Vulpis

Nope, this name change is a separate matter that is unrelated to us getting married or anything. Family name is being retained; given name is changing.

Petition was filed in January 2023. Partner filed to change her name just a few weeks back in her local jurisdiction, and will take a few months to go through. We're not sure on what do to once said name change finishes, as a few months from now, we may have NOA2. If we're still waiting for USCIS, should we reach out to them or send unsolicited documents to the CSC? If we already have NOA2, should we just let it proceed and correct it at interview date with the proper evidence on hand?

K-1s are understandably deprioritized over true familial reunion visas.

I'm expecting 3-5+ months wait by the end of the year. Good luck to everyone going forwards Its increasingly clear that any improvements made at CSC will be zeroed out or even made worse at NVC and consulates

Shouldn't be that too bad. I'm optimistic that the estimated wait times will continue to improve and that I hear back from them with either an approval or RFE (hopefully not) by late October (NOA of late January). Would be a great birthday gift

Another good day at CSC; 314 cases moved to terminal status. If this keeps up, we'll start seeing wait times slip below a year for our fall 2022 filers. On a side note my case could definitely have been a Nov 2022 NOA1 If I didn't listen to my lawyer who insisted that the beneficiary has to be out of country at time of receipt of the packet by USCIS.

I'm expecting my NOA2 later this year; I'm just watching and sometimes participating in these other threads to gauge how things are going. I sincerely hope that increases aren't going up lockstep cause that would mean potentially adding another year on top of the wait times for those who are filing this year. AKA a true 1:1 trade of wait times and it just ends up sticking at 600+ days from start -> interview.

If your speculation is true, then that's an unfortunate reality that we're just gonna have a 1:1 trade of wait times and everyone is just gonna be waiting the same amount of time as the systems were predicting before USCIS started blasting through cases.

With the K-1 processing times still being ridiculous (no chance of total wait times going below 12-14 months) you're better off doing the CR-1 from the get go. Even if the CR-1 process takes longer, the ability for the beneficiary to work, travel abroad, hold a REAL ID make CR-1 THE superior choice. K-1 should only be considered if there are specific circumstances that you know would be bothersome (like either kids or drawbacks for either party having a spouse overseas when it comes to government matters like taxes). I'd also say take the time and gather as much STRONG evidence you can to prevent an RFE; rushing into getting engaged or married is a RED flag for USCIS adjudicators. As a I-129F filer with an NOA1 of Jan 2023 (likely to see NOA2 before the New Years), I'm still debating whether to withdraw, get married and file I-130. Being apart isn't a big issue for the two of us, and we'd be OK even if the process took years. The internet is a thing.

Are a lot of these ghost cases just those that were submitted at the end of their respective months? Like is there a pattern that if your NOA1 is among the last days of the month, it's likely to just be left untouched versus those who submitted at the beginning of the month? Also, dang looks like we're trading one bottleneck for another, albeit smaller bottleneck. NOA2->NVC times per those posting VJ timelines is at an all time high since Jan 2022 and those other threads do NOT inspire confidence of having a wait time less than 3-5 months after NOA2.

Excellent numbers. Looks like my timeline is gonna be around 11.5 months between NOA1-NOA2 (late Jan 2023 filer). Will say though this forum and social media sites still have me thinking about having a talk with my partner to withdraw the I-129F, do the Utah online wedding and just do the CR1 process.

As a Jan 2023 K1 filer, I'm eternally kicking myself for me and my fiancee being stupid and not getting married and doing the CR-1. As others have posted above, think with your *head* and not with your heart, and with USCIS its better to ignore your emotions and focus solely on the cold hard facts (something my fiancee is terrible at). Yes, Utah online marriages are a thing, but again my fiancee values having even just a small in-person ceremony.

Biggest reason why we didn’t opt for the CR1. Saying do the logical thing and get married and just stay apart EZ is easier said than done. It’s wouldn’t be fun to go through the motions of getting married with the big wedding and all, and then split apart for potentially more than a year.

Trying not to get hopes up too much, but I am really really hoping for some Jan 2023 cases to be touched before the end of year 🙏 Going to spend the holidays with fiancee and (to be) in-laws and it'd be a nice Christmas gift to see someone from my month get NOA2s and give a good dose of hope to power through the 4-5 months of NOA2->interview waiting (hopefully NVC and Frankfurt consulate don't become bottlenecks) .

Nope, timing of your relationship is a nonissue, and all USCIS cares about is whether it passes the smell test of whether the relationship is genuine or not. Photos with family / friends is a good start in proving that, along with your passport stamps entering the Philippines. If you want to proceed with the K-1 visa process, wait times are getting better; your fiancee will likely get their visa in hand by end of summer 2024 if you file now. Either way, try to squeeze in another visit if life and your finances permit.

I still reserve cautious optimism, as trying to predict USCIS can be difficult at times, and who's to say that all these approvals won't just clog up NVC 😕

Absolutely insane that there's a good chance that some Jan 2023 filers could see their cases adjudicated this year. Not that I mind as a 1/27/23 NOA1 (still scared mine will end up in the last 20% that don't get touched for a while). Hopefully the pace continues like this or hell even goes up!

Here’s the thing - my adoptive parents claim they never received or applied to obtain a certificate of citizenship on behalf of kid me. They just got me the passport and that’s that.

So I (petitioner) obtained my US citizenship many years ago through adoption (IR-7 status). My adoptive parents in the years afterwards have either lost or accidentally destroyed all documentation regarding my adoption and my sole proof of US citizen status is my passport. I'm quite nervous that this is going to throw a wrench somewhere down the line whether now or further down like in the adjustment of status. I've already encountered some struggles with this, like when renewing my passport with a name change (deleting one of my two first names). It was rejected at the Passport Office with a demand for Certificate of Citizenship with modified name issued by USCIS that required my House representative's office twisting some arms to resolve. Should I be worried about this and seek assistance with obtaining copies of as much files as I can and trying to obtain a certificate of citizenship ASAP?

My information maybe out of date, but Chase and American Express both require social security numbers within a certain amount of time (IIRC it is a few months) when adding authorized users.

No as in the ESTA will likely be approved, or no, my fiancée should hold off on trying to enter the USA until all is said and done with the visa

My fiancée's German passport expires this June, which means she'd have to file a new ESTA once the passport is renewed. Considering that there's a I129F processing with her name on it, will that ESTA be just turned down? I know that attempting to get a B visa with one of these petitions in the queue is a virtual nonstarter. We're just curious as my fiancee would very much like to spend the holidays in the states with our friends.

My $0.02, but even with the delays that plague the K1 visa, I still think its the superior choice for couples who are serious about getting married to each other, but have less time spent together that would pass a potentially higher burden to prove for the CR1 visa. I'm not an adjudicator, but IMHO, I'd raise more red flags looking at a CR1 filed by a couple who got married a few weeks after meeting each other (or even just a few days afterwards like my parents) versus a couple who got engaged after the said amount of time.

Just checked VJ timeline again and it went from early May -> late March 2024🥳 (late January 2023 NOA1) Maybe its too much to hope for it to move down to Jan/Feb 2024, but let's see!

Hello! I-129F Sent: 20 January 2023 NOA1: 26 January 2023 So begins the waiting game, hopefully 12-13 months only! I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows me to have enough money and free time to go visit Germany every 3-4 months for 1 month at a time, so this will go by quickly. I do worry about our case from time to time, as my worrywart brain can think of stuff that can turn up RFEs and delays. We're both transgender, which means name and gender marker changes. I've been gathering our paperwork together for everything, but I still worry it is not enough. I obtained my US citizenship by being adopted (IR7 immigrant class, given away by my birth parents to family friends). I've been tracking down adoption records and filed FOIA requests with USCIS to get as much stuff as I can like the I-485. However, there's still key documents that are missing due to my disorganized adoptive parents like my passport from my home country, first US passport, green card. Mom claims there's no certificate of citizenship since it wasn't automatically given at the time and she didn't wanna cough up the extra money for it.