K1 US Entry Time

[Danny84 5]

Hello,

 

I understand there is an additional wait for the greencard after your spouse arrives in the US. To that end, how long is it actually taking for K1 applicants to be able to enter the US to marry? 15.5 months? Also, it looks like they are trying to reduce backlogs by the end of this year to 6 months. Any positive word on that? I appreciate your answers but please read the full question before posting. Thank you!

[Bh_sarah 942]

17 minutes ago, Danny84 said:

Hello,

 

I understand there is an additional wait for the greencard after your spouse arrives in the US. To that end, how long is it actually taking for K1 applicants to be able to enter the US to marry? 15.5 months? Also, it looks like they are trying to reduce backlogs by the end of this year to 6 months. Any positive word on that? I appreciate your answers but please read the full question before posting. Thank you!

The 15.5 month estimative now is only for the first stage of the K1 visa – the I-129F petition. There are still the NVC and Consulate stages after that and that varies by country and case.

You should follow this thread to check on the backlog clearing:
https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/794766-number-of-cases-processed-hit-new-high/page/39/?tab=comments#comment-10797464

Edited February 6, 2023 by Bh_sarah
Grammar.

[SalishSea 17,797]

32 minutes ago, Danny84 said:

Hello,

 

I understand there is an additional wait for the greencard after your spouse arrives in the US. To that end, how long is it actually taking for K1 applicants to be able to enter the US to marry? 15.5 months? Also, it looks like they are trying to reduce backlogs by the end of this year to 6 months. Any positive word on that? I appreciate your answers but please read the full question before posting. Thank you!

Approximately two years as things stand now.  The additional wait time for a green card can be up to two years also.  Wait times for EAD/AP are less - up to 8 months.

 

In terms of future processing times, that is anyone's speculation.  Those of us who have been on VJ for years have seen the petition processing times vary greatly.  I've seen from 3 months to the current 15.5 months.

[Mike E 11,739]

1 hour ago, Danny84 said:

Hello,

 

I understand there is an additional wait for the greencard after your spouse arrives in the US. To that end, how long is it actually taking for K1 applicants to be able to enter the US to marry? 15.5 months? Also, it looks like they are trying to reduce backlogs by the end of this year to 6 months. Any positive word on that? I appreciate your answers but please read the full question before posting. Thank you!

https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php?history=90 562 days as of today.

[powerpuff 6,674]

~~ Topic moved from Process & Procedures to Progress Reports ~~

[Crazy Cat 41,803]

1 hour ago, Danny84 said:

Also, it looks like they are trying to reduce backlogs by the end of this year to 6 months. Any positive word on that?

Everything I have seen indicates USCIS is not reducing the backlog much.

[myohmyohmy 15]

The whole process is so frustrating, it used to be faster but the last Administration slowed it down as they were anti-immigrant - they slow walked the process by increasing RFEs and interviews.  And then they shut down processing on top of it.  So frustrating, I'm just hoping mine is done before the next election in case more anti-immigrant politicians are elected.  I am glad I applied last year and not later this year or next!

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

11 minutes ago, chibry said:

The whole process is so frustrating, it used to be faster but the last Administration slowed it down as they were anti-immigrant - they slow walked the process by increasing RFEs and interviews.  And then they shut down processing on top of it.  So frustrating, I'm just hoping mine is done before the next election in case more anti-immigrant politicians are elected.  I am glad I applied last year and not later this year or next!

Not really.

 

My K1 in 2018 took 6 months for approval, 8 months total for my fiance to arrive in Boston (mid June 2018 to Feb 2019).

 

Immigration timelines seem to be cyclical - it speeds up and slows down over the years.

 

Unfortunately, nowadays it's on or near the top of the slow curve.

Edited February 6, 2023 by SteveInBostonI130

[myohmyohmy 15]

I just found this in another persons post and watched whoever is behind the youtube's presentation, it's really good!  Do what he says and complain to your congressman and senators and the President!

 

"I follow https://www.youtube.com/@uscisanalysis who gives monthly updates on projections of how long you'll be waiting for NOA2 based on the data he's looking at and always under the assumption USCIS makes *zero* changes. His last one is before we really saw these improvements so will still say about 18months for Oct 2022 but hoping his next video shows it down to 15/16. He also just gives a good overview of how USCIS is doing week on week and how things have changed."

