March 2020 I-129F (K1) Filers

[trliber 11]

Wondering if you guys think my fiance and I should visit each other. Its been more than a year since we met in person. Because of COVID I cannot go to his country (Korea) as they force a government quarantine on the foreigner for 2 weeks at the foreigner’s expense (two weeks of vacation time from work and $1500 is something I can’t afford). My fiance doesn’t have money to travel to a midway point such as Hawaii—and don’t want him to enter US for fear of them being suspicious he’ll stay.

 

Do we have to meet before the final interview to be taken seriously? I met him when I was working and living in Korea and knew him for years before proposing so not sure what the consular officer will think of us not meeting since Oct 2019.

Edited November 26, 2020 by trliber
clarity

[Sarge2155 4,587]

1 hour ago, trliber said:

Wondering if you guys think my fiance and I should visit each other. Its been more than a year since we met in person. Because of COVID I cannot go to his country (Korea) as they force a government quarantine on the foreigner for 2 weeks at the foreigner’s expense (two weeks of vacation time from work and $1500 is something I can’t afford). My fiance doesn’t have money to travel to a midway point such as Hawaii—and don’t want him to enter US for fear of them being suspicious he’ll stay.

 

Do we have to meet before the final interview to be taken seriously? I met him when I was working and living in Korea and knew him for years before proposing so not sure what the consular officer will think of us not meeting since Oct 2019.

Before this Covid my advice would have been try to visit as close to your interview as possible, but now things are so different. I am sure the COs are aware of this and with your explanation of why if asked I'm sure would be acceptable. As long as you initially met the 2 year requirement of meeting before you submitted your paperwork.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

5 hours ago, trliber said:

Wondering if you guys think my fiance and I should visit each other. Its been more than a year since we met in person. Because of COVID I cannot go to his country (Korea) as they force a government quarantine on the foreigner for 2 weeks at the foreigner’s expense (two weeks of vacation time from work and $1500 is something I can’t afford). My fiance doesn’t have money to travel to a midway point such as Hawaii—and don’t want him to enter US for fear of them being suspicious he’ll stay.

 

Do we have to meet before the final interview to be taken seriously? I met him when I was working and living in Korea and knew him for years before proposing so not sure what the consular officer will think of us not meeting since Oct 2019.

You met the two-year requirement, and the US Embassy Korea is not an overly difficult embassy to interview in. Another trip is not warranted and it's my belief they will understand what the world is like on the pandemic conditions. Rehearse your answer if you were to be asked so that you can repeat it at the interview with a concise narrative. The CO doesn't have time for a long story so to the point wins you points. Good luck and stay engaged. 

[whardy21 14]

So I just received my RFE.  It said short-form birth certificates are insufficient. However, it says I can submit a long form birth certificate or a unexpired passport. Should I give them my passport or just copy all the pages in the passport? I submitted my bio and passport stamps initially with the petition.  Seems like an easy fix though  . I just hope if I do give them my passport they send it back. 

[HRQX 4,145]

58 minutes ago, whardy21 said:

Seems like an easy fix though  . I just hope if I do give them my passport they send it back. 

Send copy of bio page. If you send the passport, they likely won't return it to you.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

2 hours ago, whardy21 said:

So I just received my RFE.  It said short-form birth certificates are insufficient. However, it says I can submit a long form birth certificate or a unexpired passport. Should I give them my passport or just copy all the pages in the passport? I submitted my bio and passport stamps initially with the petition.  Seems like an easy fix though  . I just hope if I do give them my passport they send it back. 

Send them a photocopy of the bio page. If you send the passport then you are setting yourself for something to go wrong. If you have a copy of a long form birth certificate send a copy of it. Don't send original documents as they will not get returned. If they need an original you will submit at the time of your interview which is typically how these things play out.

[Sarge2155 4,587]

4 hours ago, whardy21 said:

So I just received my RFE.  It said short-form birth certificates are insufficient. However, it says I can submit a long form birth certificate or a unexpired passport. Should I give them my passport or just copy all the pages in the passport? I submitted my bio and passport stamps initially with the petition.  Seems like an easy fix though  . I just hope if I do give them my passport they send it back. 

