**PLEASE READ:There is no answer to how long it takes

[nichole]

People keep asking how long does it take to get a K1. I want to explain that it's not the same for everybody. Here are some reasons why.

Step 1. File the petition in California or Vermont.

• Vermont has been faster in the past by two months. They are getting closer together.
• Sometimes there's a big backload to process, sometimes they catch up.
• Some people forget to send something in or pay the wrong fee or use an old form. The USCIS will send you a letter to tell you what to correct. If you get it back to them fast it's good. If it takes you a month to get it back, then you're adding to your time by making mistakes.

Step 2. The approved packages go to the National Visa Center.

• California used to take up to a month to get it there.
• California seems to be forwarding faster now.
• Vermont, for one thing is closer to New Hampshire so often those petitions get there faster by a day or two.

Step 3. NVC sends to the foreign Embassy

• They go by DHL and all take about the same time.
• Canada of course would be closest.

Step 4. The Embassy
Every country has a little bit different process of gathering documents and giving out interview appointments. This can make a big difference in time.

• Some let you call for an interview
• Some make you wait until they send you a letter of instruction.
• Some people have no idea what to do next so start gathering birth certificate, police certificate, tax returns, immunization and filling in the DS forms after the letter comes and tells them. They could take several weeks to a month getting their things together.
• Some people read their Embassy website and search for info so they already know what those instructions are going to be when the letter comes. They send their documents in immediately.
• Some embassies take longer than others to send a letter for an interview date. Some let you call in and schedule (time saver.)

Step 5. The interview.

• Some countries are very easy, ask about 3 questions and tell you you are approved.
• Some have a high rate of visa fraud and are very strict on the interview and the documents presented. Then they say your application will require additional processing that could take weeks to many months.

Step 6. Getting the visa

• Some let you wait and give it out that day or have you come back to pick it up the next day.
• Some take a couple of days and send it to you by courier, which could be a week after the interview to get in your hands.
• Some put you through additional processing or security checks. Could be several months.

I hope you can see that there are many variables to go into getting a K1 visa. Some are waiting on a government agency. But others are your delays for leaving things out or not ordering documents in a timely manner. That's why there is no easy answer to the question, "I filed so how long will it be?" Without knowing which Service Center, the country, if you've had arrests to report, if you overstayed a previous visa and which Embassy will process your visa, it makes it impossible to answer.

[Ola]

Please read there is no answer to how long it takes

Well, ma'am, you seem irritated by the questions posed. You do not have to answer. But, I do appreciate that you did because you were the only one to respond. But if you are tired of the questions maybe you should not read the responses everyday. Because i too have noticed that people ask the same questions over and over again. This website is title immiHELP. People come here for HELP. Granted some have not read anything from USCIS homepage but most people are NEW to this and things can be rather confusing. I am a degreed professional and there are still thing about this process that I do not understand. And english may be a second laguage for a lot of people here. I assume that the majority of the people here are not lawyers or para legals and it can get a little hard to follow each step precisely the way it is supposed to be done.
I did not know that one of the application was abadoned. NVC said that they would NOT move forward unless we pay the affadavit of support fee ($70.00). There was no choice or option of which way to go.
I asked @=approximately how long it would be. A general quesstimate. No one has a crystal ball to say exactly how long. I have notice that they say "normal processing time" and not 30, 60, or 90 days therefore you do not know when they have went over the normal processing and you need immediate attention. When you are outside of the normal processing time they begin to move faster on your case. The NVC automated telephone response said 6 weeks to hear back from them then call.
And Immihelp gives more information to people than USCIS. I called NVC and finally got an operator, I still do not quite understand what to do. Because she was talking so fast and I was trying to take notes. And the terminology is new to me. Immihelp spell things out to people in terms most can understand. Please try to be patient and more understanding of others. This is a help forum and some people have not read earlier responses. Thanks for everything.

[nichole]

**ouch**

I was not irritated at all. I just wanted to help by putting in one location all the factors that determine how long it takes. I wanted people to understand if a person told them "I got a visa in 4 months" they wouldn't think that was the time it would take for everbody. I said "I want to explain that it's not the same for everybody." That seemed polite enough to me.

When people are new, they don't realize there are different USCIS filing centers and each Embassy has their own way of processing things--some faster than others. I thought I was helping by explaining the time factors in a little more detail in one summarized post. I hoped people would understand why it's a hard question to answer without a little more detail of their circumstance. I wouldn't even read this forum if I didn't have a sincere desire to help people.

[Willa]

Approval notice

Nicole, I recieved my approval notice August 15. I was very excited! But after reading several messages it looks like I will be waiting....I thought that an interview would be sch within the next 90 days.The Visa is for an I 130. Man I hate the waiting. Is there any way to speed things up,and do you know what documents are needed next?

[nichole]

Willa,

I'm not real familiar with the I-130 process, since we did the fiance visa. I do know that there's two ways to go if married.

I-130 only: you get a CR1 or IR1 visa. Foreign spouse stays in their country until all the security and name checks are made. (I don't know the time it takes but I think several months or even longer sometimes). It sounds like that's the waiting part you are at now. Then the interview and spouse gets a green card to come to the US and work right away.

I-130, followed by I-129F: you get a K3 visa. After approval by USCIS, it goes to the Embassy in a few weeks, which schedules an interview within a shorter time. Then the foreign spouse can come to the US right away. But they pay another $1010 and do paperwork to apply for the green card and work authorization. So there's several months or longer to go through all the checks, but the family is together in the US while they wait.

If you are getting the CR1, then you have longer in your country maybe, but you will be a legal permanent resident when you enter the US, who can work immediately and travel freely. And it cost less. So I think both ways have some good points.

I was just thinking that maybe you thought you would get the interview earlier because people with the K3 route usually do. But with the other route, they finish all the green card and work authorization in the US before your interview. Does that make sense?

Also, the good news is I have seen some people getting much faster processing times lately. I think they had a very big backlog starting last summer, but maybe they are catching up and it will be faster for you than people tell you. Good luck.

I don't know your country, so find the Embassy website and they should have information under immigrant visas.
Google "US Embassy Spain" or "US Embassy Mexico" for your country and you will probably find all the information you need. Also look on this website under the purple tab that says Visas and see if you can find some information about CR1/IR1 if that sounds like what you are getting. It will explain the process I'm sure.

[cpw4evr]

case number

Hi Nicole,How come our case number after interview was different from the first case number they assigned to us...I'm on a K3 and K4 visa..Thanks

[nichole]

When the I-129F goes to the National Visa Center, they assign the case number and send it on to the foreign Embassy usually in 2-3 days unless they have some 'hits' on a name check that they have to further investigate. Before that you had a receipt number like WAC2008xxxxxxx for California Service Center and EAC.....for Vermont.

The first 3 letters of you case number represent the Embassy like
LND=London
CDJ=Cuidad Juarez
RDJ=Rio de Janerio

[cpw4evr]

They provided us 2 case numbers both MNL but came out different after my interview at the releasing section.Also it's weird that they provide those call centers if you have questions and if you need an information regarding visa etc but they can't even provide any specific details on what is going on.