Bunninuts

Thank you so much for sharing! You are very organized. This will be helpful for myself and others that want to do this in future, assuming the process doesn't change when I am able to apply for my partner 😁 @OldUser Thank you for mentioning about paying with a check over a cc. Although my first payment was handled well, I won't risk it for future payments. 💜

Although the timeline I have been following is for a k-1, the time from when NVC received it and the interview scheduled and embassy received it was a little over 2 months. This timeline was updated just a week ago and for the Embassy in Panama. The time to wait for having interviews scheduled and NVC sending it on is getting longer. I'm sorry you are having to wait longer. I hope you get this through before the process might change. Keep an eye on any changes and documents that may be needed if the interview lands after Jan 20, 2025. Best wishes to you and your partner 💜

@Dashinka Thank you for sharing how many times you had spent time in person! @yulia g Many say more time is better, and it is, but so many are approved with only a couple visits. You passed the first approval so there is a good chance of passing the second. The time spent together seems to have a bigger impact on how many visits. Wishing you and your partner good luck and wonderful future 💜

I wish I had gone the CR1 route. I am already deep into the K-1 and wish I could switch but time is already invested. There isn't a reason to do the K-1 when you both live in Brazil. The CR1 is a better avenue as you both are living together currently. Thoroughly read what is necessary paperwork wise for the CR1 and have a translator chosen to translate any documents into english. There are some online translators that are inexpensive and all electronic. The timeline someone else gave regarding the K-1 isn't reasonable. All have to have an embassy interview before coming to the US. I'm 4 months into a K-1 without the first approval. There are multiple approvals with the K-1 and touches many hands before they are given the ability to come to the US. A couple on here that I follow their timeline because they too are going through Panama, had their K-1 approved 2.5 months ago and the NVC only just now received it. They are suppose to receive the file within approx 2 weeks. That isn't happening. The wait times are getting longer every day and the backlog is growing exponentially as they have more requests submitted than they process. This couple will have to wait for the NVC to transfer the file to the Panamanian Embassy where they will then review and schedule an interview with the beneficiary. This process can take months if not longer. Side note: The process may change after the US President changes in Jan. This may alter how the process is completed and what is necessary document wise. It can also make the processing times longer. Consider if it would be possible and in your situations best interest to get the request filed before Jan 1. Best wishes to you and your partner 💜

@vivian57 Have you canceled the I-129 already? If not, when did your fiance file? If you haven't withdrawn the application yet, don't. You can lengthen the time to be perfect with your school completion. It would be in your best interest to lengthen the application time within each of the steps over canceling and reapplying. The cost alone should encourage you to not cancel. The fees are not refunded and would have to be repaid. I also must echo what Marieke H said above. You both should know how this process works by researching on the USCIS website and read through everything. Also research how long it actually takes from start to finish without lengthening the time. The timelines for others currently is a year from submitting the first application to their fiance coming to the US to finally be married. Side note: I don't blame your fiance for being a bit upset. Waiting to start your life isn't comfortable or desirable for most folks. We don't know how much time we are given to live and so much can change month to month, let alone year to year. I wish you the best outcome for your and your partner 💜

I found the easiest way for my partner and I to choose a new last name is for me to change my last name before we get married. When we marry, he takes my last name which is an option in the US. I'm not sure how this would work in Panama and finding information on name changes in Panama is proving challenging 🙃

@Lemonslice To make sure I am understanding you correctly, it doesn't matter if the person is here from another country, we can still change both of our last names in your states example? @Family Do you mean it went well for everything after their marriage and obtaining a green card but couldn't renew because of the name change? Did they change names before applying for the green card? @Dashinka Naturalization is not the same as a green card, right? I'm in Oregon and will sleuth what is needed in my state and then of course for the green card process/consulate. Thank you everyone for your helpful input. I'm hoping someone that has done this themselves may surface for more questions answered 😁 I have read that it can be different for a male to change their last name during marriage than the female so being sure this can really happen for my partner and I. 🥰

