UK DCF -- the ins and outs and ups and downs

[Christi85 86]

Hi all - just a quick update - I entered the US on Monday 7th, my POE was Atlanta airport. Everything was fine with the journey except the 'do not open' envelope was so big that I could not fit it in my hand luggage so i carried it in my hand for the entire journey and had it on my lap for the entire flight as I was so paranoid about leaving it loose in the over head locker!

Anyway when I got to Atlanta the passport control officer looked at my visa (I joined the US citizens and residents line) and asked for my envelope and had someone escort me to the immigration room. I had a really long wait here but only because there were so many others in front of me! I waited about 1 and a half hours and then an immigration officer called me forward, took my fingerprints and signature and asked me a couple of questions. Then I sat back down for about another 15 minutes and then she called me back and explained my visa had been stamped and was good as proof of permanent residence for a year and that my greencard would take 3 - 6 months and she double checked the mailing address with me. Then I was free to go!

A very helpful baggage person had pulled my suitcases to one side as it had taken me so long to get to the carousel and then I cleared customs and finally found hubby! My flight got in about 7pm and I left the airport about 9.30 pm. Like i said before the wait was not because of any immigration problems i had but just because the office was so busy and thier were only 2 officers working.

Hope that is of some help

Good luck all!

Stacey

Well done Stacey! Sounds like it went really smoothly!

But REALLY- did she say 3-6 months for the green card???

I thought it was more like 3-6 weeks from arrival, in some cases even quicker than that!

[Stann 3]

Well done Stacey! Sounds like it went really smoothly!

But REALLY- did she say 3-6 months for the green card???

I thought it was more like 3-6 weeks from arrival, in some cases even quicker than that!

I'm quite sure that is what she said but by then I was so tired she might have said 3 - 6 weeks. Oh well at least having the IR1 stamped means I can start job hunting right away.

Will update when it does arrive!

Thanks

Stacey

[scrosso 0]

Hi Stacey,

Congratulations on the move and getting everything sorted. What is the exact process for you now? are you eligible to work straight away, or do you still need to wait for things to come through such as the social security / green card.

I am a bit unsure on when i will be able to work - but have just found out that if successful my company here in London will arrange an internal transfer to the new York office (dependent on me getting the visa). If the time lines stay correct, i am hoping to move middle of November, so was concerned whether i could start straight away or would have to wait until what could be after Xmas.

[Stann 3]

Hi Stacey,

Congratulations on the move and getting everything sorted. What is the exact process for you now? are you eligible to work straight away, or do you still need to wait for things to come through such as the social security / green card.

I am a bit unsure on when i will be able to work - but have just found out that if successful my company here in London will arrange an internal transfer to the new York office (dependent on me getting the visa). If the time lines stay correct, i am hoping to move middle of November, so was concerned whether i could start straight away or would have to wait until what could be after Xmas.

Hi, once the IR1 is stamped you are eligible to work right away as it acts as a temporary green card for one year (by which time you will have the actual green card). I already have a social security number from when I lived in the US before and they never change so I can use that but once you get here you can take your stamped visa to your local Social Security office and apply for one no problem. I am pretty sure the social security card then gets mailed to you so may take a couple of weeks. I think there is a way to apply for one as part of the immigration process so you get it before you move but Im not entirely sure about this so hopefully someone else on here will be able to let you know about that.

I did go to the Social Security office yesterday as I needed to change some info on the card i had before (the last visa i was here on needed work authorisation but now im a permanenet resident i dont need that anymore) and they said as my visa was only issued in London on June 2nd I had to wait 10 days after that for it to show up in there system for them to make the changes - so I am guessing it would be the same for you to be able to order a new Social Security card.

Hope that helps

Good luck

Stacey

Edited June 10, 2010 by staceyafreeman

[Stann 3]

Hi all, this is a question for everyone that had thier interview in London and paid for the visa that day

Did your charge take a long time to show up on you bank statement? I paid $400 on my visa card on May 28th (about £290) and it has still not shown up on my statement?!?! I don't really want to start my new life here in The US owing $400 - I had enough funds on my credit card (and still do) and I got the reciept at the time of payment so I am unsure why it has not shown up.

Does anyone else know if it takes a long time for the embassy to process credit card payments or any other reason for this?

Thanks

Stacey

[Matt_UK 0]

Congratulations Stacey.

I've been a bit delayed waiting for my joint sponser to get the information to me. Hopefully that is all sorted now and it should be picking up again. I'm a bit worried that I wont' have the correct tax information for the interview though, is there a good resource which can show me what is required? I have no experience with US tax documents.

[Stann 3]

Congratulations Stacey.

I've been a bit delayed waiting for my joint sponser to get the information to me. Hopefully that is all sorted now and it should be picking up again. I'm a bit worried that I wont' have the correct tax information for the interview though, is there a good resource which can show me what is required? I have no experience with US tax documents.

the instructions on the i-864 are very clear about what US tax documents your sponsor will need to provide

Stacey

[mcclapa 0]

Hi everyone. Getting a bit nervous here. We received our Packet 3 in March and didn't realise that we only had the short version of my husband's South African birth certificate until then. We applied for the longer version in April but the minimum wait is 3 months and we are still waiting. I had to hand in my work notice in February (I am a teacher so I had to do it then) so I am only employed and on a work permit until the end of August and we would like to have our interview date before then but that is not looking likely now. Will my work permit being cancelled affect our application if it happened in the middle of the visa application process? Is it worth contacting the Embassy and asking them to consider our DS2001 application pending the arrival of my husband’s birth certificate?

