help needed for i-129f

[chrisasta]

hi ... all. i am glad that i found this forum. i hope i can clear some doubts here by you guys. here it comes my situ.

my wife and i had got married this year in hk then i filed i-130 for my wife right after i came back to u.s. in june after that i got a WAC receipt #.unfortunately, i didn't know that i could file 1-129f at the same time. is it too late for me to file it right away? if i do so any collisions will be involved? besides,after my i-130 gets approved how long am i supposed to get all the documentation done in order to go to hk to see my wife? any clues?!

[mercator]

nope - as long as you have your NOA1 from the 130 you can include it in your 129F package and get that horse in the race. If the 130 wins, then the 129f is scrapped and vice versa.

 

When you get NOA2, you should start getting P3 docs together. HK timelines are much shorter than GUZ, so you should prep for it. You wait on the P3 nothing happens but you wait longer to get your wife to the usa.

 

Visajourney.com has great guides. Go to their site and check out the guides tab at the top.

 

Good luck and welcome to CFL!

[chrisasta]

When you get NOA2, you should start getting P3 docs together.  HK timelines are much shorter than GUZ, so you should prep for it.  You wait on the P3 nothing happens but you wait longer to get your wife to the usa.

174197[/snapback]

i appreciate your answers! god bless you.

do you have any idea abt how long does the process of p3 normally take?

will i be required to send out all the paper work all in once or action by action? if i have to do it one by one ... that means i'm neva able to leave u.s. b4 it's settled which is sad.

[mercator]

When you get NOA2, you should start getting P3 docs together.  HK timelines are much shorter than GUZ, so you should prep for it.  You wait on the P3 nothing happens but you wait longer to get your wife to the usa.

174197[/snapback]

i appreciate your answers! god bless you.

do you have any idea abt how long does the process of p3 normally take?

will i be required to send out all the paper work all in once or action by action? if i have to do it one by one ... that means i'm neva able to leave u.s. b4 it's settled which is sad.

174206[/snapback]

well HK is faster, so I dont know its timelines. I'd think the whole thing could be done in 4-9 months, which is 2+ times faster than in GZ. You can travel, but paperwork waiting in your mailbox is delaying your reunion.

 

For gz p-3s weve seen 30-40 days at the low, to hundreds of days at the high. I think the average is around 4-5 months for gz

[david_dawei]

Since this a HK marriage, with a filing in the US... there are two posts possibly involved... So one (CR1 in GUZ) does not necessarily cancel out the other (K3 in HK).

 

Can you please explain how you came to get married in HK ? And where does your wife live, in mainland china or HK ?

 

I assume that she does not live in HK nor do you work in HK, because I believe you could of filed directly in HK (which would be the fastest possible way).

[warpedbored]

A time line woud help too. When did you file the I-130?

[chrisasta]

Since this a HK marriage, with a filing in the US... there are two posts possibly involved...  So one (CR1 in GUZ) does not necessarily cancel out the other (K3 in HK).

 

Can you please explain how you came to get married in HK ?  And where does your wife live, in mainland china or HK ?

 

I assume that she does not live in HK nor do you work in HK, because I believe you could of filed directly in HK (which would be the fastest possible way).

174254[/snapback]

surely. actually my wife was born and has lived in hk that's why we got married over there. the receipt day on noa1 i got is june 15th 05.

i called uscis hotline on monday ... the guy told me that my petition's still pending ... on his computer the most up-to-date processing date was may 19th 05 .... everything looked okay juz be more patient. whenever it's approved i will get noa2 from them then i need to contact national visa center in order to get a case # ... something like that. it looks like there is lotsa paper work needs to be done. i 've planned to go to hk in jan but i am afraid it will cause my case to be delayed. it's such a dilemma for me.

[chrisasta]

A time line woud help too.  When did you file the I-130?

174290[/snapback]

Mar 31 Got married

Jun 02 Sent out i-130 (over-night delivery + signiture require)

Jun 03 got the notice says they got my application at 8am

July-sth Got NOA1 w/WAC # Receipt Date is Jun 15 05

So Far The petition is still pending

[warpedbored]

Not many of us have gone through HK. Adam comes to mind. here is his timeline from his post when his wife had her interview in HK Sept 8th.

 

6-17-2004 Adam and Yilan Wu Married in Hong Kong

 

I130 has been approved and I am at the p3 stage for that.

 

3-15-05 happend to hear about the I129F process

 

4-05 filed my I-129f after getting to the p-3 stage of my I130

 

5-05 recieved my NOA1 for I-129F

 

6-20-05 recieved NOA2 my I129F was approved and sent to NVC to be sent to place of marrige which thank god was HK

 

6-28-05 NVC recieved I-129F and is conducting the background check

 

7-03-05 HK recieved and enterd K3 info from NVC

 

7-20-05 Wife recieves P3 from HK

 

7-28-05 HK recieves P3 (will send P4 when my wife returns her checklist)

[chrisasta]

Not many of us have gone through HK.  Adam comes to mind. here is his timeline from his post when his wife had her interview in HK Sept 8th.

