Anxious!!

[looking 0]

My fiance and I received our first NOA on 05/08/07. He is planning to come down November 1 and wait with me until the visa is approved. Our date for the wedding is November 18. We are feeling very anxious...it feels like forever since the NOA1. The California Service Center has been working on I-129Fs that were received by them on Jan. 13! What is everyone's experience with how valid that time frame is??? If it's true, we have a problem-

[YuAndDan 153]

If you marry before the visa is approved, then you wont be fiancees any more, and the visa will be no-good, you will be starting over filing I-130 and perhaps I-129F for a CR-1 or K-3 visa.

With K-1 the rule is NEVER plan a wedding. If you want a set date, the K-3 or CR-1 is better, Marry first then apply for the Visa.

Edited August 14, 2007 by YuAndDan

[StillThePrettiest 3]

you may still be fine, Courtnie... your estimated NOA2 date is in September, and you're going through Vancouver, not Montreal... you may make it

I'd have a Plan B up my sleeve if I were you though, to minimise the stress and the pressure...

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

To my understanding, when a Service Center reports working on a petition submitted on whatever date, this is their OLDEST and not newest petition.

[rooster 1]

To my understanding, when a Service Center reports working on a petition submitted on whatever date, this is their OLDEST and not newest petition.

That is correct. They actually tend to be a 1-3 months quicker than the posted time. However, if for some reason they are reviewing your case, it could actually take longer. Not trying to scare you, but, it is the truth. As someone else said, have yourself a backup plan just in case.

[RosemarieL 0]

Someone in another thread spoke to a customer service rep who said they were working on 28th April and after applications at the moment but it is possible for people to be stuck in name checks for a while. The visa process is very unpredictable.

[pushbrk 12,822]

My fiance and I received our first NOA on 05/08/07. He is planning to come down November 1 and wait with me until the visa is approved. Our date for the wedding is November 18. We are feeling very anxious...it feels like forever since the NOA1. The California Service Center has been working on I-129Fs that were received by them on Jan. 13! What is everyone's experience with how valid that time frame is??? If it's true, we have a problem-

The visa process is serious business. Of course, you have a problem. Planning an actual wedding date in the US while in the K1 visa process is a foolish idea. You don't know when or potentially even if the visa will be issued. Once it is issued, you have 6 months to use it. Once used to enter the USA, you must marry within 90 days of entry. Those are the parameters. Making plans outside those parameters is, as you now understand, "a problem".

[bszoom42 0]

What we are doing to mitigate that problem is to start the wedding planning process by picking our favorite venues, djs, photographers, caterers, etc.

Once we get the K-1 Visa on her passport, I will be making frantic calls to finalize everything based on whatever is available at that time.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

What we are doing to mitigate that problem is to start the wedding planning process by picking our favorite venues, djs, photographers, caterers, etc.

Once we get the K-1 Visa on her passport, I will be making frantic calls to finalize everything based on whatever is available at that time.

That's smart. I think picking a date is crazy if you havent been interviewed yet. Like buying a nonrefundable plane ticket and missing the bus to the airport. Hmm...

[JoeMama 0]

What we are doing to mitigate that problem is to start the wedding planning process by picking our favorite venues, djs, photographers, caterers, etc.

Once we get the K-1 Visa on her passport, I will be making frantic calls to finalize everything based on whatever is available at that time.

That's smart. I think picking a date is crazy if you havent been interviewed yet. Like buying a nonrefundable plane ticket and missing the bus to the airport. Hmm...

It's the roll the dice and see what you get. I started working on wedding plans for October 20th. My fiancee' was approved for her visa only 2 days ago. I'll be with her next Friday. I rolled the dice with the advanced purchases of our plane tickets and setting the wedding date before she was interviewed. What gave me the confidence was knowing that I covered every conceivable possibility of the paperwork she needed. I didn't realize how much documentation I had given her to take the interview, until she showed me through the webcam. I almost felt like sending a mule over to help her carry all of it

[looking 0]

Thanks for the advice - no plans are concrete, we understand the unpredictability of the process...