Has anyone changed their last name after marriage that were male and from a country other than the US? What does that process look like? My fiance and I have considered choosing a new last name that we can share. This process is easy in the US with two citizens however unsure the process for the other country and the US to change a last name for a male. Thank you for helpful guidance 💜

@appleblossom Thank you for seeing what I am experiencing. I wish it weren't political but my family member literally echoed the need to get the legal migrants out of here too. It won't matter how warm my fiance will be, he won't be seen as anything further than an immigrant ruining this nation to that family member. @EmilyW Thank you for your comment. I'm sorry you experienced that and am glad there has been a positive outcome. I kind of hope your kids do lick their knife, carefully This has been impactful because I have limited family. The friend can be replaced easily. I'm a strong believer that not everyone deserves a place at your table. The family member though, it's hard to radically accept that this is how this will be. We all have dreams and desires for how we hope life goes. This was not part of my dreams. Knowing that others have dealt with similar, or in some cases worse, at minimum lets me know that I'm not alone. My advice to anyone considering dating outside of your country, know it is very difficult for so many reasons.

I live in the US and my fiance will be joining me here. Maybe the question of where to move was for Appleblossom. The change in how immigrants are treated has intensified this year with politicians commentary. The judgment against immigrants is why one family member and one friend are not supportive. One thinks my fiance is using me for a green card and the other thinks they should stay in their own country. I'm not sure if country of origin have an impact for others but spanish being a first language always has had negative judgment.

Most of my family and friends have been very supportive however one important family member and one friend have not been. The politically climate in the US is sticky with judgement around anyone migrating here. Have you dealt with this? Recommendations? I never imagined I would experience this around something that is meant to bring family and friends together. Having finally found a person I want to spend my life with, I wanted to share that joy with people closest to me. It's a heartbreaking experience. I haven't told my fiance yet. Has anyone had to have that talk? Thanks for any support you can offer 💜

I don't know any of the details of this option but thought I would offer it up. Is there any way he can come as a refugee?

@Bob in Boston I'm glad this worked because this is exactly what I want to do with my partner. Thank you for sharing your experience

I would recommend looking into meeting in Canada. My partner was denied a visitor visa early on because the US is hard to visit when you're from a poor brown country. However, he doesn't need a visa to go to Canada and neither would I. We have chosen for me to travel to Panama instead because of the price difference. We split the cost of my travel and I stay at his place without cost so we have made it work while our application is processing. I can't echo enough how much of a red flag it is to marry someone without meeting them. It is a huge risk. I would also recommend to explore the cultural differences for Turkey vs US. When I say meet this person, I mean spending numerous weeks with them. I would like to say I am the same in-person as I am in messages but I know my partner doesn't see my face expressions which are a big indicator for my communication 😂😁 Best wishes for however you decide to navigate next steps 💜

I considered using a service to help or an attorney, however my situation is very straight forward and simple. Neither of us have criminal records and my partner isn't from a high fraud country. We have met in person multiple times with plenty of pictures and stories to go with it. When I asked an attorney local to me if I should have their help, they said I was good to do this myself because of our specific situation being without hitches or problems. Your situation is different. I met my partner in person before we began dating and I have never sent them money. Deciding if you should do it yourself, consider your ability to review documents for errors and fill in everything that is asked. I work with contracts for a living so filling out their application was a breeze. There are things you will need to do on your own that are not asked for on the application but do support your request with evidence. This site is excellent for reviewing what they suggest you submit with some examples. DO NOT use their forms. They are outdated. Go to the USCIS to get your forms, but you can see examples of what previous years looked like filled out on this site. This forum and others are good for learning from others mistakes too. You can glean experience by what others have shared. The Philippines has many people doing the same. I see this country quite abundantly here which tells me many from there are looking for their American counter parts. You may also consider if any of your friends or family review documents or paperwork for a living and are willing to review all of your documents before you send it off. Don't forget to sign your form! Many forget and then their request is returned. Best of luck on your journey

