K1 Visa Received

[Hemyock100]

I am a very happy man - My Lady received her K1 visa from the US Embassy in Kiev on August 11th 

Can someone that has recently traveled back to the US with a K1 visa tell me how long to allow for customs and immigration?  I will arrive in Chicago or possible in Dallas Fort Worth.  I want to make sure that I don’t miss my connecting flight.

Also any other advice on the journey that I am starting would be much appreciated

Cheers

Hemyock 100

[remiel6]

I cannot answer the question as I am still waiting for the K1 but I can say congrats 

[Hemyock100]

Thanks and good luck with your K1

[Daveman]

I cannot answer the question as I am still waiting for the K1 but I can say congrats 

Ditto... Congratulations on entering the next phase.. best of luck and best wishes for a happy future...
Dave

[UTRO]

I am a very happy man - My Lady received her K1 visa from the US Embassy in Kiev on August 11th 

Can someone that has recently traveled back to the US with a K1 visa tell me how long to allow for customs and immigration?  I will arrive in Chicago or possible in Dallas Fort Worth.  I want to make sure that I don’t miss my connecting flight.

Also any other advice on the journey that I am starting would be much appreciated

Cheers
Hemyock 100

PM RWD Member Lee08. He brought his Natasha back to the US on a K1 in April.

Congrats!

[boaterguy]

There is no way to be sure how long it will take with in reason. It depends on how many people are in que. When my wife and I came through Atlanta we were lucky. Ther was only my wife and 1 other person being processed. It took us around an hour.(over 5 years ago but probably the same deal) I have heard of others taking more than 4 hours.

[GoodOlBoy]

Hey H100.

Congratulations.

Now the "hard" part begins (living together 24/7/365). 

When my wife came to the GoodOl' USA (4 years ago), it took her 2 1/2 hours to get "processed" through the airport in Atlanta.

We missed our connecting flight (Delta) to Miami and had to catch the next one later that night.

Good luck!


GOB

[johnichka]

Congratulations!

My wife came into Chicago last September - she was arriving with her 5 year old daughter.  The arrival day was a Saturday and the flight originated in Ivano Frankvisk and then to Warsaw. She arrived on Polish Airlines at about 7pm.  It took close to two hours for her to come out of customs - so long that I was the last person in the waiting area.  So, my advice would be to plan for a couple of hours especially if you are connecting.  The time to process at ORD through customs depends on what day and at what time she will be arriving.

Other advice:
Apply for a social security card as soon as you can.  We waited until about 2 weeks before the I94 expired and they said we could not apply and must wait for the LPR card. No big deal if she does not plan to work - but if she wants a driver's license, at least in Illinois, they require a SSN, so Ulyana had to wait for the LPR card - which took about 4 months to arrive (no interview) then she went to the Social Security office - took 14 days for a card to arrive in the mail.  Then onto the DMV for a driver's license.


Good Luck.

[Lee08]

Congratulations!

When I flew back from Moscow with my wife this past March to Atlanta her "processing" only took about 20 minutes, but I'm sure every airport is different and it makes a difference which day and time she arrives. We were lucky, there was only one other person there ahead of us and we still had a 2 hour layover after we finished.

And yes, get her social security card soon, but you might want to check your state's driving laws because mine requires the EAD card to get a learners permit, so in our case the s.s. card was useless except for opening a bank account.

If I can help you with anything else or give you advice, please send me a pm.

Good luck!

[Hemyock100]

All,

 Thanks for the help.  I am a novice at this.  What is an EAD Card and an LPR card?

Cheers

Hemyock100

[x633]

My wife came on K1 visa (from Kyiv) in February of this year.  It took her about 1 hour in Detroit. 

Congratulations
Mark

[Chicagoguy]

My wife arrived here in Chicago on her K-1 visa in April. It took well over 1 hour mainly because she dawdled and ended up near the end of the line. Officials took almost no time at all for her. It was a direct flight - Moscow to Chicago.

It also depends on how many other flights are landing at the same time. To be very safe allow 2 hours for customs and 1.5 for next flight.

[johnichka]

Hemyock.

An EAD card is a Employment Authorization Card.  It allows your spouse permission to work in the USA until she is legal - i.e. has received her LPR card - which is Longterm Permanent Resident card - referred to as the "green card".  Although it is actually a white colored card.

When you file for adjustment of status - Form 485,(which you should so quickly after you are married), you should also file for the EAD, (form I-765) and AP (form I-131).  Again, the EAD is the authorization to work in the US until you get the LPR card and a social security number and the AP is something called Advane Parole.  This AP autorization allows your spouse to travel outside the USA and be able to get back in.  Without this Advance Parole, she could obviously leave the country, but would not be allowed back in, as your K1 Visa is a one time entry.  This AP is especially helpful if your 485 approval is delayed and your spouse must go back to her home country for some reason - or if you wanted to take a holiday outside the USA.

The AP is usually processed within 30 days of filing.  There is no additional cost to file for AP and EAD with the 485, so it makes sense to do so.  We filed and received AP for Ulyana and child within 30 days.  We never did receive the EAD for some odd reason, which did not matter as Ulyana was not working.

The cost to process the adjustment of status (form 485) is $1,010 for your spouse and $600 for each child.  This includes the cost of the biometrics appointment.

Just make sure you get married within 90 days from the date of entrance into the United States.

John