-Gibbo

This is my first time to this forum, but I'm hoping someone can shed some
light on this topic. In Australia, there is no USCIS office - only the
Bangkok office. I understand that this is a huge issue for lots of people
overseas who are USC and want to bring their spouse back to the US with them,
but because of changes in policy to file - are left in complete limbo land!
Has anyone heard any new info about this? Last I heard was that USC's in
Dublin could file by mail to the USCIS office at the American Embassy in
London. But still no word on how we can file in Australia. This is getting
very frustrating as the rules changed 27th of January, but now in mid March -
there still is no provision for people in Oz and no one will give any advice
on what we can do. Thank you in advance for any info anyone can provide!

Rete

They are no left in LIMBO. There are three scenaries:

(a) they have to do exactly what they did before, file their petition for their spouses IR visa with the US Consulate in Australia, (b) the US Consulate ~might~ forward the petition to either the nearest USCIS office and/or to the US Consulate in the States or (c) return it to you with the address of where you should send it. There is nothing mysterious about it. The only difference is that additional time is added to the process. Your situation in Australia does not differ from any other country worldwide. It is the same for Canadians who do not have an USCIS office in Canada and they share a border with us.

Rete

I went in looked at the US Consulate's website in Sydney. It tells you where to file your I-130.

"Recent legislation has led to changes in the procedures American citizens resident abroad will follow if they wish to sponsor an immediate relative (spouse, parent or minor child) for an immigrant visa. Effective immediately, the immediate relative petition (I-130) must be filed with the USCIS office responsible for the petitioner's place of residence (that is, the place of residence of the American citizen who is filing the petition). Consular offices at U.S. embassies and consulates are no longer authorized to accept I-130s, although they will continue to provide guidance to American citizen petitioners and their family members. Responsibility for acceptance and approval of immigrant visa petitions rests solely with USCIS. American citizens with a U.S. address should submit their I-130 at the CIS office responsible for their place of residence. As soon as we have more information about the filing of new I-130 petitions, we will post it."

There you go. Where does your USC spouse reside in the US. Or what address would the USC have used as your home in the US on the I-130? This will tell you where to file the I-130.

meauxna

Gabbo, Rete posted the inconsistancy for you--as you probably know, the USCIS office with jurisdiction of your residence (if you are a USC resident in Australia) is Bangkok. BKK is not accepting I-130s from people outside of Thailand *right now*.

You actually have 2 choices:
1-file I-130 to the US Service Center covering the USC's last residence, or current domicile (I suppose). If you do this, YOU MUST USE A US MAILING ADDRESS.
FWIW, California seems to be processing I-130s "faster" than Vermont.

2-Sit on your hands and wait. Consular offices and CIS FOs are still sorting out the files they already had in progress. You may think it's taken "too long" for them to get it together, but it's just taking as long as it takes.


To update everyone else: NO Consular posts are accepting or adjudicating I-130 petitions. There is no estimated timeline for a return of this type of filing, and certainly not for USCs *not* resident abroad.

Some USCIS Field Offices are starting to accept petitions from their local residents, and even fewer from the Consular districts that are under their jurisdiction (Ireland residents may now file to London and Vienna has posted good news at their site).

USCs resident overseas should continue to wait for local instruction, or file I-130 in the US per posted instructions (see the 'News' section of uscis.gov)

Gibbo via ImmigrationKB.c

No - we are left in LIMBO. I am the USC and we both live in Australia. The
nearest USCIS office is in Bangkok. The US Embassy in Australia say they
have no provision for USC's at the moment and to keep checking the website.
I've lived in Australia for 10 years, so I cannot file in America. Bangkok
are saying not to mail them to them. This is fact... I asked Bangkok if
that meant that they wanted people in Australia to fly to Bangkok to file in
person and they suggested that wasn't the thing to do either. I've got 2
little kids anyway and I can't see that happening.

