JAY888

We're filing out I-130 in London and the embassy received it on the 15th July, it's now the 27th and we still haven't heard anything (no text, card not charged). Now we're fearing the worst that it's going to get sent back to us and thinking what the possible reason could be.

My USC wife lives in the US and I've read a few pieces since we've started worrying, they say if the petitioner needs to be a USC living in the UK to file it to London? Should we be filing in the states instead....or are we just overthinking all of this?

Jackie3

Hi,
To do DCF in London, the U.S. citizen needs to be resident in the UK.
This is from the U.S. EMBASSY LONDON website (uk.usembassy.gov)



"Who May File or Receive Service:
U.S. citizens meeting the UK Residency Requirement (valid UK Residency Card; EU passport; US military PCS orders) AND residing in the United Kingdom filing on behalf of their spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21 or parent (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older).

U.S. citizens residing in this field office’s jurisdiction but outside of the United Kingdom may file with the U.S. Embassy or Consulate having jurisdiction over the U.S. citizen’s place of residence if the USCIS London field office director determines that there are exceptional circumstances."

I would imagine that this is why you haven't heard anything.
Hope that helps and good luck!

JAY888

Well we've messed that up then, looks like we should have gone the fiancé visa route. That way I could have been out there and working whilst the visa was going through.

Looks like we're going to have to look into the process of filing from the US and the different proceedures involved for that.

we thought we'd read everything thoroughly and understood the procedure. Hopefully this is a lesson for someone else thinking they can do it this way.

Noorah101

You couldn't have done the K-1 fiance visa if you were already married.

Even if you had done a K-1 process before marriage, you still couldn't have come to the USA to live and work while waiting for the K-1 visa.

Either way, just wait to hear from the embassy, then once they return the I-130 package to you, then start over with filing the I-130 in the USA. It's only been 12 calendar days since you filed....give it more time.

Rene

JAY888

It seems pretty certain that's what happened and we need to file in the US. We'll just resend the files there.

Are there any major differences (apart from timeframe) between filing the I-130 in the UK and filing the I-130 in the states that I'll need to know of?

Noorah101

Well, it's a different process. When the I-130 is filed in the USA, the case goes through some steps at NVC after the I-130 approval, before moving on to the embassy.

We have a Wiki guide.

Rene

JAY888

OK, thanks for the replies.

ian-mstm

What? Nonsense! That route was closed to you the day you got married.


Sorry - but that's not how it works. You couldn't have been out there working until after you already had the visa.


What exactly were you reading? It sounds like you had no idea at all what you were doing.


It's certainly a lesson for people who want to do things the wrong way! Next time, I suggest you simply read and understand the instructions! This is not a difficult process... time consuming, yes - but not difficult.

Ian

JAY888

With the process taking longer it looks as though I'm going to have less than 6 months left on my passport if I get the visa. My passport runs out 16th July 2017. Has anyone had to renew passports in the middle of the visa process? Or do you think it's best that I just get it out of the way and renew now before I send off the I-130?

JAY888

My wife was my fiancé at the time of us deciding which route we were going to take.

I've held my hands up and admitted I I didn't go through everything with a fine tooth comb, it's quite a daunting prospect and in worrying about other things it's quite easy to miss the simple things.

ian-mstm

Ah! Even so, you couldn't have worked in the US until after you had a visa.


Yes, hindsight is nearly always 20/20.


Forgive me, but missing where to file the paperwork is not a simple thing! It's written, quite clearly, in the instructions. I don't wish to beat this to death, but you are going to be dealing with US immigration for a long time... so the sooner you start paying attention to the "simple things" the better off you'll be.

Hmm... reminds me of the film Sister Act 2: "If you want to be somebody, if you want to go somewhere, you'd better wake up and pay attention!" Of course, it sounds better if you sing it!

Ian

Noorah101

Usually we don't recommend people to use an immigration attorney for simple cases, but if you feel the process or the paperwork is daunting, you might be one of those who benefits from using a lawyer.

Rene

Noorah101

You can renew your passport at any point during the whole process, it won't affect anything. So really up to you. You can file the I-130 with one passport number, and show up at your visa interview with a different one, it won't matter.

Rene

JAY888

Thanks for the helpful replies rene.

I think I'll just get the passport sorted just incase. We're not going to leave anything to chance anymore and I've changed a bit since I was 17.

Hopefully I'll get the paperwork back soon and we can file at the proper location.

Noorah101

The only reason I suggest waiting is so you don't have 2 petitions out there floating around.

Rene