London Embassy Waiting Times

[MovingUSA 1]

Hi,

 

Does anyone have recent experience of DCF for CR1 at the London embassy? We have submitted the I-130 and had the first embassy appointment (US Spouse) at the start of April but awaiting any update following that. I know the embassy will be very busy now so curious as to current timelines.

 

Thanks in advance. 

[sgr1226 0]

On 6/3/2025 at 9:55 PM, MovingUSA said:

Hi,

 

Does anyone have recent experience of DCF for CR1 at the London embassy? We have submitted the I-130 and had the first embassy appointment (US Spouse) at the start of April but awaiting any update following that. I know the embassy will be very busy now so curious as to current timelines.

 

Thanks in advance. 

Hi there @MovingUSA I am wondering the same thing. May I ask what your waiting time has been like thus far? I submitted the initial DCF form claiming Exceptional Circumstances three business days ago and am wondering when I might expect an initial response as well as the timeframe for the first appointment (US spouse). Any information on your timeline would be very helpful as a gage for what’s to come!

[MovingUSA 1]

1 hour ago, sgr1226 said:

Hi there @MovingUSA I am wondering the same thing. May I ask what your waiting time has been like thus far? I submitted the initial DCF form claiming Exceptional Circumstances three business days ago and am wondering when I might expect an initial response as well as the timeframe for the first appointment (US spouse). Any information on your timeline would be very helpful as a gage for what’s to come!

Hey @sgr1226 ours was about 2.5 weeks from applying for exceptional circumstances to getting approved (this has recently changed I believe from the previous 1 week timeline). We then got both the approval and interview slot (for US spouse only) which was again 2.5 weeks in the future. There are a lot of documents to gather for that interview so I would start now if you can. We're now awaiting for the medical/ interview slot for (non-US spouse), I would say in prepping for that one ahead of time make sure you have vaccine records up to date and police certificates as they are cheaper if you can do them over a longer period (e.g. not expedited vaccine courses and not fast delivery police certificates). Hoping there is someone who has recently gone through the final stage that can give a guide on timings for getting the non-spouse interview. Good luck for yours!

[hollowfloors 1]

Hi - I can give an update based on my recent experience

 

31 March: Requested approval to go via DCF and approved same day

15 April: appointment to file I-130

26 April: Received letter with I-130 approval (letter was dated 17 April but I think it took longer to arrive due to Easter period)

20 May: Medical and documents brought to embassy 

13 June: Final interview scheduled! 
 

We already had all police certificates and supporting documents which I think helped the process go quickly - we could have probably gone even faster from I-130 to interview but took a few weeks to schedule it due to some travel.

 

let me know if any questions!

 

[sgr1226 0]

On 6/6/2025 at 2:26 PM, MovingUSA said:

Hey @sgr1226 ours was about 2.5 weeks from applying for exceptional circumstances to getting approved (this has recently changed I believe from the previous 1 week timeline). We then got both the approval and interview slot (for US spouse only) which was again 2.5 weeks in the future. There are a lot of documents to gather for that interview so I would start now if you can. We're now awaiting for the medical/ interview slot for (non-US spouse), I would say in prepping for that one ahead of time make sure you have vaccine records up to date and police certificates as they are cheaper if you can do them over a longer period (e.g. not expedited vaccine courses and not fast delivery police certificates). Hoping there is someone who has recently gone through the final stage that can give a guide on timings for getting the non-spouse interview. Good luck for yours!

This is really helpful! Thank you so much for sharing. We’re still waiting for our initial acknowledgment from the embassy but will continue to trust the process. I hope your final steps will be completed shortly! 

[MovingUSA 1]

9 hours ago, hollowfloors said:

Hi - I can give an update based on my recent experience

 

31 March: Requested approval to go via DCF and approved same day

15 April: appointment to file I-130

26 April: Received letter with I-130 approval (letter was dated 17 April but I think it took longer to arrive due to Easter period)

20 May: Medical and documents brought to embassy 

13 June: Final interview scheduled! 
 

We already had all police certificates and supporting documents which I think helped the process go quickly - we could have probably gone even faster from I-130 to interview but took a few weeks to schedule it due to some travel.

 

let me know if any questions!

 

@hollowfloors Thank you, we appreciate this so much! Those are the timings we were expecting too and glad to know things are still moving quickly when the letter comes. Fingers crossed there is nothing wrong with ours as we brought every document with us and all seemed fine on the I-130 filing day. Could I ask did your letter come as a physical letter or email? And if you have used a lawyer did it go to you or them? Thanks again!

[Olive14 1]

Hi! 

 

I also recently went through DCF at the London Embassy earlier this year and this was our timeline:

 

13 Jan – Contacted immigration lawyer

16 Jan – Lawyer submitted the DCF request to the Embassy

17 Jan – Embassy replied, offered an appointment

29 Jan – US citizen spouse went to the Embassy to file the I-130

7 Feb – Received I-130 approval letter and case number

12 Feb – Booked interview for 25 March

13 Feb – Submitted DS-260

11 Mar – Medical exam in the morning, then document check at the Embassy (the document check is a new step that started in Feb 2025)

25 Mar – Visa interview – approved!

 

To answer your other questions - our I-130 approval came as a physical letter in the post. We did use a lawyer, but this was mostly for reassurance, I wouldn’t say it was necessary. We had a very tight timeline for moving so didn’t want to leave anything up to chance. I think the thing the lawyer helped with the most was writing the initial DCF request. All the subsequent steps of the process came with clear instructions from the Embassy so I don't think the lawyer made made too much of a material difference after that - although it was nice that they put together all the supporting evidence and paperwork!

[hollowfloors 1]

23 hours ago, MovingUSA said:

@hollowfloors Thank you, we appreciate this so much! Those are the timings we were expecting too and glad to know things are still moving quickly when the letter comes. Fingers crossed there is nothing wrong with ours as we brought every document with us and all seemed fine on the I-130 filing day. Could I ask did your letter come as a physical letter or email? And if you have used a lawyer did it go to you or them? Thanks again!

@MovingUSA We received a physical letter - I filled out the form for email communication but letter seems to be their process!

 

We didn’t use a lawyer - our situation is pretty straightforward, married for a long time, no children, no divorces or criminal record so I felt confident filling out the paperwork myself!  
 

The one thing that caught me off guard was the embassy told my husband they need IRS transcripts at his document check which I struggled to get online so had to request a paper copy to be mailed.  If you don’t have them already suggest requesting ASAP!

[MovingUSA 1]

On 6/10/2025 at 9:04 PM, hollowfloors said:

@MovingUSA We received a physical letter - I filled out the form for email communication but letter seems to be their process!

 

We didn’t use a lawyer - our situation is pretty straightforward, married for a long time, no children, no divorces or criminal record so I felt confident filling out the paperwork myself!  
 

The one thing that caught me off guard was the embassy told my husband they need IRS transcripts at his document check which I struggled to get online so had to request a paper copy to be mailed.  If you don’t have them already suggest requesting ASAP!

Thank you! We finally got our's over email - thanks for your help and noted on IRS transcripts!

Edited Thursday at 12:10 AM by MovingUSA