MARCH 2024 I-130 FILERS FOR SPOUSE

[OldUser 6,625]

On 9/10/2024 at 12:38 PM, MaegZ0322 said:

I had to move over here while my husband stayed back in the UK so we are consular applicants.  
 

I have put my details in on this website and every few weeks, I get an email with my estimated i130 timeline.  When I applied back in March, it gave me an estimate of end of March for approval.  Every update just gets longer and longer and now it says 30 May 2025.  
 

I know it’s an estimate but I can’t help but wonder why it’s getting longer.  At the same time I see applicants apply from within the states getting very fast approvals and then there is Biden’s new ‘keeping families together’ scheme.  Just seems the more posts you see like that the more my family is kept apart.  I do understand that some need to take priority. 
 

I try not to sound bitter as I am genuinely happy for those who get approved quickly but being away from my husband and him away from our three children is heartbreaking.  He is my life and my world.  There are times we just want to throw in the towel and we are only 6 months in but then again, we are 6 months in, nearly halfway through the first big step.  On the plus side, my children love it here and have settled in so well and my family is here and that keeps me going. 
 

 

 

Whenever backlog is growing, USCIS starts processing newer cases faster to imrove stats for processing times (at least in my opinion).

 

I've seen this with everything: AOS, I-751, N-400, asylum. I-130 is no different

[Mello3 35]

Just curious of those that have filed the I-130 in March, how many of you have also filed for the K-3? 

[The_Walters 7]

I have filed for the K3

[Profound437 2]

On 9/18/2024 at 9:27 AM, Mello3 said:

Just curious of those that have filed the I-130 in March, how many of you have also filed for the K-3? 

I did 17 days after but was told it takes around the same time as the CR1 so not sure if it helps.

[The_Walters 7]

Filing the K3 only makes sense if you are going to apply immediately after the i-130. If you wait a few months then it can cancel out any benefits you would've received.

 

Some benefits I think you can get from submitting the K3 is how soon you can submit questions. But again if you wait more than 3 months to submit then you are just giving the I-129F application the same amount of time as the I-130. 

• My I-129F application is giving me an estimate time of 10 months and I can ask questions as soon as June 20, 2025. 
• My I-130 is currently saying 15.5 months is the processing time on USCIS and it shows I can't ask any questions until Feb 1, 2026. 

 

The I-129F processing time has reached their goal of 6 months so it could be possible that I hear back soon. If I don't hear back it will lead me to believe they are either ignoring the K3 or have a completely different process from the K1 or it may get sent elsewhere or placed in a different pile.  Either way I will be using the time frame given to me on when I can inquire since they have not officially stated they have cancelled the K3 or are not processing them. 

Edited September 20 by The_Walters

[OldUser 6,625]

4 hours ago, The_Walters said:

Filing the K3 only makes sense if you are going to apply immediately after the i-130. If you wait a few months then it can cancel out any benefits you would've received.

 

Some benefits I think you can get from submitting the K3 is how soon you can submit questions. But again if you wait more than 3 months to submit then you are just giving the I-129F application the same amount of time as the I-130. 

• My I-129F application is giving me an estimate time of 10 months and I can ask questions as soon as June 20, 2025. 
• My I-130 is currently saying 15.5 months is the processing time on USCIS and it shows I can't ask any questions until Feb 1, 2026. 

 

The I-129F processing time has reached their goal of 6 months so it could be possible that I hear back soon. If I don't hear back it will lead me to believe they are either ignoring the K3 or have a completely different process from the K1 or it may get sent elsewhere or placed in a different pile.  Either way I will be using the time frame given to me on when I can inquire since they have not officially stated they have cancelled the K3 or are not processing them. 

K3 rarely works. It's like winning a lottery.

