CR1 is DQ, current wait time for interview in Manila?

[Jason and May 79]

12 minutes ago, An D said:

Yes, fiance(e)s and tourists are currently more important than spouses and children, unfortunately. 

That’s true. In 2023 the State Department issued 10.4 million nonimmigrant visas and 562,976 immigrant visas. 

[cup1981 5]

3 minutes ago, Jason and May said:

Our 129 just sat for 10.5 months until USCIS adjudicated my wife’s 130 petition and then died. 

 

Yup, the exact same thing happened with mine. So dang frustrating. 

[An D 27]

16 minutes ago, cup1981 said:

 

The odd thing is we did both the I-129F (K-3) and I-130 (CR-1) per immigration lawyer's recommendations. The I-129F never even made it to the NVC. The I-130 was quickly approved, making them cancel the I-129F. Would have probably been better if they just let the I-129F roll on at this point. Ugh. 

K-3 is dead, it's never issued anymore. Some speculate filing both I-129F for K-3 and I-130 at the same time speeds up the I-130 but there's no concrete evidence of that. But it will almost certainly never be approved over a I-130 petition. CR/IR still has a ton of benefits over any K visa anyways, but this fairly recent (last year and a half or so) massive backlog created at USEM certainly makes you question those benefits. As many will agree that the large amount of lost time isn't worth any benefit. 

[top_secret 2,421]

23 minutes ago, cup1981 said:

 

The odd thing is we did both the I-129F (K-3) and I-130 (CR-1) per immigration lawyer's recommendations. The I-129F never even made it to the NVC. The I-130 was quickly approved, making them cancel the I-129F. Would have probably been better if they just let the I-129F roll on at this point. Ugh. 

 

 

K3 is effectively dead.  I think there have been less than 10 K3 visas actually issued WORLDWIDE in the last 5 years.  None in the Philippines.  Probably the reason your lawyer recommended you file the I-129F is because even though it was 100% certain to be denied, some say the denial of the I-129F speeds the approval of the I-130.

[Jason and May 79]

2 minutes ago, An D said:

K-3 is dead, it's never issued anymore. Some speculate filing both I-129F for K-3 and I-130 at the same time speeds up the I-130 but there's no concrete evidence of that. But it will almost certainly never be approved over a I-130 petition. CR/IR still has a ton of benefits over any K visa anyways, but this fairly recent (last year and a half or so) massive backlog created at USEM certainly makes you question those benefits. As many will agree that the large amount of lost time isn't worth any benefit. 

I agree. When, globally, there are 1, 3, or 5 K3s issued in a year and the average time to adjudicate a petition is about 10 months, there is really no argument for it being a viable option. 

 

Though, if I were to file again, I’d still file the 129, because maybe she’d be one of the 3 issued a K3. 🤷🏽‍♂️☺️

[An D 27]

2 minutes ago, Jason and May said:

I agree. When, globally, there are 1, 3, or 5 K3s issued in a year and the average time to adjudicate a petition is about 10 months, there is really no argument for it being a viable option. 

 

Though, if I were to file again, I’d still file the 129, because maybe she’d be one of the 3 issued a K3. 🤷🏽‍♂️☺️

Yeah, I guess I am mostly referring to those who get married just to file for CR-1 instead of K-1. It's hard to ever justify K-1 over CR-1. However, I consider this ridiculous backlog an extreme circumstance. It's impossible to predict the future, but with the data in front of us now and the lack of evidence that it's going to improve? AND if time is the most important for the petitioner and beneficiary? Then, for a new petitioner, holding off on marriage and going the K-1 route at this moment in time is pretty valid despite the drawbacks later on. But that's assuming this is the new normal and that it will be this way in another year plus still. 

[Jason and May 79]

1 minute ago, An D said:

Yeah, I guess I am mostly referring to those who get married just to file for CR-1 instead of K-1. It's hard to ever justify K-1 over CR-1. However, I consider this ridiculous backlog an extreme circumstance. It's impossible to predict the future, but with the data in front of us now and the lack of evidence that it's going to improve? AND if time is the most important for the petitioner and beneficiary? Then, for a new petitioner, holding off on marriage and going the K-1 route at this moment in time is pretty valid despite the drawbacks later on. But that's assuming this is the new normal and that it will be this way in another year plus still. 

I think that’s all absolutely valid. All the “pros” for the CR/IR route were some of the reasons we decided to go that route. It just made sense. And we wanted to be married.

 

And I was in a position where I could go visit my wife every 4 to 6 months for a few weeks at a crack while we waited it out, figuring on a 2-year wait. 

 

Then our county administrator retired, we got a replacement, and she refuses all leave without pay requests, without exception. So, I haven’t seen my wife in 7 months, and I won’t see her until she is here.

 

After she was robbed and sexually assaulted, my department head finagled FMLA for me, or I wouldn’t have been able to go there at that point either…because no unpaid leave, period. 

 

Fortunately, whenever USEM issues the next round of interview letters, unless they issue for only 1 day in August, she will be included, as her DQ date is August 24. 

 

At the end of the day, given everything that happened and all the uncertainty, I do often reply that I really don’t care about work permits, advance parole, or the cost to adjust status. We are plenty financially stable for that. I would rather be together. But, here we are. And so we wait. Along with everyone else. 

[cup1981 5]

1 hour ago, Jason and May said:

I think that’s all absolutely valid. All the “pros” for the CR/IR route were some of the reasons we decided to go that route. It just made sense. And we wanted to be married.

 

And I was in a position where I could go visit my wife every 4 to 6 months for a few weeks at a crack while we waited it out, figuring on a 2-year wait. 

 

Then our county administrator retired, we got a replacement, and she refuses all leave without pay requests, without exception. So, I haven’t seen my wife in 7 months, and I won’t see her until she is here.

 

After she was robbed and sexually assaulted, my department head finagled FMLA for me, or I wouldn’t have been able to go there at that point either…because no unpaid leave, period. 

 

Fortunately, whenever USEM issues the next round of interview letters, unless they issue for only 1 day in August, she will be included, as her DQ date is August 24. 

 

At the end of the day, given everything that happened and all the uncertainty, I do often reply that I really don’t care about work permits, advance parole, or the cost to adjust status. We are plenty financially stable for that. I would rather be together. But, here we are. And so we wait. Along with everyone else. 

 

Yeah, for us it was the same. Just seemed logical and was in our hearts to get married and do the CR-1. Hindsight, I would've done the K-1 and just got married here. Fro the past year, my business was rocking, so I was able to head over there every other month or so to visit. Sadly, that is no longer an option, so we are now going many more months apart. We last saw each other in early June, and we likely won't see each other again until December or so. 

 

One question, the NVC says we can contact them after 90 days if we have not received an interview. Has anyone actually contacted them? What's the result of that? I assume it's just "Oh, there is a backlog. Too bad. Just wait." 

Edited July 23 by cup1981

[Jason and May 79]

2 hours ago, cup1981 said:

 

Yeah, for us it was the same. Just seemed logical and was in our hearts to get married and do the CR-1. Hindsight, I would've done the K-1 and just got married here. Fro the past year, my business was rocking, so I was able to head over there every other month or so to visit. Sadly, that is no longer an option, so we are now going many more months apart. We last saw each other in early June, and we likely won't see each other again until December or so. 

 

One question, the NVC says we can contact them after 90 days if we have not received an interview. Has anyone actually contacted them? What's the result of that? I assume it's just "Oh, there is a backlog. Too bad. Just wait." 

I've seen people posting NVC replies that USEM is "currently processing cases documentarily qualified on or after [insert date]. Cases are processed on a first in, first out basis..." etc. Basically, "wait your turn." Very standard replies we see all the time. Telling us all the things we for the most part already know, while not answering any of our relevant questions. 

[cup1981 5]

15 hours ago, Jason and May said:

I've seen people posting NVC replies that USEM is "currently processing cases documentarily qualified on or after [insert date]. Cases are processed on a first in, first out basis..." etc. Basically, "wait your turn." Very standard replies we see all the time. Telling us all the things we for the most part already know, while not answering any of our relevant questions. 

 

Yeah, that's what I assumed. Appreciate all your help. Just trying to keep my poor wife sane lol. She's really stressed over this, cause she thought (we both thought) the longest wait was done. ugh

[spicynujac 23]

On 7/23/2024 at 2:34 PM, cup1981 said:

 

Hindsight, I would've done the K-1 and just got married here. Fro the past year, my business was rocking, so I was able to head over there every other month or so to visit. Sadly, that is no longer an option, so we are now going many more months apart.

This is the first time I've seen someone say they regretted the spousal visa and wishing they did a K-1 / fiance.

 

I've second guessed my decision a few times, but the current situation where K-1 visas appear to be issued slightly more quickly than an IR/CR is most likely a temporary glitch, and I sure wouldn't want to roll the dice and hope that is still the case in 2025 if I were applying today.

 

Just looking at the VJ data here, specifically for the Philippines, for initial filings from 1/22 - 1/23:

279 K-1 applications               Avg total days 514

101 CR1/IR1 applications         Avg total days 606

 

So the average wait time was 2 months longer for spousal, but in the grand scheme of things, what's 20 months vs 18?