Rete wrote:
>> They are no left in LIMBO. There are three scenaries:
>>
>[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>> the same for Canadians who do not have an USCIS office in Canada
>> and they share a border with us.
>
>I went in looked at the US Consulate's website in Sydney. It tells you
>where to file your I-130.
>
>"Recent legislation has led to changes in the procedures American
>citizens resident abroad will follow if they wish to sponsor an
>immediate relative (spouse, parent or minor child) for an immigrant
>visa. Effective immediately, the immediate relative petition (I-130)
>must be filed with the USCIS office responsible for the petitioner's
>place of residence (that is, the place of residence of the American
>citizen who is filing the petition). Consular offices at U.S. embassies
>and consulates are no longer authorized to accept I-130s, although they
>will continue to provide guidance to American citizen petitioners and
>their family members. Responsibility for acceptance and approval of
>immigrant visa petitions rests solely with USCIS. American citizens with
>a U.S. address should submit their I-130 at the CIS office responsible
>for their place of residence. As soon as we have more information about
>the filing of new I-130 petitions, we will post it."
>
>There you go. Where does your USC spouse reside in the US. Or what
>address would the USC have used as your home in the US on the I-130?
>This will tell you where to file the I-130.
>

Gibbo via ImmigrationKB.c

Thanks for this - one question though. I've lived in Australia for 10 years,
so I don't have a US postal address and I don't think I can use a relative's
address???? I've been advised to just wait it out. Let me know if you think
I can use someone else's postal address, but I don't think I can... Thank
you!

meauxna wrote:
>> This is my first time to this forum, but I'm hoping someone can shed
>> some
>[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>> on what we can do. Thank you in advance for any info anyone can
>> provide!
>
>Gabbo, Rete posted the inconsistancy for you--as you probably know, the
>USCIS office with jurisdiction of your residence (if you are a USC
>resident in Australia) is Bangkok. BKK is not accepting I-130s from
>people outside of Thailand *right now*.
>
>You actually have 2 choices:
>1-file I-130 to the US Service Center covering the USC's last residence,
>or current domicile (I suppose). If you do this, YOU MUST USE A US
>MAILING ADDRESS.
>FWIW, California seems to be processing I-130s "faster" than Vermont.
>
>2-Sit on your hands and wait. Consular offices and CIS FOs are still
>sorting out the files they already had in progress. You may think it's
>taken "too long" for them to get it together, but it's just taking as
>long as it takes.
>
>To update everyone else: NO Consular posts are accepting or adjudicating
>I-130 petitions. There is no estimated timeline for a return of this
>type of filing, and certainly not for USCs *not* resident abroad.
>
>Some USCIS Field Offices are starting to accept petitions from their
>local residents, and even fewer from the Consular districts that are
>under their jurisdiction (Ireland residents may now file to London and
>Vienna has posted good news at their site).
>
>USCs resident overseas should continue to wait for local instruction, or
>file I-130 in the US per posted instructions (see the 'News' section of
>uscis.gov)

Noorah101

Yes, you can use a relative's address in the USA.

Rene

Rete

Yes, you can use a relative's address or the address of a friend. When you thought about returning to the US and made that decision, where were you and the hubby and the kids going to live while you sorted out jobs, apartment/house, etc.? Most people place a relative's address in that spot and usually camp out with them until they get settled and/or the USC spouse returns to the US leaving the foreign spouse behind until they set up an apartment, etc. One of the requirements of the IR visa is that you have started to make inroads in re-establishing the US as your primary place of residency.

I know you must be very anxious at the moment, but it is not the end of the world, only the end of quickness. There were relatively few US Consulates that allowed direct filing before this and lucky Australians had it best. Most USC had to file for their foreign spouses through the USCIS stateside, as I mentioned that was Canadians as well.

At that time they had to file at the Nebraska service center. I can see the USCIS mandating one service center to handle all incoming I-130's from USC living abroad without USCIS offices locally.

Luckily you have a home and employment and a life in Australia so you don't have that time pressure sitting over your head.

Good luck.

meauxna

hi Gibbo,
Since it has been a good while since you lived in the US, you might want to start researching 'domicile'. You will be requried to have, or have plans for, housing, employment, banking, voting or other ties to the US to qualify as your family's sponsor. You can find some links on the topic at the bottom half of this page:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/in...ustom&page=dcf

You can use any US mailing address that you like. Some suggestions posted elsewhere:
-a trusted friend or colleague in the US who will accept and forward mail in a timely fashion
-a professional service that will be your mailing address and mail forwarding service
-retain and name as agent a US immigration attorney; they will receive a copy of all of your USCIS notices
-USC returns to the US to manage mail and local business
-a forwarding order from a US address to your overseas address (least favorite for me)