How long is NOA2 valid for?

[DisplayNameTaken 2]

Hello visa people!

 

Long time lurker, first time poster.. (First off - thanks so much for the advice you've unwittingly been giving me.  Much appreciated!)

 

Long story short, my fiance and I are living in the UK (she's American and I'm British) and will be (hopefully..) marrying in the end of July with the intention of upping sticks and moving to the US at that time.  So, in an ideal world the K1 would be approved by then.  We submitted the I-295f in November and received our NAO1 on 30th November.  Naively, we thought that was plenty of time (and when we looked into getting the visa when we got engaged in 2016, it was!) but my VJ timeline suggests the NAO2 should be ready around mid-June.  As I have a one-way ticket booked for 22nd July I have a horrible feeling the K1 will not be ready by mid-July at the latest and that one way needs to be upgraded to a depressing return. 

 

We can't reschedule the wedding as it's all paid for and friends and family have booked flights and accommodation for the US.  So, I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to go to the US with an ESTA, go through the motions of the wedding but without the actual marriage .  I guess one massive relationship celebration day.  I'd then return to the UK, get the K1 and go back to the US to enter on the visa and have a small ceremony to  officially get married.  (Or perhaps I'll go to Vegas and dress as Elvis to do it).  I know it was daft to leave the visa so late and a gamble booking everything.

 

Should this be the case, how long can I pause my visa application?  If we get the NOA2 end of June and letter from the Embassy at the end of the July but I'm in the States then for a couple of months celebrating not getting married, can I pick up the process later on in the Autumn?  Or if they don't hear from me in a certain time will it be assumed that I no longer want to get the visa?

 

Hope this makes sense.  Thanks everyone!

[Naes 12,205]

55 minutes ago, DisplayNameTaken said:

Hello visa people!

 

Long time lurker, first time poster.. (First off - thanks so much for the advice you've unwittingly been giving me.  Much appreciated!)

 

Long story short, my fiance and I are living in the UK (she's American and I'm British) and will be (hopefully..) marrying in the end of July with the intention of upping sticks and moving to the US at that time.  So, in an ideal world the K1 would be approved by then.  We submitted the I-295f in November and received our NAO1 on 30th November.  Naively, we thought that was plenty of time (and when we looked into getting the visa when we got engaged in 2016, it was!) but my VJ timeline suggests the NAO2 should be ready around mid-June.  As I have a one-way ticket booked for 22nd July I have a horrible feeling the K1 will not be ready by mid-July at the latest and that one way needs to be upgraded to a depressing return. 

 

We can't reschedule the wedding as it's all paid for and friends and family have booked flights and accommodation for the US.  So, I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to go to the US with an ESTA, go through the motions of the wedding but without the actual marriage .  I guess one massive relationship celebration day.  I'd then return to the UK, get the K1 and go back to the US to enter on the visa and have a small ceremony to  officially get married.  (Or perhaps I'll go to Vegas and dress as Elvis to do it).  I know it was daft to leave the visa so late and a gamble booking everything.

 

Should this be the case, how long can I pause my visa application?  If we get the NOA2 end of June and letter from the Embassy at the end of the July but I'm in the States then for a couple of months celebrating not getting married, can I pick up the process later on in the Autumn?  Or if they don't hear from me in a certain time will it be assumed that I no longer want to get the visa?

 

Hope this makes sense.  Thanks everyone!

Noa2 is for 4 months and the validity will be written on the notice.  The interview should be scheduled before it expires.

 

however you can extend this by contacting the embassy. I don't know if the reason is important.

 

But yes if you don't contact it will expire and they will send it back. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by Naes

[TNJ17 1,329]

First rule of K1: you never ever ever make wedding plans or moving plans. 

 

Your original timeline wasn’t realistic then, it’s even less realistic now. The problem with your plan to have a celebration where your wedding was gonna be is gonna look to the USCIS and the embassy when you finally get to your interview that it was a marriage celebration and your K1 will be denied. Then you’re gonna have to actually get married again, kill the K1 and file for a CR1 which will take even longer. 12-14 months from petition. You shouldn’t have made plans but by doing what you wanna do now you’re just gonna prolong your move even more now. My advice to you would be to cancel everything and deal with the consequences of some angry vendors and guests. It’s better to deal with that than to lose your visa. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by TNJ17

[Illiria 980]

So many problems with this plan. If your American fiancé is living there in uk, I assume legally, why didn’t you marry there and do consular filing of a spousal visa?

 

Why book everything when the embassy explicitly says not to?

 

As above states if you go through with a wedding then you could end up too married for a k1 and not married enough for a spousal visa. 

 

If you still intend to use the one way ticket then don’t as one way tickets aren’t allowed on the vwp. 

 

The k1 visa really isn’t for those who want a big fancy wedding or at least can’t wait until they get their visa in hand to start planning and booking it. 

