Re: Help relocating to the States
 

The problem is that he doesn't currently live in the UK and unless he has a job offer for at least £18,500 prior to permanently returning to the UK or £62,500 sitting in a bank account, they can't apply for a settlement visa until he worked at a job in the UK for 6 months. Those are the only two options since a joint sponsor isn't allowed.

Re: Help relocating to the States
 

Looking at that link, thanks again, its clear the CR-1 is the fastest way of doing it but as we are leaving Madrid on the 25th, could we get married here in Spain, as you said just get a quick court house one with a few witnesses, and then fill out the CR-1 in the Uk? Would the time frame be the same or would it revert back to the 8-10 month of the K-1?

Re: Help relocating to the States
 

You wouldn't be able to file DCF to the London embassy since she would not be considered a resident of the UK but instead just a visitor. You may possibly be able to file DCF to the US embassy in Spain if Spain was still considered the country of residence for both of you even though you don't live there but that seems very unlikely. Normally most people file DCF before they leave the country and if she can do that, she can then leave without problems but then somehow I believe you would still have to be considered a resident of Spain until the visa is issued (not sure if that is possible if you don't have a residence in Spain).

If you can't file DCF, then the CR-1 immigration visa currently takes about the same time as acquiring a K-1 visa.

When filing DCF, the paperwork is sent to the embassy but when not, the paperwork is sent to the US for review before it gets forwarded to the embassy. Even though there isn't a lot of work that has to be done in the US, your petition is on the bottom of a large pile of petitions and it can take a long time for it to get to top of the pile for review and that is why a petition filed to the US takes longer than a DCF filing.

Re: Help relocating to the States
 

But surely being an European citizen I dont have to prove I am a resident of Spain as I dont require a VISA or anything similar, no? From what I have read here Direct Consular Filing it looks like the only thing they give/send me is my passport after a few days. So apart from my interview I dont need to be in Spain. Or am I completely misreading it?

Re: Help relocating to the States
 

The VisaJourney web site is filled with errors and people often give out incorrect information on their forums. Therefore people using that web site often have a significant amount of RFEs and visa denials due to misinformation.

It's the US embassies (consulates) that sets the rules for DCF filing. Each consulate only has so much staff to process visa applications and typically don't want people crossing borders to perform a DCF filing slowing the approvals of immigration visas since they can become overloaded. You could check with the embassy in Madrid and see if they will process a DCF filing while you are not a resident of Spain but I suspect the answer will be 'no'. The London embassy doesn't allow border crossing for DCF filing but that is a London embassy rule and the Madrid embassy may possibly have a different rule.

Similar restrictions occur for other types of visas. Some embassies will not process certain types of visas if the applicant is not a citizen of that country. It's all about workload distribution between embassies.

If there was enough staff at all the embassies to process all CR-1 petitions, then all CR-1 visas should be sent to embassies instead of some being sent to the US and others sent to the embassy. However with the current embassy staff, that would likely extend the time frame for all CR-1 visas to 8-10 months due to staff shortages if that was currently allowed.

At one time it was often taking 2 or more years to process CR-1 visa applications so a new visa (K-3) was introduced to reduce the time. The K-3 visa was similar to a K-1 visa but was for married couples where the embassy only had to perform the first part to issue the visa but once the immigrant arrived in the US, he/she had to go through an adjustment of status. The total time to complete the K-3 visa was still taking the same time as the CR-1 visa but the person could enter and live in the US while the AOS was being processed. Now the K-3 visa takes longer than the CR-1 visa and is no longer recommended.

Re: Help relocating to the States
 

The first thing to find out is whether Spain even has a USCIS field office that can accept an I-130.

Rene

Re: Help relocating to the States
 

+1

The staff may be so overloaded that they may not accept DCF. However I suspect that most embassies are trying to get married couples that were living overseas a faster route to the US than married couples that already were separated.

Re: Help relocating to the States
 

The thing is, not all embassies have a USCIS field office. If an embassy doesn't have a USCIS field office (or if there is no USCIS field office in a particular country), no I-130 can be filed there.

Rene

Re: Help relocating to the States
 

Hi Ollie,

Here is one path you could consider, but there are several "ifs" involved:

IF you can get married quickly (anywhere in the world), then perhaps an I-130 can be filed in Spain. That's another IF.

IF the I-130 can be filed in Spain, then the USC can leave Spain after filing, and go to the USA to start the new job (that's to your benefit, because she will qualify financially on the I-864 without need for joint sponsor).

IF the I-130 is accepted in Spain, you should be prepared to stay in Spain for the following 4 to 6 months in order to complete the visa process in Spain (medical, interview, and return of passport). It can be very difficult to start the process in one country and then try to have the file moved to another country (as in from Spain to the UK), especially in the short time frame you are working in (yes, 6 months is short in USCIS time).

So...IF you can get married soon, and IF Spain accepts an I-130, and IF you can stay in Spain (just you, not the USC), then that would be the fastest route.

Otherwise, you have the other options open to you, with the 8 to 10 month processing times.

Rene