Applying through Chicago Lockbox vs Field Office

[jv86 1]

Hi all,

Just a very quick question for anyone who has had any experience or additional knowledge in this regard. I currently live with my wife in Jordan, I have been residing here for some time and thus meet the requirements to be able to apply for the IR-1 visa through the local USCIS office in country. The problem I faced is that they told me that they are unable to make appointments until June and that it "may" be faster to apply through mail via the chicago lockbox.

My question is: in general, is it faster to directly apply through a USCIS field office vs the lockbox? If it is then I may wait out the extra 2 months but if it comes down to be the same amount of time then I'll just get the process started.

Any knowledge or experience is appreciated.

Thanks.

[Ryan H 3,790]

IMO, you're better off waiting the two months to file (you file a petition, your wife will apply for a visa later). Here is why I think this, while you may receive a quick approval from a USCIS service center stateside, there is no guarantee that will happen (USCIS officially denies auto expediting petitions filed by petitioners who live abroad so if a quick approval did not come, you couldn't argue). Furthermore, you would have to deal with the NVC, the NVC got severely backlogged last year and only now are things starting to move slightly quicker but nowhere near the pace as in the past. By filing at the field office in Jordan, you will still have a the fastest available track even if you cannot file until June because you can bypass the NVC.