 

The best bet is to go, get married, return here, and file for a spousal visa. Depending on if she can continue to live here legally you could do direct consular filing which is quicker.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Illiria

[Naes 12,205]

1 hour ago, DisplayNameTaken said:

Hello visa people!

 

Long time lurker, first time poster.. (First off - thanks so much for the advice you've unwittingly been giving me.  Much appreciated!)

 

Long story short, my fiance and I are living in the UK (she's American and I'm British) and will be (hopefully..) marrying in the end of July with the intention of upping sticks and moving to the US at that time.  So, in an ideal world the K1 would be approved by then.  We submitted the I-295f in November and received our NAO1 on 30th November.  Naively, we thought that was plenty of time (and when we looked into getting the visa when we got engaged in 2016, it was!) but my VJ timeline suggests the NAO2 should be ready around mid-June.  As I have a one-way ticket booked for 22nd July I have a horrible feeling the K1 will not be ready by mid-July at the latest and that one way needs to be upgraded to a depressing return. 

 

We can't reschedule the wedding as it's all paid for and friends and family have booked flights and accommodation for the US.  So, I have a horrible feeling I'm going to have to go to the US with an ESTA, go through the motions of the wedding but without the actual marriage .  I guess one massive relationship celebration day.  I'd then return to the UK, get the K1 and go back to the US to enter on the visa and have a small ceremony to  officially get married.  (Or perhaps I'll go to Vegas and dress as Elvis to do it).  I know it was daft to leave the visa so late and a gamble booking everything.

 

Should this be the case, how long can I pause my visa application?  If we get the NOA2 end of June and letter from the Embassy at the end of the July but I'm in the States then for a couple of months celebrating not getting married, can I pick up the process later on in the Autumn?  Or if they don't hear from me in a certain time will it be assumed that I no longer want to get the visa?

 

Hope this makes sense.  Thanks everyone!

Wow wait I definitely missed that part, was just thinking about extending the NOA2... what you need is to change those wedding dates somehow . @TNJ17 is right... that will most likely cause a denial of the visa. 

 

Research on the forum, and you will find most denials are caused because of this kind of celebrations.. IT doesn't matter if you are not officially married CO decides "you're too married for K1" and that would be it..

[EandH0904 1,184]

I agree with others. A big elaborate non-legal wedding will be seen as being married even if you don't get the license or sign the papers. The only thing thst could POSSIBLY Get you here by the summer would be to legally marry in UK, like, tomorrow, and do DCF through London which takes 3-4 months typically, but could take more.  Then you could have your 2nd wedding in US as planned. 

 

Otherwise cancel K1, get married this summer and do CR1, waiting another year to move. 

[DisplayNameTaken 2]

Thanks for the replies all (little bit less thanks for the judging, however!).  We appreciate the timings were always going to be a bit touch and go!  The decision to move was taken after we'd begun planning etc and knew it was a gamble.  We've committed (and guests too) too much to pull out of the original date now. 

 

I didn't realise you could be 'too married' for a K1 without it being official.  I, obviously naively, assumed you were either married or not..  So even without the signed marriage license, confirmation from the church that there was no marriage, communications beforehand arranging the change etc it wouldn't be acceptable?  Also, how would the CO know what I'd done in the US before the interview!  (I don't mean to imply I'd try and pull the wool over their eyes - that, I'm sure, would end terribly!).

[Crazy Cat 41,888]

10 minutes ago, DisplayNameTaken said:

Also, how would the CO know what I'd done in the US before the interview!

What if they ask?  Are you going to lie about it?  Unfortunately, you have committed several "no-nos" frequently preached here on VisaJourney.  I'm a little surprised that you didn't see this situation coming.......Anyway, it seems that you have already spent a lot of money, but there is hope and a silver lining.......if you immediately get married in UK, and IMMEDIATELY file for a CR-1 via DCF, you can possibly  have an approval in time to make the flight to the US.  It is perfectly fine to have a ceremony in the US after arriving as a married spouse.

 

Now for the silver lining-  You would, of course, forfeit the $535 K-1 fee.  However, you would not have to file for Adjustment of Status, saving you a lot of hassle later.  In addition, most everyone considers a CR-1 to be superior to K-1 in every way. This is absolutely true in your case since you and your fiance are already living with your fiance.You would receive your Green Card withing a few weeks of entering the US, and you would be free to work or leave the country immediately. 

 

Best wishes on your journey.

 

By the way, if you try to enter the US via ESTA, and they determine you are going to have a wedding ceremony, you have a chance of being denied entry.

[DisplayNameTaken 2]

9 minutes ago, missileman said:

What if they ask?  Are you going to lie about it?

No way!  Trying to deceive them would never work well I'm sure.  I think I'd just be honest and say we went through the motions but nothing legal was undertaken.

