USC petitioner living abroad

[oohpartiv 484]

I think it all depends on the wording on the form, which quite honestly I don't have time to look over right now.

But I don't remember it saying anything about holding legal resident status in the country when filing from abroad.

Filing DCF is a totally different story and I think you have to prove status to the embassy.

If it mattered that I put my Canadian address, then USCIS would have to admit to the 'abroad auto expedite' which they don't.

You do. The USC has to have legal residency in that country. When I got married, my husband filed the Ecuadorian version of a CR-1 for me, so I'm a LPR in Ecuador which would make us eligible for DCF if Ecuador offered it. I guess that's how they weed out people who just want to cruise through - if they didn't ask for foreign residency visa status, any couple could take a vacation for a few weeks and do DCF.

[The Mean Lady 604]

You do. The USC has to have legal residency in that country. When I got married, my husband filed the Ecuadorian version of a CR-1 for me, so I'm a LPR in Ecuador which would make us eligible for DCF if Ecuador offered it. I guess that's how they weed out people who just want to cruise through - if they didn't ask for foreign residency visa status, any couple could take a vacation for a few weeks and do DCF.

Exactly.

But filing abroad isn't actually a "thing" so i don't think I would have been required to "prove" anything to anyone.

It's also usually a crapshoot from canada anyways.

But I STILL wish I would have done it.

[oohpartiv 484]

Exactly.

But filing abroad isn't actually a "thing" so i don't think I would have been required to "prove" anything to anyone.

It's also usually a crapshoot from canada anyways.

But I STILL wish I would have done it.

I think the problem with lying about where you live (at least in the case of the person asking about Pakistan) is that when NVC rolls around and you have to do AOS, that person would have to prove all their job and financial info, meaning they'd have proof that they had been working in the USA for X amount of time, making it impossible for them to be simultaneously living in Pakistan at the same time. Or, which I think would be even riskier, they would have to deny having a job and lie about their job/financial history in order to use a joint sponsor. It would all get very messy and just doesn't seem worth it at all, especially since if USCIS or NVC picked up on it, they could get some serious sanctions.

[The Mean Lady 604]

I think the problem with lying about where you live (at least in the case of the person asking about Pakistan) is that when NVC rolls around and you have to do AOS, that person would have to prove all their job and financial info, meaning they'd have proof that they had been working in the USA for X amount of time, making it impossible for them to be simultaneously living in Pakistan at the same time. Or, which I think would be even riskier, they would have to deny having a job and lie about their job/financial history in order to use a joint sponsor. It would all get very messy and just doesn't seem worth it at all, especially since if USCIS or NVC picked up on it, they could get some serious sanctions.

I would never have lied.

I work from Canada, but I work in the US.

I don't see why someone couldn't work from pakistan in the same manner.

I'm not saying you're wrong or anything, I'm just blabbing what's in my head.

[oohpartiv 484]

I would never have lied.

I work from Canada, but I work in the US.

I don't see why someone couldn't work from pakistan in the same manner.

I'm not saying you're wrong or anything, I'm just blabbing what's in my head.

I think it's a little different in your situation, though, since you work at home (if I'm not mistaken).

If someone were a secretary or something like that, it would be nearly impossible to travel back and forth like that.

I get what you mean, though.

[lierre 224]

Ah... I am giddy to be sharing this on here...

1. Country USC resides in: Japan

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

3. When did you file the I-130: Late January 2013

4. How long had you been living abroad: USC almost 4 years; married for less than 1

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: Work (military)

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes, indicated as our current physical address and the last address we lived in together

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes, but it was sent through the US Postal Service on base

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes. We had to do so to prove we are living together and that the non-USC (me) is legally able to join him and thus further proving our valid relationship.

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. We frontloaded them with proof, so we felt the need to explain why those proof was needed for them to understand how our relationship evolved.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? I believe so. About 47 to 49 days. (sheepishly unsure because I'm confused with which are the NOAs)

Edited March 21, 2013 by ivyanddan

[JasMi 1]

1. Country USC resides in: Germany

2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? Yes

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

4. How long had you been living abroad: 5 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: Work with US Government

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes, but I was told to list US address too

8. Did you send I-130 package from abroad? Yes, filed in person

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes

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 letter but I spoke to the USCIS officer in person

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? I never got either officially, NOA1 received on filing in person, NOA2 took 33 days but I found out about it nearly at the end of the visa processing.

[oohpartiv 484]

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? I never got either officially, NOA1 received on filing in person, NOA2 took 33 days but I found out about it nearly at the end of the visa processing.

I think your case is different, since you did DCF. Or at least I was under the impression that DCF was ALWAYS faster than regular "filing abroad" cases, since DCF is processed in the consulate where there are undoubtedly less I-130s to get through than at the regular service centers in the States.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, though.

[Roosha 51]

I think your case is different, since you did DCF. Or at least I was under the impression that DCF was ALWAYS faster than regular "filing abroad" cases, since DCF is processed in the consulate where there are undoubtedly less I-130s to get through than at the regular service centers in the States.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, though.

No, you're right DCF always takes a LOT less time, usually about 2-3 months start to finish depending on the country of DCF.

[AshleyLCBaker 7]

Hi foreign filer buddies,

I sort of talked about this in the Feb filer forum (alliteration!) but I thought I would expand on that and ask a more specific question here...

