I-130 Petition, USC in Australia

[russell82 0]

Hi all,

I wanted some help. I am English and I recently married a US passport holder, we are both living in Sydhey and have been for the last 3.5 years but now want to move to the US.

We have completed the I-130 Petition and G-325A forms and have all the supporting evidence. Has anyone applied this way while both parties are residing outside the US, could you give me an idea of processing times??

Also any tips you might have to ensure smooth processing would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for your help.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

**** Moving from Off Topic to CR-1 spousal visa ****

[pluis 2]

This forum has a fair amount of information on how to file from abroad. (NB. everything called 'file from abroad' refers to the USC beinf outside of the US, since the beneficiary (you) is almost always abroad anyway).

Your first step for filing the I-130 would be to figure out where to file. If Australia has USCIS Field Office, it is possible you can still use Direct Consular Filing (check the DCF-forums for that). If there is no such office, your partner sends the petition to a Lockbox in Chicago. They'll ensure the petition ends up in the right place.

If you want more info about timelines, check the "immigration timelines"tab at the top of the page and select the appropriate options for you.

Have you checked out the "what visa do we need-step yet? You find it here. It'll help you get started.

Edited November 13, 2012 by pluis

[pushbrk 12,975]

Hi all,

I wanted some help. I am English and I recently married a US passport holder, we are both living in Sydhey and have been for the last 3.5 years but now want to move to the US.

We have completed the I-130 Petition and G-325A forms and have all the supporting evidence. Has anyone applied this way while both parties are residing outside the US, could you give me an idea of processing times??

Also any tips you might have to ensure smooth processing would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for your help.

Just file normally, mailing to the Chicago PO Box address. These petitions filed with the couple both living abroad were getting auto-expedited until recently but now, it's best you set your expectation for a standard processing time, filing to visa interview of 9 to 10 months, provided you become an expert on the NVC shortcuts for after your petition is approved.