CR-1 Spouse Visa Process.

[PaulandHelen 0]

I came to the U.K. on June 18th 2011 on a fiance visa. We were married on August 6th and my residency card was granted in mid Sepetmeber. I want to bring my wife back to the USA to live. We would have liked to file with the London Embassy, but I have not lived in the U.K. for longer than six months. From my understanding, we send our application to Chicago, they send us a notice if approved. They send it New Hampshire, they send another notice of approval. Then send a packet for my wife to fill out and send to London and then an interview is set up. If that is all good to go then when she arrives at port of arrival she will be a resident and get a green card in the mail a few weeks on. Sound about right?

Here is what we've gathered so far from information from this site.

1.

Payment as required by USCIS. Use a personal check if allowed by the Service Center (as of 4/2005 they do allow this). If not, use a money order so you can track the payment.

I have an american money order being sent to me from the U.S.A. for $420.00.

2.

Cover Letter. Should include a description of what your are petitioning for (I-130), a table of contents (list everything in the packet). If you need additional room to explain your case, attach a separate sheet (list the attachment on the cover sheet). Make sure to sign and date the cover sheet.

I'll knock this out.

3.

Form I-130: Petition for Alien Relative

I wanted to type this out, but my wifes current employment address will not fit when I type it, is hand written by ink pen okay?

4.

Copy of the full Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen or a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's passport. This is used to establish citizenship.

I have a certified copy of my Washington State birth certificate notarized by the post office in Britain. Will that be okay?

I'm also including a notarized copy of my passport details page, also the page which shows I came to the U.K. on a fiancee visa. Also I copy of my residency card showing I'm able to live and work in the U.K. Necessary?

5.

A copy of petitioner's proof of naturalization. (If applicable)

N/A.

6.

A copy of petitioner's proof of permanent residency. (If applicable)

N.A.

7.

A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English) (no longer needed)

It says not needed, so I didn't include it.

8.

A copy of your marriage certificate (If not inEnglish then again get a translation)

I have the original in the packet, I went to the Vicar and got him to make me another one for this. That okay as well? I would have had it certified and copied, but the marriage certificates in England are longer than normal printing paper.

9.

If either you or your spouse were previously married, submit copies of documents showing that all prior marriages were legally terminated (court certified copies of the petitioner's and/or intending immigrant's divorce documents).

N/A.

10.

A copy of a prior spouse's death certificate. (If one or both of you were married before, and the prior spouse died)

N/A.

11.

G-325A filled out by the US Citizen, signed and dated.

Got it.

12.

One passport-type photo (see specification) of the petitioner. Write the full name on the back. Place in a plastic bag and label the bag "Photo of <Insert Name>". Attach the bag to a sheet of paper and place behind the corresponding G-325a.

Got it.

13.

G-325A filled out by the non-US Citzen spouse signed and dated.

Got it.

14.

One passport-type photo (see specification) of the non-US Citzen spouse. Write the full name of the beneficiary on the back. Place in a plastic bag and label the bag "Photo of (insert name) ". Attach the bag to a sheet of paper and place behind the corresponding G-325a.

Got it.

15.

Evidence of a bonafide marriage (see note below for what to include)

I'm including our bank accounts that shows me transfering money to her account.

Pictures of us in different countries I.E.Honeymoon, Family reception, holidays.

Letters from friends which were from the original Fiance visa bringing me to the U.K. back in June of this year.

This enough?

So we are going to assemble this pacakge and then ship it to this address through courier at the end of this week.

USCIS

Attn: I-130

131 South Dearborn – 3rd Floor

Chicago, IL 60603-5517

Is there a specific courier I should use?

Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

-Paul

[Navyk 78]

I came to the U.K. on June 18th 2011 on a fiance visa. We were married on August 6th and my residency card was granted in mid Sepetmeber. I want to bring my wife back to the USA to live. We would have liked to file with the London Embassy, but I have not lived in the U.K. for longer than six months. From my understanding, we send our application to Chicago, they send us a notice if approved. They send it New Hampshire, they send another notice of approval. Then send a packet for my wife to fill out and send to London and then an interview is set up. If that is all good to go then when she arrives at port of arrival she will be a resident and get a green card in the mail a few weeks on. Sound about right?

