DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone else on here has submitted their I-130/I-130a petitions to the London field office this month? I figured there might be a few people trying to get their petitions filed in March before the London office stops accepting these on the 1st of April 2020.

My wife and I mailed off our petitions via Royal Mail Special Delivery on the 16th of March. We opted to pay via credit card and I was expecting my card to be charged a few days later (based on other people's timelines on this website). However, this has not happened. I wondered whether perhaps payment had been declined, but my bank is telling me that no attempt has been made to charge the card. I've also considered the possibility that the envelope didn't arrive at the US Embassy. I rechecked the address we sent it to and everything looks correct. When I type in the tracking number on the Royal Mail website, it looks like the package was signed for by "ROD" the on the 17th of March at the "Battersea DO". I am presuming that this stands for Battersea Delivery Office, and that this office covers the catchment area of the US Embassy. However, I was wondering if anyone else has submitted their envelopes via Special Delivery and seen that it was delivered at the "Battersea DO"?

The other possibility, of course, is that given the ongoing Covid19 pandemic, everything has slowed down immensely. Nonetheless, it would be a relief to receive an NOA1 before the 31st of March so that we can rest assured that we made it before the deadline!.

It would be great to hear from anyone else who has filed this month!

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Submitted papers to DCF London on Feb 26th. Received email on March 5th saying payment taken that day.

Given Covid 19, I dont expect to hear anything further for a while.

Good luck.

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Thank you! I think you and your wife filed just in the nick of time, as it was before the situation escalated and things were being processed as normal at the London office. Kicking myself not filing sooner...

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Stop kickin.....

I will be surprised if anyone is good to go before Thanksgiving.

Good luck.

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Thanks. Stuwoolf, do you by any chance happen to have your Royal Mail tracking number to hand from when you mailed off your petition? If so, could you please tell me whether your tracking information specifically says whether your package was delivered to the US Embassy? I've attached what mine looks like and I still think it's strange that it says "Delivered and Signed - Battersea DO" but wanted to check if this is what appears for you too? Cheers
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...531d8cd30d.png

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

TBH I dont recall the destination but I think ROD was the man!

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Legend, thank you!

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

De nada.

Despite what the USCIS website says ref 90 day processing, I will be surprised, very surprised, if that happens. I guess the USE DCF Section and/or Visa Section are in lockdown as I dont think the processing date changed between Fridays March 27th and March 20th, ie Feb 19th.

Lets hope things het better and start moving.

Stay safe.

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Seeing this a little late but that is exactly the tracking information I got from Royal Mail when I sent our petition Guaranteed Next Day Delivery. I called Royal Mail and they said it was definitely delivered to the Embassy even though Battersea DO was the final destination listed, signed by ROD (Receipt of Delivery?).

My petition arrived Feb 26th, payment was taken March 4th and we only got Notice of Receipt via email, not in the mail at all.

Whether they are processing petitions is unknown, there are messages saying non in-person services are continuing but who knows, it will depend on staffing I suppose.

Best of luck to us all!

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Thanks matthews94, that's reassuring!

I believe if payment has been taken, it means that a Consular Officer opened your envelope and ran your credit card (apparently this is the first thing they do before looking through the rest of the petition). Now, whether they are still working on it from home etc. I'm not sure. Unfortunately, my credit card has not yet been charged, which indicates to me that my envelope is still sat in the Embassy Mail Room and they are unable to pick it up given the lockdown.

They did mention via e-mail that they are still aiming to process I-130 petitions within 90 days, so let's keep our fingers crossed!

Re: DCF London March 2020 (amid Covid19 pandemic)
 

Yes I saw that they were still aiming for 90 days and that was announced after the pandemic shut down the Embassy's regular services so I really hope things are moving along.

My understanding was that payment is taken once the officer has confirmed that the petitioner has the right to reside in the UK, the petition has been signed, and that London is listed as the correct field office. Provided payment is taken successfully, that's when a Notice of Receipt is issued. Otherwise, the petition is automatically refused because the baseline criteria for filing with DCF London have not been met.