DCF in London - Recent Timeline (start to finish...almost)

[Myssie 0]

Hello,

I've been keeping an eye on this website for a while (it's been very helpful), and although there are quite a few timelines for filing at the various USCIS sites in America, there didn't seem to be very many for London DCF, so I thought I'd post ours along with our experience. Hope it helps any other DCF couples in the UK!

3 December - I-130, G-325A and credit card payment papers sent to London USCIS (forms found at http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html)

4 December - Paperwork received at USCIS

5 December - Received e-mail from USCIS notifying us that our filing date was 4 December

4 January - Requested police certificare from local police station (old system)

Now here's where we did things our own way...

Before we received approval of the I-130 and the packet with the DS-230 etc, we printed the DS-2001 (for the interview) and the DS-230 from the webside (http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/iv/ds2001.html) and we...

8 January - DS-230 (parts I and II - part II unsigned) and DS-2001 sent to Immigration Visa Unit in London. On the DS-2001 form were it requests case number I wrote "Case Pending in London"

9 January - Paperwork received at Immigration Visa Unit in London

1 February - Received police certificate

4 February - Emailed USCIS.London@dhs.gov and asked if they had received our DS-230 and DS-2001

6 February - Receved response from LondonConsular@state.gov that they had our DS-230 and DS-2001 on file and were awaiting the approved I130

8 February - I130 Approved at London USCIS and forwarded to London Immigration Visa Unit

16 February - Received packet with information on scheduling the medical and another copy of the D230 and D2001

18 February - Re-Sent D230 and D2001 (just in case) - this time we sent it to the PO Box at the London Immigration Visa Unit - I would advise against this as the Royal Mail still claim that the packet was been delivered to the PO Box and is still awaiting collection, better to send the paperwork to the street address.

20 February - and this is a side note - absolute panic as I realized I'd lost my husband's passport, went in for Fast Track reissue and received new passport on 22 February

21 February - Husband went to GP for innoculations (there is no charge if done at your local GP)

28 February - Received letter from Visa Immigration Unit - Appointment date 6 March - we only had 1 week notice - more panic as we both cancelled and found cover for our respective business trips

4 March - Medical at Knightsbridge

6 March - Interview - Visa Approved

Now just a few side notes:

On DCF - I moved to the UK five years ago on a work visa. I never updated my visa to indefinite leave to remain through my husband as my work visa didn't expire until 2009, and filing for indefinite leave to remain is expensive. You do not need indefinite leave to remain to use DCF, my work visa was sufficient, but I did have to include copies of my passport with the I-130 and G-325a to prove I was a legal resident.

Regarding the I-864, it took me ages to realize we needed 3x the poverty line for my husband and myself if you don't have employment in the US set up before moving. Fortunately this wasn't a problem. I printed out my American bank statements off the internet a few days before the interview and these were accepted without problem. I also had a copy of my 2007 tax return (not the transcript from the IRS - just a copy of the one I sent to them in January), this was also accepted without question. I did not provide any other tax returns.

I did call the extortion line a few times (09402 450 100)- they were really very helpful. It is true that to email the LondonConsular@state.gov site, you must have a special code from them and it is only valid for a week. If you do not have a code you will recieve a reply noting that your email has been deleted (they may or may not read it anyway and respond...I don't know). If you have the proper code you will recieve a reply noting that your email will be responded to in 4-5 days.

On the Interview. Ours was for 900a. I went along even though we never told anyone that was our intent. We arrived at 815a and were let though without waiting. At the first security checkpoint they looked at my passport and wrote my name in on the interview date letter (and of course they looked at his passport). They confinscated all our electronics (phones, PDA's, Blackberry's, PSP's etc.) We were number 7 in line for the immigrant visas. We waited about 30 minutes and were called to the first counter. They asked for all the original documents and one copy (marriage, birth, police certificate) and all of my I864 with supporting evidence. They fingerprinted my husband. We sat back down and about 15 minutes later we were called to the second window. We were given back all of our originals. They asked us how long we've been married, how we met, and why we were moving to America instead of staying the UK. We walked out the doors at 1015a.

I really hope this helps somone. And please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions!

Best wishes and good luck to us all!

Myssie

[Lansbury 19]

18 February - Re-Sent D230 and D2001 (just in case) - this time we sent it to the PO Box at the London Immigration Visa Unit - I would advise against this as the Royal Mail still claim that the packet was been delivered to the PO Box and is still awaiting collection, better to send the paperwork to the street address.

Sending to the PO Box as instructed on the form is the correct thing to do.

The Embassy has several post boxes for specific departments and the mail is presorted before it reaches the Embassy. If you send it to the Embassy address it goes into the general post box and is delivered to the Embassy mail room. It has been known for visa applications to take several days to reach the visa section from the mail room. I believe one report on here from someone who sent it that way said theirs took a week.