USC petitioner living abroad

[TM713 63]

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: NOA1 April 21, 2014

4. How long had you been living abroad: Since September 2013

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes, as temporary residents

6. What is the reason for your residence: Spouse's work contract

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, via a courier service

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, I mentioned in my cover letter I'd be moving back in October 2014 and wrote a separate letter about our situation.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? I'd say so! 10 days.

[california_luv 56]

10 days? Holy guacamole!

Congrats!!!

[Rlelle09 28]

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: 29 April 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: i came here to be with my then girlfriend (now wife) and kids

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, lease agreement, bank statements, birth certificates for my children, and PR i got through my wife for canada

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, i only put my address at the top of the cover letter

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Just got my NOA1 last night and was routed to California

How many of you are filing for children? For some reason I feel it may slow down my case.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Rlelle09

[CaptainMewBu 0]

1. Country USC resides in: Hong Kong

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

3. When did you file the I-130: April 11th, 2014 (NOA1)

4. How long had you been living abroad: Since end of 2011 in different countries

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Temporarily on tourist visa

6. What is the reason for your residence: Spouse's 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? 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

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Exactly 3 weeks, 21 days. Received NOA2 email on May 2nd.

[Bex2203 0]

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 2014

4. How long had you been living abroad: 6 months

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes

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

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 New Zealand.

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, 18 days

California Service Centre... I can't believe it. I read this thread a couple of months ago and got excited then gave up all hope because it didn't appear to happen anymore.... Lo and behold ours approved within 18 days!! Seems we filled at exactly the right time.

Edited May 3, 2014 by Ryan H

[silverjetplane 34]

1. Country USC resides in: Chile

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

3. When did you file the I-130: NOA1 April 7, 2014

4. How long had you been living abroad: Since February 2010

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes. I am a US with permanent residency in Chile.

6. What is the reason for your residence: I live and work in Chile and am married to a Chilean.

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? Nit really - I did not send a copy of my passport pages or documentation from Chile showing legal evidence. I did write explicitly in my cover letter: "As a note, I have lived and work abroad in Chile since MONTH YEAR."

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. See above.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Apparently. 15 days from NOA1 to NOA2.

[Lukadia 3]

Hi all fellow visa journeyers, we were recently approved! Now for the NVC process...

1. Country USC resides in: Japan (until May 1st, now USA). Husband is French.
2. Is there a USCIS field office in this country / Is DCF still possible? No
3. When did you file the I-130: November 2013
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/ ESL teacher.
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. We provided our lease -both names included on it, as well as many other things.
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, I also included the fact that I would be moving back to the states in late April 2014.
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? No, 177 days from NOA1 to NOA2. I changed my address officially on May 1st, received acceptance of this change May 5th, then received approval of my husbands petition May 8th. We went through Nebraska Service Center.

[elvenshadow 19]

Very useful thread! I will provide my info as well. I’ll update it later.

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: Sent 4/18, NoA1 4/22
4. How long had you been living abroad: About 7 years
5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes
6. What is the reason for your residence: Work visa
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, our Japanese apartment lease.
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)? Not outright but our foreign address is listed on the cover letter.
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Still waiting for NoA2…

[TBoneTX 45,661]

A question from a new member has been split from this thread. It remains in this forum, with thread title "Question about Petition Payment from Abroad [split topic]." -- VJ Moderation

[elvenshadow 19]

I can't seem to edit posts so I will just post this again. I got NoA2 on May 14th!

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: Sent 4/18, NoA1 4/22
4. How long had you been living abroad: About 7 years
5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes
6. What is the reason for your residence: Work visa
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, our Japanese apartment lease.
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)? Not outright but our foreign address is listed on the cover letter.
11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? 5/14. Apporved in 22 days

[e.l.e.214 7]

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: we filed IR1/IR2 together April 23,2014 NOA1 April 25 ,2014 Approved May 13,2014 .

4. How long had you been living abroad: Since September 2005

5. Do you reside in the country legally? Yes, as spoure of Permanent residents / 10 yrs married .

6. What is the reason for your residence: Civilian working in U.S military Base.

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, via a courier service

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 rof your relationship with your spouse (mentioning your residence abroad)? Yes, I mentioned in my cover letter that I moved back in The states last April 6,2014 and wrote a separate letter about our situation.

