When will processing times actually improve?

[kxp 30]

I know there’s another post on the front page, but unlike the many straight couples out there, a CR-1 is just not possible for us as my partner lives in Asia (blanket ban on same sex marriage). We could attempt to marry elsewhere, but it wouldn’t include my family which we both very much want. A marriage outside of the US in a lgbt-friendly country would also be very expensive for two international flights and a hotel in a place that likely has a strong currency. 
 

Anyways, since applying in May, the processing estimate has gone up from 12.5 months to 14. The statement made back in March about improving processing times doesn’t seem to be working in real time. I know that this is based on a 6 month rolling average and may go down, but does anyone know if the agency actually hired more people? Are they working overtime? Is there truly effort being made to reduce the pile? I could imagine it only getting worse, as after COVID restrictions fell, people could travel and be eligible to apply after the in-person meeting requirement was met. 
 

Someone give me a glimmer of hope, I guess?

[Cathi 5,746]

No one can give you an answer to an unknown. For all anyone knows, it could get worse. 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,434]

Immigration is a tiring, lengthy process.  There are no quick paths, unfortunately.  The best you can do is make sure you take care of your tasks as quickly as possible, double and triple check documents and petitions you submit, and wait.  It helps if you can travel to meet each other and keep in contact online.

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

4 hours ago, kxp said:

I know there’s another post on the front page, but unlike the many straight couples out there, a CR-1 is just not possible for us as my partner lives in Asia (blanket ban on same sex marriage). We could attempt to marry elsewhere, but it wouldn’t include my family which we both very much want. A marriage outside of the US in a lgbt-friendly country would also be very expensive for two international flights and a hotel in a place that likely has a strong currency. 
 

Anyways, since applying in May, the processing estimate has gone up from 12.5 months to 14. The statement made back in March about improving processing times doesn’t seem to be working in real time. I know that this is based on a 6 month rolling average and may go down, but does anyone know if the agency actually hired more people? Are they working overtime? Is there truly effort being made to reduce the pile? I could imagine it only getting worse, as after COVID restrictions fell, people could travel and be eligible to apply after the in-person meeting requirement was met. 
 

Someone give me a glimmer of hope, I guess?

You could opt for a Utah Zoom Marriage, meet somewhere outside the US to demonstrate consummation of the marriage. Then start the spousal visa process.  Later, you can bring the families together for a marriage celebration. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Boiler 45,467]

This may help give a feel

 

 

[Nuba 57]

I am a Nov 2021 filer who is also a data dude. When I filed, the estimate was 6-8 months so I share your pain.  I have been monitoring both internally reported VJ data and data independently scanned from the USCIS site since the announcement in Mar. You are right. The processing time has continued to slip.  In fact, current data show that the actual processing delay is just shy of 14.5 months.  There has been a gradual trend up in the number of weekly cases processed but not enough to reverse the slide.

 

The hope some of us had was that after fiscal year end, resources might be shifted from visas that had yearly quotas to K1 and CR1 starting Oct 1 .  It is still too early to notice a definitive shift but there have been a couple of days with a large number of  processed cases reported; these might be a reporting anomaly since the day before was unusually low.  They seem to be closing outstanding cases from previous months much faster than before. It is also encouraging that they started processing Aug well before Jul untouched cases had approached 500 which seemed to be the trigger previously for moving to next month.  Interesting that they are processing across many data ranges in Aug, which would indicate they have distributed the work across many adjudicators in parallel.  Cases are definitely not processed in strict numerical order as some folks seem to think is or should be the case. Don't know if this gives you hope but perhaps it provides a little transparency which USCUS seems to abhor.

 

Shifting to your initial topic, my fiancé and I are also a same sex couple. We actually could get married in his home country but chose to do it in Hawaii (we're romantic). There is one option that I learned about after I filed for K1: the Utah online marriage.  During the pandemic Utah and a few other states permitted on line marriages.  Of these, Utah continues to offer the service and since same sex marriage is recognized at the federal level, Utah support it in their online marriages. (Yes Utah!).  You and your partner can each be in any location, inside or outside the US and even in separate countries. This is a legitimate marriage (marriage by proxy...I asked my lawyer) recognized by many governmental agencies, including the IRS so mind your taxes. The one catch is that for it to be recognized by USCIS you and your fiancé must meet once AFTER the wedding to consummate it, as opposed to meeting once BEFORE applying for the K1.  Consummate in this context just means any in-person meeting, not in the biblical sense (It has been asked...on-line sex doesn't count for this purpose).  If our K1 visa is denied for any reason, we will do this and immediately apply for CR1 since by then we will have been together more than 10 times.

