appleblossom

This is a bit concerning, if you think being long distance would break you? Many people on here have done it for much longer than 2 years. So I'd make sure you're sure before heading down this path. But if that's the worry, then I'd go CR-1, but marry now. Why wait until next summer? Just a simple courthouse wedding asap, then file the I-130 (you can always have a bigger celebration later on if that's what you want). You don't need to prove financials or domicile until after the I-130 is approved, so that still gives her plenty of time to move ahead of you and sort that side of things.

2021 or 2024? There’s a big difference.

Your timeline says your i-130 was approved in Oct so presumably you were DQ’ed by mid November ish? So you should be expecting an IL any day now, you’ll probably have the interview before you hear back from any expedite request anyway.

No problem and of course you were. It's honestly not as scary as you might think, and now you've found VJ you've got a supportive helpful community behind you. Have a look at the list above and then feel free to ask any further questions and somebody will always try and help.

Why do you think she needs to be in the US for at least 6 months before she can apply? She could apply from anywhere, but if you can't meet the financial requirements then yes, she'll have to go ahead and try and find a job. But she doesn't need to work in that job for 6 months before you apply. And her not being in the US since she was young isn't really a complicating factor, plenty of people apply that are USC's but have never even set foot in the US. Has she been filing her taxes? That is the only possible complication. If you want to marry before she goes then K-1 isn't an option (you have to marry in the US for that). And it sounds to me as though CR-1 may be better anyway if money is an issue, as it will be cheaper and also mean you can start earning as soon as you get to the US. I'm going to tag forum member @Crazy Cat who has a fabulous comparison list which should help though. Best of luck.

If you don't want to file until she's been in the US for ~6 months and you want to marry 10-15 days before she leaves, K-1 isn't an option anyway. So that's the decision made for you! You shouldn't need a lawyer unless you have complicated circumstances. VJ is a DIY site, plenty of people here will help you with any questions. And only you would need to be interviewed. HTH, good luck.

They don't update anything until they look at it, and then it will only be a decision or an RFE. There's no status change to expect between you applying and that point.

Approx 15-16 months for immediate relatives. But non immediate relatives take much longer, USCIS don't rush to adjudicate them as they know there is a long time until there would be a visa anyway.

A copy will be fine. Make sure you take proof of value and proof of it being a second home/investment property as well. Lots have, but it will depend on circumstances. Best of luck.

I'm sorry, I don't have a link to hand, you'll just have to search for it. You can inform the consulate, it's probably worth a try.

TAL and Pakistan will be the reason, but 2 years is a very long time. It's crazy as you couldn't adjust status anyway through your brother, and would be several decades away from a visa via him. You can file WOM yourself, there is a guide on here that you can use by a lovely forum member that's done it themselves and helps others - have a hunt and hopefully you'll find it. You can try ESTA, might want to give that a go first, but you will have to declare the previous denial.

I-130 approval could be a decade away though, certainly at least a few years. Which is why you should submit the I-130 stating that the DOB is to the best of your knowledge, then do the FOIA asap as well. You can then update as needed. Good luck.

Will be interesting to see how many people apply for this, I can't imagine many will when they could do EB-5 instead (also a super quick process) and potentially get their money back.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. They’re already asking that people applying for visas set all their social media profiles to ‘public’. There’s no way I’d do that.

That doesn’t make any sense. If they were included as derivatives and were eligible they’d have got visas. But to help please answer the questions above - which dates (PD, approval date of the I-130, birth dates of the children in question)?

No, that won’t be the reason. Sounds like you’re just in Admin Processing (background checks), perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. What kind of visa?

I'm still not sure where this 'haven't gone past mid 2024' has come from, this forum is only a tiny sample of EB applicants. I think the date given on the USCIS tool seems pretty accurate. Again, looking at the stats from May 2025 just as an example, London issued 107 EB-2/3 visas in that month, so those people must have had IL's at some point in 2025. But don't forget that for some of that time there were no visas available for EB2 (when there were for EB1). And there's always far more EB2 and EB3 applicants than EB1. So there will be a bit of a backlog to get through because they paused those applications so are now on catch up. I also think that unfortunately the Trump policies are slowing things down now, and immediate relatives will always get priority so if they're slower that has a knock on effect on the rest of us. Fingers crossed you don't have to wait too much longer, good luck.

**Thread moved to K-1 forum**

See the link I gave you above, it's literally a step by step guide to the process. A lawyer isn't usually required, but start with the link, download the I-130 form and see how you feel about it. Good luck.

Funnily enough, I don’t go back and read the last six weeks worth of posts before I respond to something! I’ve got no idea what he said on the 2nd of November when I’m simply replying to a post made yesterday. And, I would point out, just trying to help. I’m on various EB-1A groups on WhatsApp and Facebook, some of them have had interview letters. You can also check the official stats if you don't believe anybody has had an IL past July 2024, for example May 2025's report which shows that 13 EB1 visas were issued by London that month. We have no way of knowing exactly when their IL's were issued, but it would have been well after July 2024 for interviews nearly a year later. Were you born in the UK? Have you transferred your case from anywhere else?

Our attorney who also specialised in EB cases at London told us to expect a 6 month wait for an interview, I told them them I reckoned the week I'd be expecting an IL (several months earlier than their estimate) and was spot on. They were gobsmacked. 😂 Attorneys should only have one or two cases on the go at a time, and most will be EB2/3's, so I wouldn't take their experience as gospel. I've seen plenty of EB1 applicants that were DQ'ed since July 2024 get their IL's in various groups. I don't think there are any other EB1 applicants on here currently waiting for an IL though, you may be the only one as most are EB-2's. I just looked up timelines, he didn't say on there he'd been expedited. But as above, there are definitely EB1 applicants who've had IL's that were DQ'ed long after July 2024.

Which applicants? If they're EB-2 then the DQ date is pretty much irrelevant, as they won't have been current until recently. But here's an EB1 applicant via London that's only applied this year and has an interview in 3 days - https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=448706

I'm sorry to hear this, I agree with @Rhema1 and unfortunately being from such a high fraud country will have had an impact on your case. It's not clear though, was your lawyer able to join via phone?

I think it's meant to be disrespectful, it's used by the younger generation in a disparaging way when something is stereotypically American or there is something about the country they don't like. I just say US or America.

As @OldUser said, you just need to put the new address on the DS-160.