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Approved in 14 days .

Edited May 16, 2014 by e.l.e.214

[jonfei9 3]

I think many here may be confused about what exactly "The auto-expedite for people filing from abroad" means?

Here is what I know based on my research and I will be very happy to learn from you if you know this subject better and can make comments:

1) Prior to a big pile up of i-130 petitions in 2013 there was no problem in I-130 processing and this filing from abroad or from US was not such a big issue that anyone paid any attention to. Besides sometimes in the past people who interviewed abroad would file with Embassy directly and get faster processing.

2) After the big pile up of i-130 petitions in 2013 when wait time went to almost a year, several things happened that worsened the situation and one of which was the fact that with a rare exception people from abroad could no longer file directly with Embassy/Consulate and had to go through NVC, which contributed its share to the delays. This is when finally NVC/USCIS introduced a line in I-130 form that asked if applicant will interview in US or abroad (at Embassy/Consulate) - in case applicant does interview abroad (at Embassy/Consulate), which is the case for majority of people filing a standalone I-130 then it would make sense to do "auto-expedite" for this cases to unclog the situation with piled up i-130s.

The question "filing from abroad?" needs to be "interview abroad requested?"

I am extremely happy for everyone who gets such a quick approval in less than a month, but I at the same time notice that not all applications that have interview abroad requested follow the same timeline - this seems like a problem of consistency, which is another sign of haphazard attempts of USCIS to try and fix the situation with delays and at the same time balance other extra priorities that were imposed on them without giving them extra resources - this is my personal opinion, not a fact.

Edited May 29, 2014 by jonfei9

[Rlelle09 28]

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: 29 April 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: i came here to be with my then girlfriend (now wife) and kids

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, lease agreement, bank statements, birth certificates for my children, and PR i got through my wife for canada

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, i only put my address at the top of the cover letter

11. Has your case been "auto-expedited"? How long between NOA1 and NOA2? Just got my NOA1 last night and was routed to California

Got an rfe may 14th :-( hoping they review my response soon....*sigh*

How many of you are filing for children? For some reason I feel it may slow down my case.

[Abby&Mario 100]

2) After the big pile up of i-130 petitions in 2013 when wait time went to almost a year, several things happened that worsened the situation and one of which was the fact that with a rare exception people from abroad could no longer file directly with Embassy/Consulate and had to go through NVC, which contributed its share to the delays. This is when finally NVC/USCIS introduced a line in I-130 form that asked if applicant will interview in US or abroad (at Embassy/Consulate) - in case applicant does interview abroad (at Embassy/Consulate), which is the case for majority of people filing a standalone I-130 then it would make sense to do "auto-expedite" for this cases to unclog the situation with piled up i-130s.

The question "filing from abroad?" needs to be "interview abroad requested?"

If the foreigner is already within the U.S. and is filing for AOS (which also requires the I-130), my understanding is that they have the interview in the U.S., since they are already there. For the people filing for the IR-1/CR-1 visa, the foreign spouse will have the interview abroad. This is the case whether the USC is abroad or in the U.S. I believe there are two spaces under Question 22 for a reason-- one for AOS people (city, state) and one for visa people (city, country). They bungled the initial wording for this question on the form, so you have to read closely, not just the first bolded part. I am not aware of auto expedites for people filing for AOS. This thread concerns filing the I-130 when the USC lives abroad with the foreign spouse, and is petitioning for a visa for that spouse from abroad. That's where we're seeing auto-expedites. There is no need to request an interview abroad in these cases--that's where the interview is going to happen, anyway.

I have no knowledge of whether or not Question 22 of the I-130 being added after DCF was taken away from most countries in the world.

[pikushi 8]

& I was wondering why my I-130 got approved so quickly! It's really interesting to see other people with similar situations!

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: April 2014
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: 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? No - we forwarded it to my parents living in the States & had them send it to the Lockbox
9. Did you include evidence of your residence abroad in the I-130 package? Yes. I sent our Japanese apartment lease & marriage certificate.
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? Yes, 20 days.