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

[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?

Great news...my husband's unabridged South African birth certificate is finally ready and being sent to us so we can finally send off the DS-2001...Hooray!

[scrosso 0]

Sorry for delay in response, been away for a few days. We had our RFE ready to go, and on the website we were told that our date was being processed so we were waiting for the letter to say they need further evidence, but we get a letter this morning saying we have been approved without an RFE. Very happy and very surprised - the only thing i can think of is that they saw we had been living together for 3 years at the same address, and decided that was enough. Now the long wait for packet 3 - and we have everything we need waiting and ready to go.

[Christi85 86]

Hello UK DCFers!

This thread hasn't been too active lately, but I thought I'd post our latest news here.

So, at last we managed to finalize our paperwork this past weekend and I sent out our I-130 package this morning special delivery (it should reach the Embassy tomorrow by 1 pm).

Fingers crossed!!!

[YankeeBaker 0]

I'm not sure where to post this. I thought maybe the info might be relevant as a stand-alone post, but then I thought maybe it was most helpful for those using DCF in London.

In 2006 I married my husband, then moved to the UK with my daughter from a previous marriage (which involved a lot of legal battle!)

I originally began the process for my husband, a UK Citizen in June 2009. I don't know how long it took to get the initial response - maybe a week or 2. We had planned on moving back to the US after we found out he was being made redundant at work. We quickly scheduled his medical and ordered his police cert. Everything was ready by the end of Sept 2009. But then, DH's employer decided to keep him on. So I never sent in the DS 2001 and DS 230 part 1.

Then, just a few weeks ago (June 2010) he was offered a job he couldn't refuse. So I sent in the DS2001 and DS 230 part 1. Then proceeded to check the mail every day! We then ran into a snag: the new employer wouldn't finalize the job offer until they had proof he could live in the US. We couldn't provide that till we had the interview. They weren't willing to wait. So 3 weeks after sending the forms to the embassy I called the extortion line to see if we had a date yet. They said no, nothing's been received but gave me the code for the week to email.

I sent an email, explaining the catch 22 dilemma. Within hours, I had been given a date for interview of 2 August.

I was so excited! I organized all the paperwork for the interview. We already had everything we needed, because it was essentially the same docs we used when I moved to the UK. Based on info I'd read on this forum, I took copies of everything including a duplicate DS230 part 1 and DS 2001.

But here's where it gets more complicated: I don't have a job waiting in the US, we don't have considerable savings. I had always assumed my dad could sign an I-864 for him, I never realized that person had to live in your household. My income while in the UK was only from a part time job. We were planning on using the income from DH's new job. The catch is that the new job is in Abu Dhabi. It's a commuting position 6 wks on / 6 wks off. I was worried they would say that he wouldn't be spending enough time in the US to qualify. Then I stressed out even more when I read that the intending immigrant's income can only be used if it will continue FROM THE SAME SOURCE as when they are granted lawful permanent resident status. Well, the new job begins 24 Sept. We have tickets booked for 14 Sept. So if the interview is on the 2 Aug...he'd be getting the status before the job starts.

All of this was immensely complicated by the fact that you're not allowed to change your 'point of hire' from the new employer. Meaning that if the interview didnt go to plan, London would be our point of hire, and the new job would only ever pay to commute DH from that city.

I was also very stressed over the domicile issue, as everyone seems to be. And rightly so!

So here's how it went yesterday:

Appt at 9 am. Woke up at 3.30 am, on the road at 4am. We had to take our girls with us, ages 9 and 2. We thought they'd sleep on the way down. We were wrong. Got to embassy around 7, walked down to pharmacy to drop off phone, etc. The line was long but not too bad because it moved quick. By the time we sat in the room with our number, it was 7.57. When we were called to window 1, the woman was very nice, but extremely soft spoken. I could barely hear her. She had a Jackie Chan accent, lol. She questioned why we had the kids with us. She was like, "you no have somebody watch them?" And I was thinking, SERIOUSLY? I don't have family here and what childminder is open at 3am? But I just smiled and said "no we couldn't find anyone to take them today"

I had to give birth cert, marriage cert, and divorce decree plus copies. Our DS230 part 1 had been lost, so I had to give a copy of that. Good thing I brought one! She directed most questions to me, and they were all double-barrelled. i.e "You work, how much you make?" I explained we were using DH's new job as income. I gave her a copy of his offer letter and the emails that accompanied it explaining the residency issue. She didn't want the emails. I also gave her a copy of my 2009 1040 with the i-864. I thought there would be a big deal about his job and all the details surrounding it, but she didn't ask questions at all.

