dcf IR1 Vs CR1 - Avoiding the Hassle of ROC

[Roper-Harrison 19]

Hi Folks,

 

My husband (the USC) and I (the UKC) were married in California in May 2016. We had planned on filing an immigration petition shortly thereafter but business and family obligations (mine) impinged upon the process. So he acquired a 29 month spousal visa from UK and we have been living here together in UK since Nov 2016. My obligations will be fulfilled by August 2018 and we intend now to leave for US shortly thereafter. We are eligible to use DCF and so thought we'd get that underway but it seems the Consulate in London is very efficient and is processing applications in a matter of weeks  - we were thinking it would be quite a few months. 

 

For any number of reasons, political and practical, we're like to get an IR1 status and avoid having to file for ROC. For this to occur we cannot go through a POE in US before 20 May 2018, the date of our second year wedding anniversary. We understand that visa expiration is tied directly to the date of the medical. That being the case we would not want that medical to occur prior to 20 December 2017 and just to be safe probably not before 1 Jan 2018.

 

So two questions: 

 

• Are our assumptions about the timing of the process correct - medical expiry dates, POE dates?
• If we file the 130/130a the second week of September and get a quick approval (which seems likely) do we have any control over when the medical appointment is scheduled?

 

I suppose what we're wondering is whether we should just hold off filing until say November or December. All we really want to do is ensure that we'll be properly positioned to leave England for US late summer next year.

 

-Jo

 

 

[Seth And Quynh 77]

Why are you Worried About ROC it's a easy process from what i've seen from other members 

[Hypnos 6,576]

It would seem to be quite straightforward to ensure your husband PoEs on or after your second wedding anniversary. 

 

Apply around February/March and make sure you don't do the medical until April/May. Problem solved. 

Edited September 1, 2017 by Hypnos

[Unlockable 7,306]

33 minutes ago, Seth And Quynh said:

Why are you Worried About ROC it's a easy process from what i've seen from other members 

Not always easy.

 

Agree with OP that it is one less thing to worry about and if possible, should plan so that they receive the IR visa instead of the CR1.

 

They will save money, save time (by not having to gather and submit evidence), and save stress.

 

Edited September 1, 2017 by NuestraUnion

[Roper-Harrison 19]

1 hour ago, Seth And Quynh said:

Why are you Worried About ROC it's a easy process from what i've seen from other members 

 

1 hour ago, NuestraUnion said:

Not always easy.

 

Agree with OP that it is one less thing to worry about and if possible, should plan so that they receive the IR visa instead of the CR1.

 

They will save money, save time (by not having to gather and submit evidence), and save stress.

 

Yes, it is a process. It is time consuming. It can be expensive and especially if we are not in US at the time. And current US administration immigration policy is in no way heartening.

 

And, from what I've seen of several people's timelines in here it can devolve into a nightmare. 

 

All good reasons to be avoided if at all possible.

 

It's ironic: when we first started out we were concerned about how long the process would take; now the reverse is true. 

Edited September 1, 2017 by Roper-Harrison

[Roper-Harrison 19]

1 hour ago, Hypnos said:

It would seem to be quite straightforward to ensure your husband PoEs on or after your second wedding anniversary. 

 

Apply around February/March and make sure you don't do the medical until April/May. Problem solved. 

I guess we sort of knew this but wanted to get some degree of validation. We figured that if it made no difference when we scheduled the medical we could just send the petition in now and get on with other things. I suspect we'll just wait til late Nov early Dec. That should ensure that the medical doesn't occur prior to Jan and that works quite well.

 

Thanks

[Seth And Quynh 77]

36 minutes ago, Roper-Harrison said:

I guess we sort of knew this but wanted to get some degree of validation. We figured that if it made no difference when we scheduled the medical we could just send the petition in now and get on with other things. I suspect we'll just wait til late Nov early Dec. That should ensure that the medical doesn't occur prior to Jan and that works quite well.

 

Thanks

I would wait then if you want the IR1 but i wouldn't worry too much about the current administration they are only after illegal immigrants and more processing in Mena Countries.

[Crazy Cat 39,191]

45 minutes ago, Roper-Harrison said:

And current US administration immigration policy is in no way heartening.

You can remove that concern from your mind.  The current US administration will cause you zero problems......smh

[cyclone27 710]

Actually the ROC process might get faster with DACA on the way out. 👍

 

However if you are close to the 2yr mark it's a no brainer to remove one less hurdle. 

[Wuozopo 4,285]

2 hours ago, Roper-Harrison said:

I guess we sort of knew this but wanted to get some degree of validation. We figured that if it made no difference when we scheduled the medical we could just send the petition in now and get on with other things. I suspect we'll just wait til late Nov early Dec. That should ensure that the medical doesn't occur prior to Jan and that works quite well.

 

Thanks

 

You can do the petition now and get the London  USCIS office (petition approval) out of the way. Then the London consulate part (Dept of State) where the beneficiary (you) actually puts in a visa application can be stalled. When you get in your desired time frame...submit the visa application, choose your own medical appointment date, and choose your own interview date from those available. Your visa will be issued to expire 6 months from the medical date, no matter when you have an interview, so plan accordingly. 

[Mollie09 1,543]

4 hours ago, Seth And Quynh said:

I would wait then if you want the IR1 but i wouldn't worry too much about the current administration they are only after illegal immigrants and more processing in Mena Countries.

 

4 hours ago, missileman said:

You can remove that concern from your mind.  The current US administration will cause you zero problems......smh

 

Oh, really?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration/trump-and-senators-seek-to-slash-legal-immigration-idUSKBN1AI1ZU

[Crazy Cat 39,191]

Just now, Mollie09 said:

 

 

Oh, really?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-immigration/trump-and-senators-seek-to-slash-legal-immigration-idUSKBN1AI1ZU

I seriously doubt there will be any change in spousal visas....especially from UK.

[NikLR 13,220]

I seriously doubted Donald Trump would be elected president... sometimes things happen.  LOL

 

But OP as DCF in London you book your own medical and interview dates. 

[POA 175]

16 hours ago, NuestraUnion said:

Not always easy.

 

Agree with OP that it is one less thing to worry about and if possible, should plan so that they receive the IR visa instead of the CR1.

 

They will save money, save time (by not having to gather and submit evidence), and save stress.

 

I totally agree! it's like filing another I130 while in the US lol.

[POA 175]

4 minutes ago, NikLR said:

I seriously doubted Donald Trump would be elected president... sometimes things happen.  LOL

 

But OP as DCF in London you book your own medical and interview dates. 

lol