USC petitioner living abroad

[Roosha 51]

Mnt, 2 months IS expedited! I haven't seen many get it that fast who aren't abroad filers. There are a few but I think they're the exception more than the rule. And don't forget NBC probably got slammed with all the i130s before they put in a real procedure or had properly trained people to deal with them. I think now they're getting back on the ball!

[lierre 224]

1. Country USC resides in: New Zealand

2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No

3. When did you file the I-130: Jan 3, 2013

4. How long had you been living abroad: 4.5 months

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: work permit/student/tourist/other - Extended tourist visa (not even an actual resident visa, although since filing we changed NZ visa status)

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes.

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes, joint lease, utilities etc.

10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes, explained USC in NZ on extended visitors visa and would stay in NZ until we could both go back to USA together

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, 28 days, insane!

Oh my! You're probably the first I-130 Jan 2013 filer on here who got NOA2!! http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/407523-january-2013-i-130-filers/page__view__findpost__p__5955267

Ahhh! I hope I can get this awesome news this month, too. Congratulations!

Edited February 2, 2013 by ivyanddan

[MeredythB 38]

1. Country USC resides in: Qatar

2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No

3. When did you file the I-130: Dec 19 2012

4. How long had you been living abroad: 7 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes, residence permit

6. What is the reason for your residence: To be with husband

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Technically, no. I sent it first to my mom so she could add the check then she fwd'd it to Chicago lockbox visa USPS

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? No

10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes, mentioned in cover letter

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, 37 days

I didn't include any official evidence to prove my residence abroad, as in there was no lease with both our names or utility bills or anything like that, but all of our bonafide relationship proof took place in Qatar. My son's CRBA is from the embassy in Qatar, our marriage certificate is in Qatar, all our pictures were taken in Qatar, all the trips we took were to and from Qatar our joint savings account is in a bank in Qatar. So it was obvious that I live abroad. Also I do recommend writing FILED FROM ABROAD in big block letters on the outside of the folder and anywhere else where you think it will be visible.

Your son's CRBA and the joint bank account in Qatar would have been official proof of residence abroad, would it not?

[Roosha 51]

I don't think the CRBA as it just serves to show that my son was born here, not necessarily that we're still here; he's 5 years old. And the bank account statement was from a year ago before we closed the account! So nothing current that's official.

[lierre 224]

No "auto-expedites" for February yet?

(i hope it will be ours, hihi)

[Z & B 2]

1. Country USC resides in: Ecuador

2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No

3. When did you file the I-130: 2013-01-21

4. How long had you been living abroad: most of 15 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: volunteer work

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? no

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? yes, copy of visa

10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes, mentioned in cover letter

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, 16 days

I also ask on the cover letter that it be expedited.

[oohpartiv 484]

1. Country USC resides in: Ecuador

2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No

3. When did you file the I-130: July 3rd, 2012

4. How long had you been living abroad: When we filed it, a little over three years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: College, and to be with the hubby!

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes (caused a big problem for us, too)

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Technically, no - sent it to my Dad first, and he sent it to Chicago

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yep - joint bank account, lease, etc.

10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? No.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? NO. 197 days until NOA2.

I honestly think we COULD have been "auto-expedited", but because we put our foreign address our RFE got lost in the mail and heard nothing about it until the beginning of December. When I talked to a lady at USCIS, she said they wouldn't even send out notifications to foreign addresses, and that we should change the address on file to an American one. I changed it to my Dad's address and correspondance has been fine since then - but I'm totally convinced that that delayed our case 2+ months.

[LucidSofia 59]

I honestly think we COULD have been "auto-expedited", but because we put our foreign address our RFE got lost in the mail and heard nothing about it until the beginning of December. When I talked to a lady at USCIS, she said they wouldn't even send out notifications to foreign addresses, and that we should change the address on file to an American one. I changed it to my Dad's address and correspondance has been fine since then - but I'm totally convinced that that delayed our case 2+ months.

Oh my, I´m glad you got approved, but that sucks that it took so long to know of the RFE! Do they not send you an email when you get an RFE? Did it not show up online? How did you finally know you had one?

[Team Amazing 0]

Hello Everyone I am new to this and although I think I have become fairly familiar with all your help I am still a bit confused as to what will happen with my particular case. I filed a petition for I130 for my wife at the US Embassy in Seoul. Because my wife is not in Korea and will not be in Korea the gentleman at the window stated that my case would be sent to the US. Very vague, but I assume he means the Chicago Lockbox. Just want to know if this has happened to anyone and do you think my case will be expediated because I am filing from abroad and used my foreign address on all forms.

[oohpartiv 484]

Oh my, I´m glad you got approved, but that sucks that it took so long to know of the RFE! Do they not send you an email when you get an RFE? Did it not show up online? How did you finally know you had one?

They had never sent me any emails for ANYTHING - I don't know if they had my email on file incorrectly or what. They had cashed my check, so I knew they'd gotten my petition - but basically we were just waiting. I finally got suspicious and called, and they just gave me the "case is being process, wait 30 - 45 days blah blah". Finally somebody told me what was going on and everything got fixed, but looking at receipt numbers around mine, out of twenty, all but six got approved at the beginning of September which makes me think that's probably when the RFE got sent out originally and when I SHOULD have gotten approved.

[saralex 0]

1. Country USC resides in: France

2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No

3. When did you file the I-130: 2013-01-05

4. How long had you been living abroad: 4 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: Went to live with my husband

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? no - sent it on the last day of our Christmas vacation.

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? yes, lease & french tax notice

10. Did you mention the fact you reside abroad in the cover letter or write a letter describing your current situation and the evolution of your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes, it appears in the forms, also the address on the cover letter

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, 32 days

[LucidSofia 59]

They had never sent me any emails for ANYTHING - I don't know if they had my email on file incorrectly or what. They had cashed my check, so I knew they'd gotten my petition - but basically we were just waiting. I finally got suspicious and called, and they just gave me the "case is being process, wait 30 - 45 days blah blah". Finally somebody told me what was going on and everything got fixed, but looking at receipt numbers around mine, out of twenty, all but six got approved at the beginning of September which makes me think that's probably when the RFE got sent out originally and when I SHOULD have gotten approved.

Oh wow thank you for sharing. If I dont get an email with the NOA1 then I'll probably start calling around the two-three month mark just to make sure the same doesn't happen to me. What a pain.

[oohpartiv 484]

Oh wow thank you for sharing. If I dont get an email with the NOA1 then I'll probably start calling around the two-three month mark just to make sure the same doesn't happen to me. What a pain.

Yeah, definitely be a pain in the butt and keep on them. Otherwise the whole process could take forever. Better to be safe than sorry!

[LucidSofia 59]

Hello Everyone I am new to this and although I think I have become fairly familiar with all your help I am still a bit confused as to what will happen with my particular case. I filed a petition for I130 for my wife at the US Embassy in Seoul. Because my wife is not in Korea and will not be in Korea the gentleman at the window stated that my case would be sent to the US. Very vague, but I assume he means the Chicago Lockbox. Just want to know if this has happened to anyone and do you think my case will be expediated because I am filing from abroad and used my foreign address on all forms.

Hmm that's something I've never seen on this board before. The petitioner is living abroad, but not with the wife. I wonder if that changes everything. It'll be interesting to see if your case gets processed quickly or not. I hope it does, good luck!

[Team Amazing 0]

Hmm that's something I've never seen on this board before. The petitioner is living abroad, but not with the wife. I wonder if that changes everything. It'll be interesting to see if your case gets processed quickly or not. I hope it does, good luck!

I been trying to get some kind of answers but my case is a bit unusual and no one seems to have the answer. Thanks for the well wishes and I will update as soon as I get any information.