[The_Walters 7]

Nobody is filing for the K3 to get the K3. If you don't understand the concept of it, it is best to just stay with the I-130 😂 good luck

Edited September 21 by The_Walters

[OldUser 6,625]

13 minutes ago, The_Walters said:

Nobody is filing for the K3 to get the K3. If you don't understand the concept of it, it is best to just stay with the I-130 😂 good luck

No, I understand the motive for filing K-3 in hopes to get I-130 approved sooner. But it almost never works.

 

There's nothing in my comment suggesting one is filing K-3 to get it approved.

 

If I understand correctly, you're hoping to start inquiring about K-3 in hopes to unblock I-130. What you're missing is those deadlines for inquiries are often pushed further by USCIS all the time without notice. Even if you start inquring into your case, USCIS is not obliged to act upon your case faster. They are responsible for replying, sure, they reply with generically worded sentences...

 

Edited September 21 by OldUser

[OldUser 6,625]

Duplicate (delete please)

Edited September 21 by OldUser

[BenAndNhu 3]

So, exciting news: We are March 2024 filers (NOA1: 2024-03-08). We just received I-130 approval (NOA2) today 2024-10-03.

 

We also filed a K-3 application (I-129F) in early April and received an NOA1 date for I-129F of 2024-04-25. We strongly believe that having filed for the K-3 had a significant impact on our timeline when we are seeing normal processing timelines extend to 14-15 months right now. There is nothing special about our application. We were fully expecting an I-130 approval to come closer to July 2025. However, our I-130 application was approved in under 7 months total and 5-6 months from the date of filing for the K-3.

Edited October 4 by BenAndNhu

[Mello3 35]

10 hours ago, BenAndNhu said:

So, exciting news: We are March 2024 filers (NOA1: 2024-03-08). We just received I-130 approval (NOA2) today 2024-10-03.

 

We also filed a K-3 application (I-129F) in early April and received an NOA1 date for I-129F of 2024-04-25. We strongly believe that having filed for the K-3 had a significant impact on our timeline when we are seeing normal processing timelines extend to 14-15 months right now. There is nothing special about our application. We were fully expecting an I-130 approval to come closer to July 2025. However, our I-130 application was approved in under 7 months total and 5-6 months from the date of filing for the K-3.

BIG Congratulations!! What service center were you guys at?

Edited October 4 by Mello3

[The_Walters 7]

12 hours ago, BenAndNhu said:

So, exciting news: We are March 2024 filers (NOA1: 2024-03-08). We just received I-130 approval (NOA2) today 2024-10-03.

 

We also filed a K-3 application (I-129F) in early April and received an NOA1 date for I-129F of 2024-04-25. We strongly believe that having filed for the K-3 had a significant impact on our timeline when we are seeing normal processing timelines extend to 14-15 months right now. There is nothing special about our application. We were fully expecting an I-130 approval to come closer to July 2025. However, our I-130 application was approved in under 7 months total and 5-6 months from the date of filing for the K-3.

Congratulations!!!!!! 

[MaegZ0322 18]

12 hours ago, BenAndNhu said:

So, exciting news: We are March 2024 filers (NOA1: 2024-03-08). We just received I-130 approval (NOA2) today 2024-10-03.

 

We also filed a K-3 application (I-129F) in early April and received an NOA1 date for I-129F of 2024-04-25. We strongly believe that having filed for the K-3 had a significant impact on our timeline when we are seeing normal processing timelines extend to 14-15 months right now. There is nothing special about our application. We were fully expecting an I-130 approval to come closer to July 2025. However, our I-130 application was approved in under 7 months total and 5-6 months from the date of filing for the K-3.

 

Oh my!  So happy for you guys!!!!!  Congratulations!  Make sure to keep coming back to update on your progress. 

[MaegZ0322 18]

2 hours ago, Mello3 said:

BIG Congratulations!! What service center were you guys at?

Looks like they are with Texas service center.

[BenAndNhu 3]

50 minutes ago, MaegZ0322 said:

 

Oh my!  So happy for you guys!!!!!  Congratulations!  Make sure to keep coming back to update on your progress. 

Thank you!!

 

And yes, we were at the Texas Service Center. We filed online for the I-130.