bwelburn

Hi,I filed my I-130 in London for direct consular filing on Feb 4 2002. They have taken payment for the I-130 (check Visa statement), but we have not received anything back from them.

What should I be expecting:

Notification that they have received the I-130 and are processing it?

When will I get the next set of forms (Packet 3 I think)?

Any other information would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Ameriscot

They won't send a receipt for the I-130. Unless there are problems, the next time you'll hear from the INS will be when they send you the approval notice.

If you do nothing, you'll receive Packet 3 sometime (a few weeks?) after the I-130 approval. If you want to speed up the process, you can send form OF-230 part 1 to the visa branch at the consulate now. You can also start collecting the information you need for OF-169 and also put together your affidavit of support (I-864).

You can aim to have the OF-169 complete by the time you receive petition approval to make sure there are no delays in the process - you can send it earlier but would need to know your London case number, which is sent to you once they have processed OF-230.

You can download the forms from the visa section of http://www.usembassy.org.uk

If you haven't already done so, apply for your Police Certificate ASAP, as this can take six weeks to arrive. Also, check that your passport has at least 3 years left to run, and if not, get a new one - this only takes a couple of weeks, standard processing. The other biggie is to check that your USC spouse's federal tax returns for the past 3 years are in order.

Gill

I have sent in my OF169 without my visa number on it as we were told to send it in
before the I130 was approved - have we been given the wrong information?

Andrew Carr

Hi Gillian, I went through an immigration consultant to do my paper work and he did
a great job. He might be some help to you: www.as-oneimmigration.com Just a
suggestion AJC

gill wrote:

    > I have sent in my OF169 without my visa number on it as we were told to send it in
    > before the I130 was approved - have we been given the wrong information?

Ameriscot

When the consulate processes your OF-230 part 1, they allocate you a "case number" - they actually send you a letter just to tell you what it is, and to instruct you to use this on all correspondance.

It has nothing to do with numbers the INS uses on the petition approval, so can appear before the petition is approved - mine was.

If you send your OF-169 in before receiving your London case number, there is a big chance of it not getting matched up with your OF-230 part 1 and getting lost, totally unbeknownst to you.

gilliankennedy

hi

thanks for the information- i was told by the woman on the helpline to send in another OF169 with my I 130 approval case number on it- I sent in my OF 230 over 5 weeks ago - how long does it take to process that form usually?

looks like I will have to send another OF169 in when I get my case number

Thanks for the advice


Gill

gilliankennedy

hi

i did receive a letter with case number starting LND is that what I need? - that came with my packet 3 forms which I had already sent in

Gill

gilliankennedy

if not I will call the embassy...
Gill