K1 Visa islamabad embassy backlog

[AQ23 0]

Hi,

 

I am planning on applying for K1 from USA and my fiance is in Pakistan. I heard horrible story that islamabad embassy is taking really long some saying they have stopped the visa's for now. Do anyone know anything how long it really is taking?

[Edward and Jaycel 393]

1 hour ago, AQ23 said:

Hi,

 

I am planning on applying for K1 from USA and my fiance is in Pakistan. I heard horrible story that islamabad embassy is taking really long some saying they have stopped the visa's for now. Do anyone know anything how long it really is taking?

 

Is your fiancee Pakistani citizen a male? If so you can expect extensive delays for administrative processing (AP). If your fiancee is a female, there will still be AP delays but not as long as for a male Pakistani.

[AQ23 0]

female. You case was really fast. I heard the islamabad embassy is taking really long 

[Edward and Jaycel 393]

1 minute ago, AQ23 said:

female. You case was really fast. I heard the islamabad embassy is taking really long 

 

Yes... for their security/background checks to be completed, they cannot rely on the Pakistani Government so the AP for that process takes a really long time

[AQ23 0]

Did you submit ceremony photos as well?

[Edward and Jaycel 393]

1 minute ago, AQ23 said:

Did you submit ceremony photos as well?

 

We did not have an engagement ceremony, just a private proposal and dinner afterwards which we sent photos of.

[Boiler 45,885]

Pakistan is different, now if the fiancee is female then the Consulate know it would be very unusual for a Family to allow an unmarried daughter to move, so they assume, look for a religious ceremony.

[EmilyW 1,496]

State sponsored terrorism will tend to elongate security and background checks.

[mitzab 294]

My fiance at the time was a female from Pakistan, we did not had any issue, i went for my engagement we took engagement pictures, we documented everything, i came back filed for K1, everything smoothly, no major age difference etc. I was divorced as well, i thought that will be a problem. In my batch of filers there were a lot of males as well, some were sent on lengthy APs some were not, actually the guy who interviewed the same day my wife did, they both got the visa same day. My wife was in AP for a short time as well, you can go on AP blackhole for whatever reason and no one will be able to tell you and how long. 

K1 and Marriage visas are two different choices and they both should be considered hard, I did my research for me at that point in time K1 was the right option and I am very glad I chose that route. You can check my timeline for exact dates etc. 

all said I believe that marriage visa is a much stronger visa albeit it might take a little extra but it definitely has financial benefits, some people here are generally dismissive of the K1 visa (especially from countries that do not have good reputation) but there is a reason that visa exists. 

I would suggest to do your research on this forum, there are so many good guides here and so many good conversations that have happened before you ask this question, make yourself familiar with all the nuances before making a final decision. 

I hope you and your loved one are together sooner than later but it is not an easy journey and you guys need to have the mindset one way or the other to be able to accomplish the end result.

best of luck