littlepassive

hi all,

I recently got married in the UK to my new wife (who is an american citizen) and she has come over to the UK for 6months to work. she has a relavant VISA for the UK but she is not classed as a resident of the UK so i cannot apply to the london embassy (due to her stay of less than six months) with the i-130.

So we need to apply to the vermont service centre. However, as she is in the UK for the next three months (her visa runs out mid june) she will not be there to pick up any mail. Which would be a problem if they sent the i-797 receipt to say that they have accepted the i-130 petition and we then could not send it with the i-129f as proof.

So is there anyway of getting them to send the i-797 along with the documents they send me (in england) or even to a friends address in america who could then forward it to us in england. thanks for any help you could give us!!!
andrew

Just Jenney

What is happening to the rest of her US mail? Is someone taking care of it for her?

I'd suggest having a trusted friend or relative obtain her mail and when they come across something from USCIS to forward it to her in the UK. Or she could fly home to retrieve it then bring it back, but that seems like a waste of money...

~ Jenney

ian-mstm

I'm not up on the UK visa situation, but is it possible for her to have the visa extended? Long enough, perhaps, to work in your favor?

Ian

littlepassive

hey,
sadly this was kind of a last minute thing so didnt originally plan for her to stay that long. So her mail is piling up (as we arranged for all her bills to be paid by other means.)

and
sadly again, the visa that she is on is not one that can be extended.

thanks both for the replies though and i'll keep searching.....
andrew

Gigiola

Even though VSC is working a tiny bit slower than CSC at the moment it still seems reasonable to expect that your I-130 would be processed before the I-129F sees the light of day.

In that case, your wife would need to be back there from when the I-130 is approved to deal with the correspondence with NVC. Mid June sounds just about right!

Good luck.

littlepassive

just had a thought..... i could get her mail forwarded to a friends house for the time that she is away. However i know that they (USPS) dont forward mail if the envelope has:

"Mail will not be forwarded to your new address if the mailer has instructed the USPS to return the mailpiece if it is undeliverable as addressed."

does anyone know if the receipt notice envelope says to return it if it is undeliverable as addressed?????

thanks gigiola for the feedback. I guess we may have to wait for her to go back although if we can get it just that little bit quicker then it would obviously be a lot better:-)
cheers
andrew

Just Jenney

I think she would be better off having her friend come and PICK UP the mail that has already been delivered, and not only because she is awaiting this NOA.

Stolen mail is a real problem these days, and people who leave their delivered mail unattended for weeks (even days) on end are really putting themselves at risk for identity theft. Bank and credit card statements can be stolen, which include her name, address and account numbers on them. Credit card companies will send replacement cards about a month prior to expiration, and those can be stolen, too.

Delivery of forwarded mail is notoriously late. I have moved many times and I've found it's not uncommon for mailed items to arrive at the forwarded address 3-6 weeks after they were mailed, even if forwarded locally.

That said, I believe USCIS mail IS returned to sender as undeliverable, because I've seen it mentioned on here before. USCIS requires those changing their addresses to complete form AR-11 to notify them of an address change; your wife did not do that.

If you want/need that NOA asap, she really needs to have someone get her mail IN PERSON. Not just for the NOA but for ALL her mail. I shudder to think of the three months' worth of mail that's piling up -- and the additional three months's worth that will add to that pile until she gets back in June -- yikes!

~ Jenney

Noorah101

Hi Jenney,

Hopefully she told the Post Office to hold her mail there. That would have been the smart thing to do...but will probably make it harder for someone else to go pick up her mail without her authorization. I can't even imagine 6 months worth of mail fitting in my little mailbox at home!

Rene

Hypertweeky

Ouch poor OP I would be worried to death!!
It is not just about the NOA.. how about the bills and other important payments?, if she didn't plan to stay there for so long.. how is she copping with this?
Hope they can sort this mess out soon!!

Noorah101

Hi Hyper,

The OP said the bills are being paid by some other means. She probably set up an automatic payment for all of them.

Rene

littlepassive

thanks for all the replies. We are not exactly sure what to do as we thought we could register with the london office but apparently we cant so we are looking for ideas. All the bills are being paid through other means, but she has her keys here (someone is checking the house every couple of days but cant get in!!!!). So we just didnt know what to do about it. Its quite worrying but we managed to sort all the bills and stuff (except for the large amount of mail:-(....... so hopefully we can figure out some way of getting the mail so we may shave a few weeks of the time before i can get over there!!!! its all such a mess.... but well keep trying.

thanks again for all your suggestions
andrew

Rete

Why not do the simpliest thing possible that I can think of. Have a duplicate set of keys to the house made up. Send it to the person watching the premises for her. Ask them if they would check the mail for anything that comes from the USCIS/INS Vermont and open it for her and call her or email her when it arrives. When it comes to assigning a designee, she can put you at the address you are living at and the future paperwork will go there.

Doesn't sound like that big a deal to me.

Or in the mailing address area, put her UK address with a notation that she is living and working in the UK until such and such a time and enclose a copy of the work permit.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Hire an attorney.

"The problem is all inside your head she said to me. The answer is easy if you take it logically. I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free." Paul Simon