Do I qualify for Direct Consular Filing?

[ashleyrenee7 1]

Hello there, I'm having some trouble with finding answers anywhere online about the subject of Direct Consular Filing, pertaining to my specific circumstances.

 

Here is my situation:

 

I am a US citizen, currently living in Scotland on a spouse visa that expires in October 2025 (my husband is a Scottish citizen).

We are wanting to apply for the IR-1 or CR-1 visa for him in order to get him his green card so that we can move back to the states together.

I know this process can take a very long time, but I was wondering if we would need to have it completed by the time my spouse visa expires over here? I'm not sure what the rules are about that, but we definitely don't want to go through the trouble and the expenses of extending my spouse visa while we are waiting for a decision on his green card.

 

That being said, I know that DCF can potentially save a lot of time, but it seems that you're only able to do it if you have some sort of "special circumstances." Would my situation qualify as a special circumstance?

 

The other thing is, since we are residents in Scotland, I know we would probably have to do everything through the US consulate in Edinburgh. However, wouldn't you know it, that consulate appears to be closed until April 2024 for some unknown reason. We do not want to wait that long to get this process going. Would we be able to go to the US consulate in London in order to get this done?

 

I know these are very specific questions, and we may end up just reaching out to a lawyer who is well versed in this specific type of thing if we can't get an answer here. It's a shot in the dark, but we would really appreciate it if anyone has any insight. Thanks a lot!

 

- Ashley

[Boiler 43,453]

You are just missing a short notice job relocation

[ashleyrenee7 1]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

You are just missing a short notice job relocation

So you're saying they will only allow you to do DCF if you need to relocate for a job? There's no other circumstances that they would accept? 🤔

[Crazy Cat 39,282]

25 minutes ago, ashleyrenee7 said:

So you're saying they will only allow you to do DCF if you need to relocate for a job? There's no other circumstances that they would accept? 🤔

Medical emergency, threat to personal safety, Military deployment, etc.  It must be an exceptional circumstance.  Short notice Job relocation is the most common. 

Edited January 11 by Crazy Cat

[D-R-J 153]

17 minutes ago, ashleyrenee7 said:

So you're saying they will only allow you to do DCF if you need to relocate for a job? There's no other circumstances that they would accept? 🤔

Since special circumstances have been required, short notice job relocation is the one that I’ve seen used successfully most often.

 

I think you want them to accept your petition on the first try, otherwise they may think you are shopping for reasons to DCF. That’s why I would stick with short notice job relocation.

[appleblossom 1,309]

As above, it doesn't sound like you qualify for DCF, but you can always try. 

 

The Edinburgh consulate doesn't provide visa services anyway. London is the only consulate in the UK that processes visas for UK residents. 

 

Good luck. 

Edited January 11 by appleblossom

[millefleur 5,037]

3 hours ago, ashleyrenee7 said:

The other thing is, since we are residents in Scotland, I know we would probably have to do everything through the US consulate in Edinburgh.

As @appleblossom said, for immigrant visas everything is done at the embassy not the consulate, so in this case London.

 

Try to see if you can get a job offer in the US, that will be your best bet for DCF.

[carmel34 3,531]

6 hours ago, ashleyrenee7 said:

I am a US citizen, currently living in Scotland on a spouse visa that expires in October 2025 (my husband is a Scottish citizen).

We are wanting to apply for the IR-1 or CR-1 visa for him in order to get him his green card so that we can move back to the states together.

I know this process can take a very long time, but I was wondering if we would need to have it completed by the time my spouse visa expires over here?

If you file the I-130 petition now, it's possible that the IR-1 visa will be approved by October, 2025.  You can do the I-130 petition online, so do it ASAP.  Have you maintained ties to the US?  After the I-130 petition has been approved (maybe by May/June 2025), you will need to complete an I-864 to show your financial sponsorship of your husband (or find a qualified joint sponsor in the US).  You will need US-based income for the I-864.  Also you'll need to prove US domicile or intent to re-establish domicile, so do more research on that.  Have you been paying US income taxes while living in the UK?  Have you maintained US bank accounts, residence, voting registration, driver's license?  Sometimes the US citizen spouse has to move back to the US without their spouse to establish domicile and start earning sufficient US income to qualify for sponsorship.  Good luck!

[SalishSea 16,776]

13 hours ago, ashleyrenee7 said:

Hello there, I'm having some trouble with finding answers anywhere online about the subject of Direct Consular Filing, pertaining to my specific circumstances.

 

Here is my situation:

 

I am a US citizen, currently living in Scotland on a spouse visa that expires in October 2025 (my husband is a Scottish citizen).

We are wanting to apply for the IR-1 or CR-1 visa for him in order to get him his green card so that we can move back to the states together.

I know this process can take a very long time, but I was wondering if we would need to have it completed by the time my spouse visa expires over here? I'm not sure what the rules are about that, but we definitely don't want to go through the trouble and the expenses of extending my spouse visa while we are waiting for a decision on his green card.

 

That being said, I know that DCF can potentially save a lot of time, but it seems that you're only able to do it if you have some sort of "special circumstances." Would my situation qualify as a special circumstance?

 

The other thing is, since we are residents in Scotland, I know we would probably have to do everything through the US consulate in Edinburgh. However, wouldn't you know it, that consulate appears to be closed until April 2024 for some unknown reason. We do not want to wait that long to get this process going. Would we be able to go to the US consulate in London in order to get this done?

 

I know these are very specific questions, and we may end up just reaching out to a lawyer who is well versed in this specific type of thing if we can't get an answer here. It's a shot in the dark, but we would really appreciate it if anyone has any insight. Thanks a lot!

 

- Ashley

An expiring visa isn’t an exceptional circumstance, so no.

 

Immigrant visas for the UK are all done via London.

[garebear397 55]

One thing to mention, since you are considering DCF and I-130. Once you file I-130 you can't later try to file DCF with exceptional circumstances, so consider well if you would have a job offer that would qualify you for DCF, and if not then go for the normal I-130 route that takes 1.5-2 years....so it might be approved before your residence expires. Or maybe you have to move to the US first for a few months.