Can I just add, how in the heck did you get to do DCF that quickly? I'm in the UK and I've been told on these boards that I can't do DCF unless I've been here for at least 1.5-2 years. I came to UK in October 2006 and was married 5 days after you were.

Are the DCF rules different for each consulate?

I'm so confused.

HA has been married and resident in the UK for six years, so she was eligible for DCF.

There appears to have been some change in who London allows to do DCF. Previously, you needed to be resident 2 years (i.e. applied for and have indefinite leave to remain), but there is anecdotal evidence on this board that some people are being accepted with under a year provided they have their limited leave to remain. Try calling the Embassy for more info on this.

Also, you could help us and

In the past, the rules have been different for each consulate. Recently, it was changed that technically if you've been resident in a country for six months, you can file directly. That may in reality still be different in different countries, but that's how it's supposed to be now.

Here's the page for London USCIS - http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html. I can't remember the actual date it changed, but you are now currently eligble to file with London USCIS because you have limited leave to remain and are primarily resident in the UK.

<S>If I were you, I would contact the London USCIS office and ask if they would accept your I-130 even though you already have one filed in LA. You would have to pay the $190 again, but it will be so much faster. If however you're happy to be in the UK for another year, then continuing the way you've started would be easier.</S>

EDIT - I see you've been posting in the K3 forum and plan to do a K3 visa. If that's the case, I'm assuming you do want to go to the US pretty soon. Trying to change to direct filing might be hard, but if it happens it will save you a ton of time and money.

EDIT AGAIN - Oh geez, I've been misunderstanding your situation. I thought you arrived married and with limited leave to remain back in October 2006. You aren't yet eligble for DCF.

Okay, I just found the thread I was looking for about London: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...st&p=908026

Read Beldos' entry #14. It looks like you are good to go to file DCF if you have the UK as your main place of residence, but seeing as you have already filed in the US you may need to consult the Embassy about cancelling the first I-130 and refiling directly in London. You are living in the UK now and entered with a spousal visa, correct?

I'd also recommend reading the entire thread for more specific info. (Message to moderator -- this topic probably needs to be split now! )

Actually, Latteberry isn't eligble for DCF yet. I've seen in another post that she was only a visitor between October and March. And then she was on a fiancee visa, and it's not clear if she's obtained FLR yet. The soonest she could file in London would be August if she has FLR, and only if they count the time she was here on a fiancee visa.

Regarding Beldos - their I-130 was returned by the London USCIS office saying they weren't primarily resident in the UK and therefore not eligible. It's not clear whether or not a US or UK address was used on the I-130, which would make a difference, but it's possibly because they weren't at the six months yet and the person on the phone was wrong.

D'oh! My bad. This is what I get for replying when I am also talking on the telephone at work. It's disappointing that the Embassy doesn't clearly state the rules on the webiste like they used to. It would dispel a lot of confusion and rumour.

(Note to self: do not let boss know I am on VJ most of the day these days! )

I agree about how badly the London USCIS site needs to be updated - it's crazy. They even have the old medical fees on there, and old forms.

The DCF rules are different from place to place.

According to the latest info on the embassy's website, you must be resident in the UK in order to do a DCF. It does NOT specify a length of time that you must be resident here, but you must have an actual resident visa. You cannot do a DCF on a tourist or fiance(e) visa, and I don't think you can do one on a student visa either but I could be wrong.

Yes, I'm still on my Fiance visa here in UK and have the paperwork filled out to submit for the spousal LLR. I haven't submitted it yet because DH only JUST started a job - he'd been self-employed but hadn't had any income for a while and we'd been living off savings. Now he has an employment offer letter and his first pay stub. I don't know if that's enough to file or if I should wait...I don't want to put it off too much longer, since the Fiancee visa expires Sept. 1.

What I'm most worried about is the fact that I'm doing both processes at the same time. Is there anything wrong with filing to stay here while also filing to bring spouse back to US? I'm concerned that someone is going to connect the dots and claim that we have conflicting motives.

There's no problem with doing both at the same time. You don't actually have conflicting motives because the FLR for the UK does not mean you're asking to permanently reside in the UK. You'd only technically have conflicting motives if you were applying for Indefinite Leave or citizenship, but even then you wouldn't run into a problem. I've met several USCs online who were able to do their UK citizenship ceremony in the US because their UK spouse had received a green card and they wanted to move to the US. So, no problem there.

You can file for FLR anytime now. The offer letter itself is just fine. UK immigration is much less stringent about income requirements and proof than US immigration.

