USC petitioner living abroad

[G0ds1ay3r 30]

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: March 22, 2012

4. How long had you been living abroad: 3 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: work permit/student/tourist/other - Work Permit

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

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? Have no clue; will let you know :-) Received the physical copy of NOA1 today.

[milopnkr 0]

1. Country USC resides in: Australia

2. USCIS field office or DCF?: NO

3. When did you file I130: November 2011

4. How long has the USC been living abroad: almost 2yr

5. Do you reside in the country legally: Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: spouse visa

7.did you list your overseas address on I130? yes

8. did you send the package from abroad? yes

9. did you include evidence of your residence abroad in your I130 package? YES, it was included in my relationship evidence (australian bank accounts with both of us listed, rental leases in australia, etc)

10. did you mention that you reside abroad in your cover letter? No, were we supposed to include a cover letter?

11. Has your case been auto expedited? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes, i think something like 15 days (this included the thanksgiving holidays)

12. which Service Centre? CSC

[lssnodgrass 1]

1. Country USC resides in: Mexico

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

3. When did you file the I-130: February 14, 2012

4. How long had you been living abroad: 1 year on 4/7

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: spousal

7. Did you list your foreign address on all forms in I-130 package? Yes, other than the required US address where I used my parent's home address.

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.

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, in cover letter.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? Noa1 accepted on February 17, 2012. Waiting on Noa2. Don't believe the timeline indicates 'expedited'.

California Lockbox-----------------

[Rock & Am 0]

You wouldn't have requested expedited processing. There appears to be a trend at USCIS to quickly process petitions (without any request made) filed by US Citizens who live abroad and DCF is unavailable in the country the petitioner lives in. Your case (5 days from NOA1 to NOA2) is another example of this trend.

I didn't know this was possible. When I filed our I-130 at the beginning of February, I actually used my mother's address as my address because I am in the U.S. for 4 months taking care of her while she is sick. I plan to return to our home in Senegal at the end of May. Should I have used our address in Senegal for expedited processing? Will it hinder (slow down) the processing if I update the address to our address in Senegal when I return?

[Caribbean Pirate 9]

1. Country USC resides in: British Virgin Islands

2. USCIS field office or DCF?: NO

3. When did you file I130: February 2012

4. How long has the USC been living abroad: almost 5yr

5. Do you reside in the country legally: Yes. But I have nothing in my passport to show that- I was born here and don't need permission to work or stamps in my passport

6. What is the reason for your residence: employment

7.did you list your overseas address on I130? no

8. did you send the package from abroad? yes

9. did you include evidence of your residence abroad in your I130 package? YES, we included our company housing as we have no lease or utility bills

10. did you mention that you reside abroad in your cover letter? No, my cover letter was basically a table of contents. I hadn't seen any that were actual letters; didn't know it would be helpful

11. Has your case been auto expedited? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? No- we're at day 58....

12. which Service Centre? VSC

I wish you all knew how hard I'm kicking myself. I really thought that using my US address would help to establish intent to return since I own property.

We are waiting on this visa to leave to go back to the US. I'm wondering if it is worth filing a new petition for faster processing?? Or have I waited long enough that we should stay the course? Also, my husband is not from the country we are living in. Maybe that is also confusing??

[hjones 1]

1. Country USC resides in: UK

2. USCIS field office or DCF?: Yes (though I was told by London embassy that I wasn't eligible for DCF here because I have a 'temporary' work visa, not indefinite leave to remain)

3. When did you file I130: March 2012

4. How long has the USC been living abroad: Over 5 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally: Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: Work Permit

7. Did you list your overseas address on I130? Yes

8. Did you send the package from abroad? Yes

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in your I130 package? Yes - copy of our lease here, joint bank account, joint insurance info and a copy of my UK Work Permit

10. Did you mention that you reside abroad in your cover letter? Yes

11. Has your case been auto expedited? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? I think so... NOA1 email received on March 23. I haven't received an email NOA2 or hard copy, but the USCIS website says our I-130 was approved on April 2! Should I have received an email though? I'm trying not to get too excited in case there's an evil glitch in their system that shows our case was approved when in fact it hasn't.

12. Which Service Centre? CSC

[Laure&Colin 558]

Sometimes the email doesn't get sent. You should receive the NOA2 hard copy soon, that's gonna be the ultimate proof that your case was approved. You could also probably give USCIS a phone call to confirm the approval.

It's interesting, cause it would mean that the fast queue is also available to filers who reside in countries where DCF still exists.

I can't believe the London embassy refused to do a DCF for your though, you've been there for 5 years legally, what else do they want??

[hjones 1]

Sometimes the email doesn't get sent. You should receive the NOA2 hard copy soon, that's gonna be the ultimate proof that your case was approved. You could also probably give USCIS a phone call to confirm the approval.

It's interesting, cause it would mean that the fast queue is also available to filers who reside in countries where DCF still exists.

I can't believe the London embassy refused to do a DCF for your though, you've been there for 5 years legally, what else do they want??

I know, I phoned the London embassy twice to see if I got a different answer to whether I could file DCF, but got the same answer both times. Both people I spoke to sounded like they were just reading from a book though. Hardly worth the £1.23/min phone call! But my husband and I decided just to send the I-130 to Chicago lockbox and hope we got into this 'auto expedite' queue. Hopefully it has worked for us, and perhaps it means that the fast queue is applicable to people from countries where DCF still exists. I'll let everyone know if and when the NOA2 hard copy arrives!

[amyjohnston 0]

Hi, I'm a new member but I've been reading the forums over the past few months. We've just been auto-expedited! I didn't even know this was happening til I came across some posts on here a few days ago... Here's our info:

1. Country USC resides in: Ireland

2. USCIS field office or DCF?: USCIS...California

3. When did you file I130: March 26, 2012

4. How long has the USC been living abroad: 4 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally: Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: "Long Term Relationship Visa" (Kind of like civil partner, although we are legally married now.)

7. Did you list your overseas address on I130? Yes

8. Did you send the package from abroad? Yes

9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in your I130 package? Yes - copy of our lease here, joint bank account, joint insurance info, joint utility bills and a copy of my letter of permission to remain in Ireland based on our long-term relationship.

10. Did you mention that you reside abroad in your cover letter? Yes

11. Has your case been auto expedited? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Yes. NOA1 email received on March 28. NOA2 email received April 6. 9 DAYS!!!

12. Which Service Centre? CSC

Also, I saw somewhere that people were having trouble with putting "unknown/ to be determined" for the planned US address. Someone said they had to resubmit their application...I put unknown/to be determined and obviously it was no problem. Just FYI.

[foofurrah 4]

1. Country USC resides in: China

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

2.2 USCIS field office or DCF?: USCIS (Chicago lockbox)

3. When did you file I130: Sept. 9, 2011

4. How long has the USC been living abroad: 5 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally: Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: Worked for 4 years, student for 1

7. Did you list your overseas address on I-130? No

8. Did you send the package from abroad? No

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

10. Did you mention that you reside abroad in your cover letter? Yes

11. Has your case been auto expedited? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? No. 189 days for approval

12. Which Service Center? CSC

Kind of annoying, I figured filing from the states would be easier and used the US address to help establish domicile and so mail wouldn't get lost. I could have filed much later using DCF and still gotten approval much faster. Interestingly, I have a friend who just filed roughly two weeks ago at Guangzhou so I'll be curious to see how long his petition takes to get approved.

Edited April 6, 2012 by foofurrah

[chilegringa 0]

Hi everyone!

This topic is made to pinpoint the exact requirements that allow most USC petitioners filing from abroad to have their I-130 auto-expedited, while some others seem to go through regular processing queues.

