Quick Question.

[Johndcknsn 0]

Hello, I just got back from visiting my fiancé in the Philippines and we are newly engaged. I would like to start the K1 Visa process however, she has had to go to Bangkok, Thailand to teach. She will be finishing her 18 week contract then will be going back to the Philippines which is where she is from. Can I start the K1 Visa process with SimpleCitizen and submit the package to USCIS during the 18 weeks she has to finish her contract? She left all of her paperwork in the Philippines because she wants to do her part there due to language barriers and she will be very busy during the 18 weeks. Also, let's say my fiancé has 5 weeks left when USCIS finishes their part and my fiancé is still in Bangkok finishing her 18 week contract. Can she schedule a visit to the US Embassy in Manila out past the 5 weeks she has left of her 18 week contract or does this complicate things? Or, in other words, can our foreign fiancés schedule a visit to a US Embassy months out from notification from USCIS? 

[Family 3,988]

51 minutes ago, Johndcknsn said:

Hello, I just got back from visiting my fiancé in the Philippines and we are newly engaged. I would like to start the K1 Visa process however, she has had to go to Bangkok, Thailand to teach. She will be finishing her 18 week contract then will be going back to the Philippines which is where she is from. Can I start the K1 Visa process with SimpleCitizen and submit the package to USCIS during the 18 weeks she has to finish her contract? She left all of her paperwork in the Philippines because she wants to do her part there due to language barriers and she will be very busy during the 18 weeks. Also, let's say my fiancé has 5 weeks left when USCIS finishes their part and my fiancé is still in Bangkok finishing her 18 week contract. Can she schedule a visit to the US Embassy in Manila out past the 5 weeks she has left of her 18 week contract or does this complicate things? Or, in other words, can our foreign fiancés schedule a visit to a US Embassy months out from notification from USCIS? 

She can go work without time pressure worries. ..you are overly optimistic as to how fast you will get through from date of filing to interview date. 
She will need to interview in Manila unless she has some long (er) term status in another country.

 

Until USCIS approves case, she no reason to “ visit” a US embassy on anything related to the K-1. …and until the case gets to a consulate , they will not visit with her on the subject.

You designate the consulate on I-129F w USCIS at filing , but you can’t select Thailand based on the short term you described.

 

 

 

 

 

[apnzz 236]

I also agree with the point where it seems you are overly optimistic about how fast it'll be from filing to interview.

 

The process has sped up significantly, yes, but even if you get a fast USCIS approval, the next stages can often take several months alone, it would be extremely realistic to say 3-4 months from USCIS approval to interview date.

 

(Especially because there are currently such long delays people are experiencing between USCIS approval and then that approved case being sent to the Department of State (NVC). )

 

 

As for the question about "scheduling a visit to the US Embassy", no, you can't do this that far in advanced. You can only book an interview once your case has been approved, sent to Department of State, created at NVC, sent to the embassy and been updated as ready at embassy. Then you can book the interview.

 

It might be helpful to note that it is possible to delay the latter stages of the process: the initial i-797 approval notice can potentially be extended in 4 month increments for up to 1 year after approval, so if you are in need of extra time, it is possible.

 

But with the potential time it will take the process without these delays, you are most likely going to be okay anyway. 

 

Realistically, worrying about an approval happening whilst the 18 weeks is still ongoing is kind of pointless. Even if you got an extremely fast USCIS approval, there's several stages of then process after that which often take several months alone.

 

But yes, you can file now whilst her 18 weeks is ongoing. As long as she travels back to her designated country for her interview. 

[wildbug100420 103]

14 hours ago, Johndcknsn said:

Hello, I just got back from visiting my fiancé in the Philippines and we are newly engaged. I would like to start the K1 Visa process however, she has had to go to Bangkok, Thailand to teach. She will be finishing her 18 week contract then will be going back to the Philippines which is where she is from. Can I start the K1 Visa process with SimpleCitizen and submit the package to USCIS during the 18 weeks she has to finish her contract? She left all of her paperwork in the Philippines because she wants to do her part there due to language barriers and she will be very busy during the 18 weeks. Also, let's say my fiancé has 5 weeks left when USCIS finishes their part and my fiancé is still in Bangkok finishing her 18 week contract. Can she schedule a visit to the US Embassy in Manila out past the 5 weeks she has left of her 18 week contract or does this complicate things? Or, in other words, can our foreign fiancés schedule a visit to a US Embassy months out from notification from USCIS? 

Any reason you are using a visa preparation service? The form is pretty straightforward to complete yourself. 

[TexasRafael 134]

She will be teaching 18 weeks, you will be lucky if you get your application approved in 52 weeks, I think you do not have to worry about the timeline vs her teaching responsibilities. 

[Edward and Jaycel 165]

5 hours ago, wildbug100420 said:

Any reason you are using a visa preparation service? The form is pretty straightforward to complete yourself. 

 

I second this.... please do a little research and see if you can do it yourself. There are plenty of guides here on VJ that can help and the community here is always willing to answer things you are unsure of. Don't get yourself tied into any of these services. In the posts I've seen here and other forums, they do nothing but cause headaches. I'm no rocket scientist and I was able to figure it out and that was before I knew about this site.

[Boiler 45,486]

I doubt it will be a problem if it was 18 months never mind 18 weeks.

[hplusj 135]

A lot of people have already said that, but you have several stages to advance through K1, you're not going to finish in the time period you're concerned about.

 

And yes, ditch the visa preparation service.  You do not have a complicated case.  If you did, an immigration lawyer is going to be far more useful.  Handing it over to a "service" is imo a terrible idea since it is additional costs in an already costly pursuit, and learning how to navigate this on your own leaves the people with all the interests in seeing it succeed --namely, you and your fiancee-- handling 100% of it.