K-3 visa processing woes

mcutchin

New Member
All,

I am a US Citizen married to a Mexican citizen. I applied for the K-3 visa in March. My priority date is March 7, 2004. I have been monitoring the processinig dates at the USCIS since March (https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/NBCprocesstimes.jsp?). At first the backlog was about two months. For example, on March 20 they were processing applications received on Jan 15. Everything seemed to be going ok, although slow. They were going through 1 week worth of applications every two weeks. Then the end of May/beginning of June rolls around. Everything grinded to a halt, basically. Since the end of May the National Benefits Center has advanced 2 days (as of July 21st) in applications. They have gone from processing applications with a priority date of Feb 10 to a priority date of Feb 12th. At this rate they will get to my application in about 20 months. Any ideas why the sudden slowdown at the NBC? The whole purpose of creating the K-3 visa nonimmigrant status was to have a process much quicker than immigrant status. I have a lawyer, although it hasn't paid off much. She says that there is nothing we can do. She has been in contact with our congressman and the congressman phoned the NBC to try and expidite things. They said they could not speed things up. It would be another 60 to 90 days. Is there really nothing else I can do? Am I at the mercy of the NBC and just have to sit and wait? I remember hearing about a congressional mandate that required K-3 visas to be processed in 90 days or less. Has any one heard of this? I can't find any information any where and my lawyer has been less than helpful.

I have now moved temporarily to Mexico to be with my wife. I hope to stay here until the visa is issued. Is there anything more that I can do directly working with the consulate here in Mexico? I know that some countries allow for Direct Consular Filings. Is this still an option for me? Please provide any advice that you might have regarding my situation. We just bought a house in the US and just want to be there together. I don't know how much longer my job will let me stay in Mexico and we don't want to be apart any longer. On a side note, I tried filing for a B2 visitors visa for her and she was denied (as expected). Are there any other options or visas that I am overlooking?

I am sorry about the length of this posting but this has been a long emotional process with no end in site.

Thanks,

Marco
 
Hi Marco,

I know exactly how you feel since I am in the same situation, and getting quite desperate when checking the INS web page for processing dates. My husband is a US citizen, and we married last march in Spain. We filed both the 130 and the 129F in May 2004, and of course, we have not received any news yet. We hired a lawyer to help us with the documents, and when I asked him re the very slow processing times he said there is not much he can do. This is screwing our lives and plans too. My husband is also planning on moving to Spain for a while until we find a solution, but as you said this is creating an emotional problem. I did not know about the B2 visa, but it seems it is not a solution either. I just cannot understand how they cannot even let me go to the country to visit my husband!

When started thinking about getting married, we asked about the possibilities of K1 visa, getting married in the US or in Spain. My husband asked in the US embassy in Madrid, and was told we could file the 130 there once married in Spain, but it happened that things changed and they do not longer accept 130 there. I have also been checking other web pages, and trying to get an estimation of how long it has been taking to other people to get the k3 visa, and I always get the same answer, about 4-6 months. I am not sure how long the NBC has been processing this k3 visas, but I think it started in 2003, and for some reason it seems the big problems is at the NBC. I have also checked the processing times for the K1 visas at the different centres, and they all move a few weeks every time the web page is updated, but with the K3 visa at the NBC they do not make any progress at all.

I am sorry but I cannot help you much since I am in the same situation. I will let you know if I find out anything. I would really appreciate if you post any news too.

Noe
 
i'm waiting too!

Hey guys,
My wife is waiting in Turkey for her k-3 visa so we can finally end these 4 years of living apart. What can I do to speed this process up? Talking to my congresswoman?

It's ridiculous to have some life decisions completely affected by some papers which simply sit on a shelf for 6 months.
 
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