Filing a i-130 Petition while in UK on Fiance Visa

[MacVicar 0]

Hello Everyone, 

I have just signed up with Visa Journey and am hoping some of you could help answer a few questions I have regarding my current situation. 

My name is Chelsea, Im currently living in Scotland on a UK Fiance visa which is due to expire in late Feb. My husband, UKC and I have decided to return to the US (Chicago) and start our CR1 process. (We have been married less than 2 years so I imagine the CR1 is the correct visa we seek)

First things first. We would like to go ahead and file our I-130 petition ASAP. I understand that we would not be able to use the London office because I do not hold a permanent resident card here? With that said, I have figured we would need to send our petition to the Chicago Lockbox location. I would like to send away our petition from here in the UK so that my spouse and I can reduce the amount of time we are apart. However, I do not have an address in Chicago but my parents do. On the petition form, would I be able to use my parents address as my own despite me currently living in the UK? I plan to live at my parents when I arrive to start the apartment search. But this would be roughly 1.5 months after the petition would be filed... 

Second. When I arrive in the US. If i am lucky enough to have scored my own apartment, would I need to officially change my address anywhere or alert the USCIS? 

Thirdly, I am under the impression the supporting documents with the petition do NOT need to be originals and it doesn't appear they need to be certified? Is this correct?

Lastly, We do not have a whole lot of evidence supporting a bonifide marriage apart from one shared bank account. We have been living rent free here in the uk through family while we save and because I am legally not allowed to work, there are not many means for us to share any sort of financial responsibility apart from our dog. Is this a potential problem? Since I am not working in the US to financially sponsor my spouse, I would be asking my parents which is honestly no issue at all. Would they need to provide any information on the I130 form or do I save all that information for the NOA? 

We have been through hell and back with the UK visa process which is honestly, Horrendous....We are sort of forced to return to the US because of unforeseeable issues in my spouses employment here. We have been refused for a UK visa about a year ago due to ONE document that was one week out of date and a discrepancy in my husbands first pay-slip that was explained, in depth, by three different individuals including his accountant who admitted it was her fault.. I don't know if this would have an impact on our situation? We were then approved 3 months later after applying with a fresh set of financial documents. I think we are extremely paranoid that things could go sour for us. So I wondered what would potentially make your application unsuccessful? 

 

Sorry for so many questions! Just want to be absolutely sure that we leave no stone unturned before we begin. Thank you!

[Boiler 45,651]

The guides are pretty informative about the details, DCF would seem your best bet.

US route is considered more of a pain than the UK route.

 

Edited December 30, 2016 by Boiler

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

The guides are pretty informative about the details, DCF would seem your best bet.

US route is considered more of a pain than the UK route.

 

can op dcf as a non resident?

[Boiler 45,651]

It could be that she is heading back soon, I assume not. She is not visiting and i assume is waiting out the process.

[MacVicar 0]

To reiterate my situation. 

I am the USC living in Scotland since August 29th 2016.(Married the 5th of September) Im currently here on a Fiance visa which is good for 6 months. Mine expires on Feb. 23rd  2017. Could I qualify or DCF? How do I find out for sure? It's not technically a tourist visa and I do have a joint bank account with my spouse if that matters any. 

[Boiler 45,651]

Contact the Consulate for sure, DCF is MUCH quicker.

[JFH 12,190]

Definitely contact London and find out if DCF is available to you. If it is, definitely use that. I would have loved to have been able to go that route. 

 

Regarding the evidence of a bona fide relationship, I would focus on your passport stamp for the UK visa you hold. Living together for the best part of 6 months is very good evidence. My husband and I had never spent more than 3 weeks together at a time (in fact we still haven't spent more than 3 weeks together as we've only been living together for 11 days now!). If you have any paperwork about the previous denial I would send that too - it shows you are determined to be together. I feel your pain of the UK visa process. My husband was also denied. It definitely needs an overhaul.