Then she asked how I was going to prove my domicile. I had written a letter, and made an outline of steps we'd taken to re establish ourselves. I panicked though, because she became very stern. I gave her US bank accounts, US credit card statements, evidence of money wires to said accounts, voters reg. card, etc. She wouldn't take any of it. She said I need to see what you've done to move back. I gave her DH's resignation letter, the letter his employer wrote confirming his last day, and our e-ticket confirmation from British Airways showing a one way ticket for the whole family to Miami on 14 September, car rental, hotel etc. She didn't want any of that either. She said the job info was for DH and therefore not applicable. She said the airline tickets, etc were "no good no good."

She seemed a bit annoyed at this point and said "where you live now, you sell it?" So I said we were renting in the UK but had given notice to the letting agency. I gave her a copy of the letter from the agency that thanked us for handing in our notice. I also gave her emails between us and various real estate agents in FL. Of course, all the emails were really only exchanges about various properties we viewed online, no money had changed hands, and no leases were signed. We had worried about that because all the agents were telling us that FL rentals turn over so quickly, we were looking too soon. We had wanted to give a copy of a lease at the interview.

I hadn't registered my daughter in school because I didn't know where we'd be living. But I did have an email I'd sent to the court in the US telling them that we were moving back.

In the end, she took only the letter for the cancelation of our lease here. I felt very sick, and was certain that we'd be denied based on the domicile issue.

We paid at the cashier, then sat down and waited. We were called to window 15 and the woman there asked DH how long we'd been married, how old our toddler was, about the new job, when it started, and when we planned on moving. She mentioned that his medical would expire on 24 September. We showed her the e-tickets we had booked for British Airways. She then said, OK I am prepared to offer you your visa today. I was so relieved I instantly got light-headed and felt faint. I was certain we were going to be denied. I had to grip the edge of the counter lol.

So in the end, it all went well. We paid the courier on the way out and at that point it was 10.30. During the entire time our toddler alternated between tantrums, running, screaming, and being an angel. Of course, the angel was only while we were sitting down. She wouldn't stay in the the stroller and fall asleep, and whenever we were at a window she had a meltdown so fierce that our 9 yo couldn't handle it. Obviously we didn't want to take the girls, but we felt it was important to go together and that was the only way to do so.

That's our story! We are moving to FL in September. The courier said we should have DH's passport on Thursday. My adivce is the same as everyone else's who has done this: take lots of copies, even of the DS230 part 1. Don't sweat it if you are using your immigrant spouse's income on the 1-864. But be VERY over-the-top with your domicile documents. I feel like we made it by the skin of our teeth.

Good Luck! Hope this helps someone!

[YankeeBaker 0]

But be VERY over-the-top with your domicile documents. I feel like we made it by the skin of our teeth.

I also meant to say that in addition to the above mentioned paperwork for domicile, I did have the following:

quote from an international shipping company to move our belongings

printout from 'My eBay' showing all the household goods we have for sale/have sold in last 10 days

proof I sold my vehicle a few days ago

wire transfer to our US account for a sizeable amount of money

letter to my daughter's current school in the UK, explaining the move

quotes for medical and dental insurance in the US

Of those items she looked at the shipping quote but didn't take it, said no to the eBay statement and vehicle sale, didnt want the wire transfer or insurance quotes and said 'Good' when I told her I had the letter to the headmaster...but she never looked at it.

I still can't believe we were approved, given how negative she was! ROLL ON SEPTEMBER

[Christi85 86]

Hi YankeeBaker,

Congrats on your approval and sorry to hear that they gave you so much hassle at the London Embassy. Sounds like you had the mean Asian lady people have talked about in this forum (everyone else in the Embassy sounds nice from people's descriptions).

I can see how many of these Immigration Officers can be total bureaucrats - they just want to tick their boxes and refuse to be a little more open-minded. All the evidence you gave her (which btw, we will be giving them too to address the domicile issue) show your ties to the US, but not the immediate intent to go back. Although I would think a one-way airline ticket is very good proof . The rest, as far as she and her little boxes are concerned, aren't good enough. Because you may have left your apartment in the UK for another UK property. Your hubby could have left his job in the UK for another UK job - you know what I mean? I know you had the job offer, your one-way flights, everything that made things obvious, but SHE wanted solid proof of US-related steps, because that's what her book says (despite the fact that most IOs at the London Embassy seem to be much more lenient with the domicile issue) . That's what I mean when I talk about narrow thinking. I suspect that she didn't like the fact that you didn't have a US address to prove or some other concrete step (e.g. enrolling your kids to a US school, as you mentioned), which then made her much pickier with your case.

I wonder if people in your situation (i.e. who don't know where they'll be living etc.) can use a relative's/friend's US address as temporary address for the purposes of the I-864 to establish domicile, or if that would be a bad idea. At least it can prove you have identified a place to live in the US, which is one of the main domicile criteria. That's how I see it, but then I may be wrong.

Thanks for sharing your post, it's definitely food for thought. Forget about today's experience - all is well that ends well and have a nice trip back!

[Christi85 86]

I also meant to say that in addition to the above mentioned paperwork for domicile, I did have the following:

quote from an international shipping company to move our belongings

printout from 'My eBay' showing all the household goods we have for sale/have sold in last 10 days

proof I sold my vehicle a few days ago

wire transfer to our US account for a sizeable amount of money

letter to my daughter's current school in the UK, explaining the move

quotes for medical and dental insurance in the US

Of those items she looked at the shipping quote but didn't take it, said no to the eBay statement and vehicle sale, didnt want the wire transfer or insurance quotes and said 'Good' when I told her I had the letter to the headmaster...but she never looked at it.

I still can't believe we were approved, given how negative she was! ROLL ON SEPTEMBER

Yeah, I'd say some of these are definitely good proof, but I just think she was one of these IOs who found something she didn't like in the beginning and then she kept this attitude till the end for no reason - just to give you headaches even though you had compelling evidence to the opposite

[YankeeBaker 0]

Yeah, I'd say some of these are definitely good proof, but I just think she was one of these IOs who found something she didn't like in the beginning and then she kept this attitude till the end for no reason - just to give you headaches even though you had compelling evidence to the opposite

Yeah I am guessing it was the screaming child who was shouting and kicking the wall under her window.

[Matt_UK 0]

Interview completed without incident, Visa being sent next week. Very happy.

Now to get homeless and jobless.

I posted in the UK interview thread but the main thing I can advise is get there early. The letter says 30mins before but I'd suggest just going as soon as and take an umbrella for your documents.

Domicile was very easily overcome as my Wife has moved back to the states already, however they didn't seem that interested in the evidence I had about it.

[newby2 0]

Hi

We had our interview last week ad I finally wanted to post a review for everyone still waiting for theirs!

So we had an 8.00 appointment but got there at 6.45 just to make sure. We were the first people there and started queuing. At 7.30 the line was getting longer and they put a small desk out and started checking peoples invitations. My husband (the USC) had to show his passport and they wrote his name on the letter. A security guy then checked the letter ad our passports again before we went into a small building where they did like a security check like at the airport (no cell phones, car keys etc allowed!).

We then went inside and showed the letter again to the receptionist. She then said we should take a seat next to window 1 (we were the first people in). She said the interviews would start at 8.

We were the first people to be called to the window and an Asian lady started taking our documents (birth certificate and marriage certificate). She then took my fingerprints which was a bit of a process, then asked for police certificates and passport pics (she only took 2 of the 3 I brought). Then I think we had to give her the affidavits (turns out you only need 1 copy of those, we had brought 2 so she kept throwing things back at us). We used my husbands mom as a co-sponsor and it turned out that we needed a copy of her passport or birth cert with it, which I wasnt aware of! I started panicking a bit when she said I may have to come back etc but my husband actually knew it was needed and had it on his email. She also asked what we had done to prepare for the move and I showed her a letter to the landlord stating that we were moving out and a statement showing the return of the deposit (all of which I had just printed out last minute the night before!)I dont think she even kept those documents. Then after I paid the fees at a different window (they had just been increased.. ) my husband left the embassy and went to an internet cafe to get the copy off his email and print it which ended up costing 3 pounds for 15 mins..

In the meantime the lady had given me an envelope with a CD with my medical data that she said I would need at immigrations and told me to sit down again and wait for the actual interview which would start at 9.

Luckily, my husband got back in time for it and we handed in the copy to the lady.

A little later they called us to the interview with a different lady. First thing I had to swear an oath that all the info given was correct etc - felt slightly weird but is part of the process I guess! Then she asked when we had gotten married, when I was last in the US, if we had jobs yet, what my husband was planning on doing and when he was moving. I think that was it. Then she looked through the paperwork quickly and told us the visa was approved *yay* so then we went to pay for the courier service and were out by about 9.30 - much quicker than we thought!

I probably forgot some of what happened but thats roughly it and its really not that bad as long as you re prepared. My passport was delivered yesterday and I am flying in 3 weeks time!

Good luck to everyone who still needs to go through all this!

[Christi85 86]

Congrats on your approval newby2

Sounds like it all went very well for you despite the little hiccup you (almost) faced.

Good luck in your new life in the US!!

[newby2 0]

Thanks! Good luck with yours too!

[mcclapa 0]

Hi everyone! Great news...I got a letter in the post today and it was our Packet 4!!! Exactly one month to the day after we posted it! My husband's interview if for September 3rd! We are so excited! Now to get all of my photocopies made and in order...

[mcclapa 0]

Hi!

I am wondering if anyone can confirm a couple of things for me regarding the I-864 application. Apologies if they seem a bit odd but I just want to make sure I cross all of the T's and dot all of the i's correctly.

1)I am living in the UK with my husband so I should use our address here in the UK in boxes 11 and 12 of Part 4 where it asks for my mailing address and place of residence, correct? In terms of claiming domicile, I just want to make sure I shouldn't put the permanent US address that I use in the US in the 'Place of Residence' section.

2) We are using my mother as a joint sponsor and as far as I can tell with the reading that I've done, even though she is my mother, she would not qualify as a household member as I am living in the UK even though I use her address as my permanent US address for US credit card bills, US bank statements, etc. So she should be filling out a joint sponsor form and not a household member I-864A form...is that correct?

3) Does anyone who has used their parent's residence as proof of a place to reside for establishing domicile have a copy of a letter they used from their parents stating their consent for the sponsor and spouse to live with them until they find a residence of their own? I have types the one below but am not sure if it is sufficient and if there might be one out there that is better worded.

Date

Immigrant Visa Unit

5 Upper Grosvenor Street

London W1A 2JB

Re: Proof of place to reside in the United States

Dear Sir or Madam:

This letter is to confirm that we have granted permission to (sponsor's name) (sponsor's Social Security Number: XXXXXXX) and their spouse, (spouse's name), to live with us in our residence at (address) until they are able to find a suitably located apartment or house to rent.

Please feel free to contact me at the details below if your office should require any further information.

Sincerely,

(parent's name)

(address)

(phone number)

Many thanks in advance for your help!

mcclapa

[Andrea&Mal 1]

My fiance (UKC) and I (USC) have just gotten engaged and are looking at options for visas. We have been together a year but don't live together; we both live in Glasgow, Scotland. I am currently living here on a Limited Leave to Remain Visa, but this expires at the end of November. I have already made arrangements to return to the US on October 16 (notice given at work and at my job, place ticket bought to return home) and my fiance is planning to relocate to the US as soon as he is able so that we can marry.

I wasn't even aware that DCF was available until yesterday, we had planned to go the K1 route. I am frantically reading up as much as I can to see if this would be an appropriate avenue for us, because it seems to be a much shorter and cheaper way for us to be married and get a visa than to do the K1 and AOS after the wedding.

However, I am only planning to be here in Scotland for just eight more weeks. Will this be a reasonable amount of time to get married and complete and file the I-130? I thought it would, but saw a mention earlier about a very long wait for approval for a non-uk citizen to marry here. Also, considering we have just gotten engaged and don't live together, I think we'd run into problems establishing our relationship for the I-130. From what I understand, as soon as I apply for the I-130 I am free to leave the country and return home?

If anyone has been through something similar or can shed some light on this, I'd really appreciate it. If it is completely unreasonable to expect that we can accomplish all of this in eight weeks we'll just focus on K1. Though if it would only take 5 months and would allow my fiance to enter the US with a greencard, it's definitely something I'd like to try if it would be at all possible. Thanks for any help you can give, we'd appreciate it!

Andrea