• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

I-129F Approval: How long does it normally take? Will change of address delay it?

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

msp1518

Junior Member
Hi I am in CT, though I may be moving to North Carolina later this year.

My girlfriend lives in Vietnam. I am 34 and she is 25. We have been dating for 9 months and I have seen her in Europe (where she was studying) twice last year. I am going to Vietnam for 2 weeks in May and we will become engaged at that time.

If I file form I-129F now, what are the chances she will be approved by December? We would like to marry in Vietnam mid-December, followed by her coming to the U.S. before Christmas.

I may move to North Carolina this Summer or Fall. How will that affect this?

ONE MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION: For the last year and a half I have taken care of my ailing grandmother full time. She helped raise me and so she deserves the best care possible. But that means my INCOME will likely be insufficient to be the sole sponsor for my fiancee. Should I have my parents, who live close by, file form I-864? I am unclear on this.
 
Last edited:


evcalyptos

Senior Member
msp1518 said:
Hi I am in CT, though I may be moving to North Carolina later this year.

My girlfriend lives in Vietnam. I am 34 and she is 25. We have been dating for 9 months and I have seen her in Europe (where she was studying) twice last year. I am going to Vietnam for 2 weeks in May and we will become engaged at that time.

If I file form I-129F now, what are the chances she will be approved by December? We would like to marry in Vietnam mid-December, followed by her coming to the U.S. before Christmas.

I may move to North Carolina this Summer or Fall. How will that affect this?

ONE MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION: For the last year and a half I have taken care of my ailing grandmother full time. She helped raise me and so she deserves the best care possible. But that means my INCOME will likely be insufficient to be the sole sponsor for my fiancee. Should I have my parents, who live close by, file form I-864? I am unclear on this.
If you follow the fiance visa application, you can NOT marry abroad. I'm sure you've been told this before. If the border agent discovers that your "fiancee" married before using her K-1 visa, she will not be allowed to enter the US and will be sent home. Yes, this has happened before.

You can go there and marry sooner, and start a spousal petition instead.

If you do not currently have sufficient income or a combination of income and assets to meet the obligation of the I-864, the law allows you to have a Joint Sponsor. You must always complete an I-864 (for an immigrant visa or US Adjustment of Status) and if yours is insufficient, and your parent will be a Joint Sponsor, they should also complete an I-864.
If you pursue a non-immigrant K visa (fiance or spouse), you will not use the I-864 for that visa interview. Most Consulates use the I-134 for a NIV.
 

msp1518

Junior Member
Wow. Now I am even more confused! :eek: I was unaware of not being allowed to marry in Vietnam.

What's easier to do? We want to have this done this quickest and most painless way possible.

Should we just marry in May or June when I visit? I know she wouldn't object and neither would I, frankly. But then what? Can I get her here by December?
 

evcalyptos

Senior Member
msp1518 said:
Wow. Now I am even more confused! :eek: I was unaware of not being allowed to marry in Vietnam.

What's easier to do? We want to have this done this quickest and most painless way possible.

Should we just marry in May or June when I visit? I know she wouldn't object and neither would I, frankly. But then what? Can I get her here by December?
The only way to hedge your bet for her moving here in December is for you to file a petition for fiance right now. Based on your current address, you would file with the Vermont Service Center, which is notoriously quick with that petition (I-129f) where "quick" equals "less than 3 months". When the petition is approved, it is sent to the Consulate in VN and you wait for a visa appointment. She will submit her visa application and if all is OK, a K-1 visa is issued. I don't know how long the wait iin VN is for a fiance interview right now, but that Consulate is historically very busy and long waits are not uncommon. Still, the --possibility--exists that she could have a visa by December.
If you wait until the spring, and you are married AND you move, you will be watching the timelines for an I-130 petition at the Texas Service Center. You will be in a longer, slower line, later in the year. There is no way she would be able to move in December in that situation.

