Transferring My Ir1 Case to Another Consulate Due to Backlog

[sn2023 0]

Hi everyone! I wanted to get your thoughts on transferring my case to another consulate. There's a huge backlog in the country where my case is currently located. Would it be feasible to get a work permit from a country like Thailand and transfer my case there? The processing time is currently 15 months at the embassy in my country, and they're not making any effort to speed up the process. I know it would be costly, but please help me weigh the pros and cons. It's getting extremely challenging for me to wait this long.

[mam521 2,062]

Do you have an approved I-130?  

 

Please fill out your timeline: https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=473200

[Dashinka 24,493]

How long does it take to get a work permit for Thailand?

[sn2023 0]

27 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

How long does it take to get a work permit for Thailand?

I heard the overall process could take about a month and a half. The wait time here is more than a year. Considering I was recently documentarily qualified, I will have to wait until next year to get an interview in the country where my case is currently located.

[spicynujac 23]

I looked into this recently and concluded there is very little time to be saved.  Japan was a bit faster but most everywhere is taking around 2 years total time to process marital visas, more or less.

But I can see Thailand is also pretty good.  

 

Looking at data from 2022-present:

 

Pakistan

Visa Type          Num with Final Visa Approval            NOA2 to Interview    Avg Total Days  

IR-1 / CR-1        2                                                           270                            601

 

Thailand 

Visa Type          Num with Final Visa Approval           NOA2 to Interview    Avg Total Days  

IR-1 / CR-1        4                                                          131                             444

 

Japan

Visa Type          Num with Final Visa Approval            NOA2 to Interview   Avg Total Days  

IR-1 / CR-1        9                                                           120                           408

 

Philippines

Visa Type          Num with Final Visa Approval            NOA2 to Interview  Avg Total Days  

IR-1 / CR-1        20                                                         289                          575

 

So you could possibly save 4-5 months by relocating to Thailand.  But if you have to wait 1-2 months residing there before transferring your immigration file (?) to Thailand you have to consider if it's worth it to shave only maybe 60 days off the process.. and remember nothing is guaranteed and these things fluctuate a lot.

 

I'd love to relocate to save time, but at this point, I'm 14 months into marriage so I'll probably just wait it out, so we can convert to IR-1 after 24 months of marriage which is cheaper / better than CR-1. Looking historically, the wait in Philippines is about 10 months, which is perfect timing for us to get an IR-1.

[sn2023 0]

11 minutes ago, spicynujac said:

I looked into this recently and concluded there is very little time to be saved.  Japan was a bit faster but most everywhere is taking around 2 years total time to process marital visas, more or less.

But I can see Thailand is also pretty good.  

 

Looking at data from 2022-present:

 

Pakistan

Visa Type          Num with Final Visa Approval            NOA2 to Interview    Avg Total Days  

IR-1 / CR-1        2                                                           270                            601

 

Thailand 

Visa Type          Num with Final Visa Approval           NOA2 to Interview    Avg Total Days  

IR-1 / CR-1        4                                                          131                             444

 

Japan

Visa Type          Num with Final Visa Approval            NOA2 to Interview   Avg Total Days  

IR-1 / CR-1        9                                                           120                           408

 

Philippines

Visa Type          Num with Final Visa Approval            NOA2 to Interview  Avg Total Days  

IR-1 / CR-1        20                                                         289                          575

 

So you could possibly save 4-5 months by relocating to Thailand.  But if you have to wait 1-2 months residing there before transferring your immigration file (?) to Thailand you have to consider if it's worth it to shave only maybe 60 days off the process.. and remember nothing is guaranteed and these things fluctuate a lot.

 

I'd love to relocate to save time, but at this point, I'm 14 months into marriage so I'll probably just wait it out, so we can convert to IR-1 after 24 months of marriage which is cheaper / better than CR-1. Looking historically, the wait in Philippines is about 10 months, which is perfect timing for us to get an IR-1.

Thanks a lot. It makes sense. I will just patiently wait in the hope that they speed up the process.