K3.....Really?

[Dreamers 0]

Hello everyone,

Being new to this whole process, we have found our way pretty good up until this point.
We have filed for the I-130 (May 2013) and then proceeded on to file the I-129f/K3 since we were married last year in Tunisia.

I have learned thru VJ that the K3 is pretty much obsolete. Why would immigration steer us in this direction ?

Since our filings, we have expedited both forms since we fit in two catagories for expedition.

Generally, how long does it take to expedite a I-129f/K3? Its been 4 months now with no end in sight.......sigh'

(both our forms are at Lee's Summit, Mo now and when i call, they say "give us 15 more days"
or call us next week omG! lol)

I would like to know how do they choose: How sick is sick and what they deem is an emergency? I faxed
Division 5, Team 2 in Lee's Summit with a 27 page explaination with detailed corresponding papers to "justify" our situation.
I did this outline so it would be a no brainer and easy to understand. What's the holdup? It has been "in review"

for over a month and 1/2, It takes minutes to do a background check! I don't see how they can call this expedited.

I know i am antsy, but i honestly need my husband here to help me. It seems my words fall on deaf ears and i am frustrated....

Thank you so much for making this forum and all your hard work, it gives us hope and a place to vent

[canadian_wife 1,822]

4 months? Your timeline says you filed in July - that would be 2 months right?

Well, you could tell us the reasons for your expedite to see what we think.

In all honesty, The K-3 (to me) is useless. It saves little (if any) time and is more expensive.

I hope your had supporting documentation and not 27 pages of your reasons

good luck

[Enigma11561 336]

K3 is pretty much dead. The I-129F is a fiancee visa. You are married so this does not apply to you. You are looking at the CR-1 visa for married folks. As an FYi, reviews do not take minutes. They must research multiple databases, often asking other agencies to respond and they have their hands full as well. Heck, prolly took several hours just to read you 27 page document. It's only been a few months.Stop being antsy. It's just the way things work sometimes.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

K3 is pretty much dead. The I-129F is a fiancee visa. You are married so this does not apply to you. You are looking at the CR-1 visa for married folks. As an FYi, reviews do not take minutes. They must research multiple databases, often asking other agencies to respond and they have their hands full as well. Heck, prolly took several hours just to read you 27 page document. It's only been a few months.Stop being antsy. It's just the way things work sometimes.

The I129F is not a visa, it is a petition. When filed solo, it puts the petitioner and beneficiary on the K-1 route for non married people. When filed with the I130 receipt, it puts the couple on the K-3 spousal visa route.

The I129F applies to the OP, it probably will not result in a K-3 visa however.

Good luck

[Enigma11561 336]

The I129F is not a visa, it is a petition. When filed solo, it puts the petitioner and beneficiary on the K-1 route for non married people. When filed with the I130 receipt, it puts the couple on the K-3 spousal visa route.

The I129F applies to the OP, it probably will not result in a K-3 visa however.

Good luck

Poor choice of words visa versus petition. Stand corrected.

[TBoneTX 45,284]

*** Thread moved from K-3 Process forum to the K-3 Case Progress subforum. Thread can be moved again if and when OP couple finds itself on CR-1 path. ***

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

If it's been 6 weeks since you requested expedite, it looks like you didn;t get it. If you expedited on medical grounds, you;d need several doctors letter stating the nature and severity of the USC's illness. It needs to either be terminal or so debilitating that he needs you there to care for him- something like helping by driving him to doctors appointments is not enough, because they will argue he can get a local friend/ family or a taxi service.

[himher 634]

K3 is pretty much dead. The I-129F is a fiancee visa. You are married so this does not apply to you.

We filed K3 in 2007. We were already married. It does apply to their case.

In 2007 our I130 and I129F were approved on the same day. We got a K3 visa because we asked for a K3 visa and it saved about (60) days of processing for us(based on timelines anyway). So our case from start to US entry was 7 months vs. the (very shortest timelines) of 9 months for an immigrant visa. That was the purpose of K3.

They don't do that anymore. Now they link the two petitions and if the I130 / I129F gets approved together the I130 gets sent on for CR1/IR1 processing and the I129F gets tabled. The processing time is much faster post-approval than it used to be so at the most the NVC steps take an extra month or so.

Since the purpose of K3 was to expedite bringing families together and IR1/CR1 processing times have caught up with K3 processing times the K3 process is essentially obsolete.

It is, however, incorrect to say that "the I129F is a fiancé visa" and "does not apply to married applicants"

@OP: It is hard to get a case expedited. Sounds like you are on the normal path so it will be another couple months.

Edited September 6, 2013 by himher

[Steven.Plant 11]

We filed K3 in 2007. We were already married. It does apply to their case.

In 2007 our I130 and I129F were approved on the same day. We got a K3 visa because we asked for a K3 visa and it saved about (60) days of processing for us(based on timelines anyway). So our case from start to US entry was 7 months vs. the (very shortest timelines) of 9 months for an immigrant visa. That was the purpose of K3.

They don't do that anymore. Now they link the two petitions and if the I130 / I129F gets approved together the I130 gets sent on for CR1/IR1 processing and the I129F gets tabled. The processing time is much faster post-approval than it used to be so at the most the NVC steps take an extra month or so.

Since the purpose of K3 was to expedite bringing families together and IR1/CR1 processing times have caught up with K3 processing times the K3 process is essentially obsolete.

