Several Questions about DCF

[SunnyLee 0]

Hi there! I am brand new to this site and have only heard of DCF yesterday. I have several questions and am hoping to get them answered quickly.

1. Do I qualify for DCF?? I am a US military member residing in the UK and have been here for 3+ years. I think this qualifies me, no?

2. The initial form, the petition (129/130??), does it have to be filed after marriage or can it be filed prior to marriage?

3. Police checks...I read on one site they do this for you, but I see others talking about doing it on their own. How do we go about getting these police checks? Is there a site that will explain all that to us?? He lived in Sweden for a bit, will we have to have police checks done for there too?

4. About 10 years ago, he was arrested for simple assault charges. It was something very stupid and if he were in the US, he wouldn't have even gotten a second look over the incident. Will this cause the process to take longer or will he be denied for something like this??

5. On average, how long does the process take? I read somewhere that London is very proficient in this process and does a good job on getting them out the door quickly. I am seeing an average of 6 weeks...is that about right? The reason I ask, is I am leaving soon and would very much like to travel with my new spouse but will understand if I can't, but I also don't want to be waiting for years for him to be able to join me in the US.

Thanks in advance for everyone's help!!!! I'm sure I will have tons more questions later:)

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

1. You qualify if you are officially resident in the UK. As US military, especially if you live on base, you may officially "be in the USA".

2. It's the I-130, and you must be married; you can file the day after marriage though, as long as you were officially legally resident in the UK for 6 months before the wedding.

3. If he- the beneficiary/ non US citizen lived in any non-US country for 6 months or longer after afer 16 he needs a police cert from there (that includes his home oountry, ie the UK), and he needs to get it himself. Look at the individual country's embassy website, they usually have info. Often you need to visit the embassy to get the police cert, or write off for it.

4. Probably won't cause an issue, especially if he didn't get convicted and it was a one-time thing so long ago.

5. Depends very much on the country, so other UKers will be able to answer this better; it took me 6 weeks in Ireland, but I believe in the UK it takes 4-6 months.

[Yvie_and_Brett 0]

1. Do I qualify for DCF?? I am a US military member residing in the UK and have been here for 3+ years. I think this qualifies me, no?

If your passport has a valid visa (London doesn't really care if it's ILR or not) and you can prove that you've resided in the UK for at least 6 months prior to filing, then you will qualify for DCF in London.

2. The initial form, the petition (129/130??), does it have to be filed after marriage or can it be filed prior to marriage?

You'll need the I-130 and it needs to be filed AFTER marriage - you need to submit a photocopy of the marriage certificate with it.

3. Police checks...I read on one site they do this for you, but I see others talking about doing it on their own. How do we go about getting these police checks? Is there a site that will explain all that to us?? He lived in Sweden for a bit, will we have to have police checks done for there too?

You request these yourself. It costs around £30 and takes a few weeks to arrive, so do this when you first start petitioning for your husband-to-be and it will save you waiting for it later. If he resided in Sweden for 6 months or more when over the age of 16, he will need a certificate from there too.

4. About 10 years ago, he was arrested for simple assault charges. It was something very stupid and if he were in the US, he wouldn't have even gotten a second look over the incident. Will this cause the process to take longer or will he be denied for something like this??

This one I don't know about. I suggest that you wait and see if it comes up on the Police Certificate, then you can deal with it if you need to but there's no point worrying about it until then

5. On average, how long does the process take? I read somewhere that London is very proficient in this process and does a good job on getting them out the door quickly. I am seeing an average of 6 weeks...is that about right? The reason I ask, is I am leaving soon and would very much like to travel with my new spouse but will understand if I can't, but I also don't want to be waiting for years for him to be able to join me in the US.

6 weeks? You wish. You can see my timeline in my signature and it was FAST, a lot of people on VJ have commented on how quickly it went through. The average is apparently 4-6 months, but it's okay if you need to leave the country after you file DCF, as long as you were resident here when you filed it. Only the beneficiary (your husband-to-be) needs to attend the medical and interview, so you could be on the moon for all they care. If you want to move together, don't book flights until you have the visa in hand. Additionally, they may be able to speed up the process if you have orders to move back to the US.

I hope that helps!

[SunnyLee 0]

Thanks all for the responses. I found the forms for the legal certificates and we are going to do those first to see what comes up on those. Unfortunately, he was required to go to a very minimum secure jail for 2 months time for the assault. I couldn't believe it because it was so minor. They would have just cautioned him here in the UK. Anywho...another question. I know that I have to provide financial documentation to show that I can support him in the US. Is he required to submit this type of documentation as well? I can't seem to find a checklist for the entire process...only for the I-130.

Thanks...

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

They don't really care about his finances, they only want to know that you as the USC can financially support him should the need arise.

[Yvie_and_Brett 0]

Anywho...another question. I know that I have to provide financial documentation to show that I can support him in the US. Is he required to submit this type of documentation as well? I can't seem to find a checklist for the entire process...only for the I-130.

Thanks...