If we are talking significant time savings, sure, I'd be tempted to reunite sooner and pay over $1,000 extra and deal with USCIS for years, but if I'm waiting 18+ months regardless, I'll stick with the spousal visa.

 

K-1 has its place, particularly for bringing over children, but if you are ready to commit to marriage, IR1/CR1 is almost always the way to go.

 

I *am* curious what explains the brief reversal in processing times.  Was this a federal administrative dictate?  A remnant from covid backlogs?  Local decisions made at the Manila embassy?

Or perhaps it was just caused because a whole lot of people, myself included, decided to marry during the lockdowns because while travelling was difficult, at least you could start the immigration process through a marital visa?  And so the number of marital visa cases is just way up right now?  Either way I think it's a pretty huge risk to bet on the (slightly) faster K-1 processing times continuing.

 

Historically, K-1 visa cases are down, while IR cases are up.  Perhaps the US gov just isn't responding rapidly to this change in filing patterns and doesn't have enough staff allocated to IR visas?  

 

 

No graph, but US State Dept reports IR visas are increasing rapidly over this same period:

2020: 108,292

2021: 170,604 (+58%)

2022: 212,185 (+24%)

2023: 245,696 (+16%)

 

Another factor for me is the immigration process is so awful, I don't want to give USCIS a penny more than I absolutely HAVE to, to support this horrible agency, and the K-1 costs are well over $1,000 higher.

Edited July 28 by spicynujac

[Adobo 13]

Our PD was May 2022. 

Got DQ'd June 2023.

My wife got her IL, April 2024 (right before I landed in the Philippines to visit her for our 2nd wedding anniversary).

 

Her interview was May 16 2024, it was towards the weekend and she got her visa on hand May 21, 2024...Four days less of 2 years from PD.

 

Last week, I flew back to the Philippines to pick her up and her 2 small dogs. From PD to her landing in the states took 26 months.

[spicynujac 23]

Question for those who are awaiting interview appointments at the Manila Embassy:

Do I understand correctly that it is up to the couple to schedule their OWN interview?  And not the embassy assigning you a date?
I thought these interviews were stated by NVC to be done "first come first serve"?

I am reading about people who are logging in to a scheduling website for weeks or months looking for an opening (unsuccessfully).  
If that's the case, interviews aren't really given in the order of filing, are they?  What if you don't log on daily to try to schedule an interview?

Could someone approved weeks or months later than you really grab a spot ahead of you?

Is this normal procedure at other embassies?  Seems to me they should just assign the first date available to the next person in line and cut out all of this stress and delays.  It isn't right for someone else to jump ahead in line because they happened to obsessively check a website faster than you when you should be up next...

 

I don't think I want the stress of trying day after day... maybe will just pay someone to do it for me.  It was already stressing me out when I would check the USCIS site almost daily once we passed the 12 month mark.  And that was "only" about 6 weeks of checking.  Sounds like the wait from NVC to interview could be a year!

[Edward and Jaycel 172]

1 hour ago, spicynujac said:

Question for those who are awaiting interview appointments at the Manila Embassy:

Do I understand correctly that it is up to the couple to schedule their OWN interview?  And not the embassy assigning you a date?
I thought these interviews were stated by NVC to be done "first come first serve"?

I am reading about people who are logging in to a scheduling website for weeks or months looking for an opening (unsuccessfully).  
If that's the case, interviews aren't really given in the order of filing, are they?  What if you don't log on daily to try to schedule an interview?

Could someone approved weeks or months later than you really grab a spot ahead of you?

Is this normal procedure at other embassies?  Seems to me they should just assign the first date available to the next person in line and cut out all of this stress and delays.  It isn't right for someone else to jump ahead in line because they happened to obsessively check a website faster than you when you should be up next...

 

I don't think I want the stress of trying day after day... maybe will just pay someone to do it for me.  It was already stressing me out when I would check the USCIS site almost daily once we passed the 12 month mark.  And that was "only" about 6 weeks of checking.  Sounds like the wait from NVC to interview could be a year!

 

I know we just had to schedule our own for Manil but we are on a K-1 visa. I thought NVC scheduled the IR-1/CR-1 interviews for you but I'm not sure on that point. I hated the stress of checking every day for an appointment so I hope they do it for you.

[top_secret 2,421]

Oh the calendar is wide open for scheduling CR/IR-1 interview dates.  Plenty of days.  Just no one can get the Embassy to ask NVC to send the cases over so no one can claim those dates