[Christi85 86]

Hi everyone. Getting a bit nervous here. We received our Packet 3 in March and didn't realise that we only had the short version of my husband's South African birth certificate until then. We applied for the longer version in April but the minimum wait is 3 months and we are still waiting. I had to hand in my work notice in February (I am a teacher so I had to do it then) so I am only employed and on a work permit until the end of August and we would like to have our interview date before then but that is not looking likely now. Will my work permit being cancelled affect our application if it happened in the middle of the visa application process? Is it worth contacting the Embassy and asking them to consider our DS2001 application pending the arrival of my husband’s birth certificate?

Hi there! I don't think they'll be checking your passport at the Embassy interview, apart from when you get in when security will ask to see your ID. But they won't be checking your work permit. It's not mandatory for you to even attend the interview, so as far as they're concerned, you can go ahead and leave the country before your husband. It doesn't sound like they check the USC's documentation at the interview - just the intending immigrant's. I'd be more concerned about staying in the UK with an expired visa - from the UK immigration point of view.

Re the DS2001 - why don't you go ahead and send it over now? Your interview will probably be scheduled for after 2 months anyway. So by then you should have the birth certificate too - right? I haven't gone through this myself yet, but the London Embassy website explicitly mentions that package 3 documents shouldn't be mailed to the Embassy, but should be presented at the interview instead. Unless you have been instructed otherwise?

What does everybody else think?

[binnybee3 0]

Hi everyone...just trying to decide whether or not to do the DCF instead of the k1 fiance visa as we r not yet married. i want nothing more then to just go home already so thought the dcf would be faster but dont know much about it...r the costs any different? or is there anything i need to worry about??

[Lansbury 19]

Hi everyone...just trying to decide whether or not to do the DCF instead of the k1 fiance visa as we r not yet married. i want nothing more then to just go home already so thought the dcf would be faster but dont know much about it...r the costs any different? or is there anything i need to worry about??

You need to be married to do DCF as you are applying for the spouse to be classed as an immediate relative. All DCF means is the I-130 is filed in London instead of a service center in the States.

[Christi85 86]

You need to be married to do DCF as you are applying for the spouse to be classed as an immediate relative. All DCF means is the I-130 is filed in London instead of a service center in the States.

Yes - DCF stands for Direct Consular Filing, it's not a different type of visa.

You can only apply for a CR-1/IR-1 (marriage-based visas) through DCF.

K1 fiance visas are only filed and processed in the US.

[binnybee3 0]

Yes - DCF stands for Direct Consular Filing, it's not a different type of visa.

You can only apply for a CR-1/IR-1 (marriage-based visas) through DCF.

K1 fiance visas are only filed and processed in the US.

yeah i know...because we're not yet married our original thought was to apply for the k1 fiance visa...buut because i want to get home quicker i thought maybe if we were to just get married in england...and then apply DCF...it would be faster..wouldnt it?? but theres nothing i need to worry about because i would have only just been married or anything is there?? it would still work the same?? just quicker?

[scrosso 0]

yeah i know...because we're not yet married our original thought was to apply for the k1 fiance visa...buut because i want to get home quicker i thought maybe if we were to just get married in england...and then apply DCF...it would be faster..wouldnt it?? but theres nothing i need to worry about because i would have only just been married or anything is there?? it would still work the same?? just quicker?

We were in a similar position and decided to get married over here and we are now mid way through our application (RFE sent). One thing to be careful of is the wait to get married in the UK - we thought we could get married over here and then apply for DCF quickly. However the certificate of approval (license for residents from overseas to get married in the UK) took over 2 and a months to come through, so that delayed us slightly.

We sent off our DCF application 1 week after getting married, and are hoping to have visa in hand on November 10th (the dream will be to enter the US via a transatlantic cruise - Nov 10th is the last one this year). We are right on schedule with our estimated dates so far but its close, and any delay will cause us problems.

So if goes to plan - from deciding to get married in March this year, married in May, and hopeful visa in November - we have estimated 8 months. 2 months - certificate of approval / marriage. 6 months - DCF

Hope that helps a little.

[Christi85 86]

Agree - we got married in the US just to avoid the UK marriage license hassle

Can I ask you guys something slightly irrelevant? What type of UK visa do your USCs spouses doing DCF have? Mine has been here for almost 3 years now (way beyond the Embassy's 6-month minimum residency requirement) but he's on a Limited Leave To Remain - type visa (was on a student visa before that). And I've heard that some people with LLR have had problems in London in the past and were asked to file directly in the US instead

That said, other people with LLR were accepted no problem.

Hope we don't encounter any problems. Looking to file in late July/early August.

Also, Scrosso - can I ask you something else? I saw that you got an RFE. Did that have a deadline as to when the documents should be sent? Thanks!