I-130 petition from the UK, when/ where to begin?

[Trixi 3]

Hi, I'm new to VJ but have been lurking for a few days now  

 

We just feel so lost and overwhelmed by the visa spouse visa process. My fiance is a dual US and British citizen and has been actively looking for jobs in the States, things seem to be progressing well and he already has an interview lined up for next month! We are due to get married in May so are trying to get our ducks in a row to submit the I-130 form. However, with the way things are progressing with my fiance on the job front, would it be wise to wait until he has received a firm job offer before petitioning so that we can expediate the process, or should we just begin as soon as we get our marriage certificate? Would there be a way to request an expediated application after we have started the process and he then gets an offer?

 

Also, because my fiance currently resides in the UK how would we go about submitting the I-130 from the UK? Of course we do not have a US address yet, but he does have family that live out that and who we will be staying with until we get on our feet. So could we use his uncle's address? 

 

Any advice on where and how to begin this process or even words of encourgement, there just seems like SO much to do - its so overwhelming.

[Boiler 45,657]

I have asked that your post be moved to the Direct Consulate Filing section as that is what you are asking about and assuming you qualify is much quicker than regular processing.

 

You have a few months before you can fie anything so I would  read and read.

 

DCF now requires exceptional reasons and a job move has been used to qualify.

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from UK regional forum to IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures.

[Trixi 3]

8 hours ago, Boiler said:

I have asked that your post be moved to the Direct Consulate Filing section as that is what you are asking about and assuming you qualify is much quicker than regular processing.

 

You have a few months before you can fie anything so I would  read and read.

 

DCF now requires exceptional reasons and a job move has been used to qualify.

Thank, I wasn't sure if I was posting in the right place. I heard that they were no longer accepting DCF. So if we begin the I130 online would it be possible to transfer to DCF at a later date if our circumstances change?

[Boiler 45,657]

You have to one way or the other, so you really need the job move.

[KathB 45]

19 hours ago, lilac-trix said:

Hi, I'm new to VJ but have been lurking for a few days now  

 

We just feel so lost and overwhelmed by the visa spouse visa process. My fiance is a dual US and British citizen and has been actively looking for jobs in the States, things seem to be progressing well and he already has an interview lined up for next month! We are due to get married in May so are trying to get our ducks in a row to submit the I-130 form. However, with the way things are progressing with my fiance on the job front, would it be wise to wait until he has received a firm job offer before petitioning so that we can expediate the process, or should we just begin as soon as we get our marriage certificate? Would there be a way to request an expediated application after we have started the process and he then gets an offer?

 

Also, because my fiance currently resides in the UK how would we go about submitting the I-130 from the UK? Of course we do not have a US address yet, but he does have family that live out that and who we will be staying with until we get on our feet. So could we use his uncle's address? 

 

Any advice on where and how to begin this process or even words of encourgement, there just seems like SO much to do - its so overwhelming.

Hey! I have been in a somewhat similar situation to you, and we have recently made it over to the US after getting my spouse visa. My husband is a US citizen (a dual UK/ US). We met and married in the UK. I am Irish. His job (which he was doing in the UK but for a US firm) was moving him back to the US. We had to figure out the visa situation ourselves. We started last March and filed an I-130, filing direct to the USCIS in the US. The USCIS consular office in the London embassy was just closing then, so we had no option but to file directly with USCIS. Later down the line we did apply for an expedite, but no response. It took us just over 10 months from the first filing to me getting my visa in my hand - which is actually pretty quick, but it felt like a long time as there is very little communication during the process so you are very unsure how long it will all take and it could easily have taken a lot longer.

 

We had been married for well over two years when we filed, have lived together for ten years and my husband has held his US based job for a long time, so that probably made our case a bit more straightforward. Upon request, we did have to supply extra documentation that my husband was intending to restablish domicile in the US after living so long in the UK, so anything you can do to prove that is helpful. We could show US banks accounts, have property here, and he had a US drivers license, etc, as well as his job confirming that his postition was moving to the US. That all helped.

 

For the actual filing, we did it from home, ourselves - most is online and we also had to post in hard copies of some forms to a USCIS address in the US. We used my in law's US address, so I am sure using your soon to be Uncle - In - Laws address will be fine. There is a lot of information to read through on the USCIS site and help pages available there for the forms, take your time, read them all several times and take it step by step. Mostly it is done online. Then eventually, after quite a few steps, forms, fees, waiting and filings, you will get called for your interview at the US embassy in London!

 

I would look on the USCIS website and read up on the I-130 forms, read up on and gather all the paperwork you will need, you can print out the forms and see what you need to fill out - just get as ready as you can before you apply. With your initial filing, you will need a lot of supporting documentation (that you send in as scans and then bring the originals to the interview) and that can take some time to get together and scanned. Finaincally, someone will need to sponsor you - either your husband or another person - so read up on all that is required for that, and if the job offer needs to be in place before you can apply or not (depending on your other financial circumstances)

 

I spent a LONG time reading through so many of the forums here - which really helped - and gave me a good idea of the process, the steps and how it is looking during the pandemic, which of course has changed things greatly. It was a lot of effort, research, time and digging but it really helped.