I saw in another post that you're trying to decide whether to skip the K3 visa. When I suggested that, I was under the impression that your husband was already working and that you weren't in a tight financial spot in the UK. Unless your husband's new job covers all your outgoings and allows you to build up some savings again, my sense is that you might not find it worth it to skip the K3. If the new job more than covers your UK outgoings and will allow for savings to build back up within six months, then in my opinion you would find it worthwhile to wait for the CR1.

The US government isn't going to tell the UK government, if that's what you're worried about.

If you've already filed the I-130 then I think you've missed the DCF boat and it may add more weeks to your timeline to get things shifted from the US to the UK. It's good that you've applied for the LLR because it is not likely that the visa will be issued before your visa expires. Thing is...your husband just started a job in the UK but you guys want to move to the USA? Why did you move here to the UK if you both wanted to live in the USA?



I agree.

I left most of my life in storage and came to the UK so that DH and I could be together and not have to pay rent in two countries. DH took a job because his contract work wasn't coming in and savings were being depleted and we enjoy eating and a roof over our heads. It's not ideal, but it's fine while we're slogging through paperwork. I'm homesick, and can't wait to return to US because it costs half as much to live there, but the process is really frustrating. If the UK were less expensive, I would just stay here. The UK is much more welcoming to me than the US is to DH.

I've found that to be extremely true as well.

It has not been ideal living here in the UK for almost two years, but it's what was best for us in our situation and you're doing the best you can in yours. It's great you've been able to figure out a way to not be separated during the process.

Was my suggestion of figuring out whether or not you'll make up the savings difference in six months on the hubby's new job helpful? I'd do the math soon or just pass it off on the hubby to figure out like I always do. If you won't make up the savings, or even worse if you'd risk losing more savings, then I recommend going for the K3 asap. It's a hassle to adjust and will be pretty expensive, but the difference isn't enough if you can't keep your heads above the water in the UK.

Sometimes it boggles my mind that I have the best job here in the UK that I've ever had anywhere, making thousands more than I've made before, and we are just going to scrape by with savings for the move to the states early next year.

You have probably already figured this out, but since you started with a US filing center, keep using a US address throughout the whole process. Trying to change to your UK address mid-process would cause a lot of problems.

Wow, I've found it to be the other way around. You're right about the USA being cheaper...definitely!

Thanks for your help, MargotDarko. I hadn't considered the address change, but I think I'll stick with the path I'm on. I'd hate to pull out now, try to file DCF and get rejected. That would put me WAY far behind.

I am also thinking that it probably makes the most sense to not even bother filing the I129f to get the K3. I didn't realize that DH wouldn't immediately be able to work on a K3...that could be a bigger hit and hurt more than staying here a bit longer, not even counting the additional filing fees. I already have to fork over another $800 just to be able to stay here longer (filing the FLR-m this weekend).

What is most surprising to me is that, according to the timeline on this website, (which I finally learned about and filled out), we should expect an adjudication of the I-130 by late August. That doesn't seem to match up with the processing times listed on the USCIS website - they say they are only now processing things received in November 2006. Is there really that much of a discrepancy between what the feds say they are doing and what the experience has been for people on this site?

We just signed another 6 month lease for this house, but if things haven't progressed much by autumn I think we may have to consider moving house to something less expensive. I hate the thought of moving house because we managed to find a place with all the conveniences I'm used to in the US (tumble dryer, power shower, off-street parking, walking distance to train station, cat allowed, etc). It's just more money than we had hoped to spend for rent. I think we'll have to see where we are in a few months. As you might imagine, change is hard enough to deal with when you're fully able...being disabled makes change even more difficult for me.

Thanks again for all your suggestions and support.

Oh, and OP - sorry to hijack your thread!!

Wow, is that what they cost now? I got my FLR in 2001 and I can't remember precisely what it cost, but it was much less than $800!

It appears to me that you guys should have just gone for a K-1 visa, that way you wouldn't have had to move to the UK at all. I still don't get why you moved here. If money is tight this is the last place you want to live; the cost of living is obscene.



What website is that? I don't know which one you're talking about.



Given how slowly the gears grind in the US vs a DCF, you'll likely be here longer than 6 months. Think of it this way...once you get the FLR you'll be able to work so maybe you'll be able to afford your lease a bit longer. My FLR took only a few weeks to process. I remember it pretty well; we got married in early June 2001. In fact, our anniversary was yesterday and both of us completely forgot. The stress of moving'll do that to you! I applied for the FLR in late June 2001 and received the visa in late August 2001...about 7-8 weeks. I was offered my first job here the morning of 9/11/01. Started off nice, anyway!