Never send an original unless they specifically ask for it otherwise they won't return it. I'd  send the long form of the BC, you do have one don't you? If not you should consider ordering a couple.

 

 

[whardy21 14]

@Sarge2155@Greenbaum@HRQX

 

I just ordered  the long version of my birth certificate just to be sure. I will send it in with the a copy of the passport bio page. Just glad this RFE was a simple fix. BTW Thanks for the advice guys   

[Sarge2155 4,587]

7 minutes ago, whardy21 said:

@Sarge2155@Greenbaum@HRQX

 

I just ordered  the long version of my birth certificate just to be sure. I will send it in with the a copy of the passport bio page. Just glad this RFE was a simple fix. BTW Thanks for the advice guys   

Always good to have a couple of long versions of your BC around. Good deal!!!!!

[Andy&Z 0]

Who among here got NVC case no after Noa2 approval? please indicate your date. thank you:)

[Luigi89 0]

Hello everyone, 

 

My Fiancé and I have been following this thread for a while now but decided to post today hoping to get an informed opinion on what is happening to our case. Our NOA1 date is March 27, 2020 but we have not yet received a response from USCIS. I sent a case inquiry last 10/24/2020 but their response was the CSC processing times for 129F is March 3rd or earlier. The processing is within our current processing time. However, i checked USCIS and on 10/24 i thought I saw march 27 filers and earlier can submit a case inquiry already. I tried to submit a new inquiry a week after but i was not allowed until 30 days after the last inquiry or December 6. Fast forward to today and the past days, We are seeing march filers and even some april filers getting approved. We dont know why our case has not received a response yet. I was born in the Philippines and my Fiancé and I grew up in the same City. We feel like our application shows strong evidence of a legitimate relationship. I am a US citizen and submitted the applicable documents to show it. What could possibly be the reason for us not getting a response yet while others in a similar situation have gotten a response already? can this just drag on and we dont get a response? I am planning on calling USCIS tomorrow to ask status on our case. Does anyone here have experience in calling USCIS? What are the chances we will receive a response on our case soon? I am looking forward to any advice we can get. I am hoping we can get our approval soon. 
 

your Form I-129F to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved. 

The CSC processing times for the Form I-129F with a receipt date of March 03, 2020 or earlier. The processing of your Form I-129F is within our current processing time. 

 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Luigi89

[jess.y 66]

1 hour ago, Luigi89 said:

Hello everyone, 

 

My Fiancé and I have been following this thread for a while now but decided to post today hoping to get an informed opinion on what is happening to our case. Our NOA1 date is March 27, 2020 but we have not yet received a response from USCIS. I sent a case inquiry last 10/24/2020 but their response was the CSC processing times for 129F is March 3rd or earlier. The processing is within our current processing time. However, i checked USCIS and on 10/24 i thought I saw march 27 filers and earlier can submit a case inquiry already. I tried to submit a new inquiry a week after but i was not allowed until 30 days after the last inquiry or December 6. Fast forward to today and the past days, We are seeing march filers and even some april filers getting approved. We dont know why our case has not received a response yet. I was born in the Philippines and my Fiancé and I grew up in the same City. We feel like our application shows strong evidence of a legitimate relationship. I am a US citizen and submitted the applicable documents to show it. What could possibly be the reason for us not getting a response yet while others in a similar situation have gotten a response already? can this just drag on and we dont get a response? I am planning on calling USCIS tomorrow to ask status on our case. Does anyone here have experience in calling USCIS? What are the chances we will receive a response on our case soon? I am looking forward to any advice we can get. I am hoping we can get our approval soon. 
 

your Form I-129F to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved. 

The CSC processing times for the Form I-129F with a receipt date of March 03, 2020 or earlier. The processing of your Form I-129F is within our current processing time. 

 

Plenty of us have been or are currently in your shoes. My NOA1 was March 10 and I was only approved last week, after seeing plenty of others after me get approved. I don't think you have to worry. Things are just slow, and there is no concrete order. Calling really won't help much, neither will filing inquiry after inquiry. This is of course, my own opinion and experience. Taking longer doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. 

