JayFromTexas

No, not several years for a K1. That prediction was unnecessarily scary. Yes, there have been a few K1 cases take more than 2 years, but it is pretty rare. K1 cases are taking about 18 months from the time you file your application to the time she has her interview and gets her visa. Before Covid several years ago, K1 cases progressed much more quickly than spouse visas, but now, they are taking about the same amount of time or maybe a little bit quicker for the K1. My wife is a Russian citizen and we are almost done. I filed a I130 in March of 2023 and we should be done in the next 60-90 days, so our timeline will have been about 16 months. I've seen spouse cases take longer than that and a few even shorter than that. I haven't monitored K1 cases as closely, but in general they progress at about the same pace. You asked if a CR1 would be better and I think most here would say yes. I know I think a CR1 is better. For these reasons: 1) Your wife, if desired, can work in the U.S. when she arrives, otherwise it could be several months to a year before she is allowed to work 2) You don't have to go through the lengthy K1-CR1 Adjustment of Status (AOS) process (I think we will have to adjust from Cr1 to IR1, but I haven't researched that step, yet. I am under the impression that CR1 to IR1 is a much simpler and easier process, but not sure.) 3) It is cheaper to get a CR1 visa, compared to a K1 4) CR1 cases seem to carry more weight with consulates, if you decide to transfer your case away from Poland. We requested a transfer to Bangkok and it was accepted. Literally 4 days before ours was accepted, a person I know requested a transfer for his K1 case and they were denied There are other reasons for going with CR1, but I can't remember them of the top of my head. Regarding Poland, it IS possible to get there. Several do it every month. But it is a hassle. You've got to get a Schengen in another country like Spain or Hungary and travel their first and then travel to Poland from there. The Schengen Visa you get will be very time limited, like 2 weeks and sometimes it takes longer than 2 weeks to complete the interview process in Warsaw. Most of that time is due to you waiting to get your girl's passport back, after the interview. Good luck!

I should have added, my wife got her tourist visa before got engaged and has visited me several times while the IR/CR1 process has been going on. She had no issues entering the US.

Yes, you can visit on a tourist visa and it is unlikely that you'll have any issues with border patrol. Getting a tourist visa might be a challenge, especially since you're so far along in the immigration process.

I agree with almost everything you wrote including considering Hungary and Spain as countries to target for the Schengen, but I've read several posts that it doesn't take several months. I know of a couple men with Russian fiancé's who got a Hungarian Schengen within 2-3 weeks. They all used a service and were located in either St. Petersburg or Moscow. I don't know about the availability of such services elsewhere in Russia.

What if I usually don't file my taxes until later in the year? I own 2 businesses and it takes time to prepare everything to do my taxes. If our interview is in June and if I filed an extension, but haven't filed my 2023 tax return, is that ok?

It is perfectly fine. My wife visited me on her tourist visa before we were married and after we were married with zero issues. You can absolutely marry while your fiancé visits you, as long as she leaves and doesn’t overstay her visa. My wife and I chose to marry online, but we could have married here with no issues. Good luck with your new life!

Based on the fact that F2a processing times are currently ~ 36 months and the date the PD becomes current is now 41 months, it is likely that he will be covered under CSPA, correct? Assuming the timelines remain the same, which they won't of course, but it helps understand the math by using current timelines.

VERY helpful. Thank you.

Thank you very much for answering my question. I appreciate it.

Thank you for your help. Reading your link it says, If you are applying for a Green Card based on one of the categories above, you are eligible for CSPA consideration if either your qualifying Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, or one of the following underlying forms was filed or pending on or after Aug. 6, 2002 And the Form I130 is one of the following underlying forms. This says, "Filed", not approved. This makes me think that as long as my wife files an I130 for her son before he is 21, he won't age out. Is that not the case?

I see that I may be referring to the NOA2 stage incorrectly for an I130 application. So again, I was told that as long as the I130 has been approved by USCIS by the time they are 21, they don't age out.

NOA2 is when the i30 is approved by USCIS and the case is passed on to the National Visa Center. My understanding is that as long as their I130 has been approved before they turn 21, they won't age out. Getting an I130 approved and getting a visa are 2 different steps.

Thank you. A quick followup question, if you don't mind... The Visa Bulletin shows the current F2A dates being processed as Sept 8 2020. Is this how long these cases are taking, on average, to get to NOA2? Or is it the dates that are currently receiving visas? If it is the latter, where can we see how long it takes to get to the NOA2 stage? Lastly, it is my understanding that as long as an F2A application received the NOA2 approval before age 21, they will remain an F2A and not age out. Is this correct?

