Legal Action to get K-1 Approved

[SteveInBostonI130 3,482]

Ah, envy.  Others took the initiative and cost to get things done, and you feel left out for not having the same resources and determination.

 

Rather than blaming others, do some research.  Look at the statistics and posts of people who were waiting at the NVC stage since May because the embassies refused to handle K1 cases while they processed CR1 cases.

 

Unfortunately, K1 is just the tip of the iceberg.  After you get the visa and travel to the US, there will be more applications and more waiting.  During that time you may notice that other people who live in different states and different cities get their petitions approved faster.  Or are able to get driver licenses and added to bank accounts while you cannot, or vice versa.

 

You have a long road ahead of you, immigration wise. Patience, diligence and more patience will help out greatly rather than getting upset that others are able to get their processes done faster.

 

[Adventine 3,201]

1 hour ago, Schildkrote5 said:

3 hours ago, Adventine said:

How are they selfish if they paid the extra money and put in the extra effort to join a lawsuit which didn't have any guarantees of success?

 

They took a risk and it paid off. Moreover, they have set a precedent for others whose cases are also taking way too long. 

 

It will be good to do some self-reflection, to examine the roots of your hostility and frustration, and ask yourself why you feel this way towards people who, before joining the lawsuit, were in the exact same situation as you.

This is exactly the point I'm making...these people may not be in the same situation as me. I've been waiting well over a year for my case to move to the embassy and now potentially someone who hasn't even waited 3 months can jump me in the line. This is not how this is supposed to work. 

 

 

I sympathize with the wait. It is hard to wait so long. 

 

We are living in abnormal times, where everything takes longer and is more complicated. Everyone has their own level of tolerance for waiting. Some can tolerate a wait of a year or more, others only months. Those who joined the lawsuit reached their tolerance limit, and so made their decision to sue.

 

Others, while unhappy with the situation, have decided to wait for normal processing to eventually resume. 

 

You are free to join the next round of lawsuits, or to ask for an expedite, or try other means to speed up your case. But it is unproductive to take out your anger on those who succeeded in speeding up their cases using the legal framework available to everyone.

Edited December 24, 2020 by Adventine

[Schildkrote5 27]

 

16 minutes ago, MorganandMichael said:

Great news! You ALSO have the option and right to bring a suit against the US Government! You can do this too! I work in the civil division of the US Attorneys Office so I can say I have personally seen people do it ALL THE TIME!

 

Opinions are fine and all to have, but a lot of your assumptions and statements here are completely false in the face of how things actually work. The fact that other people put in the time, money, and effort to sue the government from a position that you would benefit from (starting up the processing of K-1 visas) is a positive thing, and their success in such suits can and likely will help others in these situations by creating pressure and citable precedent.

 

You’re clearly also impatient if you were moved enough to complain about what is a relatively small drop of cases getting approved in a bucket that’s otherwise overflowing. Even if we ignore any of the real benefits these suits could have for you, I highly doubt it has any sizable impact on your individual processing time.

 

I’m not sure if your fiancé plans on applying for citizenship eventually, but if so she will be quizzed on civics and how the government works. Maybe a fun thing for both of you to study and learn more about!

I've already been through this process if you had read the previous posts above. I was naturalized as a citizen and the interview was actually quite simple if you study at all which she is very capable of doing if she chooses to become a citizen later down the road. But to address your comment, it may or may not have a positive impact on the rest of us. Yes it could get the process moving, but what if people just keep paying lawyers to jump the place in line. There is already a second lawsuit in process and talk of a third. So my case could potentially be delayed months while others jump ahead of me. Is this the answer to an already broken immigration system? I think not. 

[Schildkrote5 27]

I appreciate members of this forum taking the time to post responses in this topic and I am definitely open to other opinions. I can see how the lawsuits can open up other paths for the rest, however I just don't think it is the proper answer and believe it could quickly snowball into a pay your way into the country with lawyers which is not how the process was intended to function. On another note, if we are going to keep this conversation going I would really appreciate not receiving the classic VJ "It's a long process" lecture.

[Orangesapples 1,954]

1 hour ago, Schildkrote5 said:

It's possible that is the case, but highly unlikely. I'm entitled to my opinion just as you are. My opinion is that yes this may have sped the process up, but now we are in a situation where it pays to play. 

This won't be the case when you no longer have a mad man in charge that issues random bans. So you can relax. 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

8 minutes ago, Schildkrote5 said:

I appreciate members of this forum taking the time to post responses in this topic and I am definitely open to other opinions. I can see how the lawsuits can open up other paths for the rest, however I just don't think it is the proper answer and believe it could quickly snowball into a pay your way into the country with lawyers which is not how the process was intended to function. On another note, if we are going to keep this conversation going I would really appreciate not receiving the classic VJ "It's a long process" lecture.

So what's your solution then? Everybody waiting indefinitely? 

[yvonme 124]

I valued a lot of the content written here. A comment made by a member regarding March enlightened me if they should do the same as well (find an attorney). I can’t yet say I’m outside normal processing really. And our plan is to wait until April anyway for our financial target. 
 

So tempting to consider. Yet, I understand waiting and acceptance. It’s a balance I struggle with weekly. I hope my case doesn’t reach that far that I have to get a lawyer. 

