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

[Christi85 86]

Congrats on your approval mcclapa!!

We'd like to hear about your husband's interview experience!

May I ask where people mention their intended date of travel? I've looked through the DS-2001 and DS-230 forms and can't locate a place where it would be appropriate to include it.

[RyanNI 0]

Hi Folks,

God am i happy to have found this website:)

So my story is, I (UK citizen living in N. Ireland)married a USC in 2008 in the US. We have since been living in N.Ireland, with my wife on a spouse's visa (won't get into her ILTR at the minute) .

We are planning to move back to the States but have no definite date yet. 1st question, should we have a definite date before beginning the process?

Okay thats the easy bit outta the way! Is the 1st part of the process for my wife to fill out and sennd the I-130 form to the London Embassy? What is the next stage? When does the I-485 come into play? Sorry for all the questions but my head has been spinning after reading the different sites on this! We have a 5 month old baby who is now USC, so my wife headin over state side before me is not an option.

Right think that'll do for starters, cause have loads more to ask but don't won't to piss any off just yet

Cheers in advance

Ryan

[Lansbury 19]

Hi Folks,

God am i happy to have found this website:)

So my story is, I (UK citizen living in N. Ireland)married a USC in 2008 in the US. We have since been living in N.Ireland, with my wife on a spouse's visa (won't get into her ILTR at the minute) .

We are planning to move back to the States but have no definite date yet. 1st question, should we have a definite date before beginning the process?

Okay thats the easy bit outta the way! Is the 1st part of the process for my wife to fill out and sennd the I-130 form to the London Embassy? What is the next stage? When does the I-485 come into play? Sorry for all the questions but my head has been spinning after reading the different sites on this! We have a 5 month old baby who is now USC, so my wife headin over state side before me is not an option.

Right think that'll do for starters, cause have loads more to ask but don't won't to piss any off just yet

Cheers in advance

Ryan

You need to know when you want to go.

First fill out the I-130 and send it in. This is to show you are married to a US citizen and hence entitled to an immediate visa. This takes pending on how many other people apply at the same time, and how many applications depending in front of you say 6 - 12 weeks.

When that is approved apply for your visa. This process from application to it being issued 3 - 5 months.

Once it is issued it is valid for 6 months.

As you see that is why you have to have a date in mind when you are moving over to the US

Read this for how it is all done. DCF I-130 filed in London

Edited September 21, 2010 by Lansbury

[RyanNI 0]

You need to know when you want to go.

First fill out the I-130 and send it in. This is to show you are married to a US citizen and hence entitled to an immediate visa. This takes pending on how many other people apply at the same time, and how many applications depending in front of you say 6 - 12 weeks.

When that is approved apply for your visa. This process from application to it being issued 3 - 5 months.

Once it is issued it is valid for 6 months.

As you see that is why you have to have a date in mind when you are moving over to the US

Read this for how it is all done. DCF I-130 filed in London

Cheers Mate. One more question, if/when the visa is issued and is valided for 6 months, can I just visit the US to get it verified or do I have to move there?

[Lansbury 19]

Cheers Mate. One more question, if/when the visa is issued and is valided for 6 months, can I just visit the US to get it verified or do I have to move there?

Yes in can and people have done but this is when they haven't been quite ready to move over and will only be out of the US for a short time.

Entry to the US, even with a visa or a GC, is at the discretion of the CBP officer at the port of entry. They cannot refuse entry to a GC holder but can take you before an immigration judge for it to be decided if you have given up your permanent residence or not.

The rule of thumb is up to 6 months out of the US, no problem. 6 - 12 months you might get questioned about why you where out so long. Over 12 months you need to apply for a re-entry permit before you leave and have to be back with 24 months.

In fact for you to get the visa your wife is going to have to show the Embassy she is domiciled in the US or has very clear and definite intentions of being domiciled in the US once your visa is issued.

Remember you are applying to be a permanent resident of the US. If you come over and leave straight away you will need an address in the US for your GC and social security card to be sent. If you just come over use the visa but remain living and working in the UK you are not a permanent resident in the US and you would have a very hard time convincing an immigration judge to let you back in.

Edited September 22, 2010 by Lansbury

[hisokajp 0]

Has anyone recently encountered issue with proving domicile?

We are quite in the same situation with my wife, she is the US citizen and she kept an address and bank account/credit card in the US (detached flat in her parent building) where she gets her mail. She has a driver licence and voting registered there too.

We were planning to use the template provided by cherriesss in the post (http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/286090-letter-in-support-of-i-864-domicile-requirement/) to prove residence, does that seem sufficient? Any advice?