Basically, I'm a foreign filer and my NOA1 date is Feb 11. I put my Australian address as my address on the form and I used our lease as part of our bona fides, so they well and truly should know I live in Australia. However, today I called USCIS because my case wasn't showing up online and I just wanted to be annoying and check-in, and after saying that he did find my case and it was ready for processing, the guy gave me the who 'Oh, the time frame is five months and it'll be sent from NBC to a field office and so on.'

Now, one my of lovely February friends already told me that it shouldn't be sent to a field office, so I'll keep an ear out for that. And all the stuff this guy was saying could just be the standard stuff they're supposed to say and not even be applicable to my case. But, basically, I'm about to hit the 40 day mark, which is about when it seems foreign filers have been getting approved. I just wanted to ask if, say in a week or two or three, I still haven't been approved, can I do anything? I'm not sure this foreign auto-expedite is really an official thing or maybe it's just not something USCIS admits to. I'm just not sure if I can call up and say 'Yeah, a bunch of people on this website I look at have already been approved and I haven't, so what gives?'

I think I'm worried that if I don't get approved in the next few weeks, it means there's some kind of issue or error on their part, because my case is similar to a lot of the people who have just gotten approved. If I'm just being crazy and should just shut up and be patient, then please tell me. But, if what this guy said to me today/not getting an NOA2 is a sign of anything unusual, then I'd love any thoughts on that too. I just don't want our case to fall into some weird black hole.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Hi foreign filer buddies,

I sort of talked about this in the Feb filer forum (alliteration!) but I thought I would expand on that and ask a more specific question here...

Basically, I'm a foreign filer and my NOA1 date is Feb 11. I put my Australian address as my address on the form and I used our lease as part of our bona fides, so they well and truly should know I live in Australia. However, today I called USCIS because my case wasn't showing up online and I just wanted to be annoying and check-in, and after saying that he did find my case and it was ready for processing, the guy gave me the who 'Oh, the time frame is five months and it'll be sent from NBC to a field office and so on.'

Now, one my of lovely February friends already told me that it shouldn't be sent to a field office, so I'll keep an ear out for that. And all the stuff this guy was saying could just be the standard stuff they're supposed to say and not even be applicable to my case. But, basically, I'm about to hit the 40 day mark, which is about when it seems foreign filers have been getting approved. I just wanted to ask if, say in a week or two or three, I still haven't been approved, can I do anything? I'm not sure this foreign auto-expedite is really an official thing or maybe it's just not something USCIS admits to. I'm just not sure if I can call up and say 'Yeah, a bunch of people on this website I look at have already been approved and I haven't, so what gives?'

I think I'm worried that if I don't get approved in the next few weeks, it means there's some kind of issue or error on their part, because my case is similar to a lot of the people who have just gotten approved. If I'm just being crazy and should just shut up and be patient, then please tell me. But, if what this guy said to me today/not getting an NOA2 is a sign of anything unusual, then I'd love any thoughts on that too. I just don't want our case to fall into some weird black hole.

No, you cannot do anything if it goes past that time.

1. VJ started to notice this quickness over a year ago for foreign filers. There were a lot of threads where people said "help! I got my NOA2 too soon!" Laure started this thread to try to figure out what was going on.

2. USCIS never owned up to this practice, so if you don't get in "the queue", you can't complain. This is a policy we had been noticing, but it's not an official thing you can complain about.

3. Since... some months ago? Because of the backlog, some cases are getting transferred to local offices. Because this is a change in protocol we don't know what's going on. This thread lived on, but what's happening seems to be a crapshoot based on the local office's workload, and I am not sure too much relevant data is coming from it lately, but maybe I am wrong.

4. The people you call are called the "misinformation line." The first people who answer the phone are not even USCIS employees, but call center employees who read from a screen. Don't trust a thing they say.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Im not giving out misinformation.

According to the memo found here - http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=c3c7ca7c5fed9310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e7801c2c9be44210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Stand alone 130s (which is what you file when you file the CR1) after Aug 2012, use to be processed at the Service Centers. They are now processed at the Local Offices that have jurisdiction based on the USCs (or LPRs) address. They use the address you provide on the 130. (You must use the address you live at or you are providing false info)

You can find your local office if you are overseas by checking here- http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

Its a partial list however.

So for example if you live in the Ukraine- Moscow is your local office. They have jurisdiction over your 130.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=201c423bd106d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

If you live in Russia, you can file directly at the office Russia, otherwise, you need to file by mailing your form to the lockbox- it will go to the service center who will then forward it to the Moscow office for processing.

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If youre in most of Europe- London is the local office.

Thailand is China, New Delhi, India, and the Philippines.

This is why it appears that people overseas are expedited. They are not. They are simply being shipped to local offices (the ones overseas) who are quicker to approve stand alone 130s then the local offices in the US. As of Aug 2012 Service centers no longer process stand alone 130s.

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[lucybelle 453]

You can find your local office if you are overseas by checking here- http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

They list every Central American country except Costa Rica.

[oohpartiv 484]

This is why it appears that people overseas are expedited. They are not. They are simply being shipped to local offices (the ones overseas) who are quicker to approve stand alone 130s then the local offices in the US. As of Aug 2012 Service centers no longer process stand alone 130s.

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And how would you explain away the cases before August 2012? The vast majority of cases in this thread are from before that period.

[Villanelle 4,122]

They list every Central American country except Costa Rica.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=c279da568324e010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD