DCF - London Question !!

[us2ind2uk 0]

Dear All,

I am very confused about filing in London as have been reading a loads of information floating online and some information is so contradictory that it is very scary - what to believe. I write this post to seek some help.

My situation:

US citizen, currently in the Uk on HSMP (highly skilled migration programme) visa since the Feb 2008 and my wife is an Indian citizen currently with me in the UK on HSMP dependant visa since the April 2008.

I working here since the March and my wife has started working in the Sept, we both live in a rented accomodation and have a joint bank account.

When I filed I-130 at the London office, it came back with a letter stating that as I have not been in the UK long enough, I will need to file the petition in the US.

How do I justify my residency status? I do not have any address in the US, as I was renting an appartment there.

Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers

[MargotDarko 0]

Dear All,

I am very confused about filing in London as have been reading a loads of information floating online and some information is so contradictory that it is very scary - what to believe. I write this post to seek some help.

My situation:

US citizen, currently in the Uk on HSMP (highly skilled migration programme) visa since the Feb 2008 and my wife is an Indian citizen currently with me in the UK on HSMP dependant visa since the April 2008.

I working here since the March and my wife has started working in the Sept, we both live in a rented accomodation and have a joint bank account.

When I filed I-130 at the London office, it came back with a letter stating that as I have not been in the UK long enough, I will need to file the petition in the US.

How do I justify my residency status? I do not have any address in the US, as I was renting an appartment there.

Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers

Did you include a copy of the page in your passport with your visa and your arrival date? Did you include a copy of the UK rental agreement and a bank statement from your joint account? What about a copy of the council tax bill? If so, I am pretty baffled. I would have thought that your visa counted as resident for sure.

[T and M 1]

Dear All,

I am very confused about filing in London as have been reading a loads of information floating online and some information is so contradictory that it is very scary - what to believe. I write this post to seek some help.

My situation:

US citizen, currently in the Uk on HSMP (highly skilled migration programme) visa since the Feb 2008 and my wife is an Indian citizen currently with me in the UK on HSMP dependant visa since the April 2008.

I working here since the March and my wife has started working in the Sept, we both live in a rented accomodation and have a joint bank account.

When I filed I-130 at the London office, it came back with a letter stating that as I have not been in the UK long enough, I will need to file the petition in the US.

How do I justify my residency status? I do not have any address in the US, as I was renting an appartment there.

Any help is much appreciated.

Cheers

That's weird. An HSMP visa is as long-term as you get! When did you file the I-130? Seems like after 6 months or so on a long-term visa like that would qualify.

I agree with Margot...did you send a copy of your UK visa with the entry stamp showing February 2008 (or even earlier if you have another visa from before)...when I applied I sent a copy of a newer visa, and the entry date was too recent. I had to send a copy of my old UK visa to show an earlier entry date.

Just out of curiosity, are you guys considering giving up your HSMP visa status? I was thinking of applying at some point, but I wasn't sure of the stipulations. If you leave the UK for a certain period of time, do you lose it? Or will it just not be renewed after the 2 year trail period is over?

[ponyespresso 0]

Did you include a copy of the UK rental agreement and a bank statement from your joint account? What about a copy of the council tax bill? If so, I am pretty baffled. I would have thought that your visa counted as resident for sure.

I am currently filling out an I-130 to petition for my wife, but on the checklist instructions, it says "Do not submit extraneous documentation, photos, bank/tax statements, etc."

Did you submit a rental agreement and bank statement for your I-130? Or are the required documents for a fiancee visa different than a visa for a married couple?

[MargotDarko 0]

Did you include a copy of the UK rental agreement and a bank statement from your joint account? What about a copy of the council tax bill? If so, I am pretty baffled. I would have thought that your visa counted as resident for sure.

I am currently filling out an I-130 to petition for my wife, but on the checklist instructions, it says "Do not submit extraneous documentation, photos, bank/tax statements, etc."

Did you submit a rental agreement and bank statement for your I-130? Or are the required documents for a fiancee visa different than a visa for a married couple?

They are really silly. If you don't show proof that you're able to file directly, they'll return the petition. So I completely ignored the rule when filing the I-130 for my husband - I had no problem at all. I think they have the rule just so that they don't get HUGE packages all the time.

I am not sure what you mean by mentioning a fiancee visa.

Do the instructions ask you to include a copy of your passport page with the UK visa and arrival stamp? If not, include that at the very least. A copy of a council tax bill showing both names at the same address is also another good way to show that you're resident in the UK without stuffing a lot of extra paper in.