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]

Each case is different, but based on my personal experience (my interview at the London Embassy was last February), if your USC spouse still resides in the UK at the time of the interview, try to get a US-based co-sponsor if you can, even if you meet the income requirement yourselves. They could be needed for proof of domicile (funny huh?).

I've posted my experience before on this forum, but here's what happened in my case:

Everything was going extremely smoothly at my interview (I was still seeing the first person who collects the paperwork and forwards it to the CO who does the interview), until it was time to submit the I-864. My USC husband was still in London with me at the time. The lady took a look at my husband's affidavit and asked me if I had proof of his employment in the US. At that point I explained that he was still living and working in the UK but rushed to add that we had proof of our assets (bank savings) which were well beyond the threshold. She didn't seem to care and told me that the USC is REQUIRED to be domiciled in the US, even though she could see from the bank statements I had brought with me that yes, indeed, our assets were well above the minimum and that wasn't a problem, but still, the sponsor HAD TO be US-domiciled. I had brought loads of documents with me to prove his intent to re-establish domicile in the US but she didn't want to see any of these. Then she said "it will be the CO's decision but maybe he'll ask you to come back with a co-sponsor". So even though our income wasn't a problem, she still wanted the co-sponsor for proof of domicile!!! Luckily my mother-in-law had signed a separate affidavit as my co-sponsor, but we had asked her to do this just in case they didn't like the fact that we were claiming assets instead of an ongoing US income. It never crossed our minds that they may want this for proof of domicile!

Anyway, that saved our day! The lady was very happy that I had a co-sponsor, she took EVERYTHING my MIL had sent (affidavit, paystubs, W2s, copy of passport) and didn't even ask to see any more proof of my husband's domicile, which is funny because he was the principal sponsor. Thereafter everything went like a breeze again and I was approved no problem.

I read in another forum that someone else had the exact same issue with the London Embassy about two months later, and like me, was "saved" by having a co-sponsor.

That said, if your wife has a job lined up in the States or if she is going to transfer within the same company, that can be sufficient to prove domicile.

You can read my review of my interview here (bottom of the page): http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=United%20Kingdom&page=9&dfilter=5

Edited June 27, 2011 by Christi85

[hisokajp 0]

So you recommend having a joint sponsor just in case? I could try to talk my wife to discuss it with her sister in law I guess... In this case the joint sponsor would have to fill an I-964 (she'll be Part1, 1d?) and provide passport page copy, last tax return copy? I did not know the pay stubs were required for I-864, just the last tax return was mentioned on the detailed instructions I believe? Anything else?

thanks!

[Christi85 86]

So you recommend having a joint sponsor just in case? I could try to talk my wife to discuss it with her sister in law I guess... In this case the joint sponsor would have to fill an I-964 (she'll be Part1, 1d?) and provide passport page copy, last tax return copy? I did not know the pay stubs were required for I-864, just the last tax return was mentioned on the detailed instructions I believe? Anything else?

thanks!

It may be better to arrange for a joint sponsor just in case. That doesn't mean that you will need it, as each case is different, but it's always better to go over-prepared and to try and cover all possibilities.

Yes, all the paperwork you're listing is correct.

I know the main requirement is tax returns and W2s, and of course proof of US citizenship or US residence for the joint sponsor. I had paystubs too for the 3 most recent months of my MIL's employment, but mainly because I had to present her 2009 tax return (she hadn't filed for 2010 yet at the time), so it was a way to show that her income was still ongoing. The lady at the Embassy took all the paystubs too, and pretty much everything I had brought that was related to the co-sponsor.

And yes, the joint sponsor would have to complete a separate I-864 and tick option (d) - I am the only joint sponsor (if they are the only joint sponsor).

Good luck, I'm sure everything will be fine!!

Edited June 28, 2011 by Christi85

[RyanNI 0]

Hi Folks, was on here last year seeking info about DCF in the UK.

Well we have now decided to move next summer (2012). Should we start the process (ie send in I-130) now?

What sort of information should we be collating at the minute? Is there anything else we should be doing at present to quicken things up or help us to stay one step ahead?

Thanks in advance

[Christi85 86]

Hi Folks, was on here last year seeking info about DCF in the UK.

Well we have now decided to move next summer (2012). Should we start the process (ie send in I-130) now?

What sort of information should we be collating at the minute? Is there anything else we should be doing at present to quicken things up or help us to stay one step ahead?

