DCF UK Eligibility

[MrLee 0]

Hi,

New to forums so hi! My fiancée (USC) and I (UKC) are going to get married in the next few months and are looking into the best way of getting a visa to live in the USA.

She is in the UK on a work permit and has been for the past 2.5 years. She has another 2.5 years to go on her current one which says "Resident Permit with limited leave to remain".

It seems like a CR1 visa through DCR would be the quickest and easiest way to go but there seems to be some confusion over eligibility. Everything I've read on the USCIS and London embassy website suggest that we are eligible for this (i.e. she has been a UK resident for more than 6 months and has no address in the USA) but I've read a few stories and had 1st hand feedback from some friends who have been through this that we wouldn't be eligible because my fiancée isn't a permanent resident (i.e. unlimited leave to remain). Now I guess this is a question over whether she is classed as a resident because she is living here and her sole address is in the UK (living with me).

Can anybody shed any light on this. We're going to speak to the London consulate but again have heard stories of conflicting messages from them.

Finally if we were to file via DCF and it turns out we aren't eligible would we still incur the $355 fee once they had determined this?

Thanks for any help.

Lee

[Ihavequestions 419]

Hi,

New to forums so hi! My fiancée (USC) and I (UKC) are going to get married in the next few months and are looking into the best way of getting a visa to live in the USA.

She is in the UK on a work permit and has been for the past 2.5 years. She has another 2.5 years to go on her current one which says "Resident Permit with limited leave to remain".

It seems like a CR1 visa through DCR would be the quickest and easiest way to go but there seems to be some confusion over eligibility. Everything I've read on the USCIS and London embassy website suggest that we are eligible for this (i.e. she has been a UK resident for more than 6 months and has no address in the USA) but I've read a few stories and had 1st hand feedback from some friends who have been through this that we wouldn't be eligible because my fiancée isn't a permanent resident (i.e. unlimited leave to remain). Now I guess this is a question over whether she is classed as a resident because she is living here and her sole address is in the UK (living with me).

Can anybody shed any light on this. We're going to speak to the London consulate but again have heard stories of conflicting messages from them.

Finally if we were to file via DCF and it turns out we aren't eligible would we still incur the $355 fee once they had determined this?

Thanks for any help.

Lee

You can't file DCF because you aren't married.

ETA: Woops. I see that you plan to marry. My apologies.

As long as your fiancee/wife meets the residency requirements, she is eligible to petition on your behalf. Note that your ficancee must have domicile in the US (there are a lot of threads about domicile; it's worth the search). And, no, once they get your money it's theirs and they won't return it if a petition is denied.

Edited January 25, 2009 by Ihavequestions

[MrLee 0]

You can't file DCF because you aren't married.

Sorry I should have been clear, we'll be applying for a visa after we're married.

[YuAndDan 153]

Actually US citizen will need a us DOMICILE address, and need to be able to show that living abroad was "Temporary", this is a REQUIREMENT of the required form I-864 to sponsor an immigrant.

The petitioner MUST sponsor the immigrant, and MUST provide an I-864, and I-864 requires US Domicile, and Past year's IRS returns.

MORE: http://travel.state.gov/pdf/I-864GenInfo-FAQ-Final.pdf http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/iv/ivprocess.html

[MargotDarko 0]

Once you're married, she'll be able to file the I-130 for you directly to the London USCIS office, aka. DCF. It used to be that the USC had to have indefinite leave to remain, but that is no longer the case. Just needs to have at least six months of actual residence. Make sure she includes proof of living in the UK - a copy of the page in her passport that shows her visa and arrival stamp, and copies of the pertinent pages of a lease/mortgage. The instructions say to not include anything at all extra, but people have had their petitions returned and then had to show UK residence. I included several extra pages in my packet without any trouble.

[MrLee 0]

Thanks for the replies.

I know we need to sort the domicile situation for I864 and it's another thing we need to think about. I've been reading all the information I can about this and have a reasonable understanding of what we need to satisfy this. We're still deciding where we want to live and may have to use a relative's address to begin with until we're further along with the application and can start looking at jobs and places to live. Again this is something we'll ask the consulate.

The key thing was whether DCF was the right route for us and it sounds like it is. Proving residence in the UK shouldn't be a problem, we've got stamps in her passport along with pay slips, bills etc.

First things first and that's getting married. Just waiting for the COA to come through before we can register and get things moving.

[frali 2]

Just to add... as far as domicile is concerned ... you could show that the USC is creating a domicile. E.g by applying to University in the US or apply for jobs etc.

Good luck!