K1 Process Help

[steph83]

Hi, I am a US citizen and want to get a K1 visa for my boyfriend who lives in Denmark. We are a little confused as to the K1 process and timelines. I have read where it generally takes about 3-5 months to process the K1 application if the paperwork is filed correctly. So how long does it take for my boyfriend to actually be allowed into the US so that we can get married. Basically from the beginning of the filing process until he is allowed to get his plane ticket, how long does that take...approximately of course.

We would also like to know if it is possible for him to stay with me in the US while his K1 visa is being processed. We do realize he would have to return to Denmark for his interview but we would really rather wait out the process together if possible.

Also, I live in Atlanta, GA so which service center would that fall under because I have read where different service centers have different processing times. Is there any particular time of the year that is better or worse for filing?

In addition if anyone knows of anything specific to processing requests for Danish citizens that would be of great help (for example: potential pit falls, ability to get K1 approved, etc)! Thank you!

Basic information: I am a school teacher, living in Atlanta, GA. My income is above poverty lines so no problem providing proof of financial ability to support my fiance. My fiance is a chef and has a degree in culinary arts (lucky me!). He has no criminal records or medical issues that would disqualify him.

Thanks for all your help!
Steph and Erik

[nichole]

Process has several parts

• I-129F petition with supporting forms and documents to Texas Lockbox. From there they will probably send your petition to Vermont Service Center which is where GA used to file directly before the Lockbox was set up to receive all I-129Fs. You won't know for sure, but probably. VSC is slower than California Service Center right now. So say 5 months for this USCIS stuff.
  
• Petition is approved and sent to National Visa Center hopefully in a week, but some took a month. NVC is the hand-off place from USCIS to the Dept of State, which issues visas through the world embassies under their umbrella. NVC will issue a new case number based on your embassy...maybe something like CPNxxxxxxx for Copenhagen. (Guessing. I don't know but if London is LDN then it could be CPN or CPH or COP.) Case will stay at NVC 3-4 days if you're lucky and they send it on to embassy. It will take 4 days to get there via DHL courier.
  
• Embassy stage: This is where the foreign fiance will apply for the K1 visa. Timing depends on how long that embassy is taking. Every embassy will have their own procedures so telling you about London, which I know, won't help you a bit. During this stage your fiance will send application forms, gather supporting documents like your Affidavit of Support, have a medical exam, and attend an interview. Then the visa is issued

The embassy website in Copenhagen doesn't give any clues to their procedures and I don't know them

The Consular Section at the Embassy will provide K-1 visa application forms and instructions for the foreign fiancé(e) after the Consular Section receives the case file from NVC. It is not possible to request the forms and instructions in advance.

I do know the application forms are the same so look for DS-156, DS-156K, DS-157, DS-230 Part I and you can find them on your own to have a look. And he will order a police certificate and provide his birth certificate. Other than that, best to wait on the Copenhagen instructions or find another Dane. Reviews seem to be favorable that it's very easy at the interview.

I did find a timeline for K1/Denmark/Vermont Service Center person .

Sent I-129F- 2010-09-30
Petition approved- 2011-04-29 (included 3 week holdup because more info was requested by USCIS.
Got to Embassy- 2011-05-16
Interview appointment received- 2011-05-27
Interview day- 2011-06-16
Visa received- 2011-06-24

They were married last weekend.

DO NOT plan a big wedding around this timeline. Individual mileage may vary. It can all change in a heartbeat and get hung up anywhere along the way.

Your fiance can visit on visa waiver no longer than 90 days at a time just like any other tourist from Denmark. He could also be refused admission if the guy at the airport thinks he might not go home or if he stays too long, too often. It's totally subjective.

Found this tip (because you leave your passport at the interview)

Btw if you're getting to and from Cph by plane I'd suggest to use SAS on the way back; they accept a copy of your passport and sygegsikringsbevis as proper ID. It can be a hassle with both Norwegian and Cimber.

[steph83]

Thanks Nicole!

Nicole,

Thank you so much for all the information. You really helped to clear up a lot of our questions.

Do you know if September is a better or worse time of the year to file, with respect to processing time?

Thank you again for all your help!
Steph and Erik

[nichole]

If you look at a graph of times to approval, it looks like a roller coaster and each year the peaks and valleys don't happen in the same month. If I had to guess, I'd probably say September applicants would take longer. My reasoning is lots of people travel in summer to meet, get engaged, etc. So by September they've had time to figure out the process and get their paperwork together and file. Maybe a larger than usual number of petitions? Then looking ahead in two months the holiday season begins in the US and lasts from Thanksgiving 'til New Year's. I would guess USCIS employees like everybody else take vacation days during that time so they might not be cranking out approvals as fast. That's a total guess because I haven't mathematically studied it, so I guess it's more of a sociology view.

[steph83]

Thank you Nicole!

Thanks again Nicole! We'll keep our fingers crossed for a short processing time!

Steph and Erik

[jeds74]

Im Erik, Stephanies fiance. Just curious about one thing, which might be important tho.

I just recieved my new passport, and i got an extra middle name in it from my mom. But on my birthcertificate, it shows my name without my moms name.

So the question is; will this actually delay or make them question why i have an extra middle name?
If so, what should i do?

Stephanie and Erik.

[barbarajlw]

Im Erik, Stephanies fiance. Just curious about one thing, which might be important tho.

I just recieved my new passport, and i got an extra middle name in it from my mom. But on my birthcertificate, it shows my name without my moms name.

So the question is; will this actually delay or make them question why i have an extra middle name?
If so, what should i do?

Stephanie and Erik.

Should not be an issue when you apply for 129f just write a letter explaining the difference in name on passport and BC. Stephanie there is no good time or bad time to petition for 129f, it's all really the luck of the draw and if you have a straight forward case then there will be no issues. It all depends on their back log of course and as Nicole said holiday time. So as it is August next week I would get on it now if that's what you want and hopefully you will be processed and approved early in the new year Jan/ Feb. If you are in Atlanta then your petition would go to Vermont more than likely. When I did mine ours went to Vermont as we are in Augusta. When I did AOS it was transferred to California so much faster processing. Each service center it seems depends all on their work load as Cal can be quicker and then Vermont can change and be quick to or visa versa.

[jeds74]

Thanks for the speedy response barbarajlw!

We will make sure to explain my additional middle name in my passport, in a different letter.

Once again, thanks for all the help we gotten so far. This truely is a helpfull site.

Stephanie and Erik.

[nichole]

Im Erik, Stephanies fiance. Just curious about one thing, which might be important tho.

I just recieved my new passport, and i got an extra middle name in it from my mom. But on my birthcertificate, it shows my name without my moms name.

So the question is; will this actually delay or make them question why i have an extra middle name?
If so, what should i do?

Stephanie and Erik.

There is a place on many of the forms for "other names used" So if you applied in your birth certificate name, you could list the new passport name as as another name used. There is no need to write a letter. You will be presenting your birth certificate and passport at your interview. If they have questions, you will be face to face with the person asking and can explain.

Ladies have this same situation all the time---their birth certificate has the name they were born with, but their passport may have a different last name because they were married when they got it. Should not be a problem.

[jeds74]

That makes sense. I guess im just worried that 1 slight error might mess up the whole process, or even extend it beyond my imagination

Thanks for all your help too Nichole, you really shed alot of light on how to proceed and helped us out alot. We are more relaxed now, knowing its not that complicated.

Stephanie and Erik