Thanks in advance

If you really want to file DCF you pretty much have to start now, as the DCF option will no longer be available after the 15th of August, and everyone wishing to petition for an immediate relative will have to do so via the Chicago Lockbox and the USCIS Service Centers in the US.

See here for more details: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/310589-august-15th-cut-off-date-for-dcf-filing/

As for the paperwork you will need, take a good look at the Wiki guides at the top of the page - they explain everything in detail and even have example forms filled out to help people.

[hisokajp 0]

I know the main requirement is tax returns and W2s, and of course proof of US citizenship or US residence for the joint sponsor. I had paystubs too for the 3 most recent months of my MIL's employment, but mainly because I had to present her 2009 tax return (she hadn't filed for 2010 yet at the time), so it was a way to show that her income was still ongoing. The lady at the Embassy took all the paystubs too, and pretty much everything I had brought that was related to the co-sponsor.

Does the joint sponsor's documents need to be original? I cannot see her sending me her passport to the UK or her birth certificate original... Would copy of passport picture page, birth certificate last W2 and few pay stub be enough?

thanks!

[RyanNI 0]

If you really want to file DCF you pretty much have to start now, as the DCF option will no longer be available after the 15th of August, and everyone wishing to petition for an immediate relative will have to do so via the Chicago Lockbox and the USCIS Service Centers in the US.

See here for more details: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/310589-august-15th-cut-off-date-for-dcf-filing/

As for the paperwork you will need, take a good look at the Wiki guides at the top of the page - they explain everything in detail and even have example forms filled out to help people.

Thanks for the help. From what I've read then I should be trying to get the application underway before this cut off date because this is the easier/quicker way to do it. Is this right?

Also just to get my head straight, if I do DCF the forms I need are I-130, G-325A, I-485 and I-864? Am I missing anything out?

[Christi85 86]

Does the joint sponsor's documents need to be original? I cannot see her sending me her passport to the UK or her birth certificate original... Would copy of passport picture page, birth certificate last W2 and few pay stub be enough?

thanks!

Copies are acceptable.

A copy of her passport photo page should be sufficient. I had just that. Birth certificate is not needed if you have a copy of her passport.

Mind you though, if you choose to present a birth certificate instead of a passport copy (you don't need both), they'll probably want to see an original (or a certified copy of the original to be exact), not a simple photocopy. To request one she'd have to go to the County Recorder's Office in the County where she was born (or send an application via mail), order X number of copies, pay the fee, and wait till she receives them. If she does it in person they usually issue it right there and then.

No need to get into that hassle though. A simple photocopy of the passport is acceptable, so it's probably the simplest solution.

And yes, latest W2 and a few recent pay stubs should be ok - don't forget a copy of her latest tax return too, as this is required for all sponsors.

Edited June 29, 2011 by Christi85

[Christi85 86]

Thanks for the help. From what I've read then I should be trying to get the application underway before this cut off date because this is the easier/quicker way to do it. Is this right?

Also just to get my head straight, if I do DCF the forms I need are I-130, G-325A, I-485 and I-864? Am I missing anything out?

DCF in London has been tricky in the past few months. A year ago the whole process used to take 3-5 months to do DCF there, which was an impressive timescale given the 8-10 months you needed to do it via the US.

Then London slowed down a bit (our application took 6 months from start to finish) and then it slowed down A LOT and people who filed after November/December 2010 have been experiencing big delays for DCF standards. To the point where I-130s took 4 months to be adjudicated, which is very close to the actual USCIS timescale for I-130 adjudication.

Nowadays London advises people who wish to file DCF to allow about 10 months for the whole process, so not really any difference with USCIS (http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html).

By the way, the US Embassy in London website should be your guide about anything DCF-related, and like I said, the wikis on this site are also quite useful.

For DCF you need to file I-130 in the first stage together with a G-325A form for the sponsor and one for each intending immigrant (so if your wife is sponsoring you and you are the only intending immigrant she's sponsoring, you need two G-325A forms). At that first stage they also require passport size pictures, a copy of your marriage certificate, a copy of the USC's passport and proof of their legal right to live in the UK (so a copy of your spouse's UK visa). Plus the filing fee. There is a complete checklist on the London Embassy website that I linked to above.

The I-864 comes much later - for DCF you have to present it at the interview together with all the supporting evidence (tax returns etc. etc.). There are also some other forms that need to be filed at a later stage. Again see the London Embassy website for full details.

I-485 is not needed if the intending immigrant resides outside the US at the time of the application, so you shouldn't need it at any point.

Edited June 29, 2011 by Christi85