Here is what we've gathered so far from information from this site.

1.

Payment as required by USCIS. Use a personal check if allowed by the Service Center (as of 4/2005 they do allow this). If not, use a money order so you can track the payment.

I have an american money order being sent to me from the U.S.A. for $420.00.

2.

Cover Letter. Should include a description of what your are petitioning for (I-130), a table of contents (list everything in the packet). If you need additional room to explain your case, attach a separate sheet (list the attachment on the cover sheet). Make sure to sign and date the cover sheet.

I'll knock this out.

3.

Form I-130: Petition for Alien Relative

I wanted to type this out, but my wifes current employment address will not fit when I type it, is hand written by ink pen okay?

4.

Copy of the full Birth certificate (front and back) for the US Citizen or a copy of ALL pages of the US Citizen's passport. This is used to establish citizenship.

I have a certified copy of my Washington State birth certificate notarized by the post office in Britain. Will that be okay?

I'm also including a notarized copy of my passport details page, also the page which shows I came to the U.K. on a fiancee visa. Also I copy of my residency card showing I'm able to live and work in the U.K. Necessary?

5.

A copy of petitioner's proof of naturalization. (If applicable)

N/A.

6.

A copy of petitioner's proof of permanent residency. (If applicable)

N.A.

7.

A copy of the intending immigrant's birth certificate and/or passport along with English translation. (If in any language other than English) (no longer needed)

It says not needed, so I didn't include it.

8.

A copy of your marriage certificate (If not inEnglish then again get a translation)

I have the original in the packet, I went to the Vicar and got him to make me another one for this. That okay as well? I would have had it certified and copied, but the marriage certificates in England are longer than normal printing paper.

9.

If either you or your spouse were previously married, submit copies of documents showing that all prior marriages were legally terminated (court certified copies of the petitioner's and/or intending immigrant's divorce documents).

N/A.

10.

A copy of a prior spouse's death certificate. (If one or both of you were married before, and the prior spouse died)

N/A.

11.

G-325A filled out by the US Citizen, signed and dated.

Got it.

12.

One passport-type photo (see specification) of the petitioner. Write the full name on the back. Place in a plastic bag and label the bag "Photo of <Insert Name>". Attach the bag to a sheet of paper and place behind the corresponding G-325a.

Got it.

13.

G-325A filled out by the non-US Citzen spouse signed and dated.

Got it.

14.

One passport-type photo (see specification) of the non-US Citzen spouse. Write the full name of the beneficiary on the back. Place in a plastic bag and label the bag "Photo of (insert name) ". Attach the bag to a sheet of paper and place behind the corresponding G-325a.

Got it.

15.

Evidence of a bonafide marriage (see note below for what to include)

I'm including our bank accounts that shows me transfering money to her account.

Pictures of us in different countries I.E.Honeymoon, Family reception, holidays.

Letters from friends which were from the original Fiance visa bringing me to the U.K. back in June of this year.

This enough?

So we are going to assemble this pacakge and then ship it to this address through courier at the end of this week.

USCIS

Attn: I-130

131 South Dearborn – 3rd Floor

Chicago, IL 60603-5517

Is there a specific courier I should use?

Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

-Paul

I will address onlt those that need adjustment.

3. You can either print it or write using a black ink pen.

4. Just a copy of Date of Birth or Passport is sufficient.

8. A copy of marraige certificate is sufficient at this stage - original is needed to be sent with DS-230 of foreign spouse during NVC process, after this petition is approved.

12 & 14. Two passport size photos of both petitioner and beneficiary are required.

Rest is fine.

[JoannaV 174]

Regarding proof of bonafide marriage: bank statements are good. Photos and letters aren't so important, include if you want but no need to go overboard. Proof of your fiance visa and residency card are good to prove the relationship. (Not needed for what you wrote in (4) though@ as you are not filing via the Embassy in the UK there is no need to prove your UK residency.) As you guys are living together you should be able to come up with at least one other thing proving that; can your wife add you on a utility bill or anything like that? I would also include three affidavits from your US family/friends who can attest to your marriage: new ones not from back when you were applying for the UK fiance visa.

[PaulandHelen 0]

#######.

