Is there any backlog for SA ? Timeline? (IR1/CR1)

[AlwaysStressed 3]

Hi 

 

Does anyone know what the timeline is like at the moment for South Africa ? (IR1/CR1 Consular Process) Are there any backlogs? Does anyone have direct experience with this process ? 

 

I'm feeling a bit fear mongered if the reality is years upon years of backlogs and waiting times. One person from the UK said they've been waiting 20 months with no progress. Another dealing with the Barbados Embassy had to wait 4 years. I understand immigration isn't a quick process but that's concerning considering these are people's lives being put on hold. I don't understand how it's expected for people to have a healthy marriage in this way or a life at all...

 

If this happens, is it possible to contact a congressman? What would be a resolution ? 

[Crazy Cat 43,001]

***Moved to a regional forum for consulate specific question***

[JeanneAdil 6,786]

never compare to another's post or timeline

the person interviewing in one country might have been born in a high fraud country \

OR petition was not complete and they had to respond to RFE

 

We do not see the numbers here for South Africa as high as other consulates and that also makes a BIG DIFFERENCE

 

QUIT stressing and just spend the time talking online and keep the romance going 

this is a pain in the butt i know ,  ours was 6 years as we had a big age difference but we made it

[AlwaysStressed 3]

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

never compare to another's post or timeline

the person interviewing in one country might have been born in a high fraud country \

OR petition was not complete and they had to respond to RFE

 

We do not see the numbers here for South Africa as high as other consulates and that also makes a BIG DIFFERENCE

 

QUIT stressing and just spend the time talking online and keep the romance going 

this is a pain in the butt i know ,  ours was 6 years as we had a big age difference but we made it

Was it 6 years overall for your long distance relationship or do you mean 6 years in the process? 😳 wow strong. 

 

Thank you. I'll take that advice. I guess I'm also having a hard time with the seperation again. It's always hardest after spending so much time together and the pain seems never ending sometimes.

Edited March 25 by AlwaysStressed

[JeanneAdil 6,786]

21 hours ago, AlwaysStressed said:

Was it 6 years overall for your long distance relationship or do you mean 6 years in the process? 😳 wow strong. 

 

Thank you. I'll take that advice. I guess I'm also having a hard time with the seperation again. It's always hardest after spending so much time together and the pain seems never ending sometimes.

yes, 6 years for immigration as our age difference was a big one

k1 2009 denied

CR1 approved in 2015

the time away is hard , really hard but once your spouse is here,  the time will go fast

married now 15 years / he is a citizen

 

i think the hard part of all this is that you bypass the normal dating and romance of being in same country /the fun part before settling down to married life and the commitment of the partnership along with the workload involved.,   So i say in your long chats,  forget immigration issues and keep it romantic and understanding of the long distance you deal with / don't dwell on immigration as it will bring you down and u need to keep the hopes and dreams alive.

 

I never let Adil know how upset i was with the RFE we did and how mad the process made me.  i cried and he didn't see it.  My dream was alive even when spirits were low

[hplusj 320]

You have to take into account the new refugee status applied to SA citizens with the current administration.  This may have resulted in an increase in staffing to accommodate the increased workload, and it may not have: yet.

 

You can always use the Department of State website to assess the visa bulletin and see the monthly processing by visa type.  Traditionally Joberg processes a vast amount of work visas, namely H-1B, compared to family based.  Currently no legislation has changed the H-1B process so that staff is still allocated to that work, as well as the new refugee status applications.  Family based will remain high priority but I am unsure if the refugee status precludes it.

 

Ultimately I would expect at least 3 months, perhaps longer.  Our K1 sat at NVC last summer for four months before being received at the embassy, which although you should not comparatively assess other timelines too much, given it's the same embassy and combined with current events, gives some useful context.

 

Good luck with your journey!

Edited March 26 by hplusj

[appleblossom 3,624]

On 3/25/2025 at 12:37 PM, AlwaysStressed said:

Hi 

 

Does anyone know what the timeline is like at the moment for South Africa ? (IR1/CR1 Consular Process) Are there any backlogs? Does anyone have direct experience with this process ? 

 

I'm feeling a bit fear mongered if the reality is years upon years of backlogs and waiting times. One person from the UK said they've been waiting 20 months with no progress. Another dealing with the Barbados Embassy had to wait 4 years. I understand immigration isn't a quick process but that's concerning considering these are people's lives being put on hold. I don't understand how it's expected for people to have a healthy marriage in this way or a life at all...

 

If this happens, is it possible to contact a congressman? What would be a resolution ? 

