12-12-2002, 03:43 AM
Does anyone know just how long the K-3 visa for a spouse takes to process? MY wife will be filling the i-130 and K-3 simultaneously, so at least i can getover quicker, but how much quicker is the question! Anyone know?
12-12-2002, 03:43 AM
12-12-2002, 08:54 AM
How long is a piece of string?
12-12-2002, 09:57 AM
thanks for your useful reply!! sad
12-13-2002, 12:42 AM
It is a useful reply. Just not the one you wanted to hear. There are no answers to how long visas take. It cab be anything from a couple of weeks to a couple of years.
12-13-2002, 01:59 AM
Whatever it once was, a lot of the timings have gone way back now since the INS has had to tighten up it's procedures since 9/11.
Something that normally would have taken 3 months for me has been provisionally set to 18 months. I'm not in any hurry for it anyway so it's not a problem but it may mean whatever someone tells you happened for them a couple of years back, might be irrelevant now.
Sorry and hope that they deal with your stuff on a higher priority.
Something that normally would have taken 3 months for me has been provisionally set to 18 months. I'm not in any hurry for it anyway so it's not a problem but it may mean whatever someone tells you happened for them a couple of years back, might be irrelevant now.
Sorry and hope that they deal with your stuff on a higher priority.
12-13-2002, 05:25 AM
There aren't a lot of K3 London stories around, so it's really hard to say how long these take. The best guess would be that you will have either the IR1 or the K3 within about 12 months.
If your wife has any kind of residency status in the UK, she can file the petition directly with the INS in London - this will bring the visa wait down to around 3 months for IR1. I know she is outside the UK now, but UK residency doesn't vanish immediately on leaving and it is still useful for putting you into the category of people the INS in London will deal with. What you would need to show is a PR or visa stamp from the UK in her passport, plus something with her UK address on it (eg a utility bill in her name).
If she has no claim of UK residency and has no choice but to file with a service center in the US, she cannot file both petitions at the same time. She has to first file the I130 and wait for the receipt (first NOA) - this takes about 2 weeks. When she has this NOA, she can file the I129F petition to a special service center in Missouri (I think).
The London consulate will only process one type of visa. So, if the I130 is approved before the I129F, they will automatically process you for an IR1; if the I129F is approved first, they will do the K3.
If you want to do your own time estimate, say you file the I-130 on Jan 1. You'll get the receipt around Jan 15 and can go ahead and file the I-129F. This will be approved, say, May 1. The visa takes about 2 months after this - that takes you to about July 1. I'd say this is the absolute earliest, and it is all dependent on how long it is taking Missouri to do the I129F processing. If it's longer than 8 - 10 weeks, then you need to add this to the total time.
If your wife has any kind of residency status in the UK, she can file the petition directly with the INS in London - this will bring the visa wait down to around 3 months for IR1. I know she is outside the UK now, but UK residency doesn't vanish immediately on leaving and it is still useful for putting you into the category of people the INS in London will deal with. What you would need to show is a PR or visa stamp from the UK in her passport, plus something with her UK address on it (eg a utility bill in her name).
If she has no claim of UK residency and has no choice but to file with a service center in the US, she cannot file both petitions at the same time. She has to first file the I130 and wait for the receipt (first NOA) - this takes about 2 weeks. When she has this NOA, she can file the I129F petition to a special service center in Missouri (I think).
The London consulate will only process one type of visa. So, if the I130 is approved before the I129F, they will automatically process you for an IR1; if the I129F is approved first, they will do the K3.
If you want to do your own time estimate, say you file the I-130 on Jan 1. You'll get the receipt around Jan 15 and can go ahead and file the I-129F. This will be approved, say, May 1. The visa takes about 2 months after this - that takes you to about July 1. I'd say this is the absolute earliest, and it is all dependent on how long it is taking Missouri to do the I129F processing. If it's longer than 8 - 10 weeks, then you need to add this to the total time.
12-13-2002, 08:49 AM
Ameriscot - what on Earth are you doing posting on Britnet in the early hours of the morning? (Are you on Eastern Time in Ohio?).
Were you up with the baby? ???
Were you up with the baby? ???
12-13-2002, 09:16 AM
Hee, hee - never did quite switch from GMT. Actually, I like the early hours as it's the only time I get to myself. cdex