It is, however, incorrect to say that "the I129F is a fiancé visa" and "does not apply to married applicants"

@OP: It is hard to get a case expedited. Sounds like you are on the normal path so it will be another couple months.

The charts are showing that there is a big slow down with the I-130 now. looks like 100 days more time added since 2-20-2013 So my question is then why would a K3 not be a good Idea at this time. It is unclear to me how the two (I-130 and I-129f) are linked at USCIS. On the surface getting the wife here earlier with a K3 is the best way for me. The extra cost is well worth it. So I wonder if your information is dated and things have changed back to a situation where we need the K3? USCIS website says I-129f for already married is 5 months, the I-130 are taking 9-10 months? Plus as you have said a lot of time saved in the next step too.

[Dreamers 0]

4 months? Your timeline says you filed in July - that would be 2 months right?

Well, you could tell us the reasons for your expedite to see what we think.

In all honesty, The K-3 (to me) is useless. It saves little (if any) time and is more expensive.

I hope your had supporting documentation and not 27 pages of your reasons

good luck

My letter was a total of 2 explanatory pages with 25 pages of supporting documents. Each paragraph of the letter referenced a specific document, all numbered accordingly for easy verification.

Two reasons we asked for expedition: I am chronically ill with Lyme disease and Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever due to a tick bite in 2003. By 2006, bedridden until a doctor saved my life and gave me hope that I could lead a somewhat normal life someday. At the height of my illness, I weighed 392 pounds and was so sick and dying. I took Minocin antibotics every day ($900 per month) for almost 5 years. Add that one up. That was 7 years ago.

FYI: Lyme disease is in the same catagory as Syphilis. (Syphilis is a infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum and Lyme disease is and infection caused by a spirochete called borrelia burgdorferi.) I have "chronic late disseminated Lyme disease. The late disseminated stage is where the infection has fully spread throughout the body. I will always have this until i die. Some days are good, most aren't. Anything could set this illness off at any time. But, I don't whine about this, i am NOT on disability or SSI of any kind. I have always worked hard for what I have.

The second reason is financial. Long story short: son left in charge of home in Illinois to use as a rental. The renters he chose destoyed most of the home and left us with debt by not paying the mortgage. We elected that I return to the states to save our home and restore order here, which I have done. The mortgage payments have been caught up and all the renters trash has been removed. Our home is in dire need of repair, as I can not do such work and we can not afford to have the work done by contractors. Winter is approaching soon. I need my husband here to provide a second income. I can not rent out the bottom 1/2 of the home anymore that supplements my income. I am struggling to keep the utilities on and provide myself food, let alone having to care for myself when I am sick most days.

Does this answer your questions?

[Dreamers 0]

The Immigration office are the ones who told me to use the I-130/I-129f K3 method.

wow, I really thought by becoming members here this could help us understand
a little more about this process BUT...all i am reading here is arguing about how wrong we are.

sad

[stevie b 141]

The Immigration office are the ones who told me to use the I-130/I-129f K3 method.

wow, I really thought by becoming members here this could help us understand

a little more about this process BUT...all i am reading here is arguing about how wrong we are.

sad

the whole thing is fluid

with the timelines of approval varying differently, there is no way to tell which of the petitions will go through first

yes many members say the k-3 is dead, but that is not true, it is still a viable petition process regardless of what someone here tells you.

with all the shuffling of the petitions and where they will get approved these days it would not surprise me to see your 129 go through first.

with the expedite, give it another try with uscis, make sure you speak with an IO if you call.

you will need to complete another expedite request at nvc

good luck, yip sometimes a little confusing but there is a lot of useful information here as well as knowledgeable members, just gotta know who to listen to

[himher 634]

The charts are showing that there is a big slow down with the I-130 now. looks like 100 days more time added since 2-20-2013 So my question is then why would a K3 not be a good Idea at this time. It is unclear to me how the two (I-130 and I-129f) are linked at USCIS. On the surface getting the wife here earlier with a K3 is the best way for me. The extra cost is well worth it. So I wonder if your information is dated and things have changed back to a situation where we need the K3? USCIS website says I-129f for already married is 5 months, the I-130 are taking 9-10 months? Plus as you have said a lot of time saved in the next step too.

They link the two because you send the receipt for the I130 when you file the I129F. It is very common for both to show up "approved" on the same day, as ours did even back then when they first started linking them/approving them together.

With that said, I didn't say it wasn't worth it. For me it was. Said it's rare to get one after oh about early to mid 2008.

If it were me and I was starting over again I would still file both petitions even today and take whatever comes first - screw the cost.

Which is what we did in 2007

The I129F for K3 as I recall was free anyway

Edited September 6, 2013 by himher

[jbag 0]

Hi all,

Usually it is the people that have been through the same case are the people that can give good advice. Please, if you have never been thru it don't argue much.

My wife recently joined me on a K3 visa and our green card interview is next week September 2013, K3 visa applies to those who are already married and wants to speed up the process to be together. The USCIS won't lead you to the wrong thing nor lie to you, yes it a little more expensive but a faster way to bring your spouse.

Some of the members think that K3 visa is obsolete. They are wrong, I have been through the process and my wife is here now, the type of visa on her passport says K3.

Good luck on your journey

[Dreamers 0]

you will need to complete another expedite request at nvc

good luck, yip sometimes a little confusing but there is a lot of useful information here as well as knowledgeable members, just gotta know who to listen to

Thank you for the postive words