When you get to the Affidavit of Support (I-864) you'll need to give info of your income only (unless your SO has US generated income), but only if it will continue in the US You'll also need your 1040 and W2 from 2008 (providing 2006 & 2007 is optional) to show that you filed taxes last year.

[italy to USA 0]

Anywho...another question. I know that I have to provide financial documentation to show that I can support him in the US. Is he required to submit this type of documentation as well? I can't seem to find a checklist for the entire process...only for the I-130.

Thanks...

When you get to the Affidavit of Support (I-864) you'll need to give info of your income only (unless your SO has US generated income), but only if it will continue in the US You'll also need your 1040 and W2 from 2008 (providing 2006 & 2007 is optional) to show that you filed taxes last year.

Yes please, for the love of God, make sure you have filed your taxes, dont mess up like me

[SunnyLee 0]

Yes please, for the love of God, make sure you have filed your taxes, dont mess up like me

LOL...thanks. We were concerned because he works a flex job and they don't have work for him for the next two weeks so he was going to file a claim to receice government benefits from the UK. We didn't want to do the claim if it was going to mess the chances up because I know I have to prove financial stability as the USC. We just weren't sure if he had to as well but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Thanks again!

[meauxna 15]

Hi there! I am brand new to this site and have only heard of DCF yesterday. I have several questions and am hoping to get them answered quickly.

1. Do I qualify for DCF?? I am a US military member residing in the UK and have been here for 3+ years. I think this qualifies me, no?

2. The initial form, the petition (129/130??), does it have to be filed after marriage or can it be filed prior to marriage?

3. Police checks...I read on one site they do this for you, but I see others talking about doing it on their own. How do we go about getting these police checks? Is there a site that will explain all that to us?? He lived in Sweden for a bit, will we have to have police checks done for there too?

4. About 10 years ago, he was arrested for simple assault charges. It was something very stupid and if he were in the US, he wouldn't have even gotten a second look over the incident. Will this cause the process to take longer or will he be denied for something like this??

5. On average, how long does the process take? I read somewhere that London is very proficient in this process and does a good job on getting them out the door quickly. I am seeing an average of 6 weeks...is that about right? The reason I ask, is I am leaving soon and would very much like to travel with my new spouse but will understand if I can't, but I also don't want to be waiting for years for him to be able to join me in the US.

Thanks in advance for everyone's help!!!! I'm sure I will have tons more questions later:)

You can start here and work your way through the links on the right side; they'll walk you through the whole thing and lead you to the special checklist you need to use to submit the petition in London.

Spouse & Fiancé(e) Visas

Typical London cases are 5 months.

With the past arrest, he'll want to get the MOC if possible and be ready to show the conclusion of his case.

oh, for the Sweden police cert, google 'reciprocity schedule' and go to the travel.state.gov result.

[SunnyLee 0]

Hi there! I am brand new to this site and have only heard of DCF yesterday. I have several questions and am hoping to get them answered quickly.

1. Do I qualify for DCF?? I am a US military member residing in the UK and have been here for 3+ years. I think this qualifies me, no?

2. The initial form, the petition (129/130??), does it have to be filed after marriage or can it be filed prior to marriage?

3. Police checks...I read on one site they do this for you, but I see others talking about doing it on their own. How do we go about getting these police checks? Is there a site that will explain all that to us?? He lived in Sweden for a bit, will we have to have police checks done for there too?

4. About 10 years ago, he was arrested for simple assault charges. It was something very stupid and if he were in the US, he wouldn't have even gotten a second look over the incident. Will this cause the process to take longer or will he be denied for something like this??

5. On average, how long does the process take? I read somewhere that London is very proficient in this process and does a good job on getting them out the door quickly. I am seeing an average of 6 weeks...is that about right? The reason I ask, is I am leaving soon and would very much like to travel with my new spouse but will understand if I can't, but I also don't want to be waiting for years for him to be able to join me in the US.

Thanks in advance for everyone's help!!!! I'm sure I will have tons more questions later:)

You can start here and work your way through the links on the right side; they'll walk you through the whole thing and lead you to the special checklist you need to use to submit the petition in London.

Spouse & Fiancé(e) Visas

Typical London cases are 5 months.

With the past arrest, he'll want to get the MOC if possible and be ready to show the conclusion of his case.

oh, for the Sweden police cert, google 'reciprocity schedule' and go to the travel.state.gov result.

Thanks...We ordered the police cert today from Sweden. Also, you say the average processing time is 5 months. Is that in general because we qualify for expedited service since I am a military member with a new assignment.

Thanks...

[meauxna 15]

Thanks...We ordered the police cert today from Sweden. Also, you say the average processing time is 5 months. Is that in general because we qualify for expedited service since I am a military member with a new assignment.

Thanks...

The average of 5 months is on vanilla civilian cases. You'll have to see if you can get any sort of expedite on the petition processing and/or the visa processing (two separate departments, Homeland Sec for the petition, Dept of State for the visa). If you plan on asking for an expedite, make sure that you & your spouse have all of your documents ready to submit if they agree to rush you through.