Looking for help on direct consular filing in UK
Feb 11th 2002, 6:33 pm
#1
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Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 18
Hi, we have some questions on DCF in London (we've visited doc steen's)-
I'm a US citizen and my fiance is Belgian but working and living in London the last 2 years. We will marry shortly and am interested in DCF in London for him as I may be traveling soon to London for a fellowship for some months.
Does anyone have recent experience with DCF in London or can help us with the following?
1. How many months is DCF in London likely to take? (I need to know how many months of fellowship to negotiate for).
2. What paperwork will the US consulate need to establish that I am residing in the UK (lease? notification of fellowship? work permit?)
3. What paperwork will the US consulate need to establish that my spouse resides in the UK (proof of employment?)
4. While we are doing direct consular filing, will I or my spouse be able to travel (e.g. to the US)?
5. Do we need to talk to an immigration lawyer in the UK to help us file the paperwork?
We really appreciate everyone's help on this. Thanks in advance.
I'm a US citizen and my fiance is Belgian but working and living in London the last 2 years. We will marry shortly and am interested in DCF in London for him as I may be traveling soon to London for a fellowship for some months.
Does anyone have recent experience with DCF in London or can help us with the following?
1. How many months is DCF in London likely to take? (I need to know how many months of fellowship to negotiate for).
2. What paperwork will the US consulate need to establish that I am residing in the UK (lease? notification of fellowship? work permit?)
3. What paperwork will the US consulate need to establish that my spouse resides in the UK (proof of employment?)
4. While we are doing direct consular filing, will I or my spouse be able to travel (e.g. to the US)?
5. Do we need to talk to an immigration lawyer in the UK to help us file the paperwork?
We really appreciate everyone's help on this. Thanks in advance.
Feb 11th 2002, 7:46 pm
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
cwtseng wrote:
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We did DCF in London last summer/autumn.
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2-3 months if you have all the necessary paperwork gathered beforehand. Among these
are: spouse's immunisation records and police certificates from all countries they
are available from in which he has lived for 6 months or more since the age of 16,
your tax returns or transcripts for the last 3 years.
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If you have UK ILR a copy of that from your passport. I (USC) used a couple of bills,
a council tax demand notice and a first page from one of my UK tax returns. Of
course, all of these had my name and UK address on them. Work permit stamp would
probably be helpful. You just have to prove to them you are resident in the UK. You
won't be able to do this on a simple tourist entry.
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This is a good question. I don't know the answer. All of the DCF experiences I know
of (including my own) involve a US citizen and a British spouse. My inclination would
be to call our write the US Embassy and ask if they will do this for a non-British
citizen. If you write include an SAE to ensure a reply.
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Of course you will since you are a US citizen. It may be more problematic for
your spouse. Some say this is allowed, others say it isn't a good idea since your
wife could be turned back at the airport if the inspector determines she has
"immigrant intent" at the time of entry. My spouse never had reason to enter the
US during the process so we didn't try. You and your spouse can travel to any
other country you wish.
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In my opinion, no, it's not worth the money. The forms are straightforward and not
very complicated. If I were you I would first determine whether the consulate in
London will do DCF in your case (it's at their discretion). If they agree then start
to gather the documentation I mentioned earlier.
Also Read http://www.usembassy.org.uk/
and the links under Immigration
Finally, try posting your questions to alt.visa.us.marriage-based as many people
who have done DCF in London post there and don't necessarily read this group too
(though I do).
Good luck, joe
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We did DCF in London last summer/autumn.
>
>
2-3 months if you have all the necessary paperwork gathered beforehand. Among these
are: spouse's immunisation records and police certificates from all countries they
are available from in which he has lived for 6 months or more since the age of 16,
your tax returns or transcripts for the last 3 years.
>
>
If you have UK ILR a copy of that from your passport. I (USC) used a couple of bills,
a council tax demand notice and a first page from one of my UK tax returns. Of
course, all of these had my name and UK address on them. Work permit stamp would
probably be helpful. You just have to prove to them you are resident in the UK. You
won't be able to do this on a simple tourist entry.
>
>
This is a good question. I don't know the answer. All of the DCF experiences I know
of (including my own) involve a US citizen and a British spouse. My inclination would
be to call our write the US Embassy and ask if they will do this for a non-British
citizen. If you write include an SAE to ensure a reply.
