I-130 and I-129F from abroad ?

[xnico 0]

Hello everyone,

I'm an USC and i lived abroad (in Uruguay) for most of my life. I got married 1.5 year ago and was laid off 3 months ago. We want to move to Miami with my wife and i started to look at the USCIS page to gather all the information on how to get a green card for my wife to emigrate.

Please correct me if my process is wrong:

1) File I-130 to the Chicago Lockbox, since we both live abroad and Uruguay doesn't have an USCIS international office. This would contain all the documents to prove my citizenship and marriage, along with forms G-325a for both of us.

Then I see we have two options

2a) File I-129F to Dallas Lockbox, along with form I-797C Notice of Action (NOA) and again all the documents to prove my citizenship and marriage, along with forms G-325a for both of us.

2b) Wait until the petition I-130 gets approved and sent to NVC for consular proceedings. At this point an interview is scheduled for my wife at the Uruguayan Embassy where she has to provide the form I-864 Affidavit of Support as we need a joint sponsor who lives in the US.

Which scenario is more efficient in getting my wife in the US in the least amount of time?

Since i don't have a job, i want the process to be as quickly as possible for us to be in the US to start looking for a job.

I know i could go to the US alone and wait until she gets approved to join me in the US, but the faster she can get there the better and if its "quick" i would prefer to move to the US with her.

Thanks!!!

[teeak 224]

I don't think it's worth it to file an I-129f since the processing time is pretty much the same as I-130.

Since you'll be filing from abroad, your I-130 will be "unofficially expedited" so you'll most likely receive a quick approval -- in that sense, I would say option 2b.

Also, you'll need to provide the I-864 (yours and your joint sponsor's) at the NVC stage not at the interview.

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

Edited December 11, 2015 by teeak

[xnico 0]

Thanks for the quick response!

What does "unofficially expedited" means? why this happens? Can i attach a letter explaining our situation to get expedited?

Will attaching the form I-864 with the I-130 accelerate in any way the process? since USCIS sends the case to NVC.

Which other documents does the NVC requests? Do they ask for the same documents i filled with the I-130 ?

Thanks!

[kdc0224 7]

I don't think there's any "unofficial expedition" done for I130s filed from abroad. My USC husband and I filed the I130 from abroad and it went to the Nebraska Service Center and still took nearly 6 months. From what I've heard and read about other USCs filing abroad, there's no difference in processing times.

I don't think it's worth it to file an I-129f since the processing time is pretty much the same as I-130.

Since you'll be filing from abroad, your I-130 will be "unofficially expedited" so you'll most likely receive a quick approval -- in that sense, I would say option 2b.

Also, you'll need to provide the I-864 (yours and your joint sponsor's) at the NVC stage not at the interview.

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

We also opted for the IR1/CR1 visa over the K3 for the same reason teeak states. The service centers are slow - all of them take 4-5 months more or less. You can look at VJ's timeline here for the current processing times. The K3 priority dates being processed now are end of July 2015. The official USCIS timelines are here.

The IR1/CR1 visa is also the cheaper route as you don't have to pay the extra $1000 to adjust your status from within the US. And it's less of a hassle because you once you get the visa, you're a permanent resident and you don't need to deal with any more adjusting. Since you've been married for 1.5 years and this process will likely take more than 5 months, your wife will probably get an IR1 which means she won't have to worry about renewing the green card after 2 years.

You mentioned that you'd rather move to Miami with your wife rather than before. The USCIS and NVC will ask you to prove domicile in the US - you mentioned you've spent most of your time in Uruguay. It would look better to them if you already live there or if you have a job lined up or are enrolling in school.

[kdc0224 7]

Attaching the I-864 with your I-130 won't quicken the process. The USCIS still has to "vet" you - ie/ see if your marriage is valid. I'm not sure if your country is considered high fraud or not, but it's recommended for countries known for a high rate of fraudulent relationships to frontload your I-130 petition. This means attaching as much evidence as possible for your relationship. Affidavits matter less - show the relationship between you and your wife through pictures, plane tickets, joint accounts, insurance policies, deeds/leases, etc.

The only way to get expedited at the USCIS stage is to prove extreme financial hardship or a life/death situation. Their specific criteria can be found here: http://www.uscis.gov/forms/expedite-criteria.

Thanks for the quick response!

What does "unofficially expedited" means? why this happens? Can i attach a letter explaining our situation to get expedited?

Will attaching the form I-864 with the I-130 accelerate in any way the process? since USCIS sends the case to NVC.

Which other documents does the NVC requests? Do they ask for the same documents i filled with the I-130 ?

Thanks!

