vamos

I needn't have worried. I got an e-mail from the embassy today letting me know that my interview is on 8th March. I had asked them to consider me for any cancellations. What a relief!

The guy didn't seem concerned at all but that probably said more about him than whether I should worry or not. He's obviously been told to say if it's within 4 weeks of sending the DS-2001 it's still within timescales. He said they normally upload the DS-2001 and medical at the same time so what I assume from that is they haven't received it; just as you said. He suggested e-mailing the Embassy when I told him we need to go back quite urgently. I did that but sending the DS-2001 again is probably a good shout.

Congratulations on your interview date by the way.

Oh dear...mine will be an IR-1 so I can't see there being much of a difference.

I just called the premium rate information line and they said they don't have a record of the DS-2001 or the interview. I sent the DS-2001 before the interview! Suffice to say I got the code to send an e-mail. We need to get back by April to get our old jobs back and to enrol my daughter in daycare before the spaces run out at my wife's work.

That sounds promising! Ha ha! Well...yes that timeline is correct, I did get a K3 in 2007, I did receive my green card in 2009 but then I did make a big mistake in 2010. They don't have a timeline for moving your family back home, abandoning status, then realising it was the wrong move and applying again. I should probably erase everything and log this application but I can't bring myself to.

Does anybody who had their medical in February have an interview date? The embassy would've received my medical results on the 10th but I called the DOS line today and they still don't have a date.

Thanks so much. I am easily bogged down these things and I thought the wording on the embassy website was a bit vague.

If you don't mind me asking, how long has it taken you to get to the interview stage with the London DCF? We are still trying to decide whether to try submitting to London or just go with Chicago Lockbox. We aren't under any huge time constraint other than I am just tired of the weather here!

Hi, sorry about the delay in getting back to you. We filed sent of the I-130, plus my abandonment of permanent residence, mid-August 2011. We received our approval letter at the end of November. I got my Police Certificate in January and booked my medical for 1/2/2012. I've since had the medical and after getting some additional vaccinations from my doctor and sending proof to Knightsbridge doctors the Embassy should have received my medical at the end of last week. I'm now waiting for a letter giving me the date of my interview which I think should be 4-8 weeks after they got my medical results.

I have no idea if the Lockbox option is quicker but I wouldn't imagine so since things have to be transferred to London eventually but maybe someone else can shed some light on that. Good luck!

Hi everyone! I'm new at this forum, so apologies if this question has already been posted.

I am a USC married to a UK Citizen. I have been living in the UK for 5 years on a work permit (Tier 2 visa) which is a temporary visa, not indefinite leave to remain. I am wondering whether I am eligible to submit the I-130 application for my husband through DCF in London? I have phoned the embassy twice, and neither person really knew the answer. One guy suggested I just apply to London and see whether my application gets rejected!

So does anyone have any experience on applying with DCF in London without an indefinite leave to remain visa? Is it even worth spending time trying to figure out whether I am eligible or is the process not that much longer when applied via the Chicago lockbox?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Check out this web page:

http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

It used to be necessary to have indefinite leave to remain but residence and permission to work is fine now. My wife and I tried DCF back in 2007 when we first moved back to the states but it got returned as my wife only had limited leave to remain so we went down the k3 route. However, this time (we're flip floppers) we were able to use DCF even though my wife once again does not have a permanent visa. We're now just waiting for an interview date as I had my medical last week.

I just got word back from Knightsbridge Doctors that they've received the proof of vaccinations they'd requested last week (things have changed since I went through the process for the first time in 2007). They said that all being well the embassy will have my medical results by the end of the weak. Could anybody tell me the average amount of time it's taking for the embassy to send out the interview letter after the medical has been completed?

I stuck my neck out and sent the I-407 with the I-130. We got our receipt via e-mail from the embassy today! Therefore, in case anyone is in a similar situation it appears that this is the way to go.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm in Edinburgh right now to get the photos to send with the I-130. We're not soley motivated by finance so we haven't considered moving to a third country where the economic climate might be better.

I'm now wondering if I should send the I-407 (abandonment of permanent resident status) and my current green card with my application or if I should hang on to it until the interview. Any ideas?

I'd hate to be wrong twice in one day but I dont think USCIS allows DCF anymore. Check with the embassy there to confirm.

http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

Oh dear, mate. I have an awful habit of posting questions when deep down I already know the answer, it looks like you may have the opposite .

Ning, I'm aware of the requirements and I agree with you, it could cause a costly denial; both financially and time wise. I've just had a look at the London Embassy website and it looks like DCF might be an option since my wife has Entry Clearance and has been here for over 6 months. We tried it back in the day before we went down the K3 route but at the time we were denied due to my wife only having "Limited Leave to Remain" looks like since they changed the visa system over here they've changed the requirements for DCF. Can anyone confirm this?

There is no returning resident visa. The USC will have to petition for a C R 1 for you because you gave up your green card. The process will not change. It will probably take about 10 to 12 months to get the visa. The USC will need to provide the support docs therefore need U S job & or a co sponsor in the USA. That wont be required for about 6 months or more.

Thanks Ning, do you mean there's no chance of getting a Returning Resident Visa (SB-1) in this case or that the visa itself does not exit? My wife's sister will be our co-sponsor should we need one.

