Why is faster for them? Or is it?

[glenn keller]

I am of course married to a Filipina since December 2005. I hired a immigration lawyer, etc. Anything to keep from making a mistake on the paperwork for the K1 and K3 Visas for my wife. I went into Chinese restraunt here in Jacksonville where I live last week. I spoke to the owner of which I have known for a few years. He said that he was going to Shanghai, China the next week to escort his fiance back to the USA. I of course congratulated him. I asked him how long ago he had applied for his fiances visa. He replied at first between 2 and 4 months ago. I then said to him "no way that quick!' He said maybe a little longer than 4 months but no more than 5 had he waited on this process for the fiance visa. I see on the USCIS website now that they are processing applications for March 6, 2006, as of July 19. My wife is getting the K1 and K3 as I stated and coming from Cagayan De Oro, Philippines. His fiance, Shanghai China. In 4 to 5 months she gets a K1 Visa, yet I am seeing the processing is 4 months of this process? Is it that quick to get the Visa after the processing is completed? Or I wonder, is because she is from China? Anyone had an answer for this? I guess I am anxious and frustrated and need to know if anyone has anything positive to add.  Thanks!

[Ray]

glenn,

First, your wife can not get a K-1 and K-3 visa. Since you are married, your only options are CR-1 or K-3.

That March 6 processing date is the date IMBRA went into effect and all K-1 petitions submitted on or after March 6th were put on hold until just recently because of changes in required personal info for the petitioner. Your friend probably got his in before the cutoff date.

The processing times at the individual consular posts can vary widely depending on local policy and caseloads. The fastest post I ever saw was Hong Kong. The U.S. consulate in Hong Kong could process a K-1 petition in a few days after it was received from CIS if you had all the required paperwork and medical done in advance. I’ve heard of Guys going to Hong Kong to marry their Filipina OFW fiancées and then flying home with the new wife within 1-2 weeks. They processed the I-130 petition locally without going through CIS in the States and issued the spousal visa in lightning speed.

Manila is one of the slowest consular posts for processing visa applications but is also one of the busiest in the world for number of visas processed. Once your petition is forwarded to Manila, it may take as long as 3-6 months just to get an interview date.

Ray

[glenn keller]

Ray, I am under the impression from my attorney that he is getting my wife a K1 and K3? The documents I have seen are I-129 and I-130. When I looked these up on the immigration website, one said it was a fiance visa and the other a petition for a spouse.

I have talked to so many people that say they got the visa in the Philippines in 4 to 6 months from the start. I made a mistake to begin with by wasting time and money with an agency in the Phils. By the time I realized it, got an attorney and started this process in the right direction, it was May of this year. We have been married 7 months today and I miss her dearly. I am going there on August 16 and staying two weeks. She has it in her mind that she is coming here in early November. I can't break the news to her yet that it isn't likely to be that early. It would be great to have her here for Christmas. I was led to believe that the IMBRA law was going to expedite our processing. It seems not.

[the China man]

Hello Glenn

No  definate answer for you only a couple of theorys for you.  

I filed for my  wife to come  here in may 2004 and  she  had  her interview in Guangzhou [Canton]- her home city in January 2005 and was  approved. I returned to China and helped her move to America in april 2005.  Married legally in april 2005 -  religiously in june 2005.

first theory is that maybe the volume of people trying to immigrate via K1 and K3  visas is still probably much lower than that of the Phillipines.

Second theory is that China is booming economically now and many people are experiencing a much higher standard of living than 20 - 30 years ago.  I think the US  is loosening it's  requirements for Visa's towards China  since this  economic boom.  If we  petition for my wifes parents to come here for a  visit  we  have  a greater chance of it being approved  than  maybe 5-10 years ago.  This  is  because there is a smaller chance that they would remain here permenantly when they arrive since they have better economic reasons to return home to China after their visit ended.

5 months  for this  guy  from Shanghai seems  rather quick  but  it  is  possible. we are in the northeast where the visa volume is lower. When we  had  our  green card interview in july 2005 they mentioned that  we  were  part of a trial program to speed things up at  the Buffalo office at least for the green card processing.  My wife had home field advantage living in the city where the Visas are processed and  interviews are given. So she did not have to travel from elsewhere in China to Guangzhou.  After my wife passed her interview I heard that  the US consulate moved some of their offices to another part of Guangzhou from where we interviewed.  So maybe the efficiency improved even more when they made this move.