Mkay, I sent this off already. I didn't have the affidavids and I swore the site said include one passport style photo of us each. Is this thing going to be kicked back?

[Done--Really 331]

Affidavis rarely needed in your circumstance and only one photo is required at this stage--you will breeze through it.

[PaulandHelen 0]

Cheers mate.

A little bit of a breather. But one thing I'm not getting thus far. You see, I'm living in the U.K. with my wife. Is this going to be an issue? Everyone else seems to be living in the U.S. and waiting for their better halfs. Stressful stuff.

[Pinenut 1]

Except for the extra cost to mail things, I think you are very lucky to be with your wife while you get through all of this together. After the initial petition, a lot of the forms and payment can be submitted online. Good luck!

[wee carrington 33]

Cheers mate.

A little bit of a breather. But one thing I'm not getting thus far. You see, I'm living in the U.K. with my wife. Is this going to be an issue? Everyone else seems to be living in the U.S. and waiting for their better halfs. Stressful stuff.

My thoughts are that it would be even less of an issue that you two and living together in the UK. You have the visas in your passport to prove that you moved here to get married.

I am a USC who moved to the UK on a fiancee visa, got limited leave to remain and then permanent leave to remain. I've been here 3.5 years now. At this point we are waiting for our interview letter, fingers crossed we'll get it in the post soon!

Best of luck to you!

[PaulandHelen 0]

Brilliant, thank you everyone for the replies. Guess this is the waiting game now. I am ordering my tax stuff from the last three years now(heard I'll need it). I realize this is lengthy in time for all this. But is the longest wait for the notice of approval from Chicago? Then after that it kinda falls together?

[Ryan H 3,893]

But is the longest wait for the notice of approval from Chicago? Then after that it kinda falls together?

No, the only notice you will receive from the Chicago lockbox is that they have received your file and routed it to a service center for adjudication (CA or VT) and that notice usually comes quickly.

[PaulandHelen 0]

Dear Applicant/Petitioner:

Your USCIS application/petition has been received and routed to the Vermont Service Center for processing. Within 7-10 days by standard mail you will receive your official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) with your Receipt Number EAC*********** With the official Receipt Notice (Form I-797) you may visit www.uscis.gov where you can check the status of your application using My Case Status. We suggest you wait until you have received your Form I-797 before checking My Case Status.

Just got this e-mail a couple hours ago. What should I expect now? What documents should I be gathering? I read something about police reports/ background checks and IRS statements. Thank you everyone.

-Paul

[Ryan H 3,893]

Just got this e-mail a couple hours ago. What should I expect now? What documents should I be gathering? I read something about police reports/ background checks and IRS statements. Thank you everyone.

-Paul

That's your NOA1, don't expect to hear anything for a few months. In the meantime you can work on gathering documentation needed for when your file reaches the NVC.

Petitioner will need tax returns and W2's OR tax transcripts from the IRS. Additionally, petitioner will need any other documentation that shows their income is greater than or equal to 125% of the poverty line for their household size.

Beneficiary will need to obtain a police certificate from the relevant authority.

[PaulandHelen 0]

Fair enough,

I'll get my statements and she'll get the police report. Now on my cover letter for the I-130 I wrote about wanting to move to the USA with my wife from Britain. Are they going to know it's a CR-1 visa? It won't be processed as a K-1 or whatever will it? I didn't know we fell into a couple categories.

[CanadaLove 16]

Fair enough,

I'll get my statements and she'll get the police report. Now on my cover letter for the I-130 I wrote about wanting to move to the USA with my wife from Britain. Are they going to know it's a CR-1 visa? It won't be processed as a K-1 or whatever will it? I didn't know we fell into a couple categories.

Before you get the police report now, check to see how long it will be valid for. You don't want to get one which will expire in 6 months, as it must be valid at the time of the interview. But check with the consulate, I don't know the specific requirements for the UK.

As for your other question, yes, they'll know it's a CR-1 visa. You're filing for your wife, which means you're ineligible for the fiancee visa, the K1.

[Ryan H 3,893]

Are they going to know it's a CR-1 visa? It won't be processed as a K-1 or whatever will it? I didn't know we fell into a couple categories.

You filed the I-130, you submitted a copy of the marriage certificate with the petition; they'll know the difference.