Background: on August 15, 2011, the rules for DCF changed and this alternative option disappeared in all countries that don't have a local USCIS field office, in other words in most countries in the world. Since September 2011, VJ members filing an I-130 while residing abroad with their spouses have been, in most cases, adjudicated extremely fast by USCIS, indicating that the case was expedited, although they did not request it. For an example, see my timeline, and note that this "auto-expedited" processing is only valid at the USCIS stage.

The details of this special processing queue are unclear and USCIS operators are not aware of its existence. In addition, a few members in the same situation have had their cases pending for months, indicating they were not placed in the fast queue.

I made a little survey that will help us understand what the conditions are to be placed in the fast queue. Please add questions if you think other relevant information is missing

All US citizen petitioning for your spouse and residing with them abroad, please fill it in!

(My answers in green).

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: November 2011

4. How long had you been living abroad: 2.5 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: work permit/student/tourist/other - Scientist

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. They were meant to be evidence of bona fide relationship, but they also proved the USC was residing in France.

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

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

Hi, I have a just a quick question about this "auto-expedited" thing...

I have been living in Chile for two years but am now moving home around July, do you know if I could file with my address in Chile before I leave the country? I assume that in this case the NOA1 and NOA2 would be sent to the address that I give in Chile, where my husband will still be living, and not to be in the US. Is that ok??

After I send in the I-130 package all of the other stuff my husband will need to do from Chile correct? I don't HAVE to attend the interview right?

Also, my husband will hopefully be visiting my family with me in July on a tourist visa while we wait for his CR1 (we are obviously going to bring a lot of stuff proving he must return to Chile even though we are married - such as a letter from his current employer and the university where he only has one semester left... I mean why would he drop 6 years at the university when he is so close to graduating )...Would there be a problem with us being the US during this process? I figured we could have all the papers ready that he would have to send in later so that in the case that we ARE in the US at that time (even though I find it highly unlikely - I plan on sending in the petition a few weeks before we go to the US and he will only be there for a month ) someone from his family can just send off the package for us - from my understand it is just a bunch of sending paperwork and evidence back and forth until his medical and interview.. right?

[JulieB 0]

Hi All!

Haven't read the entire post yet (it's quite long lol) but thought I would add my answers!

1. Country USC resides in: Canada

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

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

4. How long had you been living abroad: (speaking about my husband who is the US Citizen) since May 2010

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: Dual Citizen

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? Hmm, well we sent a letter from our bank/joint account as proof of bona fide marriage along with our CDN marriage certificate. Does that count?

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. Didn't know that we should.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Not sure yet....still waiting for the I-1164 text to confirm application received however Canada Post says the package was delivered.

[aniane 0]

Hello and Thank you for this helpful thread. From your profile, Laure and Colin, it looks like it took you about 5 months from beginning to end. That's great news for me, since we are also in France. I hope we are lucky enough to be auto-expedited as well. At this point it looks like I will move to the US mid-August, and the my hubby would follow as soon as he has his papers.

I hope all is well for you both!

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: April 2012

4. How long had you been living abroad: 8.5 years

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: work permit/student/tourist/other Married to Frenchman and now have French dual nationality

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. They were meant to be evidence of bona fide relationship, but they also proved the USC was residing in France.

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, I was not aware that I needed to include a cover letter, or I would have done so.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Too early to say, haven't received NOA1 yet.

[Amanda&Elvio 12]

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, I was not aware that I needed to include a cover letter, or I would have done so.

Hi, just wanted to say that a cover letter isn't required but some people find them useful for organizing their packets. I don't even know if USCIS reads them or not. I did not include a cover letter, and many other people do not, so you should be fine without it.

Good luck and congrats on starting the process!

[ljandjl 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: April 2012

4. How long had you been living abroad: 19 months

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

6. What is the reason for your residence: First student, now marriage!

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 - City registration, German greencard, student visa, copy of utility bills, copy of rental contract, 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, briefly

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Too soon to say, but I'm hoping that some of that "German efficiency" infiltrates the USCIS in Frankfurt