[SalishSea 18,079]

2 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Unfortunately, K1 is just the tip of the iceberg.  After you get the visa and travel to the US, there will be more applications and more waiting.  During that time you may notice that other people who live in different states and different cities get their petitions approved faster. 

THIS.  Our K-1 process overall was fairly quick, due in part to luck.  That same 'luck' backfired when it came to the AOS process, which took over a year for the Seattle office, when others around the country took a few months.

 

The concept of fair is not part of US Immigration.  And as the wise @Greenbaumlikes to point out, our overall experience in this journey is greatly affected by expectations and our ability to adjust them.

[Zach2015 211]

This virus caused a lot of problems. My wife’s K1 and AOS went extremely fast, pre-covid. We were done way before many others who filed way before us. Doesn’t mean our entire journey will be this way. This virus also screwed up

our plans to visit her country for me to meet her family, but no one is complaining. Hopefully we will get there within the next year. We are all in this together and just have to wait and see how this plays out. Good luck! 

[Chauncey 138]

It also sucks for those who haven't received NOA2 yet. They've now changed from processing time of 4-6 months to 6.5-8 and now it is 7.5-9.5 

So who knows how many more times it'll go up

[PWB 213]

Sad to say, but the processing of K1 Visa's have become every man for himself.  If you don't take some kind of action to move your visa along then you will suffer the consequences of an Embassy that could care less.  As I have written numerous times the treatment we received from the Embassy in Manila was criminal.  Only when we brought all the power we could afford to fight them did they approve our K1 Visa and they did so in less than a week.  Although my Filipino fiancée has now become my wife we still read every morning about the struggles of those going through this process and sincerely wish all of you Merry Christmas and a better year in 2021.   

[Steve and Nicha 35]

10 hours ago, Schildkrote5 said:

 

I've already been through this process if you had read the previous posts above. I was naturalized as a citizen and the interview was actually quite simple if you study at all which she is very capable of doing if she chooses to become a citizen later down the road. But to address your comment, it may or may not have a positive impact on the rest of us. Yes it could get the process moving, but what if people just keep paying lawyers to jump the place in line. There is already a second lawsuit in process and talk of a third. So my case could potentially be delayed months while others jump ahead of me. Is this the answer to an already broken immigration system? I think not. 

Also realize that as a result of the lawsuit, the judge determined that the government was acting illegally by not processing visas in countries with travel bans to the USA.  Therefore, this can only help non-plaintiffs because until the judge made this order, no K1s were being processed in these countries.  I also agree with another comment.  Everyone is on their own when getting to the finish line in this process.  Yes it is unfortunate that petitioners need to file a law suit to get action, but this is a problem the government created because of their own negligence and not the petitioners.  My petition should arrive at the NVC in a couple weeks.  Even though I did not wait as long as others, I will gladly pay $2K to be in the 3rd law suit if it means seeing my fiancé that much sooner and finally being able to start my life with her.  Everybody waiting has the same option.  The government has to respond to these lawsuits.  They find it easier to grant the interview than to waste time in court fighting the case.  But at least these law suits hold them accountable for their actions.

[imsan 41]

Despite the lawsuit, India is still playing games. First, they were saying they have started K1 since December. They replied to plaintiffs stating the same. Even though I was not a plaintiff, my status changed to "In Transit". Now, after a few people booked the interviews, hospitals are saying they cannot book medical unless the consulate sends them the invitation letter. Consulate has not sent that letter even to those who were " Ready" in March. All emails sent to the consulate are bounced back with the same auto-reply. Maybe only the plaintiffs will be able to interview at this god-forsaken consulate.

Edit: India is not even banned and Mumbai is issuing around 3000 F1/F2, B1/B2, H1B/H4, CR/IR every month since September 2020. They just won't process K1 visas.

Edited December 24, 2020 by imsan

[yvonme 124]

3 hours ago, Chauncey said:

It also sucks for those who haven't received NOA2 yet. They've now changed from processing time of 4-6 months to 6.5-8 and now it is 7.5-9.5 

So who knows how many more times it'll go up

It went up again. This is disheartening. This would mean for me that I wouldn’t see my SO for almost two years. 
 

I wish I knew more about the legal action and steps to follow to expedite or take control of our case. My K1 lawyer said in September that it’s currently taking 9 months but I didn’t believe him. Like another member said, I will gladly pay whatever it costs to an attorney to bring me closer to my fiancé. 
 

I feel for everyone who are spending the holidays alone. I’m 100% alone. 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

2 hours ago, yvonme said:

It went up again. This is disheartening. This would mean for me that I wouldn’t see my SO for almost two years. 
 

I wish I knew more about the legal action and steps to follow to expedite or take control of our case. My K1 lawyer said in September that it’s currently taking 9 months but I didn’t believe him. Like another member said, I will gladly pay whatever it costs to an attorney to bring me closer to my fiancé. 
 

I feel for everyone who are spending the holidays alone. I’m 100% alone. 

Have you tried the search box on the upper right-hand side? Have you googled for an answer? Have you searched out other threads here on VJ to see if there are other discussion that you could be a part of the conversation to learn? There are so many options for you to pursue yet here you are in the same "groundhog" scenario.