Headline pretty much asks the question... My wife has a 13 yr old daughter and I filed an i130 for both. We are getting close to their interview and we wanted to know what is required, if anything, from her father to allow her to immigrate? Their country is Russia and we are interviewing in Bangkok.

My Russian wife is about 2 months away from getting her green card. We are waiting on her interview letter from the Bangkok consulate (we transferred there from Warsaw). She has a son who is 19 yrs old with a birthday of October 22. The minute my wife gets her green card, we are going to submit an i130 for her son. And btw, we were not married when he was under 18. I understand that he would be an F2A case and would age out and become an F2B case, if he doesn't receive his NOA2 before his 21st birthday. What happens if he ages out and his mother becomes a naturalized citizen, 3 years after she becomes a LPR? Does that help or change his case for the better?

For those who are seeking CR/IR visas, I think consulates are more likely to accept your transfer than K1 cases. This morning, I received notification from the Thailand consulate that they are accepting my wife's and my stepdaughter's CR1/CR2 transfer request from Warsaw. They responded in 3 days. Only 2 days before, an American with a Russian fiance' was rejected by the same consulate. I am by no means telling K1 cases to not try. What I am saying is if you are CR/IR cases, don't be discouraged by news that a K1 case was rejected.

I believe I saw one agency that had an expedited service. I’ll look into it. Thanks!

@Tex_44 Where did you try to get Schengen visas? My wife and stepdaughter got DQ'd a few days ago and we now need to make some decisions as to where we're going to go.

You are correct. I was speaking in general terms. The medical is usually conducted near the time of the interview, but not always.

Reviving this thread... My Russian wife just got DQ'd and we are waiting on our interview letter. Our plan is to meet in Hungary and travel together to Warsaw by train. When you get a Schengen visa, a short term, single entry one, what timeframe does it usually cover? Should we wait to receive our interview letter or should we start the Schengen process now? Thinking out loud, I guess we're going to have to wait because we need to show evidence of tickets and hotel reservations and for that, I need an interview date. My worry is we'll wait for the IL and there won't be enough time to get the Schengen visa and make all the travel arrangements. ONE OTHER QUESTION... What does the collective here think the current, best plan to schedule and attend a CR1 interview? Keep it at Warsaw and do whatever it takes to get a Schengen visa? OR focus our efforts on a transfer to another embassy? If so, where's the best place to transfer, at this time? Thank your for your advice!

Upon receiving a CR1 visa, you must enter the US within 6 months. Once you enter, you need to live in the US a minimum of 6 months per year in order for your wife to not lose her greencard. Like @pushbrk said, it currently takes around 18 months to get a CR1.

I filed the i130 for my wife and stepdaughter on March 13, 2023. They were both approved on February 22, 2024. Today I received word that my stepdaughter is now DQ'd! I expect my wife to be DQ'd as early as tomorrow. We're going to try to get to Warsaw and interview there. It is looking like late July or early August.

NJS, you will want to upload more than 1 picture of you and your spouse. You should provide evidence that your marriage is not a sham. I uploaded multiple pictures of my wife and me from the several times we met. I also uploaded copies of the visas in our passports that showed that we were together multiple times. I also wrote out a narrative of our when we met, how we met and a chronological list of when and where we met in person.

Definitely you should file the 129f. I've seen I130 cases get approved in 3-4 months. Was it because of the 129f? We can't tell for sure, but as others have said, it doesn't cost anything, so you might as well. One other nuance to this is, you can file the 129f more than once. I'm working with a lady who does 5-10 cases per month and she recommends all I130 cases file the 129f too and if your I130 isn't approved in 3 months, file the 129f again. She has seen several of her clients get their I130 approved in 6 months or less. If they haven't been approved in 6 months, she files the 129f a third time. I filed the 129f when I filed my wife's I130 back in March of last year, but I didn't know that I could file the 129f more than once, until October. I filed it again in October and again in late January. Our I130 was approved 2/23/24. That's 11 months from the NOA1 and not out of the ordinary for a regular I130 submission, so in my case the 129f probably didn't help. If you're like me, though, you want to do everything possible with the hopes that something might speed up the approval. Good luck!

I hope it isn't a change in the process for Russian immigrants. The 2 recent AP cases that we've seen here have both been K1 visas. Maybe they are scrutinizing them more than IR/CR1 cases? As I commented in another thread about a possible change, I'm working with a woman who helps 5-10 cases per month and she hasn't noticed an uptick in AP outcomes. My wife is currently in the NVC stage and will be interviewing soon, so I guess we'll find out firsthand.