russyb

Hi,

I was hoping someone could help. I am british and have married an american, we are planning to live in the US in about 4 months time.

At present my wife has just travelled back to the US for a visit, i was then made redundant from my job so we have moved our plans forward.

As she is currently in the US would it be wise for her to file the I-130 at the Chicago address or to post it to the UK? I am currently still in the UK.

I'm at a real loose end here as i have no idea what to do, we dont see the point in my wife coming back to the UK as it will mean we just have to buy another flight, is there a way that i can go to the US and apply for the visa whilst in the country or do i have to enter under the visa?

So many questions! any direction would help.

Thanks

meauxna

hi there, welcome to the forum.

The first thing to recognize is that you need a visa in advance of moving to the US; you may not get to do things the way you'd prefer right now. You can not apply for a visa inside the US, you must do that outside.

There are two places your wife may be eligible to file, one is considerably faster than the other.
What status does your wife have in the UK and how long has she lived there?

The shortest possible timeframe for you is 4-5 months, the longer is more like 8-10. Your wife may want to consider returning to the UK; you may or may not be ready to move in four months.

Noorah101

Hi Russ, Welcome to BE.

First of all, where does your wife currently have her permanent residence? You say she's in the USA on a visit, which makes it sound as though she actually lives in the UK. If this is so, and she's lived in the UK long enough (more than 6 months), then she can file the I-130 directly to London. On this forum, this is called Direct Consular Filing (DCF), and it takes between 4 - 6 months to process.

If she is intending to live in the USA beginning NOW, then she would have to file the I-130 to a service center in the USA. This route takes about 8 - 10 months to process.

Where is your wife working, if she works at all? If she isnt' working, or if you don't have enough assets, she will need a joint sponsor for the I-864 Affidavit of Support.

You cannot come to the USA and do the visa process internally here. You can't get a visa to the USA from within the USA.

You said originally you had intended to move to the USA in 4 months...but now you want to move up the plan? You can start filing the I-130 now, but even if you do DCF, you won't be moving to the USA for another 4 - 6 months.

Best Wishes,
Rene

russyb

My wife has resident status in the UK, it was a crazy story, we got her visa on a friday, she flew on the sunday i left my job on the tuesday. She is an american citizen.

She has only lived in the UK for 3 months and we have only been married for 3months. She doesn't have a job either, well she is working on it.

4 months? wow! i was hoping 4 weeks, do you know of any method to speed the process up? can we pay extra?

What is the fastest way for her to process the I-130?

Noorah101

Well, with this extra information, it's clear that your wife does not qualify to file the I-130 directly to London, anyway. A USC must be living in the UK longer than 6 months to qualify for that.

You have a few choices now:

1. Have your wife return to the UK, continue living there, and when she's been there more than 6 months, then have her file DCF, which takes an additional 4 - 6 months. So...an additional 3 months at least for her to live there, plus let's say 5 months DCF time...you're looking at moving to the USA in about 8 months at the earliest.

2. Have your wife file the I-130 in the USA, which takes 8 - 10 months to process. She can still return to the UK to stay with you there while the visa process goes along. Again, this method means you'll be moving to the USA in around 8 to 10 months, pretty much the same as the above scenario.

Rene

meauxna

I'm afraid it's just as Rene says, your wife must petition you through the US Service Center and it will be several months before you can apply for a visa and move to the US.

russyb

Wow,

I really never knew it would take this long, we managed to sort my wifes UK visas out in 2 weeks.

So there is definatly no way i could speed up the process? 8 months more in the UK i was looking forward to california sun.

meauxna

Unfortunately, there is no way to speed it up. I've seen that some Immigrant Visa cases have been going faster than the 8 or so months, but that could be a blip rather than something to count on.

I know it's frustrating that the UK visas are so much faster.

Noorah101

Yep, the immigrant visas to the UK are a lot faster.

Unfortunately, no way to speed up the process, sorry.

Rene

russyb

Is there another way to get over to the US and work but not apply for the green card?

Do they issue a temporary visa or short term for married couples?

Sorry for being so persistant, i just dont really want to put my life on hold for 8 months.

Noorah101

Only if you qualify for a work-related visa. Check out our Wiki Section for the article called "Pulaski's Ways..." It outlines all the available visas to the USA. But keep in mind, not many of them are faster than the marriage-based route.

No. You can come visit on the VWP, but that does not allow you to work.

You wouldn't really be putting your life on hold. You'd be doing what you normally would be doing (including job hunting, I assume, which you'd be doing anyway...visa or no visa), until such time that your visa comes through.

Rene

meauxna

Really, if there was a way, we'd tell you. We like to help people unite.

You can not come to the US as a visitor with the intention of immigrating (staying); it's illegal. Most non-immigrant visas will bar you from temporarily reuniting in the US and the one visa designed for that purpose takes just as long to get as the complete Immigrant Visa (it's called the K-3 but don't be fooled by descriptions you read about it).

You don't need to put your life on hold for 8 months, you need a new plan to go forward with life in the UK for 8 months. Your wife has the benefit of already having her UK immigration status, so she can return to stay with you if you want.

traceym

Russy, there is no quick way, all the money in the world wont help, believe me we looked at the beginning.

The people on here have helped and are helping hundreds of us all in the same situation.

You are lucky that your wife can be there with you, some of us endure months some I believe years of separation, you just have to go with the flow I'm afraid.

Tracey.

BritishGuy36

I know it's a pain but there's no way to beat the system. When my wife went to the UK 10 years ago we got her visa in 6 hours. It took 5 months (with DCF in London) to get my IR-1 to enter the USA.

There are no shortcuts, no methods to expedite the process, just just have to suck it up and start the paperwork. It's not what you want to hear but you'll find on this forum you get good, succinct advice but it's not sugarcoated as that doesn't do you any good.

Another note not mentioned above - it's possible that your wife filing in London after 6 months or a bit more may not work....recently they have been denying some such applications (asserting that the USC never meant to make the UK their permanent residence - which appears to be true in your case). So you should bear that in mind when factoring that into your decision. You could wait another 3 months then get denied, but you would be together in the UK. If that happened she'd have to go back to the US and file just as she could right now. But that would bring you to almost a year before moving there. Or she could go back to the USA and file immediately, but you would be apart for 8-10 months (apart from short visits you make to the USA).

This is of course all presuming that you qualify for a visa (you can satisfy the financial requirements, and any criminal background you may have doesn't disqualify you).

Remember that USCIS aren't there to help you get into the country. You most likely don't have anything the US wants. They are there to ensure that you aren't going to be a burden on the state or an undesirable individual and will take steps to ensure these things before issuing a visa.

Noorah101

Just a reminder that if the USC and the UKC are both in the UK, and DCF gets denied, the I-130 can still be filed to a service center in the USA without the USC having to go back to the USA in person.

Rene