On paper, the K-1 process is simple; in reality, it sucks. The process involves two governments and at least two US Departments. On the US side, there's USCIS where you file the I-129F. Processing at the Service Center will take anywhere from a month to 6+ months. For whatever reason, the paperwork shufflers are nit pickers, so it's possible to get an RFE (Request For Evidence) for the smallest thing such as providing non certified copies of documents when called for or forgetting to fill in a blank on the application, to sending in the wrong fee. At this level, there are also background checks performed on the petitioner (yet another agency)
Once the I-129F is approved, it's sent to another governmental agency, the Department of State's National Visa Center where more background checks are performed on the beneficiary. For whatever reason, the US can't get it's act together in checking Chinese names in an efficient manner, and with the use of many common surnames, it's possible for the beneficiary to be confused with someone else. Consequently, just the background check itself can take anywhere from 30 days to six months. What makes this phase difficult is that information is virtually non existent, so you as the petitioner, are at almost a complete loss when it comes to helping out with snags.
When NVC finishes, it sends the files to Guangzhou via DHL and another roadblock confronts you. DHL won't deliver the files to the consulate until the consulate provides the required paperwork, and trying to understand why files take 30 or more days to just reach the consulate's mailroom can be frustrating. Again, you have very little control. After the files are physically delivered to the consulate, they can sit for a month or longer just waiting to be uploaded into the computers.
At this point, the actual visa application process hasn't even started. Eventually, the consulate will send the Packet 3 (P3) to the visa applicant. Remember that I-129F you filed up to six months ago? You were supposed to put your fiancee's address on it in Chinese characters, and the consulate is supposed to use this address. Sometimes they do; sometimes the don't. As a result, P3s get lost, and it's very frustrating to track down the lost P3 or to get the consulate to send out a new P3. Does she have children? Take what's going on and double it for each kid.
Eventually, your fiancee will receive the P3 and hopefully with your assistance, will complete it and return it to the consulate. Maybe she makes a mistake; maybe she forgets to answer a question. Any number of things can happen that will slow that snail even further. At some point, the consulate will acknowledge receipt of the paperwork, but only if you press them on it. After even more waiting, the consulate will send out the P4, and the real fun begins, gathering the required documents and proof of relationship, completing the medical exams, paying the visa fees, etc., all in advance of the actual interview.
Ah, that interview. You've been waiting for about a year just to get her foot in the door of the consulate where one screw up can result in a "blue slip" or an outright denial (non appealable). Typically, interviews take about 3-5 minutes, and the Visa Officer (VO) has either already made his/her decision or has an idea which way to go, or throws a dart at the "yes-no" dartboard. No one really knows, but, after a year of waiting, it boils down to this short interview. If the VO's gut is churning, he/she might give her that dreaded "blue slip" - a kind of request for more information to prove some aspect related to the visa. It may be relationship related, it may be financial - any number of things. Usually, it's relationship related: "Prove you can communicate - give me a video tape (which format?) of you two talking." It may be some pissed off individual your fiancee met along the way who is trying to de-rail her visa with a letter (unknown to you or her) to the consulate claiming your relationship is fradulent. Even if the interview is sucessful, there is still the risk that the VO might change his/her mind, and when you go to pick up the visa, it's not there.
Starting to get the picture? Nothing is guaranteed until she arrives, not in the US, but in the US outside of the airport.
The Chinese government is also involved. She'll need a passport, birth records, police records, maybe divorce records, and maybe other documents. Portions of the country are a tad more money conscious than other parts, and getting some of these documents may require a little palm greasing. In some parts of the country, record keeping isn't the best, so some of the documents might not even be available. If she has children, the ex may also be involved if his consent is needed to allow the children to leave the country. Again money can have a greedy smell to it.
After a year or so of what will likely be one of the most frustrating years in your life, she'll arrive the the Point of Entry (POE) at some US airport. Her K-1 visa gives her the right to seek admission to the US, but it's the Immigration Officer (IO) at the POE that has the final say. Most visa holders make it through without a problem, but until she clears the POE, it ain't over.
Actually, it isn't over even after she clears the POE. Marriage, adjustment of status, work authorization, social security numbers, drivers licenses are all ahead of you - not to mention the significant cultural adjustments both of you will go through.
They're enough horror stories out there where smallest thing de-rails the process (or the relationship). The financial and emotional investment is significant, but the government doesn't really care about that. If it were only a matter of a few months from beginning to end, it might not be as much of a worry, but having to wait a year just to allow your fiancee to come to America adds so much pressure when that one omission or "bad hair day" can force you to start from scratch.
Is the process easy? On paper, yes. Is it frustrating? More than you'll ever know.
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