I-130 filing in person or using lockbox

[ZenBV 0]

Hello! Please read our story, and advise us on whether to use the lockbox or apply from the US to file the I-130. Me and my husband are currently together in India.

 

I'm an American citizen married to an Indian citizen. We met online and after 10 months of daily communication we decided to meet in person. I traveled to India to meet my beloved and his family, and got engaged to him. I then returned to the US for a few months before returning to India to marry my lovely husband. I was to go back to the US after being in India for 6 months on a tourist visa but since we wanted to stay together we applied for an Indian spouse visa. It's been 1 year and 6 months of me living in India, and 1 year and 2 months of being married.

We both want to move to the US so we got help from a lawyer who ended misguiding us. The lawyer recommended that we file the I-130 at the New Delhi US Consulate but our application was not even accepted due to not enough evidence of me living here. "If you file from India then you need to prove that you're residing here", said one of the employees at the US Consulate in New Delhi. So, the lawyer told us to either file again at New Delhi after gathering more paperwork proving that I've been living here or to use the lockbox and send everything to the US. Thinking that the process would be faster from India and not wanting to be apart, we decided on trying at New Delhi again so we collected ID cards, utility bills, joint bank accounts and more. Now it turns out that the USCIS at New Delhi won't be taking cases anymore so now we're again wondering what to do. The lawyer is willing to help us if we make a new contract and pay more fees.

 

We have all the documentation proving our relationship and marriage is real but are torn between using the lockbox to file I-130 while staying together in India or me going back to the US to apply from there. Should we file through lockbox or in the US? Which one is more viable and faster?

 

Also we're both unemployed and are living on our savings. My husband studied and worked in the US for 10 years, and I worked as well and have savings. Will being unemployed affect our chance to get approved? We can get a family friend as a joint sponsor.

 

 

[Just Paul 4,591]

You send it in to the lock box.