meauxna

Special thanks to TracyTN (whose UK spouse will become a US citizen any day now!) who tipped me to a notice from USCIS that certainly catches my attention:
Teleconference on Overseas Filing of Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
Unfortunately, I missed the teleconference and there is no transcript or summary yet available to the public.

Over just the past week, I have started to wonder if the days of DCF were coming to an end. USCIS I-130 processing in the US has become much faster and consistent for Immediate Relatives (3-5 months) over the past couple of years, and the NVC process has been worked through its bugs, making the IV process the same for virtually everyone.
There is little to no need for DCF anymore.

DCF also represents a security risk, if you accept that the NVC process is designed to enhance security. Leaking even a (relative) few cases through may be an unacceptable risk for Homeland Security.

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On November 9th, the USCIS International Operations Division, Office of Policy & Strategy, and Office of Public Engagement hosted a teleconference to discuss changes to the adjudication of the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filed by petitioners residing overseas.
Currently, petitioners living outside the United States may file a Form I-130 with and have the petition adjudicated by a USCIS field office or American Consulate overseas. USCIS is reviewing options to have all Forms I-130 adjudicated domestically. During the session, USCIS provided an overview of how changes may affect filing and adjudication as well as address questions and concerns from stakeholders.

Please Note: A detailed executive summary will be available at a later time. Please visit this page periodically for updates.
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Those of you who research and track things, please keep your eyes open for news about a decision on these changes. Embassy links are in the link in my signature.

If you have already filed the I-130 overseas, your case will not be affected.
History shows us that these changes can take effect at any time, and often with little notice. I will not be surprised if this happens in Jan or Feb.
If you are PLANNING to file I-130 in the coming year, you should be watching like a hawk to make sure you will be able to file overseas.

The good news in this is, it's not going to make a massive difference in processing times, but plan ahead.
meauxna

Noorah101

Thank you for relaying all this info, meauxna.

What do you mean by the above? I thought there was quite a bit of processing time difference between DCF and filing in the USA? A difference of something like 5 or 6 months?

Rene

TracyTN

Trying to think through it a bit - I don't really see any other wrinkles in moving them here. Certainly not if the timelines are about the same anymore.

meauxna

If US-filed I-130s start getting approved in say 4 months, +2-3 for the NVC.. I can see it coming close. Guess it depends on how you define 'a lot'. To USCIS 'a few' is 'not many'.

I guess another way to look at it is, if there is no overseas I-130 filing, then the processing time for that channel is 'forever'.

Noorah101

But I thought the timelines were not the same? DCF takes a total of around 5 months. Filing the I-130 in the USA takes about 8 - 10 months...or so I thought?

Rene

Noorah101

True, I suppose the difference will actually only be a few month. Although I typically feel that 8 or 10 months is "normal" for processing time, I'm sure many newbies will hate waiting just a few more months.

Totally agree that if DCF goes away, then "forever" makes quite a huge processing time difference! LOL

Rene

meauxna

Just remember this: They won't know!
Like the kids today and rotary dial phones...

jeffreyhy

I don't know about the NVC process being designed to enhance security, but having consular officers (in most cases) processing I-130s rather than USCIS officers might decrease security somewhat. And perhaps even having foreign-based USCIS officers process I-130s 'on the side' is not considered to be as secure as the USCIS case officers who do nothing but petition processing in the domestic Service Centers.

Remember a few years back there was a period of time when USCIS stopped consular processing? DCF'd I-130s had to be sent by the consulates to the applicable USCIS foreign field offices.

Regards, JEff

meauxna

Of course.
At the time, they were required by law to run a name check that could only be done from inside the US and it took them a while to figure out that we have electronic communications now.

Bluegrass Lass

The biggest issue I foresee is that the USC will have to return to the US prior to filing the I-130 won't they? And that means a good number of months of separation..which could problematic if children are also involved.

Rete

Actually those that are not qualified to file DCF who are already living in the spouse's country, still have to file the I-130 in the US. The foreign spouse will still be going for their interview at the US Consulate only the USCIS office abroad will not be involved.

As for security checks, they can be run from anywhere and probably already are run through the US agencies and interpol for DFC.

With the additional cases at the NVC, I can see timeline being extended for new filers rather than shortened or even remaining the same.

Noorah101

No, the USC spouse can send the I-130 to the appropriate address in the USA while still living abroad. The only issue I can see is when it comes time to file the I-864, because the USC must be domiciled in the USA in order to qualify. With DCF, it could be proven that the USC intends to re-establish domicile in the USA at the visa interview. But with regular processing, the I-864 will be due ahead of the interview, so not sure how that issue will be addressed if the USC is living outside the USA.

Rene

TracyTN

That's what I was wondering. Perhaps in the instance where the USC is overseas, the current DCF rules about domicile will be applied. Although that somehow seems too logical.

Qube

I'm going to be sending off an I-130 pretty soon, by the sounds of it I'd be better off sending it now rather than waiting? I wanted to spend some time off over Christmas making sure I had everything but I could speed up the process a little bit.

TracyTN

I wouldn't wait unless you have to.