Does where you are from affect how fast your application is approved?

[JoshandSarah 52]

Does where you are from have anything to do with how fast you might get your NOA2 for example? 

 

As I've noticed some couples from Ukraine/Russia etc seem to take longer than people from New Zealand, are there different security processes for different countries?

[SalishSea 18,064]

33 minutes ago, JoshandSarah said:

Does where you are from have anything to do with how fast you might get your NOA2 for example? 

 

As I've noticed some couples from Ukraine/Russia etc seem to take longer than people from New Zealand, are there different security processes for different countries?

No.  The petition is about the petitioner, not the beneficiary.  Approval could take longer if the petitioner has a criminal background.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

9 hours ago, JoshandSarah said:

Does where you are from have anything to do with how fast you might get your NOA2 for example? 

 

As I've noticed some couples from Ukraine/Russia etc seem to take longer than people from New Zealand, are there different security processes for different countries?

Yes and no. Each of you, petitioner and beneficiary are required to background checks. BGC are easily completed on the petitioner as we have data sets contained within the FBI that are searched as well as other areas. The beneficiary is also check from their homeland BUT here is the sticking point. If we have agreements with other countries and are granted access to their BGC system then things run smoothly. What is found to be true there are many counties that do not have the capability to provide proof that a person does or doesn't have a history of criminal activity. Thusly, those countries take longer as they may need to do a BGC by hand.

 

Here are a few links that discuss this in much more detail.

 

https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_uscis_ibbcs.pdf

https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/the-fbis-visa-name-check-process

 

I hope this information answers your question.

[payxibka 10,047]

Unfortunately,  neither of the above two links indicate that a check is performed on the beneficiary of a petition during the petition adjudication.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

39 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Unfortunately, neither of the above two links indicate that a check is performed on the beneficiary of a petition during the petition adjudication.

My mistake. Here is another link that I didn't include in my other link to substantiate my claim.

 

USCIS performs background checks* on both individuals as part of the Form I-129F adjudication.
*Background checks include checks of criminal, national security, and other information.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/K1_Process_V11.pdf

 

If you were to search the links I provided you would see this:

 

As part of its benefits adjudication process and as required by law, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts background checks on petitioners and applicants who seek certain immigration benefits. 

 

https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_uscis_ibbcs.pdf

Edited November 18, 2020 by Greenbaum

[payxibka 10,047]

13 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

If you would have searched the links I provided you would have seen this:

 

13 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

As part of its benefits adjudication process and as required by law, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts background checks on petitioners and applicants who seek certain immigration benefits. 

 

https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/privacy/privacy_pia_uscis_ibbcs.pdf

I did read your initial links.   If you would stop for a moment and comprehend what you are reading,  you would understand that a beneficiary of a petition is NEITHER  a petitioner or applicant.  

[Greenbaum 12,259]

2 hours ago, payxibka said:

 

I did read your initial links.   If you would stop for a moment and comprehend what you are reading,  you would understand that a beneficiary of a petition is NEITHER  a petitioner or applicant.  

Digging a little deeper you would have found that DOS considers an beneficiary to also be an applicant.

 

Applicant (Visa): A foreign citizen who is applying for a nonimmigrant or immigrant U.S. visa. The visa applicant may also be referred as a beneficiary for petition based visas.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/glossary.html#:~:text=is legally binding.-,All other cases use the I-134 Affidavit of Support,beneficiary for petition based visas.

 

Your serve.

[HRQX 4,145]

15 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

Digging a little deeper you would have found that DOS considers an beneficiary to also be an applicant.

@payxibka is referring to "petitioner or applicant" in the context of DHS. DOS is a separate federal agency.

[payxibka 10,047]

11 minutes ago, Greenbaum said:

Digging a little deeper you would have found that DOS considers an beneficiary to also be an applicant.

 

Applicant (Visa): A foreign citizen who is applying for a nonimmigrant or immigrant U.S. visa. The visa applicant may also be referred as a beneficiary for petition based visas.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/glossary.html#:~:text=is legally binding.-,All other cases use the I-134 Affidavit of Support,beneficiary for petition based visas.

 

Your serve.

Who gives a ratsass what the Dept of State considers as an applicant. I assume you know the difference between the USCIS and the Dept of State. 

 

I agree that later on in the process, the beneficiary becomes a VISA applicant.  This has nothing to do with the any process performed by the USCIS in the petition adjudication process which is what the original question referenced. 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Just now, HRQX said:

@payxibka is referring to "petitioner or applicant" in the context of DHS. DOS is a separate federal agency.

Ok, this horse is dead. Let's move on. 

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

17 hours ago, JoshandSarah said:

Does where you are from have anything to do with how fast you might get your NOA2 for example?

 

As I've noticed some couples from Ukraine/Russia etc seem to take longer than people from New Zealand, are there different security processes for different countries?

There's basically no correlation between the beneficiary's nationality or country of residence and I-129-F petition processing time. If you think you see one, it's almost always a small sample size artifact and looking at petitions over a longer period would cause the numbers to average out.

They're all processed in the same place, by the same people, and the I-129F is mostly about the US citizen petitioner, not about the foreign beneficiary.

 

Once the petition is approved, there can be massive differences in processing time for the actual visa. Some embassies/consulates are much faster than others in normal times (slow processing can be caused by backlogs, perceived high fraud or high security risk meaning K-1s are investigated more thoroughly, or when reliable records are not available in that country), and right now few embassies/consulates are actually processing K-1s at all (or only processing that qualify for some exception to a more general visa or travel ban).

Edited November 18, 2020 by DaveAndAnastasia

[Cheburashka34 228]

4 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

Ok, this horse is dead. Let's move on. 

Someone wants to take you out today haha ☺️

[JonSeattle 202]

"USCIS conducts a background and security check for national security concerns, public safety risks, and other information on both the petitioner and the foreign national beneficiary."

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/03/15/written-testimony-uscis-senate-committee-judiciary-hearing-titled-vows-visas

[Ryan H 3,819]

Moved from K1 Progress Reports to USCIS Service Centers forum.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Pay attention to paragraph 3 it's very enlightening. 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/hearing-on-vows-for-visas-investigating-k-1-fiance-fraud-before-the-senate-committee-on-the