My wife, our daughter and I have been living back in Scotland for a little over a year now. However, we've realised we've made a mistake and want to move back to Texas. (This story may be familiar to some as I posted it under a new ID a little while ago but didn't get much response)

We're trying to work out whether we should try for a returning resident visa or start again from scratch. I'm hoping that someone who has been in a similar situation might have some advice.

At the time, we made a decision based on emotion to come back here since I wanted our daughter to meet my grandparents and had recently found out my grandfather was dying of cancer. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away a month before we got back and my grandmother had a severe stroke that same week. With this happening I've come to realise that we came back for the wrong reasons and it's been really difficult financially compared with how we were getting on in Texas. I don't think there's much of a case for a returning resident visa but we've kept our U.S bank account open and filed our 2010 taxes. However, there is evidence that we left with the intention to live in Scotland permanently as my wife obtained a marriage visa for the U.K.

If we do start from scratch and get a CR-1 visa how long is the process taking for U.K residents at the moment? Also, are the steps exactly the same as if I had never had a green card or are there parts of it that we can bypass?

If anyone can offer some advice on this I'd be really grateful.

Here's where you can get Irn Bru in the U.S. I've ordered from there once and would say it's worth the cost. It's alleged that the different colouring used changes the taste but I'd say that's either false or it's been so long since I've had a can of ginger in Scotland that it tasted just as amazing to me.

http://www.irn-bru-usa.com/

Now, on the question of brown sauce on your French toast... are you daft? It should be ketchup all the way. Still, using brown sauce is more acceptable than applying syrup and cinnamon; that's just gluttonous.

The answer is here: http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-brit...h-registration/

"Although we welcome applications to register the birth of children born in the USA to British-born parents, you should be aware that this is not obligatory. A registration certificate is a useful document to help establish a child's British nationality, but it is perfectly acceptable to apply directly for a British passport, without first registering the birth."

That's good advice, thanks for taking the time to respond. Since there are so many things that we'll have to do before leaving I guess I was looking for the simplest option. I don't however want to restrict my daughter's options in the future by seeking out convenience in the present. I don't believe I would be doing that by not registering her birth before we apply for the passport but it's worth thinking about.

I actually just read that before refreshing this topic. That's not a big deal. We can arrange that some time before we leave or with the consulate after we get home.

We've decided to move back to Scotland so instead of getting a U.S passport and a visa for my daughter we thought it would be more straight forward to get a British passport. My daughter was born here in San Antonio in May. The passport application notes aren't clear on whether I can submit the application without first registering her birth with the Embassy or if I would in effect be doing this by sending the application itself. Has anyone here applied for a British passport for their (U.S-born) kids before?

Score out the account numbers?

Jeremy, it's good to know that somebody has been in this position also and that it turned out alright.

Nick, thanks for the link! We supplied 6 month's of pay stubs from both our jobs going right up to a week before we sent the application along with letters from both of our employers stating how much we earned etc. Going by the instructions that should have been enough. I'm starting to rue my decision to not include additional info since we already met the requirements through income alone.

Thanks for the response. What you're suggesting is pretty much what I see as the only option they're leaving me. However, they rejected my first I-864 when there was nothing wrong with it without explanation there's nothing to stop them from rejecting this one also. Does anyone know of a way I can find out for sure what their reasoning behind the RFE was?

We just received another RFE. The first one was for me stupidly forgetting to attach a 1066 form. This time I'm stumped.

"Based on the documents submitted with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the petitioner/sponsor, income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty line for the petitioner/sponsor's household size."

The information we sent clearly demonstrated our combined income was quite a bit higher than the required amount. My wife, as the petitioner, was the main sponsor and would not have met the requirements on her own however, we listed my income and showed evidence that my position was permanent.

I'm at my wit's end with this process. I was laid off in March but found another job immediately (I didn't even have a day in between jobs) but the position I'm in right now is temporary with an option to be hired on permanently after a certain amount of time, depending upon performance. We could send another I-864 with the amended information however this time I won't be able to show that I have permanent position. A joint sponsor isn't an option for us either as we don't have anyone who is in a position to fulfill this role.

This really couldn't have come at worse time; my wife is due to give birth to our first child next month and my K3 expires in June! I tried calling NCSC for information on why the I-864 was rejected but I was just re-read the letter I received in the post. It seems like I might need to do what I never thought would be necessary; get an immigration lawyer. If anyone could help I'd be really grateful.

My wife and I used both our incomes on the I-864. We just got an RFE asking for both our supporting tax documents (plus proof that I was authorized to work which I find incredulous since they were the ones who issued the authorization but that's easy to prove). I've realized that we should have included my wife's 1099 for a small amount of money earned in December 2007. However, they've also asked for my supporting tax documentation but due to the fact that I only worked in Scotland during 2007 there is none. Are they only asking for my information because we filed jointly?

Unless the income earned in Scotland continued in the US from the same source, they won't count it. Unless you can show evidence of current qualifying income, you'll need a joint sponsor.

We aren't using the tax returns to show sufficient income; we used letters from our employers and pay stubs. We both now work and live in the U.S.A. I just called USCIS and they said that I would have to write a letter explaining that I didn't work in the U.S for that tax year and that is why there's no supporting tax documentation. The agent said it couldn't hurt to also include copies of my bank statements from that time which would show that my income was from a foreign source.