[powerpuff 6,697]

3 hours ago, Luigi89 said:

Hello everyone, 

 

My Fiancé and I have been following this thread for a while now but decided to post today hoping to get an informed opinion on what is happening to our case. Our NOA1 date is March 27, 2020 but we have not yet received a response from USCIS. I sent a case inquiry last 10/24/2020 but their response was the CSC processing times for 129F is March 3rd or earlier. The processing is within our current processing time. However, i checked USCIS and on 10/24 i thought I saw march 27 filers and earlier can submit a case inquiry already. I tried to submit a new inquiry a week after but i was not allowed until 30 days after the last inquiry or December 6. Fast forward to today and the past days, We are seeing march filers and even some april filers getting approved. We dont know why our case has not received a response yet. I was born in the Philippines and my Fiancé and I grew up in the same City. We feel like our application shows strong evidence of a legitimate relationship. I am a US citizen and submitted the applicable documents to show it. What could possibly be the reason for us not getting a response yet while others in a similar situation have gotten a response already? can this just drag on and we dont get a response? I am planning on calling USCIS tomorrow to ask status on our case. Does anyone here have experience in calling USCIS? What are the chances we will receive a response on our case soon? I am looking forward to any advice we can get. I am hoping we can get our approval soon 

The USCIS doesn’t really care if the relationship is genuine or not, that’s the job of the consulates at the interview stage. It might be background checks that are taking a while. Every case is individual. Calling won’t help. Just do the online inquiry again after the 30 days you mentioned pass. That’s all you can do at this moment. 

Edited December 2, 2020 by powerpuff

[Greenbaum 12,259]

7 hours ago, Luigi89 said:

Hello everyone, 

 

My Fiancé and I have been following this thread for a while now but decided to post today hoping to get an informed opinion on what is happening to our case. Our NOA1 date is March 27, 2020 but we have not yet received a response from USCIS. I sent a case inquiry last 10/24/2020 but their response was the CSC processing times for 129F is March 3rd or earlier. The processing is within our current processing time. However, i checked USCIS and on 10/24 i thought I saw march 27 filers and earlier can submit a case inquiry already. I tried to submit a new inquiry a week after but i was not allowed until 30 days after the last inquiry or December 6. Fast forward to today and the past days, We are seeing march filers and even some april filers getting approved. We dont know why our case has not received a response yet. I was born in the Philippines and my Fiancé and I grew up in the same City. We feel like our application shows strong evidence of a legitimate relationship. I am a US citizen and submitted the applicable documents to show it. What could possibly be the reason for us not getting a response yet while others in a similar situation have gotten a response already? can this just drag on and we dont get a response? I am planning on calling USCIS tomorrow to ask status on our case. Does anyone here have experience in calling USCIS? What are the chances we will receive a response on our case soon? I am looking forward to any advice we can get. I am hoping we can get our approval soon. r Form I-129F to notify us that you believe your case is outside of our normal processing time. Below is a summary of what we found and how the issue has been or may be resolved. 

The CSC processing times for the Form I-129F with a receipt date of March 03, 2020 or earlier. The processing of your Form I-129F is within our current processing time. 

 

If you return to the USCIS processing timeline you will see that it has been pushed out for a total of 7-8 months. There are others who have been processing since February and some for more than a year. You are not an unusual case as your processing time is matching those of others. Each case is different, each individual is different, each of you have a different culture so comparing to others is doing you a disservice. This is a game of waiting. my thoughts to you and this is coming from many years of experience if you don't have patience you will drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the "why's" of this process.

 

Can I share somethings with you that I learned long ago about this process?

    • "the man with the gold makes the rules"
    • it will take as long as it will take 
    • no one with any certainty can tell you when some process will be completed
    • Your sense of urgency will never be equaled to what USCIS, NVC or your embassy demonstrates
    • Your journey is not going to mirror someone else's experience - yours and theirs are not the same
    • They only promised you a YES or NO answer. Never an exact time that their decision would be completed
    • Lowering your expectations will make you a much more relaxed individual

Good luck on your journey 
 

[AFTF 10]

NOA1- 16th March

NOA2- 2nd December.

Thank you everyone who has been supporting us all this while. I hope all those who are waiting for their NOA2 get it soon.