Can I-129F Petition Expire?

[NaNaNaNaBooBoo 0]

I am a bit nervous, as I spoke with our case manager at the Johannesburg Embassy in South Africa and he said that the I-129F petition is only good for four months!!! Is this possible? He said we may have to refile. We have done nothing wrong, all forms were returned one day after we received them. He said he would need to look further into our case, but went ahead and scheduled our interview date for Nov. 7th. This man was our first case manager, then we were sent to 3 other managers, and turns out all along the first manager was our case manager, unbelievable. Our NOA1 is April 4th, four months after that is Aug. 4th, we didn't even get our NOA2 until Aug. 14th. I think our case manager is loopy. Should I ask to speak to a supervisor?

[frndly1 1]

If the Embassy had your case before the 4 months they "usually" automatically extend your petition.

I have not heard of anyone having to refile.

Good luck.

[chuckandkim 0]

SEARCH is your friend...

YES, It will expire after 4 month. BUT the Case Manager can extend it...

HERE - 4 months only

[YuAndDan 153]

It is 4 months from the approval date on the NOA2, the consulate can extend the time, I should know, many consulates are so back logged that they extend them automatically.

You may want to send them this letter if they get close to that 4 month time limit: http://www.visajourney.com/examples/extend-approval.doc From the example forms.

Also see the replies in your duplicate post: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=37960

[Randy 0]

The important point as just mentioned above is 4 months from approval!!! This is your NOA2 date. I copied this quote from the USCIS website:

Extending the Petition

The I-129F petition is valid for four months from the date of approval from USCIS. Consular officers can extend the validity of the petition (revalidate the petition) if it expires before the processing of the visa application is completed.

Good Luck to you!!!

[sheraz 0]

I am a bit nervous, as I spoke with our case manager at the Johannesburg Embassy in South Africa and he said that the I-129F petition is only good for four months!!! Is this possible? He said we may have to refile. We have done nothing wrong, all forms were returned one day after we received them. He said he would need to look further into our case, but went ahead and scheduled our interview date for Nov. 7th. This man was our first case manager, then we were sent to 3 other managers, and turns out all along the first manager was our case manager, unbelievable. Our NOA1 is April 4th, four months after that is Aug. 4th, we didn't even get our NOA2 until Aug. 14th. I think our case manager is loopy. Should I ask to speak to a supervisor?

The approval is valid for 4 mths. Your interview is Nov 7th. You should worry about the interview.

Your worried about no real reason

[payxibka 10,045]

I am a bit nervous, as I spoke with our case manager at the Johannesburg Embassy in South Africa and he said that the I-129F petition is only good for four months!!! Is this possible? He said we may have to refile. We have done nothing wrong, all forms were returned one day after we received them. He said he would need to look further into our case, but went ahead and scheduled our interview date for Nov. 7th. This man was our first case manager, then we were sent to 3 other managers, and turns out all along the first manager was our case manager, unbelievable. Our NOA1 is April 4th, four months after that is Aug. 4th, we didn't even get our NOA2 until Aug. 14th. I think our case manager is loopy. Should I ask to speak to a supervisor?

The approval is valid for 4 mths. Your interview is Nov 7th. You should worry about the interview.

Your worried about no real reason

You are correct, in reality she is worried for no reason other than the alarming fact that the consulate feeding her bad info.

[aussiewench 9]

It should be kept in mind that whilst a petition can be extended and usually is, it is not a foregone conclusion as it is totally up to the consulate as to whether they grant the extension. To avoid any possible problems at POE the extension date should also appear on the paperwork as there has been those in the past that have had issues due to the petition being expired when the visa was granted and the date not being recorded to reflect the extension. Not trying to scare anyone, just trying to say that an extension should not just be accepted as automatic. That can be dangerous.

[sakurasama 0]

Aussiewench is absolutely correct. Extensions are not automatic. I am filing a second K-1 petition because the CO decided not to extend our petition. I would request an extension in writing. I did and I am including it in my second K-1 to show that I was on top of things and earnest about getting my fiance here.

[aussiewench 9]

Aussiewench is absolutely correct. Extensions are not automatic. I am filing a second K-1 petition because the CO decided not to extend our petition. I would request an extension in writing. I did and I am including it in my second K-1 to show that I was on top of things and earnest about getting my fiance here.

All the best this time around.

[SirLancelot 1]

Aussiewench is absolutely correct. Extensions are not automatic. I am filing a second K-1 petition because the CO decided not to extend our petition. I would request an extension in writing. I did and I am including it in my second K-1 to show that I was on top of things and earnest about getting my fiance here.

Cute, country is Tibet? Tibet is a province of China.

I wonder if you consider Texas a seperate country.

While Aussiewench is quite an authority on almost all things K1/K3/CR1 visa petitions, I think it's assumed--and rightly so--that 99.9% of the time petition validity extentions are granted automatically. A VO/CO can deny your visa too. They have final authority of course but it would be rare for them to deny an automatic extension, especially due to no fault of your own. They probably wanted to deny your visa but used the validity period instead. I'm really curious to see if you get approved this second time around.

[sakurasama 0]

My fiance is not Chinese. He is a refugee who carries citizenship papers from the Tibetan governtment in exile. He lives in India in one of the two areas Nehru gave to the Tibetans in 1959 when the Dalai Lama fled Tibet. And, incidentally, the USCIS and the Embassy both accepted "Tibet" as his country on all forms.

But I appreciate your two cents and your concern for my visa process.

[chuckandkim 0]

My fiance is not Chinese. He is a refugee who carries citizenship papers from the Tibetan governtment in exile. He lives in India in one of the two areas Nehru gave to the Tibetans in 1959 when the Dalai Lama fled Tibet. And, incidentally, the USCIS and the Embassy both accepted "Tibet" as his country on all forms.

But I appreciate your two cents and your concern for my visa process.

Thank you for educating me personally! This is very interesting piece of history which not a lot of folks know...

[SirLancelot 1]

My fiance is not Chinese. He is a refugee who carries citizenship papers from the Tibetan governtment in exile. He lives in India in one of the two areas Nehru gave to the Tibetans in 1959 when the Dalai Lama fled Tibet. And, incidentally, the USCIS and the Embassy both accepted "Tibet" as his country on all forms.

But I appreciate your two cents and your concern for my visa process.

That is quite interesting. I stand corrected. So what US Consulate/Embassy do you go to? The one in India?

[sakurasama 0]

Yes, we go through New Delhi.