[myohmyohmy 15]

1 hour ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Not really.

 

My K1 in 2018 took 6 months for approval, 8 months total for my fiance to arrive in Boston (mid June 2018 to Feb 2019).

 

Immigration timelines seem to be cyclical - it speeds up and slows down over the years.

 

Unfortunately, nowadays it's on or near the top of the slow curve.

I agree they go in cycles but never 15.5 months and it all started a few years ago when someone didn't want immigrants and made it tougher.  Plus COVID and illegal immigration surging due to the current administration= more delays.  I'm not solely blaming one party as each made it worse, I'm just saying it's never ever been 15.5 months and the system stinks when you follow procedures and are an honest citizen.  Illegal and you get special treatment.

[wav_m 84]

What we seem to be seeing based on this ongoing thread is that USCIS has sped up enough in recent weeks to keep the wait time from getting any longer. (This has been borne out for me by my VJ timeline, which hasn't really moved over the past two weeks.) They're not doing enough to reduce the wait, but right now we're seeing an equilibrium. Someone from that thread who actually mines or collates the data can probably get into this in more depth, but that's the impression I have had, and it's a definite improvement on how bad things looked likely to get before.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

11 hours ago, chibry said:

I agree they go in cycles but never 15.5 months and it all started a few years ago when someone didn't want immigrants and made it tougher.  Plus COVID and illegal immigration surging due to the current administration= more delays.  I'm not solely blaming one party as each made it worse, I'm just saying it's never ever been 15.5 months and the system stinks when you follow procedures and are an honest citizen.  Illegal and you get special treatment.

 

There's always some politician who doesn't want immigration, and these get voted into power now and then.

 

There has been immigration surges as well.

 

Covid is about the only thing that is unique

[Crazy Cat 41,803]

14 hours ago, chibry said:

The whole process is so frustrating, it used to be faster but the last Administration slowed it down as they were anti-immigrant - they slow walked the process by increasing RFEs and interviews.  And then they shut down processing on top of it.  So frustrating, I'm just hoping mine is done before the next election in case more anti-immigrant politicians are elected.  I am glad I applied last year and not later this year or next!

 You also omit the impact of the pandemic. Even through pandemic shutdowns and staffing limitations, the steady flow of applicants continued.  There is not a quick fix in sight, regardless of the promises politicians make.  As of the last USCIS stats I saw, USCIS was receiving twice as many petitions as they were processing.  Maybe a large increase in staffing will help. 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[myohmyohmy 15]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

 You also omit the impact of the pandemic. Even through pandemic shutdowns and staffing limitations, the steady flow of applicants continued.  There is not a quick fix in sight, regardless of the promises politicians make.  As of the last USCIS stats I saw, USCIS was receiving twice as many petitions as they were processing.  Maybe a large increase in staffing will help. 

My point was there are so many illegal people here and the fact the prior administration was antiimmigrant (for example, banning people from Arab countries) and slowed the process down.  They issued more RFEs, slowed interviews and thinned staff, they made it political.  Further, all administrations focus on employment (H1B and others) over k1s.  This is because USCIS is self funded and employers pay $2,500 and more.  And when it's self funded they can't hire more people unless their budget increases via fees, they are the rate division of government that is self funded and can't take money from the federal government.  So when you have an influx of asylum seekers, illegal crossers and illegal DACA people that don't have to pay the fee they can't keep up since they can't hire more.  And then you throw the pandemic on top of it and it's a system that is on the verge of collapse.  Wait until these politicicsns shut down the government later this year for weeks like they did last time, and this process will get even longer. Anyway I'm done with this thread.  Bye 

[Crazy Cat 41,803]

3 minutes ago, chibry said:

And when it's self funded they can't hire more people unless their budget increases via fees, they are the rate division of government that is self funded and can't take money from the federal government. 

You're right.  Interestingly, the last administration tried to increase fees, but it was blocked by a federal judge.  Seems, this admin is going to get fees increased.  Hopefully, that will allow USCIS to hire more eyes.  Then, eventually, processing times will decrease.