 

This is all food for thought, thanks all.

 

If we married properly in the US (me on a VWP with a return ticket ),  how long will it take if we apply via the Embassy in London to get a visa through the DCF?

 

(PS - Yes I know it says about not planning anything!  We changed some plans and were hoping for the best.  As my fiance has permanent residency in the UK it's not like we've ever been apart and she's always had the option of returning).  

(PPS - We're usually good planners and can sort our lives out pretty well.  This is a hiccup for us..)

[NikLR 13,227]

Couple months honestly.  Dunno why you guys chased the K1 but what is done is done.  Suggest cancelling the I-129f asap to save any more money.  If you plan on marrying in the USA just have a return ticket and file for DCF when you return. 

[JFH 12,190]

Such a shame that you didn't sign up and ask questions before sending off the I-129F. Although it's still not too late. The K-1 serves very little purpose to VWP folks and absolutely no purpose at all for folks already living together in another country, especially if that country has the highly-desired DCF option for spouse visas. The K-1 is essentially a massively overpriced tourist visa that allows you to not come home if you comply with their unromantic rules of being dictated to as to which country and in which timeframe you must get married. You then have the marvelous position of being without full status for anything up to a year (with this current administration I don't even want to have an overdue library book as a foreigner here, let alone be without status). You cannot work or leave the country (so no exotic honeymoon in the Caribbean...) for many months, and in some states cannot even drive yourself to Walmart. Then there is the even more overpriced adjustment of status to go through. 

 

Why do people do the K-1? Because some countries do not have the luxury of the VWP and cannot even visit their loved ones here because they are seen as "high risk" for overstay and visa fraud. They can't come here for a quickie Vegas or courthouse wedding, go home and file the CR-1 like many VWPers do. And with annual leave bring such a rare commodity here, their American loves struggle to get the time off to visit them. Their only hope is the K-1 and it's perfect for them. 

 

You have got the most desired situation of all, living together in a country with DCF for spousal visas (basically a system that allows certain embassies - and there are only a handful - to process spouse visas if the American half of the couple is legally resident in that country). In plain terms, you can get a spouse visa in 3 to 6 months. You can then stroll into the country on your one-way ticket and have full status immediately. You can start a job the minute you've got your bags off the carousel, if you wish. You can leave the country on the next flight, if you wish. You can get a driver's license right away. You are a full-blooded green card holder from day one. Why anyone wouldn't prefer that is beyond me. 

 

Seriously, withdraw the I-129F, get married anywhere - the U.K., the US, a cruise ship, a tropical beach....anywhere. Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to be legal. File the CR-1 through the London embassy under the DCF arrangement and there's a very, very strong chance you'll have your visa by July. Then you and your folks can make those flights you've already paid for and have a big wedding celebration there. OK so it won't be your "real" wedding, but it was never going to be that anyway. 

[TNJ17 1,329]

People always ask “how would they know?” They just know. Literally USCIS can find out about every detail of your life. Do you really wanna risk a denial at either the interview or the POE stage and then not only miss out on everything you’ve planned and then be stuck with filing CR1 and waiting 14+ months just because you were too proud to wait out the K1 or cance?!? Just be realistic and don’t chance anything when it comes to immigration. Even when you do everything right there’s still a chance of denial. They know everything. Literally. 

[payxibka 10,045]

4 hours ago, DisplayNameTaken said:

Also, how would the CO know what I'd done in the US before the interview! 

Just try to keep friends and family from posting pics of the event on social media....  The event will be known

[Jaquelly 1,647]

If you send in your withdrawl on the I-129F it can get processed quickly. You can then file directly and avoid a lot of this mess.

 

Heed our warnings, take our advice. Do not do the ceremony, do not make any more plans, and get back any deposits that you can. Never ever plan ahead. 

[DisplayNameTaken 2]

Thank you so much everyone for your input; it certainly has provided an awful lot of clarity.  Thinking about our options we have decided that a ceremony without the actual marriage would be disappointing anyway and something we'd love to avoid.  With the risks involved it probably would be jolly stressful anyway.  (However, please note I would never try and lie or deceive American officials - this would end badly at some point in our future!).

 

Ideally, we'd love to have our NAO2 early May (at the latest!) and marry on the K1 at the end of July.  That way we can marry officially in the US and stay there - me not being able to work or travel for however many months isn't a problem.  If we haven't got the NOA2 by May, then it'd be time to withdraw the application.  We'd then marry officially in the US as planned with me entering via the VWP, return to the UK (obviously with proof we intend to do so!) and file for a spouse visa through the US Embassy in London using my fiancée's UK residency.  It may mean we've wasted some money but hey! we just want to start a life in the US as soon as we can, and who can put a dollar tag on such things!

 

Fingers crossed for next Christmas in the US as a married couple!

 

Again, thank you everyone.