Glenn you mentioned that  you  you are processing both the K1 and K3 visas ?  that is confusing.

Bob  how  long  did it  take for  Akiko's  visa to be  processed and  approved?   any one  from Vietnam  want  to  share  their  timeline  of  processing?

I am pretty sure that the speed that they process the visas depends  on the country of origin,  how well prepared and documented you  are  when you applied (my wife  is increadibly efficient and thorough)  and how much of a risk (red Flag) that they determine that your relationship might be.

Hang in there  buddy

Eric  the China Man  

[Ray]

Glenn,

The K-1 Fiancé Visa is only available to unmarried fiancés.

The I-129F form is used for both K-1 and K-3 petitions.

In  nutshell, your attorney should be filing first the I-130 to petition your wife for an immigrant visa. The visa category is IR-1 (IR = Immediate Relative). For those married less than two years at the time they enter the U.S., they will be admitted as a CR-1 (CR = Conditional Resident). The optional K-3 Visa is filed on Form I-129F after the I-130 is received by CIS. The K-3 is meant to allow your wife to come here temporarily while waiting for her I-130 to be processed and approved.

Confusing? Good!

The K-3 is generally faster than the I-130 which should get you guys together sooner.

IMBRA WILL NOT expedite anyone’s visa processing. The real intention behind IMBRA is to discourage American men from marrying or even speaking with those unliberated foreign women.

Have a safe trip and say hello to the wife…

Ray

[Jeff S]

Eric:
I don't think you need a visa from Japan. Since Japanese don't need a tourist visa to come to the US any longer, I believe she can just come and you file a change of status. In my case I was married in Japan and we filed at the US embassy in Tokyo, then she just arrived and we went to the INS office and filed once she arrived. Her temp green card came in the mail. Two years later we were called in for an interview, and after that her permanent resident card arrived. But all this was a long while ago. It's probably different now - but I suspect even easier, because back then Japanese needed a tourist visa.

- Jeff

[Tim]

From everything I've been reading about China K-1s recently in our Yahoo Group, I am skeptical of the guy's claim that it only took a total of 5 months. I'm not saying he's lying, but there might be a miscommunication somewhere; for example, maybe he meant that only  one step of the process took 5 months.

Let's put it this way, if it is true, his is the only case I've heard of recently that is flying through Guangzhou that fast. I really suspect there is some caveat or missing piece of the story that we don't know.

What Ray said about visa processing through Hong Kong is true; back in 2000 the total time it took to obtain Wendy's K-1 was 90 days, and I recall that once our documentation reached the HK consulate it only took about 30 days to process there. HK could be a bit slower now, but it is still going to be faster than Guangzhou.

Regards, Tim

[glenn keller]

I keep going to the USCIS website and checking updates on processing times for the petitions I filed for my wife. I am married, so do I look at the chart for I-129 and I-130? If so, they update them every 10 days, so they say and March 6, 2006 has been the day they state that is being worked on for the last 6 weeks? Geez, is there any progress there? I am getting very frustrated with this.

[szexpat]

K1 Visa in China is taking 5-6 months, K3 Visa is about 10-12 month.

I am of course married to a Filipina since December 2005. I hired a immigration lawyer, etc. Anything to keep from making a mistake on the paperwork for the K1 and K3 Visas for my wife. I went into Chinese restraunt here in Jacksonville where I live last week. I spoke to the owner of which I have known for a few years. He said that he was going to Shanghai, China the next week to escort his fiance back to the USA. I of course congratulated him. I asked him how long ago he had applied for his fiances visa. He replied at first between 2 and 4 months ago. I then said to him "no way that quick!' He said maybe a little longer than 4 months but no more than 5 had he waited on this process for the fiance visa. I see on the USCIS website now that they are processing applications for March 6, 2006, as of July 19. My wife is getting the K1 and K3 as I stated and coming from Cagayan De Oro, Philippines. His fiance, Shanghai China. In 4 to 5 months she gets a K1 Visa, yet I am seeing the processing is 4 months of this process? Is it that quick to get the Visa after the processing is completed? Or I wonder, is because she is from China? Anyone had an answer for this? I guess I am anxious and frustrated and need to know if anyone has anything positive to add.  Thanks!

[ReptilesBlade]

Thank you for all the info.