By "this website" she means this website - the VJ timelines. Yes, UK immigration fees were recently raised quite a lot. I'm sure she's in the UK because she didn't want to be separated from her SO for the time it takes a K1 to process. I don't think she'll be able to work if she's not able to work in the US, but they'll be fine because of her hubby's new job.

To Latteberry - the date on the USCIS website refers only to the oldest date on any petition they're still processing. So most likely it's only a handful of difficult ones from November they're still processing and the majority being processed right now are more recent. Does that make sense? The timelines here on VJ give a better idea of the actual average time. My guess is that you should plan on being here in the UK until roughly Feb/March 08 if you skip the K3 visa. The K3 visa would get you guys to the states maybe as much as three months earlier, but then the advantage is cancelled out by your husband having to wait to work and the extra fees for adjustment of status.

Do you mind if I ask where you're living in the UK and how much you're currently paying for rent? We're living in Oxford and our one-bedroom furnished flat is costing us £875 a month, but luckily we're moving to a nearby town at the end of this month to a one-bedroom place (smaller but just as nice inside) for £675 a month. It's the one thing that really bothers me about the cost of living in the UK. Aside from housing and electrical goods, I've found most things to be pretty relative to my salary compared to the salary I would get for the same job in Michigan. So I think it's a perfectly reasonable and understandable thing to have done - moving to the UK to be with him while going through the US immigration process. I'm sure it will balance out in the end for you guys.

Thanks, MargotDarko - that does help me understand a little better. That's a relief about the timeline discrepancy. I was thinking early next year would be about right.

Well, we're living in Hertfordshire, in admittedly one of the most expensive places to live in the UK (Radlett). The hardest part was finding somewhere that would take DH's cat, which immediately ruled out most flats for some unknown reason. And, DH is quite picky about location, didn't want to live in a "dodgy" area. But, for that, we have a semi-detatched, with lots of room, modern kitchen and bath, and a separate summer house that DH was using for his business (though, now that he's working, he doesn't need that anymore). He can walk to the train station for his job in London - another consideration for where we live. Our house is £1500/mo, and we had hoped to pay about half that, but couldn't find anything even halfway decent under £1000 in the nearby communities. Our current lease is up early December. If the timeline goes as you think it does, then we really only need to stay an additional 2-3 months, which makes moving house somewhat unnecessary.

You are correct, I am physically unable to work, regardless of what my visa status is. That's why I receive disability income. And yes, I came here to UK because I wanted to be with my SO and had to live somewhere. My last home in the US was the house I owned with my ex-husband. We sold that during the divorce, and the new owners really preferred that I not be there when they moved in! It didn't make sense for me to find an apartment in the US and for us to pay rent and utilities both in US and here in England. I came here while the divorce was being processed. Once it was final, we made a whirlwind trip of the US to get my fiancee visa, had a "faux" wedding with the family, and came back here for the "official" version. I know we could have saved a bit of money had we had the official wedding in the US, waited for the paperwork, and filed for the spousal visa up front, but the cost of staying around in the US for an extra couple of weeks would have been more than the £395 filing fee for the FLR. Plus, I will always have the story of being married in a building that used to be a prison (St. Albans) in England. It's got a high "coolness" factor, I think.

Thanks again!

Im confused what is the difference between LPR and LFR?
Im actually thinking of going to the UK to be with my husband to wait out this who visa drama. We are planning on getting a spousal visa for me to enter. I know that I can enter with a VWP but in case that we decide to change to DCF then I have to enter on the spousal visa to fufill the residency requierment to DCF correct? Do you think that I can just move my application to London or go to London and if we are not approved by the time that we are elgible to DCF, I cancel our existing applicatoin and start from london again after we meet the 6 month residency requierment? The only reason why im thinking of all this is because we haven been stuck in AP HELL for over a year at USCIS and we have not recived our NOA2 for either petition. Imagine we are going through all this crap at the USCIS level we have not even made it to NVC which is normally where the background checks are more common for every one. I have lost a few screws here and there this past year waiting for that NOA2.

If DCF would be possible for us after a few months, I think I can go to london for a few months. any suggestions? Am I just completly nuts for thinking this could be a possibility for me?

If the problem has been AP, filing in London even from the start would not have helped you I don't believe. Since your case is not straightforward, in my opinion, trying to cancel and start again in London would only cause more problems.

Thank you for the advice. We thought it was a straight case from the get go but... now that we have been stuck in never land we are just clueless about the whole situation as to what is holding us back. It just sucks cause all they say is that it will be done when its done and they cant give any further info. Its so stupid and it drives people stuck in AP no hope and drives them insane at the same time. Well any ways we certainly dont want to do any that will delay this even more, so I guess we sit and wait and stare at the wall or count the bumps on the cealing.