Does K1 visa process depend upon the beneficiary's nationality?

[ttAndtt 9]

Hello everyone!

 

I have been reading information on this site about K1 visa since a few weeks ago.

 

I am a beneficiary and my gf applied the I-129F petition. My nationality is Myanmar (Burma).

 

From the info I found, it will take time about 13.5+ months.

 

I just want to know if the processing time depends upon the nationality of the beneficiary. If yes, how the potential additional time would that be for a Burmese? 

 

Thanks to everyone and don't mind me if you might already answered it before.

[arken 4,197]

The petition processing time has nothing to do with the beneficiary's nationality.

[Palawan 131]

Just now, arken said:

The petition processing time has nothing to do with the beneficiary's nationality.

Actually it does

 

I remember when I applied for my K1 from Philippine back in 2015, most were getting approved in less than 45 days, mine was approved in 30 days and my buddy who was using I believe California Service Center got his NOA2 in 7 days he had file and his fiance was from Philippines as well.

 

Many others were waiting many months for thier NOA2 from other countries for their K1 petition, in the past historically Philippine has moved very fast getting NOA2 on K1's.  

[powerpuff 6,697]

Nationality comes heavily into play during the consulate/interview stage. Some take longer for background checks, some are more scrutinized due to certain factors. 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

42 minutes ago, Palawan said:

Actually it does

 

I remember when I applied for my K1 from Philippine back in 2015, most were getting approved in less than 45 days, mine was approved in 30 days and my buddy who was using I believe California Service Center got his NOA2 in 7 days he had file and his fiance was from Philippines as well.

 

Many others were waiting many months for thier NOA2 from other countries for their K1 petition, in the past historically Philippine has moved very fast getting NOA2 on K1's.  

 

That is good anecdotal evidence but it's not significant statistically.   My I-130 was approved in about 90 days, so I could say someone who lives in Boston, USA with a wife from Mariupol, Ukraine will be approved faster than anyone else.  It would not really be true, but I could say it based on my personal experience.

 

Typically the beneficiary's country affects the entire K1 process, but not for the I-129F approval part   It's the embassy/consulate interview stage that varies greatly in wait times. Montreal, Juarez and Manilla tend to have backlogs and take a while to get an interview slot.  I am not sure about Myanmar.

[JeanneAdil 6,492]

What effects the processing time of a k1 (or cr1 ) visa at the 1ST 

[ttAndtt 9]

Thanks so much for the kind answers and sharing... Just having so many thoughts.

[JeanneAdil 6,492]

11 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

What effects the processing time of a k1 (or cr1 ) visa at the 1ST 

1.  The number of petitions received by the office

2.  the amount of documents / those with divorce papers , for instance ,  need to be checked for all the pages

3.  The officer doing the work/  some are more experienced

4.  An RFE will delay the time

5.  if the USC has a arrest report that needs checking

6.  It the bene has a name that is used over and over in his country like Smith in the US , Patel in India,  Mohammed in Arab countries / the name could be already in the system

[Mike E 11,739]

6 hours ago, ttAndtt said:

 

I just want to know if the processing time depends upon the nationality of the beneficiary. If yes, how the potential additional time would that be for a Burmese? 

Mingalarbar!

 

Being Burmese had no effect on my then fiancée’s K-1.  
 

Consider going the route of getting married first and then getting an immigration visa.  Laws in Burma made it difficult for U.S. to marry in Burma, in particular laws making it more difficult for for Buddhists to marry non Buddhists, and for the few countries to which  my fiancée could travel visa free, marriage between to foreigners was was complicated. We went for a K-1 for their reasons. 
 

Since then, the Utah County remote presence marriage service has emerged, and some other counties in the USA are also getting into the business. Thus you can marry a Burmese citizen without a hassle, getting an American marriage certificate. The timelines for a CR-1/IR-1 are the same as a K-1 these days.  

[Mike E 11,739]

8 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

 

6.  It the bene has a name that is used over and over in his country like Smith in the US , Patel in India,  Mohammed in Arab countries / the name could be already in the system

That is definitely the case for most Burmese since over 99 percent of the population don’t have surnames.  Most people have 2 personal names, typically  one name being tied to the day of the week the person was born.  The embassy in Rangoon understands all this and so I don’t expect false positives to be an issue. 

[ttAndtt 9]

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

Mingalarbar!

 

Being Burmese had no effect on my then fiancée’s K-1.  
 

Consider going the route of getting married first and then getting an immigration visa.  Laws in Burma made it difficult for U.S. to marry in Burma, in particular laws making it more difficult for for Buddhists to marry non Buddhists, and for the few countries to which  my fiancée could travel visa free, marriage between to foreigners was was complicated. We went for a K-1 for their reasons. 
 

Since then, the Utah County remote presence marriage service has emerged, and some other counties in the USA are also getting into the business. Thus you can marry a Burmese citizen without a hassle, getting an American marriage certificate. The timelines for a CR-1/IR-1 are the same as a K-1 these days.  

Mingalarbar

 

Thanks for your advice on CR-1/IR-1.

I was thinking about that route lately.

We are also Burmese therefore it would be easier for the marriage. 

Initially we chose this K1 due to our friend's suggestion as it would only takes within 6 months lack of current knowledge about processing time.

[Mike E 11,739]

3 minutes ago, ttAndtt said:

Mingalarbar

 

Thanks for your advice on CR-1/IR-1.

I was thinking about that route lately.

We are also Burmese therefore it would be easier for the marriage. 

Initially we chose this K1 due to our friend's suggestion as it would only takes within 6 months lack of current knowledge about processing time.

You can see my timeline. 11 months from filing I-129F to visa in hand.  In 2018. If it has ever been 6 months that would have been over 10 years ago. 
 

 

[ttAndtt 9]

10 hours ago, Mike E said:

You can see my timeline. 11 months from filing I-129F to visa in hand.  In 2018. If it has ever been 6 months that would have been over 10 years ago. 
 

 

Yes  Apparently it was in 2015 when my friend successfully brought his fiancé with K1 in only 6 months.

He even didn't know about current situation and suggested us. 

I also started to realize after googling about that K1 visa.

Anyway, thanks. All the best

 

[Adventine 3,196]

Anyone who's been on VJ during the past two years knows the entire process has slowed down from start to finish. Dozens of threads about pretty much every stage of the process indicate that it's taking months longer than expected. And if we want to talk about numbers, plenty of data from the VJ immigration timelines and USCIS/DOS official statistics that show longer wait times. The info is there for anyone who wants to do their own research.

 

Informally, more applicants from the Philippines seem to be getting interviews lately, but I'm on my phone so I can't look up the exact numbers. However, they don't seem to have caught up with the backlog completely yet.

 

[TBoneTX 45,267]

Fifteen posts of a bickering or derailing nature have been removed.

The member who began it all with an unverifiable claim is at severe risk of administrative action.

Restrict posting to the OP's questions only.

 

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