I also did immigration petition for my husband that lives in Saudi in Jeddah. My PD is June 7, 2022. How much waiting time is there for the people in Jeddah? I’m trying to get him here soon.

Saba, you're doing an IR1/CR1? Still waiting on approval from USCIS?

@Y K yes I’m doing IR1/CR1 and still am waiting for approval from them

@Rose A I don’t know about all that stuff but you can ask someone else about it

Saba, you are still on phase 1. I would recommend doing a K3 to maybe get USCIS to expedite your case. After USCIS approves, you are onto the NVC phase which is extremely quick right now. Get your documents ready for that so you can submit quickly as their review time is only 2 weeks right now. After the NVC approves, you'll be at the final phase which is what this post is for, the embassy interview phase. All people applying from Saudi Arabia have to go to the Riyadh embassy for the interview for CR1/IR1. The other consulates are for temporary visitors and other visa categories.

@Y K I’m gonna be talking to my attorney this coming Monday to ask if I can do k3 visa after approval to expedite the case. my case is processing in Texas and it says total processing time is 12.5 months which is almost done.

Saba, the K3 visa is done simultaneously as the CR1/IR1. Whichever USCIS approves 1st, that's the Visa you continue with. They will decline the other after they approve one. It is better for all for them to approve the CR1 as it is less work for them so some times, applying for the K3 after the CR1 forces USCIS to expedite Your CR1 visa so the K3 doesn't get approved.

@Y K so should I do K3 before the approval comes

@Saba it is up to you, it is a free application to do since you submitted the I130 already. Might not make any impact, but also no risk in doing it. However, I would say if your attorney is going to charge you for it, I would say don't do it since it is very unlikely to make a difference as you're very close to the end of the I130 waiting time si not worth any payment for it. However, if you do it yourself, I'd say do it. It is like a mini version of the I130 Application.

@Rose A I am sure you can notify them about the address change, just don't have direct experience in that.

@Y K how much time longer it takes after interview

@Saba T USCIS isn't going to interview, they're just reviewing your I130 application and doing all the security and background checks. After USCIS approves Your I130, you should get an email from the NVC with login information for their website. You should get this email within a few days, I got it next day. You then log in and make 2 payments. Those payments need to clear from the bank so you need to wait a few days after paying before you can do the next steps. Next steps are the DS 260 application online on the NVC site, uploading Finanical Evidence and the Affidavit of Support form, and some specific documents for the applicant like police certificates, passport, etc... Once you submit everything, the case is sent to the NVC and you wait until they review it. The NVC publishes what submission date they're working on and they update that weekly so you can keep track. Right now, they take 13 days from your submission to review and respond. If they approve, they call if "DQ" meaning documentarily qualified. You then reach my current step of waiting for the Riyadh embassy to schedule an interview appointment with the applicant. Right now, it is seemingly a 6 month wait per the 2 cases in my post from when the NVC finishes to when to expect an email with the appointment. From there, the applicant has to do a medical exam at one of the specified hospitals, register their address so the Embassy can return your items after the interview, and go to the interview. If all goes well, the visa should be issued within days or a few weeks. I'd be glad to help out with any questions. If I were in your position, I'd start looking at the documents the NVC needs and start preparing those so you can submit your case to the NVC as soon as possible.

@Y K so basically my I-130 is almost gonna be approved right in the next 1 or 2 months? just wanted to make sure

I can't fully confirm that, but you are in the zone of approval I'd say, but it could take longer than 12.5 months as that's just how long it takes for them to finish 80% of the cases. Your case might be in the 70%, 80%, 90%, or 100% of that statistic so unclear, but you're near.

@Y K my case is actually processing at Potomac service center, so will I get my I-130 petition approved soon then

@Saba T I don't know, but I believe that center is taking more time than the others to process so it might actually be a longer wait

@Y K my processing time shows estimated 3 weeks till case approval and I even showed it to my attorney and he said that that’s showing correctly and after that my case will be approved

@Saba T Hopefully, but take it with a grain of salt.

@Y K what you mean by take it with a grain of salt

@Saba T I mean don't put all your hope on that estimated time as I'm not sure if USCIS made that feature accurate yet. It updates to different timelines randomly and if it reaches the estimate, it usually becomes "case is taking longer than expected."

@Y K I’m onto the stage where I have to pay fees to NVC and submit documents but I want to know how long the wait is till interview in Riyadh

@Saba T Congrats, it depends on the volume they'll have at your time, but Riyadh seems to be speeding up a bit. It was 6 to 7 months after getting DQ to get the interview letter. Yesterday, the people who were DQ in January got it so seems to be 4 to 5 months right now. The interview is just normally the month after you get the letter. Hopefully, they continue to speed it up.

@Y K hoping so too that they speed it up more

@Y K is there a way to check the wait time for interview for Riyadh

@Y K I heard from my attorney that there aren’t much cases in Saudi and not much interviews in riyadh so the interview can come 2-3 months

@Saba T You just have to follow the cases of others in our situation. There's a few Facebook groups and some have started a Facebook group chat. Those are my sources, there's nothing better or from the official embassy. Once you get DQ'd, your waiting time until the interview begins.

@Y K what are the groups and the chats? can I know it so that I can see what’s going on

The 2 Facebook groups I follow are "RID US Embassy" and "US Visa(CR1/IR1)Riyadh-Saudi Arabia". You'll find the same data in there as in the chat.