EmilyF

Hi, newbie here!

Sorry if its been asked, but I've searched and I can't find it!

My husband and I have submitted an I-130 to the US embassy in London. He is dual nationality (UK and US passport) and I'm British. Our application was submitted on Feb 10th. The website says as of last week they were processing applications from Feb 7th. Does anyone know how long this takes? Should we be expecting the NOA1 any day now or does this processing take weeks?

Also, reading another post it looked like we'll receive a letter from the Embassy telling us if we've been approved or not. We will then have to wait for a letter from the IVU (?) telling us of the next steps. Is this correct?

We have all the paperwork ready to go. Its just we're desperate to move, so we want to speed up everything as much as we can from our side.

Thanks!
Emily

Rete

The resource that answers your questions is here:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/DCF_I-130_Filed_In_London

It is listed at the top of the forum page.

Timelines vary but they appear to be quickening the pace these days.

EmilyF

Thanks. I have read that, and its very handy for knowing what to expect and in what order.

Trouble is it doesn't give any indication of how long! I'm getting older now, and I'm not sure all this excitement when the postman arrives is good for me!!

TracyTN

It doesn't say how long because those statistics aren't captured anywhere (to my knowledge). The only way you could really know is to happen to find someone who went through the exact same process recently and see what their wait time was. Even at that, every case is so different, something like that isn't a great measuring stick.

EmilyF

Thanks! Its so frustrating!!
Hopefully someone who's done this recently will be able to give me an idea of how long it took for them.

I've just been looking on another thread and people were using this website to check their status:

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/Dashboard.do

Which is making me panic, as we didn't get a receipt number with our NOA from the embassy. Is this normal on a I-130?

Rete

Emily ... this has been done very recently by quite a few people. Do a search of the forum.

Has the foreign spouse gotten all their documentation together so the checklist can be sent back to the US Consulate asap after it is received? It is only when the checklist is returned that an interview appointment is assigned.

Has the USC filed all their US taxes? If not, now is the time to do so with the IRS in London.

Does the USC have proof of re-establishing domicile in the US? Look at the threads and you will find that this is a MAJOR issue and one of the things that delays approval of the visa. The wiki has a piece written by Ginblossom on this which is very helpful.

Does the USC have the required US income and/or assets to be sole financial sponsor of the foreign spouse? If not, has a co-sponsor been lined up?

There is a lot you guys can and should be doing if you are short on patience and so very desperate to get to the US.

These things are far more important than the time for approval of the I-130 by the USCIS in London.

Rete

Not 100% sure but I believe this site is for checking I-130 status when filed within the US and not for you who filed abroad.

Noorah101

Rete is correct. Emily, that website you linked to, to check status, only applies if you filed the I-130 in the USA. It won't work for you. You'll have to just compare with other DCF cases you find.

A typical DCF case through London takes about 5 months from start to finish. That might help you plan a little bit.

Rene

EmilyF

Thanks for the info guys. I have read all the Wiki's (several times!) and read every post in this forum back to page 7 so far and couldn't find the exact info. There is so much information, and so many different types of visa that it can be confusing.

Rene, in answer to your questions, my husbands company file his US taxes for him and we are in the process of getting copies. We are also looking into the issue of Domicile carefully having seen the issues others on the forum have had. So we have a place to stay, a job offer, hopefully a car and we're trying to set up a bank account. Fingers crossed this is enough.

I've applied for police certificates and gathered all my documents.

If there is anything else we should be doing, let me know.

Thanks again for the advice.

S Folinsky

General observation: "your mileage may vary." This phrase has been stolen from the automobile manufacturers who use official government fuel consumption figures in their advertising. Individual can vary a lot due to dumb things like an officer getting sick, vacations, holidays, etc etc.

No advice given nor intended.

EmilyF

Thanks SF. I understand that things can vary. But my original question was (and still is, if anyone has an answer): How long from the US embassy webpage updating to say they are working on applications submitted your week, did people receive their acceptance (or RFE) letter?

What I am wondering is how long the actual 'processing' time is. I understand that the size of the pile of paperwork on someones desk may differ dependent on applications submitted that month. But once they've said "We're doing your application now" is that a few days, weeks, months? I was hoping anyone who had applied recently could give me their experience.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough in the OP?

Noorah101

You were clear. You'll just have to wait for someone who has recently done DCF to come by and post their timeline for you, if you couldn't find it by searching.

I thought perhaps you knowing that it's about 5 months from start to finish might help give you a clue, but I guess it didn't.

I didn't do DCF or even use London, but it seems to me the answer you're looking for is probably "several weeks at least". Realizing, of course, that YMMV.

Rene

EmilyF

Thanks Rene,

I guess I shall stop dashing to the front door when I hear the postman, and get on with productive things like gathering proof of domicile!

Rete

D/L the forms from the US Consulate's website and start completing them. You don't have to wait for the paperwork to arrive.

EmilyF

We don't? Awesome. Will do that now.

Thanks Rete!