 

There’s no way somebody from the UK should wait for 20 months for an interview if they’re an immediate relative, it’s usually 2-3 months at most. And Barbados is a bit longer, but still nowhere near 4 years! Are you sure they’re for the same visa category, or for a different one with a wait for a PD to become current? Or perhaps they’re referring to Admin Processing rather the initial wait for an interview? If you can link to the posts we can hopefully put your mind at rest as it doesn’t sound as though they’ll be relevant to your process. 

Edited March 26 by appleblossom

[AlwaysStressed 3]

2 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

There’s no way somebody from the UK should wait for 20 months for an interview if they’re an immediate relative, it’s usually 2-3 months at most. And Barbados is a bit longer, but still nowhere near 4 years! Are you sure they’re for the same visa category, or for a different one with a wait for a PD to become current? Or perhaps they’re referring to Admin Processing rather the initial wait for an interview? If you can link to the posts we can hopefully put your mind at rest as it doesn’t sound as though they’ll be relevant to your process. 

That's why I'm panicking. I was under the impression, the UK was one of the fastest in terms of processing. If the UK is slow at the moment, what does that mean for SA? I'm assuming it's for the same visa because I asked specifically about IR1/CR1 and got those responses about other people's experiences. From what I understand, the 20 months they are referring to refers to their whole process timeline in total to date. 

 

I asked on the lawfully app so unfortunately, I can't link back to it. 

 

<Outside Link removed>

Edited March 26 by AlwaysStressed

[Crazy Cat 43,001]

***One comment edited to removed outside link****

[appleblossom 3,624]

6 minutes ago, AlwaysStressed said:

That's why I'm panicking. I was under the impression, the UK was one of the fastest in terms of processing. If the UK is slow at the moment, what does that mean for SA? I'm assuming it's for the same visa because I asked specifically about IR1/CR1 and got those responses about other people's experiences.

 

<Outside Link removed>

 

Not sure where the post was, but it’s utter nonsense if anybody is saying they waited 20 months for IR1/CR1 interview letter from London! Stick with VJ, far more reliable. 😂

[appleblossom 3,624]

16 minutes ago, AlwaysStressed said:

From what I understand, the 20 months they are referring to refers to their whole process timeline in total to date. 

 

 

Just saw your edit - so what’s the panic? 20 months is pretty standard (actually about as quick as it gets), I thought you meant 20 months just for the interview!

[AlwaysStressed 3]

4 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

Not sure where the post was, but it’s utter nonsense if anybody is saying they waited 20 months for IR1/CR1 interview letter from London! Stick with VJ, far more reliable. 😂

That's reassuring! Someone else on this thread let me know they had to wait 6 years but they had K1 involved as well which got denied. Beauracy is a nuisance - I'm not trying to be an ageist but I definitely am not looking at being old with aching bones by the time I start my married life. I'm already 5 years older than my partner (31 & 26). We've already gone a couple years at a distance. I'm tired and frustrated at this point.

[AlwaysStressed 3]

2 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

Just saw your edit - so what’s the panic? 20 months is pretty standard (actually about as quick as it gets), I thought you meant 20 months just for the interview!

No. Just the whole process timeline in general but the guy relaying that to me was angered by having it at 20 months. According to their post, it's still on the initial stage with no progress report if approved or not. 

[appleblossom 3,624]

3 minutes ago, AlwaysStressed said:

No. Just the whole process timeline in general but the guy relaying that to me was angered by having it at 20 months. According to their post, it's still on the initial stage with no progress report if approved or not. 

 

Do you mean the I-130? 20 months for that is unusual, it’s 17 months ish at the moment. It may be that he’s not a citizen, and has just misread your question. Or that he’s had an RFE that he hasn’t mentioned. Or that he’s got something in his background that needs more checking. Etc, etc. 

 

There really is no point in stressing yourself to this extent, or comparing your timeline to others. It will happen, have faith. 

Edited March 26 by appleblossom

[AlwaysStressed 3]

2 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

yes, 6 years for immigration as our age difference was a big one

k1 2009 denied

CR1 approved in 2015

the time away is hard , really hard but once your spouse is here,  the time will go fast

married now 15 years / he is a citizen

 

i think the hard part of all this is that you bypass the normal dating and romance of being in same country /the fun part before settling down to married life and the commitment of the partnership along with the workload involved.,   So i say in your long chats,  forget immigration issues and keep it romantic and understanding of the long distance you deal with / don't dwell on immigration as it will bring you down and u need to keep the hopes and dreams alive.

 

I never let Adil know how upset i was with the RFE we did and how mad the process made me.  i cried and he didn't see it.  My dream was alive even when spirits were low

If I may ask, what is your age difference ? I also have one. It's 5 years and I'm the older one. How long did the CR1 process for you take overall and what did you have to change so you could be approved ? 

 

Thank you for that advice. I have been moping about the stress and it can drag on in conversation. 

 

How did you cope through it all? What helped especially with the separation anxiety ?