r/K1VisaInfo

For 20 year old beneficiary in Manila, at the medical are they only going to do the vaccinations that are required for entry into the United States and it's possible that additional vaccinations will be required to adjust status?

Is it a good idea to ask St Luke's medical to do all the vaccinations that would be required also for adjustment of status because they're all included in the medical price instead of paying for them again and going through the hassle inside the United States?

Is there anybody still waiting for an approval since January 2025??! we haven’t got any RFE, anything. What is your plan? this is really beyond normal.

Hi guys! First time poster here. Have followed this thread for over a year with anxiety, hope and anticipation for our own process. Since a lot of the posts helped me/us stay relatively calm in the process I wanted to provide some insight and timeline on our journey as well. Our background: I am a German citizen and my fiancé is American, we met in September 2023 in the US, have had a long-distance relationship for almost two years after that and he moved to Germany June 2025 to stay for one year on the “chancenkarte”, a temporary work seeking visa, to be with me and help me with my k1. So here’s our timeline:

July 3rd 2025: sent I-129 F petition from Germany to the US via DHL

July 10th 2025: NOA1

February 4th 2026: NOA2

April 21st 2026: USCIS sent to NVC

May 2nd 2026: DS160 submission

May 28th 2026: medical exam

June 26th 2026: interview in consulate general Frankfurt, 4 hours later approved

June 29th 2026: visa issued

July 1st 2026: passport with visa in hand (premium delivery to home Address)

Everything went pretty smooth for us, but it was a lot of paperwork and long nights going over the details. Some more things we did:

- When filing the I-129 F we only included like 8 pictures or so that showed me and him on vacation, at home and with his parents on different occasions. We added flight tickets (both his and mine). We also included a letter of intent to marry but that was it for the proof.

- prior to my medical exam I checked the official CDC website and talk to my doctor about getting the necessary vaccines. That way you can avoid extra costs for vaccines during your medical exam. As far as I know they are voluntary in general but I have no problem with vaccines, so that was a money saver for us.

-on the day of the interview, since he came with me, we were actually able to go into the embassy together and do the interview together which was incredibly helpful, both for our case as well as my nerves lol. They said we might be able to do it when we queued up in front of the embassy and inside we were told that the consular officers actually prefer if the petitioner comes with the beneficiary. Now this was the case at the Frankfurt embassy, I can’t speak for other embassy’s.

-the interview itself was very quick, after waiting for 2 hours in an open room that felt more like a ticketing booth area. I was asked these 4 questions:
- where did you meet?
- how long have you been dating?
- what does he plan to do for work in the us?
-what do you plan to do for work in the us?
After that the officer just said thanks and that they would have to review my social media. At first I was very disappointed having thought that I would know right there and then if I was approved or not. After 4 hours or so we checked my status online again and it said “approved”. So all good there. Just make sure you tell them about all the social media you have and put it on public.

We have booked our one way flights for the end of August and are beyond excited to finally start our life together in the USA. AOS will be a whole other process, right now we are just relieved that this first/ long part is done.

Hope this helps!

Hi I was just wondering if anybody else has had to go to Montreal for a interview I've been waiting almost 5 months for an appointment for it and I can't find anywhere the potential wait times for the consulate if anyone's been there for an interview any info or advice would be greatly appreciated

13 Months in Administrative processing 221g

Hi everyone. I’m looking for some advice or insight from anyone who has experienced a similar situation.

I’m a K-1 visa applicant from Ghana. I had my visa interview June 18th 2025 and was issued a 221(g). Since then, my case has remained in administrative processing for over a year with no final decision.

My passport is still with the embassy.

During this time, I’ve had to redo my medical examination, and unfortunately that medical has expired as well because my case is still pending. My fiancé has contacted our congressional representative, we’ve sent multiple follow-up emails to the embassy, but there has been no meaningful progress.

The prolonged delay has taken a significant emotional and financial toll on both of us. We are now seriously considering filing a writ of mandamus to compel a decision on the case.

Has anyone been through a similar experience, especially with a K-1 visa after a long 221(g) delay? If so, did filing a writ of mandamus help, or is there anything else you would recommend?

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

13 Months in Administrative processing 221g

Hi everyone. I’m looking for some advice or insight from anyone who has experienced a similar situation.

I’m a K-1 visa applicant from Ghana. I had my visa interview June 18th 2025 and was issued a 221(g). Since then, my case has remained in administrative processing for over a year with no final decision.

My passport is still with the embassy.

During this time, I’ve had to redo my medical examination, and unfortunately that medical has expired as well because my case is still pending. My fiancé has contacted our congressional representative, we’ve sent multiple follow-up emails to the embassy, but there has been no meaningful progress.

The prolonged delay has taken a significant emotional and financial toll on both of us. We are now seriously considering filing a writ of mandamus to compel a decision on the case.

Has anyone been through a similar experience, especially with a K-1 visa after a long 221(g) delay? If so, did filing a writ of mandamus help, or is there anything else you would recommend?

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

We hired a immigration lawyer with USA to process with the case and lawyer guide us the basic information and paper work to get ready
Which includes letter of intent financial details pictures and and etc
I-129 submitted in March 2025
I-129 received Notice of Approval NOA1 March 2025
I-129 received Notice of Approval NOA2 October 2025
Petitions Sent to Dpt of State January 2026
National Visa Center received notification via inquiry Feb 2026
NVC Sent case to embassy for K1 on Feb 2026
Ceac portal status changed yo ready(embassy received case) Feb 2026
DS- 160 submission Feb 2026
Embassy email received Feb 2026
Medical exam on March 2026
Interview date in March 2026
Waiting on passport to be received still in process

Thanks

It appears the Manila Embassy may be mass-canceling interviews in July. Many people are receiving the following email. Please check your inbox if you have an interview scheduled for July of this year.

https://preview.redd.it/tt7klaq7fiah1.png?width=889&format=png&auto=webp&s=cb1db3eb4baba0962f9e4ac95063dc9d847c64b1

Hello, I have a paid consultation tomorrow regarding my (39m- born and raised USA) and my girlfriends (28f- Brazil) steps to submit K1 visa application.

We are going to apply through a lawyer as my gf came to the country on a tourist visa and overstayed by 10 years. She left in 2024 and has NOT been back or tried to apply.

From what I read, the K1/Tourist visas are separate and do not affect the K1 process, is this accurate? Also, do you suggest we go through with the lawyer regardless? I’m not sure how much the this will cost but I imagine it can be discussed during the consultation? Any insight would be appreciated as I am very anxious about the whole thing.

Also, no issues with proof we have been together for several years. I also went and visited her in Brazil in October 2025 and we went on a vacation this past February in the Dominican Republic with plenty of pics

Starting to make up our visa packet, what are some tips and tricks that y’all have followed? Any advice welcomed! We are filing our self’s but likely won’t submit until January due to personal reasons.
Him: US born citizen, lived there his whole life and still does
Me: kiwi living in Australia

I review a lot of K-1 documents, A LOT..

. Translations are where I see people waste money and still get it wrong.

The rule itself

USCIS requires a full English translation for any document not originally in English. The translator also signs a certification stating they're competent to translate and that the translation is accurate. That's it. That's the legal standard.

Who should translate

Anyone fluent in both languages can do it. No license, no government registry, no approved vendor list. There's no such thing as a USCIS-certified translator.

But don't translate your own documents, and don't have your fiancée translate hers. The regulation doesn't explicitly ban it, but adjudicators routinely reject self-certified translations on official civil documents like birth certificates and divorce decrees. They read it as a conflict of interest, and they're not wrong to. Get a bilingual friend, coworker, or family member who isn't named on the document. Her sister works. You don't.

What the certification needs to say

Four things, every time: the translator's printed name, signature, date, and full mailing address. Miss the address and you've handed a rigid reviewer an easy RFE for something that takes ten seconds to fix. No notary required. Paying for a notarized translation because you think it adds legal weight with USCIS is money down the drain.

Format matters more than people think

Translate everything on the page. Stamps, seals, marginal notes, the back of the form if there's text on it. Skip the stamp because "it's just a stamp" and that's a document a reviewer can flag as incomplete. Side-by-side or full translation attached after the original both work. Just make sure it's clear which translation goes with which document.

Where I actually see RFEs come from

Not from amateur translators. From translations that don't match the source. Names spelled differently than the original. Dates formatted in a way that creates ambiguity. A translator who cleaned up or interpreted instead of translating literally. The job is to render the document, not improve it.

Bottom line

Don't pay $40 a page for a notarized translation service. Get someone competent in both languages who isn't you or your fiancée, have them translate accurately and completely, get the full certification with the address, done.

Make sure you have this at the bottom of the translated document:

Certificate of Translation Accuracy

I, [Translator’s Full Name], do hereby certify that I am competent to translate from the [Foreign Language] language into the English language, and that the above/attached document is a complete and accurate translation of the original [Type of Document, e.g., Birth Certificate].

Translator Signature: ______________________

Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]

Mailing Address: [123 Main Street, City, State, Zip]

Phone Number / Email: [contact@email.com]

Can a petitioner with a history of domestic violence have a K1 visa approved? Has anyone experienced this? Was a K1 bride approved at the consular interview, even though the petitioner has a history of domestic violence? or has anyone had their visa denied because of this?

hi everyone

How long did it normally take for your status to change from ‘no status’ to at NVC or in transit?