[slavaskii 886]

I believe the statistic is still that USCIS receives 2x more I-129Fs per month than they can realistically process. It's surreal watching the times increase so dramatically, particularly from the 6-8 months (at one point, 5.5 - 7.5 months) it was back in March 2021.

 

The realistic answer to your question is that times will only increase if/when USCIS either (a) hires more adjudicators or (b) finds some way to reallocate existing officers to I-129Fs. I thought there was talk about shifting them from California, but that never came to fruition.

[Mike E 11,739]

Processing times for I-129F / K-1 will improve only once couples finally see the handwriting on the wall and stop filing I-129F.  
 

With the advent of remote telepresence marriage such as Utah zoom marriage (and there are others), the need for K-1 is reduced to a few edge cases such as an alien fiancé(e) who has kids  aged 18.19, or 20.  

 

K-1 isn’t faster than CR-1 now. 
 

Having concluded a nearly 5 year process to get my wife a 10 year green card, knowing what I know now,  and assuming remote presence marriage service had been available, we would have married a year earlier, and timed her entry so that she received a 10 year gc in 2020 instead of a 2 year gc though adjustment of status from K-1. 
 

“But we want to be together faster” more than half the time later becomes  “my spouse is depressed about not being able to work or visit family”

 

 

[Palawan 131]

21 hours ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Immigration is a tiring, lengthy process.  There are no quick paths, unfortunately.  The best you can do is make sure you take care of your tasks as quickly as possible, double and triple check documents and petitions you submit, and wait.  It helps if you can travel to meet each other and keep in contact online.

I would have to disagree, Did my K1 back in 2015

 

Did my K1 from Philippines approved in like 30 days, my fiance was here within 4 months

 

Never had do a GreenCard interview for 2 year or 10 year.

 

My wife got her citizenship last year, seemed like it moved very quickly......

[SalishSea 17,818]

6 minutes ago, Palawan said:

I would have to disagree, Did my K1 back in 2015

 

Did my K1 from Philippines approved in like 30 days, my fiance was here within 4 months

 

Never had do a GreenCard interview for 2 year or 10 year.

 

My wife got her citizenship last year, seemed like it moved very quickly......

I know you don’t agree with this, but now in 2022,  even Philippines is not fast like It was in 2015.

 

The current 13.5 months petition processing time applies to all countries, even Philippines.

[Palawan 131]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

I know you don’t agree with this, but now in 2022,  even Philippines is not fast like It was in 2015.

 

The current 13.5 months petition processing time applies to all countries, even Philippines.

Another dude was approved in 7 days from California Service Center, I took 30 I was at a different service centers

 

Yes, it was fast like that back in 2015, I have looked at a few others timelines from that time, it was moving quick, but that's seems to be normal for Philippines.

 

[Palawan 131]

7 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I know you don’t agree with this, but now in 2022,  even Philippines is not fast like It was in 2015.

 

The current 13.5 months petition processing time applies to all countries, even Philippines.

Here is another poster from Philippines took last than 5 months to having interview and approval at US Embassy in Manila

Defeedme's US Immigration Timeline (visajourney.com)

[Boiler 45,467]

6 minutes ago, Palawan said:

Here is another poster from Philippines took last than 5 months to having interview and approval at US Embassy in Manila

Defeedme's US Immigration Timeline (visajourney.com)

We are in 2022, looks like that person naturalised a few years ago

[Palawan 131]

5 minutes ago, Boiler said:

We are in 2022, looks like that person naturalised a few years ago

Correct

 

Poster Jorgedi make a false claim "I know you don’t agree with this, but now in 2022,  even Philippines is not fast like It was in 2015."

 

I was just pointing out how fast thing moved back then for Philippines, Heck I even dragged my feet at scheduling the interview at the US Embassy in Manila due to it getting NOA2 so fast, I had to buy tickets to fly to Philippines, and I had to buy a one way ticket so my fiance could fly back with me,  etc.  I suspect I could of had interview scheduled and my fiance back in USA in less than 3 months.  I wanted to spend at least a month in Philippines once I got there, since I was gonna fly over there might as well stay. 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

2 hours ago, Palawan said:

Here is another poster from Philippines took last than 5 months to having interview and approval at US Embassy in Manila

Defeedme's US Immigration Timeline (visajourney.com)

2014???????  Come on, stop cherry picking ancient cases.      Personally, I don't, yet, see light at the end of the immigration processing tunnel.

Edited October 19, 2022 by Crazy Cat