 

We needed to move as quickly as possible, but there was no response to our expedite process. One thought - it might be possible your husband may need to go ahead of you to the US to start his job, and you follow afterwards when you get your visa, if his new job require him to start asap. We were lucky and my husbands job being patient - along with Covid lockdowns - meant he could stay in the UK as we waited, but it was not certain that he could and we were prepared for all eventualities.

 

GOOD LUCK! You've got this! And congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

 

[Boiler 45,657]

No mention of a basis for an expedite and reasonable to assume regular processing is much longer.

 

So DCF with a job offer would be fastest.

[Trixi 3]

15 hours ago, KathB said:

Hey! I have been in a somewhat similar situation to you, and we have recently made it over to the US after getting my spouse visa. My husband is a US citizen (a dual UK/ US). We met and married in the UK. I am Irish. His job (which he was doing in the UK but for a US firm) was moving him back to the US. We had to figure out the visa situation ourselves. We started last March and filed an I-130, filing direct to the USCIS in the US. The USCIS consular office in the London embassy was just closing then, so we had no option but to file directly with USCIS. Later down the line we did apply for an expedite, but no response. It took us just over 10 months from the first filing to me getting my visa in my hand - which is actually pretty quick, but it felt like a long time as there is very little communication during the process so you are very unsure how long it will all take and it could easily have taken a lot longer.

 

We had been married for well over two years when we filed, have lived together for ten years and my husband has held his US based job for a long time, so that probably made our case a bit more straightforward. Upon request, we did have to supply extra documentation that my husband was intending to restablish domicile in the US after living so long in the UK, so anything you can do to prove that is helpful. We could show US banks accounts, have property here, and he had a US drivers license, etc, as well as his job confirming that his postition was moving to the US. That all helped.

 

For the actual filing, we did it from home, ourselves - most is online and we also had to post in hard copies of some forms to a USCIS address in the US. We used my in law's US address, so I am sure using your soon to be Uncle - In - Laws address will be fine. There is a lot of information to read through on the USCIS site and help pages available there for the forms, take your time, read them all several times and take it step by step. Mostly it is done online. Then eventually, after quite a few steps, forms, fees, waiting and filings, you will get called for your interview at the US embassy in London!

 

I would look on the USCIS website and read up on the I-130 forms, read up on and gather all the paperwork you will need, you can print out the forms and see what you need to fill out - just get as ready as you can before you apply. With your initial filing, you will need a lot of supporting documentation (that you send in as scans and then bring the originals to the interview) and that can take some time to get together and scanned. Finaincally, someone will need to sponsor you - either your husband or another person - so read up on all that is required for that, and if the job offer needs to be in place before you can apply or not (depending on your other financial circumstances)

 

I spent a LONG time reading through so many of the forums here - which really helped - and gave me a good idea of the process, the steps and how it is looking during the pandemic, which of course has changed things greatly. It was a lot of effort, research, time and digging but it really helped.

 

We needed to move as quickly as possible, but there was no response to our expedite process. One thought - it might be possible your husband may need to go ahead of you to the US to start his job, and you follow afterwards when you get your visa, if his new job require him to start asap. We were lucky and my husbands job being patient - along with Covid lockdowns - meant he could stay in the UK as we waited, but it was not certain that he could and we were prepared for all eventualities.

 

GOOD LUCK! You've got this! And congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

 

Hey, thank you, so much for your really comprehensive post. I'm also finishing up an MSc, so between planning a wedding, assignments and now all this visa stuff and learning that it could take over two years to complete - I was feeling really overwhelmed and disheartened. I saw your post late last night when the stress was keeping me up and it really gave me hope 😊 I think I just have a LOT of reading to do, you're right, I just need to take it one step at a time and then worry about the next stages as they come up.

 

I think that is definitely going to be the case that my partner will be heading out there ahead of me because his notice period is 6 weeks and I need to finish my degree. Which sucks because we are currently long distance and already struggle not seeing eachother for longer than a month, but this approach may resolve the US domicile issue and help meet the financial requirements too. Anyways, we will focus on the I-130 form for now and figure out exactly what supporting documents we need and can pull together.

 

Thank you for taking the time to post, I really appreciate it! This process is just so isolating, so it is nice to hear from someone who had a similar situation and made it through to the other side.

[Trixi 3]

13 hours ago, Boiler said:

No mention of a basis for an expedite and reasonable to assume regular processing is much longer.

 

So DCF with a job offer would be fastest.

Thank you, that definitely seems like it would be the fastest and most straightforward approach. We are going to look into more what we need for DCF and make sure we have everything ready so that we can move as soon as he has a job offer.