I am London based

I received my LND case number on the 17th of June - I’m a September 2025 filer.

On the CEAC website, I’ve been using the non-immigrant section, inputting my application ID and NA for the rest of the entries as otherwise it says your search did not return any data.

Thank you

edit - resolved

I’m looking for advice from people who have experience with immigration attorneys or K-1 visas.

I hired an attorney to prepare my K-1 fiancé(e) petition (Form I-129F). I sent her over 130 photos documenting our relationship, but she only included about 20 in the packet. I wasn’t sure if that’s normal, but I trusted her judgment.

The bigger issue happened this past week.

The filing was returned because the payment was rejected. From what I’ve been told, the rejection happened because my attorney entered my street address incorrectly for my payment information. This happened on Tuesday, June 23.

Since then, I’ve:

-Called the office five times and left a voicemail each time.
-Sent two emails directly to my attorney.
-Spoke with a customer service representative on Thursday, who told me someone would contact me within 2–3 business days.

As of today (June 28), I still haven’t received any response from my attorney or anyone else at the firm.

At this point I’m wondering:

-Is this amount of silence normal, or is it a red flag?
-Would you continue waiting, or would you ask to terminate the representation?
-If I decide to end the contract and file the petition myself, could that negatively affect my K-1 case or delay the process beyond simply having to refile?
-Has anyone here successfully switched from using an attorney to handling the rest of the process on their own?

I’m not looking to attack the attorney—I understand mistakes happen—but the complete lack of communication after a filing problem has me worried. I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

Hello I’m an October 2025 filer anybody in October received a NOA2 yet? How many have had good experience with track my visa ?

Hey everyone.

I just wonder if anything has ever been in this situation and how everything went for you.
I my case it’s the US embassy in Warsaw.

I assume that it’s not a good sign and we can either expect NOIR or it will be completely revoked without NOIR.

It’s been a nightmare and now it feels like real hell when you physically cannot be with your partner and this pain is consuming all your energy and destroys your life.

I would be grateful if you could share your personal experience and you eventually resolved it.

Hello everyone I am looking for some other people that have had this happen since I do not see many people talking about it

My fiancé had her visa interview on the 22nd of June,

They did not give her a verbal approval and just gave her the administrative process letter, they did not ask for any extra information at the time and also took her passport.

Has anyone else seen this happen? And if so how long did it take for it to change to approved or denied.

my partner and i are in a long-distance relationship. i’m from brazil and he’s from the united states. we’ve always intended to get married within about a year of being together because, honestly, if we lived in the same city or even the same country, we don’t think we’d have any reason to wait longer.

recently i applied for a tourist visa to the u.s., but unfortunately i was denied. after that, we started researching our options and asking questions about what the best path forward would be. that’s when we learned that the k-1 fiancé visa typically takes around 12–14 months from filing to approval and entry into the u.s.

looking back, we almost feel like my visa denial may have been a blessing in disguise because, if we already know we want to get married, it makes sense to start the k-1 process as soon as possible rather than waiting a year and then finding out we’d have to wait another 12–14 months.

the problem is that we have absolutely no experience with immigration or visa petitions. my partner is currently filling out the initial paperwork, and we’re starting to gather evidence of our relationship. we’ve met in person, have lots of photos together, travel records, messages, and other proof that our relationship is genuine, so i’m not too worried about that part.

i’m mainly looking for advice from people who have been through the k-1 process. are there any common mistakes first-time applicants make? is there anything you wish you had known before filing the petition? any precautions we should take, documents we should prepare early, or tips that could help make the process smoother?

we’d really appreciate any advice from people who have gone through this before. thank you!

I had a client who had previously used a cheaper service that most of you have heard of to do his K-1 petition. He had a complex case that needed attention to detail. Apparently, this service uses AI but with 'human fact checkers'. Well, the AI had him get a certificate of divorce, get that apostilled, and sent to the court in the Philippines. The problem is that what the client needed was a divorce decree. Many people use these terms interchangeably when, in fact, they're two completely different animals.

One is issued by the court and signed by the judge. The other is just a certificate from the state statistics authority. But since AI's training data didn't know that, it gave him confidently sounding bad instructions. The human fact checker, ie. a guy in the Philippines earning $10 a day with no formal legal training, didn't catch it either. Unfortunately, this will cause a delay of over a year in his case.

That's also why it's so scary what USCIS is doing. In order to save money, they've implemented AI in their petition evaluation process. AI is good at being confidently wrong, and automation bias kicks in for the human checker, that they become useless. When it comes to immigration services, you get what you pay for, period.