SoleilNY

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are about to send out our I-130/DCF packet out to the US Embassy in London and I want to make sure what I am sending is correct {and that I am not forgetting anything.}

I-130
G-325A x4 {2 for my husband, 2 for me}
Credit Card Payment form {for I-130}
Cover letters for I-130
2 passport photos {one each for my husband & I}
photocopy of husbands passport
photocopy of my FLR page in passport
photocopy of marriage certificate
photocopy of my birth certificate

DS 230 Part 1
Document Checklist {for DCF}
DS 2001 Notification of Readiness {for DCF}
I-864 {should I send a copy of this in and keep the original for the interview?}
Cover letter for DS 230

Shall I separate the 2 sets {I-130 info and DCF info} into 2 envelopes and put them into one big envelope?

And is there not a charge for DCF {I am only mailing in one payment form for I-130?}

We do have my husbands police check and vaccination forms ready too which.

Thank you for your help. We are eager to move back home ASAP and want to get this ball rolling fast.

Noorah101

I think you have to send in only the I-130 package first. When that gets approved, the embassy will ask for the other forms and will set up the interview (which allows you to then get the medical done).

Might be a little slow going at first with the holidays here, but overall you can expect to be approved for the Immigrant Visa in about 4 to 6 months.

Rene

Folinskyinla

Hi Rene:

In reading the post, I think this is another instance of where "DCF" is a misnomer when it comes to London. Since LND actually has a DHS office, consular filing of the I-130 is technically prohibited.

Perhaps the wiki should be changed that DCF is "similar" to stateside filing of an I-130 -- except the place of filing is changed and then NVC doesn't get into the picture since the DHS Office is "down the hall" from the Consular Section of the Department of State.

When I used to do Consular work in SEO, I recall that the former INS was at Window #9 in the IV waiting room. And when I was invited to go to the front door of the Embassy to see the INS-OIC [who was an old friend], her office was two doors down the hall from the IV Chief and around the corner from the Consul General's office. But although INS-OIC had diplomatic accreditation, she was not employed by Department of State. [BTW, her office did mostly I-130 and I-407's on the adjudication front].

SoleilNY

Hi there,

Just to clarify- yes, we are DCF filing which is a combo of both I-130 and DS 230. Since I have lived in the UK for over 3 years and have ILR, I can apply directly to the American Embassy in London instead of filing thru the Vermont Centre.

Can anyone let me know if my package has all the proper paperwork?

Best regards

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Re-read the prior posts! You are not filing the I-130 with the consulate. Period.

The I-130 goes to the DHS. Once it is approved by DHS, it is then sent to the Department of State for Consular processing.

Since the AmCit petitioner is residing in London, the appropriate DHS office located in the United States Embassy in London. [Note: I-130's are now filed with the "Chicago Lock Box"].

When the DHS office in the Embassy is finished with the case, they then forward the approved I-130 to the appropriate Consular Office. In your case, it is located in the United States Embassy in London.

There is nothing "combined" about the processing at all -- it is just that the DHS office and the Consular Section happen to occupy the same office building in London.

[By the way, with adjustment in the United States, the same dichotomy applies, but since only one, not two, agencies are involved, the word "combined processing" has been used for years.]

Bottom line in your case -- you need only do the I-130 portion. The DS-230 is premature.

Noorah101

This is the only part you need to send off now.

Not sure why you are doing two G-325A's each. I think you only need 1 each.

You also might want to include some proof that you really have a joint married life together, such as joint banking, joint lease or mortgage, affidavits from people who know you both as a couple, etc.

Thinking ahead for the interview, you might want to make sure you can prove intent to domicile in the USA.

Best Wishes,
Rene

fatbrit

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

SoleilNY

Thank you, Rene.

Therefore- I am only sending:

I-130
G-325A x2 {1 for my husband, 1 for me}
Credit Card Payment form {for I-130}
Cover letters for I-130
2 passport photos {one each for my husband & I}
photocopy of husbands passport
photocopy of my FLR page in passport
photocopy of marriage certificate
photocopy of my birth certificate
SASE
joint lease/bank account photocopies

Thank you again.

fatbrit

Don't forget their cover sheet.

SoleilNY

Yes, thank you FatBrit!

meauxna

Here's the London-specific checklist for spouses: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/dhs/form...for_spouse.pdf

The other link in my signature will help you know what to expect next.

For you, with London, you'll hear back on the I-130 approval, and then the Immigrant Visa Unit will contact your beneficiary about the visa application (DS-230 etc). Several users have posted their timelines and checklists from recent London 'DCF' cases that might be useful to you too.

meauxna

SoleilNY had some further questions she sent me in PM. With her permission, I'll answer them here (since I don't answer immigration questions in PM or email).

I'm not sure who told you to file together, but despite what's been posted in the thread, this does happen in London occasionally. I have heard of lawyer-assisted cases where the couple submit both the petition and the visa application together. For a short time, this became common and then, like so many things related to London, when "too many" people started doing it, the practice was cut off.

This is why the discussion here veered off into 'what IS "DCF"?'.
In many countries, the combined filing, known as "DCF" is done exactly as your describe. However, the UK is not one of those countries. There is a USCIS office in London, so there is no need for USCIS to give the Consulate permission to accept I-130s---they have an office there, so they will do it themselves. In this respect, filing in London is not really "DCF" but simply an overseas filing (instead of a US-filing).
Trust me, it does NOT defeat the purpose of a DCF.. a 4-6 month timeframe is still much shorter than an 8-12 month one.

I know how frustrating it can be, and I'm sorry that you had this confusion before you gathered up all the other documentation.
I have seen at the diveintoamerica forums that more people discuss this dual-filing. You might want to search around and see if you can find any recent London experiences that comment on the success or not of this method.. I'm not even sure who you send the DS-230 to, unless you send it straight over to the visa unit and advise them that you've filed I-130 with the USCIS office next door.
There's the danger that by flying blind you actually slow your own process down instead of getting the desired boost in processing speed. The offices have a process and deviating from it causes confusion, misplaced files etc.

I'm sorry I don't have a more complete answer for you; I can really only tell you that 100% of the cases I've followed have done it the I-130/approval/DS-230 route. If you want to do the combined filing, please find a successful example to follow. Perhaps by bringing it up here in the forum, someone will chime in with a recent experience I haven't seen.

SoleilNY

Thanks very much, Meauxna.