[teeak 224]

Interesting, I've read other posts where I-130s have been approved fairly quickly I believe because they were sent to California Service Center from abroad and CSC works quite quickly through the petitions.

The USCIS won't accept the I-864 since it's for the NVC and it won't make things go quicker. If you look through the link I sent, you'll see the documents NVC will request. They'll ask for financial evidence with the I-864 and civil documents for your spouse.

[xnico 0]

Thanks for all the responses!

kdc0224:

I don't think Uruguay is considered a high fraudulent country (our population is very low 3 million). I have both citizenships Uruguayan/USC and lived in Uruguay since i was 5 years old.

I was going to attach photos form before and after we got married, photos of our wedding, and we live in the same place so i'm going to attach copies of bills of our house having the same address and our names, also a bank statement showing a joint bank account. I think that would be enough to prove our "bona fide".

We plan to move to our Joint Sponsor house at the beginning until we have jobs and could start renting a place of our own. could I use that address?

But my question is, how can they ask for a US domicile when i'm filling from abroad ? and also i'm doing this to move to the US with my wife. Its counterintuitive to me ...

teeak:

Wich service center will get my case when i file to the Chicago Lockbox?

Thanks!

[xnico 0]

Also a couple of years ago I did a similar process to get both of my parents green cards (both got approved). The process was a little different because we filed everything in the US Embassy in Uruguay, i think things have changed since then.

Would this have any effect on this filling ?

Thanks!!

Edited December 11, 2015 by xnico

[teeak 224]

The Chicago lockbox distributes it to service centers based on your address:

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=SC

Also, you only need to prove US Domicile at the NVC stage -- with the I-864. As long as you establish domicile prior/at the same time as the intending immigrant. You can do this by providing lease agreements, job offer letters, etc.

[xnico 0]

Teeak:

But my address is in Uruguay, where i live with my wife. Is there a default Service Center?

[teeak 224]

See, that's why I think petitions from abroad are sent to the least busy service center -- at this time, it seems like CSC -- which is why those petitions are processed quicker.

[xnico 0]

That sounds reasonable

[dwheels76 5,486]

That sounds reasonable

Here's the Domicile information how to establish or reestablish. This is from the NVC Process wiki. http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

Domicile

Please note, if the petitioner lives with the beneficiary abroad, you'll need to provide proof of US domicile with the AOS package, as well as bring it with you to the interview. Please read the I-864 instructions (pages 3 and 4) for information about it. This is NOT needed if the petitioner is living in the US. Here is a sample cover letter to include in the package (it lists MANY possible documents, some may not be applicable, of course, to prove that you have, or will re-establish, domicile in the US):

NAME

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

Form I-864

Part 4, Question 5: Country of Domicile

I, XXXX, am currently residing in FOREIGN COUNTRY with my spouse, SPOUSE'S NAME. Below you will find a list of attached documents to show that my principal residence is in the US and the steps that I have taken to return to the US with my family.

Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile:

• Maintained my XXXX voter registration

• Maintained my XXXX credit card registered in the US with a US PO box

• Maintained my bank account at the XXXX Credit Union

• Maintained my bank account at XXXX Bank

• Maintained my XXXX drivers license

• Maintained my US retirement fund through XXXX

• Maintained my US investment account with XXXX

• Maintained my US PO box

• Maintained licensure by the XXXX

• Maintained membership in the XXXX

• Maintained my automobile in care of my parents

Supporting Documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Voter registration card showing permanent US address

• XXXX credit card statement showing US billing address

• XXXX Credit Union statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX Bank statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX drivers license showing permanent US address

• Retirement fund statement showing permanent US address

• Mutual fund statement showing permanent US address

• XXXX license currently up to date

• Renewal of XXXX membership

• County tax bill showing I still own a vehicle

Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence:

• Made arrangements for us to have a house to live in

• Contacted schools for requirements of things to bring to register my children in school

• Contacted my auto insurance company to find out about re-instating my insurance on my car

• Contacted shipping company for estimate of costs to ship belongings

Supporting documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Lease agreement for our house

• Email from schools regarding registration requirements

• Email from my former auto insurance company regarding my inquiry

• Email from XXXX with estimate and correspondence regarding shipping our belongings

I declare that I intend in good faith to re-establish my domicile in the United States no later than the date of spouse's admission into the US.

I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the statements in this letter and all accompanying evidence are true and correct.

Signature: ____________________________________________________ Date: ______________________

Even if you are auto-expedited at the service center you are sent. You still have a good 2 to 4 months at NVC for further processing. Than the wait for interview. So expect 6 to 8 months she will be able to travel to US.

[Ryan H 3,925]

Moved from K3 Progress Reports to IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures.