noticed over the weekend that the "As Of" processing dates on the main website went BACKWARDS, like, a month and a half. I felt like I got punched in the stomach. If feels like taking three steps forward and two steps back sometimes. But just when you get to the point where you feel like you can't take it or do it anymore...you have that split second of imagining what giving up looks like. And that means not being with the person you love, and that's far more tragic and terrifying for me.

 

It has certainly helped coming across this website and forum, and finding people that are in the same boat with us. Weather our boat is taking on water or we are sailing the open seas...we're in it all together!

The timelines here are much more accurate.  There are reasons why the USCIS site seems to jump around.  They report the oldest file they are working on.  While it says January 1, people from March and April are getting approved.  The timelines here seem more realistic and show a better overall picture of where everybody stands.

[KandW 358]

33 minutes ago, ThisGirlsCurls said:

We are awaiting NOA2. We got NOA1 on July 3rd.

taking our time to save up and enjoy my time in England where annual leave is good while I still can!

Yes. That's one thing that I am not looking forward to.... poor annual leave entitlement. 

[ThisGirlsCurls 32]

Just now, KandW said:

Yes. That's one thing that I am not looking forward to.... poor annual leave entitlement. 

And the cost of healthcare! Even getting on your partners plan after marriage is costly. I know my partner said it would be about $200 a month to add me on. I wont be working so thats out of his salary. You also have to weigh up the risk of having no healthcare cover before marriage. I can’t risk it as I need regular medication and blood tests. Another reason I’m not rushing, i want to support my partner with as much savings as possible before i’m ‘reliant’ on his income. 

[KandW 358]

35 minutes ago, Paul & Mallory said:

I'm so glad to hear how common this is! It's definitely been a concern of ours, since I can't visit Sweden as frequently as he can visit the states for multiple reasons. Good luck in your travels and I know you will enjoy every second!

Thank you. 

If you search specific airports, you can see that some officers at the airport do give people a hard time when traveling, which is why it is so important to ensure that you bring enough evidence to show them that you plan to return. 

 

I last saw my fiancé in May. 

Edited August 1, 2017 by KandW

[John & Rose 7,239]

1 minute ago, ThisGirlsCurls said:

And the cost of healthcare! Even getting on your partners plan after marriage is costly. I know my partner said it would be about $200 a month to add me on. I wont be working so thats out of his salary. You also have to weigh up the risk of having no healthcare cover before marriage. I can’t risk it as I need regular medication and blood tests. Another reason I’m not rushing, i want to support my partner with as much savings as possible before i’m ‘reliant’ on his income. 

I am one of the lucky ones that has great coverage from work.  I already have my own biological children on it so it is considered "family coverage".  I can just add Rose and the kids and we are good to go.  Other than that, there is driving lessons, a car, school for her teenagers, furniture, clothes (they don't need winter clothes in the Philippines) and all the rest of the fun stuff.  But darn it, it is so worth it.  Whatever I have to do I will do.  

[KandW 358]

2 minutes ago, ThisGirlsCurls said:

And the cost of healthcare! Even getting on your partners plan after marriage is costly. I know my partner said it would be about $200 a month to add me on. I wont be working so thats out of his salary. You also have to weigh up the risk of having no healthcare cover before marriage. I can’t risk it as I need regular medication and blood tests. Another reason I’m not rushing, i want to support my partner with as much savings as possible before i’m ‘reliant’ on his income. 

My fiancé just pays the "yearly fine'. He works for himself.

And I to require regular check ups (blood tests and scans), so he is aware that we both will be getting healthcare for when I arrive as I will need it. 

I have a little bit of savings so it shouldn't be too bad, as it'll only be a few months. I also do not want to be a burden, but he is very much of a "I'm going to take care of you" man lol. I even said I'll temporarily stop getting my nails done, and he refused, saying That I don't have any choice but to continue to get them done lol. 

 

 

[KandW 358]

2 minutes ago, jwlussow said:

I am one of the lucky ones that has great coverage from work.  I already have my own biological children on it so it is considered "family coverage".  I can just add Rose and the kids and we are good to go.  Other than that, there is driving lessons, a car, school for her teenagers, furniture, clothes (they don't need winter clothes in the Philippines) and all the rest of the fun stuff.  But darn it, it is so worth it.  Whatever I have to do I will do.  

I am not looking forward to taking driving lessons lol 

i have been driving in the UK for 10 years... and the states just seem to be so confusing in regards to specific rules on certain roads. It's almost guaranteed that you will get a car fine lol. 

My fiancé is an Uber driver so he is very much used to it. 

My job is regional and cover the whole of the central UK (I work as a HR Specialist) so we both drive a lot as part of our jobs. 

[ThisGirlsCurls 32]

She’s a lucky lady. I don’t think everyone has that kind of support. My partner has everything I need apart from the car for me, I am just not wanting to blow all my life savings on surviving unemployment as I’d love to finally buy a house. The American dream so to speak! I hate the idea of renting when I get there.

[John & Rose 7,239]

2 minutes ago, KandW said:

I am not looking forward to taking driving lessons lol 

i have been driving in the UK for 10 years... and the states just seem to be so confusing in regards to specific rules on certain roads. It's almost guaranteed that you will get a car fine lol. 

My fiancé is an Uber driver so he is very much used to it. 

My job is regional and cover the whole of the central UK (I work as a HR Specialist) so we both drive a lot as part of our jobs. 

My fiancé is coming from one of the most congested and hard to even explain traffic areas in the world.  She will have it so easy here compared to what she is used to on her scooter!!!  The "rules of the road" here isn't too bad for cars.  Trucks is a different story.  You will do fine unless your car has the steering wheel on the wrong side!!!  That took a little getting used to for me.  

[ThisGirlsCurls 32]

6 minutes ago, KandW said:

My fiancé just pays the "yearly fine'. He works for himself.

And I to require regular check ups (blood tests and scans), so he is aware that we both will be getting healthcare for when I arrive as I will need it. 

I have a little bit of savings so it shouldn't be too bad, as it'll only be a few months. I also do not want to be a burden, but he is very much of a "I'm going to take care of you" man lol. I even said I'll temporarily stop getting my nails done, and he refused, saying That I don't have any choice but to continue to get them done lol. 

 

 

You sound like me! I find US nail shops really expensive and I have a lot of maintenance in the UK for beauty and health that my partner knows I’d like to continue with. I am hoping I can find a way to make money during the unemployment. I do loads of ebay in the UK to save up now so want to try and do that there if I can. 

[KandW 358]

Just now, jwlussow said:

My fiancé is coming from one of the most congested and hard to even explain traffic areas in the world.  She will have it so easy here compared to what she is used to on her scooter!!!  The "rules of the road" here isn't too bad for cars.  Trucks is a different story.  You will do fine unless your car has the steering wheel on the wrong side!!!  That took a little getting used to for me.  

Lol. In the UK we drive on the opposite side. Opposite side of the road and steering wheel. Dammit. Lol