 

6-17-2004 Adam and Yilan Wu Married in Hong Kong

 

I130 has been approved and I am at the p3 stage for that.

 

3-15-05 happend to hear about the I129F process

 

4-05 filed my I-129f after getting to the p-3 stage of my I130

 

5-05 recieved my NOA1 for I-129F

 

6-20-05 recieved NOA2 my I129F was approved and sent to NVC to be sent to place of marrige which thank god was HK

 

6-28-05 NVC recieved I-129F and is conducting the background check

 

7-03-05 HK recieved and enterd K3 info from NVC

 

7-20-05 Wife recieves P3 from HK

 

7-28-05 HK recieves P3 (will send P4 when my wife returns her checklist)

174297[/snapback]

thanks for the info.

i've totally regreted that i didn't file i-129f with i-130. i should prolly juz 4get abt it.

i still have a question. NVC process i-130 and i-129 separately right?! if one of them gets approved first i will be required to submit same documentation for evidence or financial support whatever it's needed right?! anybody knows what should i prepare? i appreciate all the helping from you guys!

[warpedbored]

It may not be too late to file the I-129 F. If I am reading Adam's timeline correctily he filed the I-129F 9 months after getting married and it appears the K-3 still beat the I-130. The same evidence is required. but it would be another 159 dollars for the filing fee.

[david_dawei]

I realized that you filed stateside because you work in the states...

 

But since your wife lives in HK, I thought that interviews take place in [her] country of residence.. so can you confirm if the CR1 interview would be in HK ? If yes, then you stand to save alot of time anyway, bypassing GUZ, and avoid adjustment of status filing once in the US.

 

As Carl pointed out, Adam did file late into his initial filing... So, you are probably not too late, meaning, the K3 could still get to post (HK) prior to the CR1.

 

The only difference in evidence [at the interview] is that CR1 will need the I-864 plus three years back taxes; K3 needs the I-134 and one year back taxes.

 

 

Added posts by Adam (in the DCF FAQ).. see second one for issues about affidavit of support:

 

How we eneded up at Hong Kong (09-19-05)

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12838

 

I-864, W2's and the like (07-26-05)

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11761

 

Everyone should get married in Hong Kong, PASSED INTERVIEW (09-08-05)

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12605

Edited December 8, 2005 by DavidZixuan (see edit history)

[frank1538]

There seems to be a bit of confusion here, so let me add to or subtract from it. Since chrisasta's wife was born and lived in Hong Kong where they got married, I don't think the consulate in Guangzhou would be involved at all. He is one lucky man in that visa processing in Hong Kong is much faster than in GZ.

 

As far as filing the I-129F now, the only drop dead date is the "priority date" for CR-1 visa issuance. A K-3 cannot be issued if an immigrant visa is immediately available, and availability is usually established by the priority date. So, if the I-130 has not yet been approved, I would think that the I-129F could be filed. Whether it would move faster than the I-130 is anybody's guess, but others have gone ahead and filed just to have two petitions running in the race.

 

If the I-130 reaches the consulate first, the K-3 (I-129F) is usually cancelled, and the applicant finishes processing the CR/IR-1 immigrant visa. If the K-3 reaches the consulate first, the applicant usually has the option of cancelling the K-3 and waiting on I-130 or continuing with the K-3. If the K-3 is approved and the applicant enters the US on that visa, he/she will then have the option of adjusting his/her status to legal permanent resident while in the US or returning to the interviewing consulate to finish the CR/IR-1 processing. If the CR/IR-1 is approved, the applicant then re-enters the US as a legal permanent resident and no adjustment of status is necessary.

 

I always found http://www.k1k3.com/list.php to be a pretty good resource for finding out how fast the various consulates process the visas. I assumed Hong Kong would be listed.

[chrisasta]

you guys are so warm-hearted! my wife and i want to thank you all for all the help i got.i realli appreciate it. thank god i found this forum luckily.

before i file k-3 there is still few questions on my mind. if i file k-3 right away until it gets approved ...is it that i dun have anything to deal with in u.s.? i pretty much will do all the work like p3 p4 in hk right?!if i-130 approves while i am in hk can i put it on ice in the meantime and get rolling when my wife gets k-3 visa?

[warpedbored]

if you file the I-129F for a K-3 the petition that gets to the consulate first is the one you go with. It's a horse race. If the I-130 gets there first or it's a tie go with the I-130. Otherwise you will have to adjust her status here in the states or return to HK for a CR-1 interview.