This simply isn't true. Age difference no matter the gender is looked at the same. You are suggesting that there is built in prejudice between the genders and that somehow only young men pray on older women. Fraudulent marriage attempts are of any gender of any age and will be investigated equally. @Scotty and JoJo : Plan on making a visit to that country or she can apply to visit ours by applying for the visitor visa prior to next steps. There are plenty of folks that share their experiences on here and other forums where you gain a good background of what others have experienced with similar situation as yours. The I-129F (Fiance Visa) has a strict portion that states you must have met in person before applying. You have to explain how that meeting happened as well. I recommend reviewing the paperwork for the I-129F and the I-130 to know what the requirements are on paper and begin a checklist for yourself to acquire those actions. Choosing a human from another country is for the rich as the whole process if very costly. Many of us have to scrape to make it happen. Be realistic with what the next steps are and if you can acquire them. It may take a bit of time for saving money and gaining time off from work to invest in the relationship and visa process. If cost is an inhibitor, can any friends or family help you with donating to your cause of visiting Kenya to meet? I would also consider if you make enough to support your partner on paper. Those requirements are within the paperwork. You have to commit to being financially responsible for the person for 10 years. 10 whole years. You have to have supporting tax documents, pay stubs, a statement from your employer, and a letter from your financial institution. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome. Whatever your path is from here, I wish you the best. 💜

TMVN uses data from USCIS to base their estimates off of whereas VJ is only using data from their users, a much smaller pool of data to create estimations. I opted not to buy any subscription and only look at information that is readily given for free on a couple of sites. I check TMVN as their tables are easy to read and give some idea what USCIS is processing. I also look at casestatusext.com as they analyze data as well and put into nice graphs. You can see who was approved by their WAC number and when their application was originally submitted. You can see the pattern that USCIS does not go in order, but kind of. They do pick up older cases then brand new cases and approve them equally with and without RFE's. There is a lot of free data that can lead you to agree there is no real effing way to know when they will get to ours 😂 We can hope they will get to it quickly but in reality, nobody knows. We can only make educated guesses. The processing times of USCIS have slowed drastically from June till now. The decline seems to be continuing as well. I would consider the longer timeline estimation and consider it could be longer as well. Something to singe you britches as it did mine: Cases that were submitted just this month have been approved before mine was sent for processing. Their are some lucky folks out there, but easier to consider yourself not one of them as to not get your hopes up too much. Happy data hunting and best wishes for the timing of your application 💜

Honesty is the best policy as they can check flights and all of that. They also can tell people who lie as they see it on an every day basis. It is better he is honest when he tries to reschedule, if he reschedules. It wouldn't be unusual for anyone to have cold feet considering marriage, but especially one where they would leave their country, culture, and family behind. I will also throw it out there to be cautious of any money you may be giving him. It isn't my business what you do however if it wasn't something that happened on a regular basis, we wouldn't have to be cautious of this aspect. Knowing how long and expensive this process is, I would be questioning my fiance for the lack of communication and missing the appointment. I would be very suspicious. There are so many people waiting for interviews that him not rescheduling meant a missed spot for some happy couple to have that interview. Sometimes we experience things and want answers and sometimes there just isn't any. Sometimes the most obvious is presented but we don't want to accept it. I wish you all the best and what will make you happiest is the path that will unfold for you.

Sorry one more question. Who is the developer for the app? I see there are many USCIS tracker apps and none are made by the USCIS 😅

That is a wealth of information! Thank you! I didn't know the USCIS app was that comprehensive either. That is also very helpful. Where are you gaining the inside info? Is this coming from their communications to their subscribers? They are not currently allowing any new subscribers because of the data situation. I appreciate you taking the time to reply ❤️

I love the data they show! But they lots access to USCIS data. This website takes the USCIS case information and puts it into digestible graphs for easy understanding. Does anyone know how they lost access? It seems they lost access Aug 12, 2024. Regardless if you are a subscriber or not, it is a great place to check the processing speed of USCIS and which month/date they are looking at.

I was reading this thread in hopes to find updates regarding the loss of USCIS access for TMVN and see you finally got your NOA2! Congrats! ❤️

The interview est. wait times don't have a spot for k-1 when looking at the USCIC website for the specific country. Are these treated differently than other interview requests? Panama's wait times vary from 2 day to 499 day interview wait time estimates. Thanks for any insight into this ❤️