>
>
Of course you will since you are a US citizen. It may be more problematic for
your spouse. Some say this is allowed, others say it isn't a good idea since your
wife could be turned back at the airport if the inspector determines she has
"immigrant intent" at the time of entry. My spouse never had reason to enter the
US during the process so we didn't try. You and your spouse can travel to any
other country you wish.
>
>
In my opinion, no, it's not worth the money. The forms are straightforward and not
very complicated. If I were you I would first determine whether the consulate in
London will do DCF in your case (it's at their discretion). If they agree then start
to gather the documentation I mentioned earlier.
Also Read http://www.usembassy.org.uk/
and the links under Immigration
Finally, try posting your questions to alt.visa.us.marriage-based as many people
who have done DCF in London post there and don't necessarily read this group too
(though I do).
Good luck, joe
Feb 11th 2002, 9:41 pm
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Ingo Pakleppa wrote:
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UK Indefinite Leave to Remain is not required for a US citizen to file DCF in London.
I did DCF last year without it though I had lived in the UK for almost 4 years before
I filed the paperwork.
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K-1 is definitely something for the original poster to consider
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The Embassy in London may require the beneficiary to be a British citizen before they
will consider the application via DCF. Their website does not seem to state this
explicitly.
However, it appears the US Embassy in Brussels will do DCF in person
http://www.usembassy.be/consul/immi/howfilepet.htm
Since the original poster's spouse in Belgian this may be worth pursuing. The bottom
of this page says the process takes 4 to 6 weeks.
joe
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UK Indefinite Leave to Remain is not required for a US citizen to file DCF in London.
I did DCF last year without it though I had lived in the UK for almost 4 years before
I filed the paperwork.
>
>
>
>
K-1 is definitely something for the original poster to consider
>
>
>
>
>
The Embassy in London may require the beneficiary to be a British citizen before they
will consider the application via DCF. Their website does not seem to state this
explicitly.
However, it appears the US Embassy in Brussels will do DCF in person
http://www.usembassy.be/consul/immi/howfilepet.htm
Since the original poster's spouse in Belgian this may be worth pursuing. The bottom
of this page says the process takes 4 to 6 weeks.
joe
Feb 12th 2002, 1:12 am
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
cwtseng wrote:
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I'm not sure you can do it on a fellowship, you should contact London INS to find
out: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/fi...edistrict/lon-
don/aboutus.htm
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I suggest that you consider DCF in Belgium instead. Your spouse would need a UK
police certificate, however once he had that, the time from filing to visa is
reported to be under one month. You might want to check with Belgium to confirm this,
but the last report was that they were VERY speedy in this regard, and they do NOT
require that the US citizen spouse be a resident in order to DCF. (see DCF section of
Doc Steen site in "experiences" link) Also see this link from the Brussels consulate:
http://www.usembassy.be/consul/immi/howfilepet.htm Alvena
-----------------------
Doc Steen Site: http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm
=========================================
I am not a lawyer and this is not immigration advice. This is my personal opinion,
gleaned from the previous postings of others, and posted for the purpose of
discussion only. If your case is complicated, then you may need an immigration
attorney. Locate an immigration attorney in your area at: http://www.aila.org
=========================================
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I'm not sure you can do it on a fellowship, you should contact London INS to find
out: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/fi...edistrict/lon-
don/aboutus.htm
>
I suggest that you consider DCF in Belgium instead. Your spouse would need a UK
police certificate, however once he had that, the time from filing to visa is
reported to be under one month. You might want to check with Belgium to confirm this,
but the last report was that they were VERY speedy in this regard, and they do NOT
require that the US citizen spouse be a resident in order to DCF. (see DCF section of
Doc Steen site in "experiences" link) Also see this link from the Brussels consulate:
http://www.usembassy.be/consul/immi/howfilepet.htm Alvena
-----------------------
Doc Steen Site: http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm
=========================================
I am not a lawyer and this is not immigration advice. This is my personal opinion,
gleaned from the previous postings of others, and posted for the purpose of
discussion only. If your case is complicated, then you may need an immigration
attorney. Locate an immigration attorney in your area at: http://www.aila.org
=========================================
