shadowmeister

I have a question about the information page DCF I-130 Filed In London
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/DCF_I-130_Filed_In_London

"If you are on short notice, the most important part of qualifying to file with this shortened application process is to have the US citizen spouse file the petition before leaving the UK. Once the petition has been accepted, the US citizen may leave the UK and the UK spouse can stay to apply for the visa. However, once the US citizen has moved out of the UK, they will be required to file their petition at the US Service Center, which extends the application timeline to 8-12 months."

About the part in red, does this mean that otherwise the US citizen has to stay the entire time until the visa is issued?

thanks in advance.

New Jersey Lass

No, if you read the Red text it says if the USC has moved out before the petition is filed. i.e the I-130. Once that has been filed then the USC is free to go back to the US, it also helps if they do as this helps with the domicile issue when it comes to filling out the affidavit of support once you I-130 has been approved. That is my understanding anyway.

shadowmeister

I guess if you have filed the petition, you cant file it again? So Im not sure why the red part is even included in this paragraph as for me it just caused confusion.

meauxna

If the USC needs to leave the UK, they can do so after the I-130 has been accepted at London.

However, we've had people post here who have already moved away from the UK (back to the US) without filing the I-130 in London. Once they have moved away, that USC is not eliglble to file in London.

Noorah101

They are trying to say that:

1. If the USC is in the UK, they can file the I-130 directly to London, then they can leave the UK.

2. If the USC has already left the UK, then they need to file the I-130 to a service center in the USA.

Rene

shadowmeister

thank you both for clarifying that. i think for me it was just the way the one sentence seemed to lead into the next
the US citizen may leave the UK ...once the US citizen has moved out of the ...

that is where i was getting confused.

thanks so much for breaking it down for me!

MikeN

"Once the petition has been accepted" the US citizen may leave the UK and the UK spouse can stay to apply for the visa..."

Does this mean once NOA is received, or Notice of filing? I'm freaking out a little here as I have moved back to the states (leaving beneficiary UKC behind) and have notified the Embassy of my new US address (I filed 1-130 in March and received notice that it had been filed).

Which is it? Acceptance or Filing?

meauxna

Once they take your money, you know they have accepted your case for processing.

edit: had you not been living in the UK very long?

MikeN

Oh that's a relief!

I had been in the UK 9 years - first as a student, then married. I found out I had the job in the states in Feb, but they wanted me to start in May at the latest, so everything was/ is a bit rushed.

We are hoping that my wife's visa will be done by end of August so that she and the kids can come then for the start of the school year! I'm trying not to check processing dates obsessively - still a long way to go yet!
Mike

meauxna

Oh, I see why you were concerned.. Congrats on the new job though! That's great news these days. Plus you can get all the work done US-side for a soft landing for the family.

No idea on the time frames these days; everything's changing.