A K-1 visa has very specific terms attached to it. It allows the immigrant to come to the US for 90 days. In that time, she must marry the US citizen who petitioned for her and apply to Adjust Status to Permanent Resident, also known as 'get a Green Card'. This process takes longer to achieve by this method, but the visa is relatively fast to get, and gets the couple together in the US quickly, even if the foreign spouse has to wait to get her Green Card. She can live in the US while she is waiting for the AOS/Adjustment of Status to complete.
Under these rules, you can see why she must not be married when she enters the US with a K-1 visa.

I know that the engagement and marriage ceremonies in VN are very important, and very similar. If you have a ceremony for her family, please be very careful that you do nothing that would make it constitute a "marriage" or "wedding" under VN law. I know there is a ceremony in India that does not require registration with the gov't to make it a legal wedding, but I think there is an acceptable ceremony in VN that will appease family+tradition AND be OK with the USCIS.

This is the briefest of posts on this topic--there is realy quite a lot to it and be sure you verify my answers elsewhere before you file anything. Quick decisions can lead to long term headaches with immigration.

Whoa. I just had a look here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=153
Very recently it was a 5 month wait for an interview. There is also some discussion about the use of a Joint Sponsor. I know HCMC is a difficult post to work with.. you should be prepared for delays.
I think you will find that other website a font of good information.
 

netbug

Junior Member
If you follow the fiance visa application, you can NOT marry abroad. I'm sure you've been told this before. If the border agent discovers that your "fiancee" married before using her K-1 visa, she will not be allowed to enter the US and will be sent home. Yes, this has happened before.

You can go there and marry sooner, and start a spousal petition instead.

If you do not currently have sufficient income or a combination of income and assets to meet the obligation of the I-864, the law allows you to have a Joint Sponsor. You must always complete an I-864 (for an immigrant visa or US Adjustment of Status) and if yours is insufficient, and your parent will be a Joint Sponsor, they should also complete an I-864.
If you pursue a non-immigrant K visa (fiance or spouse), you will not use the I-864 for that visa interview. Most Consulates use the I-134 for a NIV.

My brother is engaged to marry an Australian citizen. They are wanting to get married in October in AU and then return together within the week to the United States to live here. What is the best way to accomplish this? he thought a fiance visa (k-1) would be the best method. now we are beginning to wonder. can he apply for a K-3 or i-130 based off their Austalian marriage certificate? the concern is her visa would expire prior to getting her green card.
 

Antigone*

Senior Member
My brother is engaged to marry an Australian citizen. They are wanting to get married in October in AU and then return together within the week to the United States to live here. What is the best way to accomplish this? he thought a fiance visa (k-1) would be the best method. now we are beginning to wonder. can he apply for a K-3 or i-130 based off their Austalian marriage certificate? the concern is her visa would expire prior to getting her green card.
Why didn't you start a new thread to ask your question???

Reviving a dead thread is called necroposting in our forum and not well-received.

Please start a new thread.
 

evcalyptos

Senior Member
My brother is engaged to marry an Australian citizen. They are wanting to get married in October in AU and then return together within the week to the United States to live here. What is the best way to accomplish this? he thought a fiance visa (k-1) would be the best method. now we are beginning to wonder. can he apply for a K-3 or i-130 based off their Austalian marriage certificate? the concern is her visa would expire prior to getting her green card.
While I agree with the no necroposting policy, good thing, because this way the reply went to my email.

Your brother & his fiancee had better change their plans. There is NO legal method to do what they want to do. An illegal entry isn't the best way to start their married lives.

I swear, what do people think, I'll never know.
Please do start a new thread. They need the information to keep them from harming themselves.
 

chen

Junior Member
regarding form I-129f

Hi my name is Belen from Philippines and I have my foreign fiancee from Illinois who's processing the I-219f for my petition. if he filed that form this month on February 18, 2009 how long it will takes to be approved?[/B:confused:]
 

evcalyptos

Senior Member
Hi my name is Belen from Philippines and I have my foreign fiancee from Illinois who's processing the I-219f for my petition. if he filed that form this month on February 18, 2009 how long it will takes to be approved?[/B:confused:]


YOU on the other hand, MUST start your own thread.
PS: there is no real answer for your question. Plan for one year before you get your visa.
And do not reply to me here.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top