DCF London; newbie questions

[annasherwood 0]

My fiance and I are getting married this weekend and filing our I-130 on Monday morning through the US embassy in London. I've researched and researched the process, but I still seem a bit vague about the whole thing. I'm hoping someone can clear things up a bit for me!!

I have been in the UK since 2001; I just filed 3 years worth of tax returns. I have no ties to the US in terms of property, accounts, or family. I have close friends there who will be willing to vouch for my fiance on the I-864. I can also use their address as a mailing address as we will be staying with them when we first arrive in the US.

OK; questions----when we arrive in the US, will my fiance be able to work immediately upon finding a job? does our being married less than 2 years affect this? we usually fly into Toronto and cross the border in Niagara Falls---will we be held up there or will we be able to have documentation to let us straight through? and what are we supposed to receive from Point of Entry??

I'm finding the informational sites are mostly gobbledygook, so any information you can give would be appreciated...oh, and where can I get a list of requirements for the step beyond the I-130 (police clearance, vaccines, etc)?

Thanks in advance,

Anna (and Paul)

Edited October 10, 2006 by annasherwood

[CarolineM 0]

OK; questions----when we arrive in the US, will my fiance be able to work immediately upon finding a job? does our being married less than 2 years affect this?

If you do DCF, she will be able to work as soon as she gets her SS number which is generally fast.

"The foreign spouse receives immediate work and travel authorization from the “green card stamp”, and will only need their social security card before starting to work. You may have already applied for this on the visa application DS-230 II. If you have applied for the Social Security number via the visa application, your SS Card s mailed to you separately within a month. Your Green Card will be mailed to you in the same time frame.If you haven’t received anything within a month, it’s time for follow up."

found here...

we usually fly into Toronto and cross the border in Niagara Falls---will we be held up there or will we be able to have documentation to let us straight through? and what are we supposed to receive from Point of Entry??

Held up? How do you mean? You'll have a POE where they'll take the mysterious brown envelope, ask questions, fingerprint...They'll stamp your passport and you're in. I'm not sure what you mean by held up...

I'm finding the informational sites are mostly gobbledygook, so any information you can give would be appreciated...oh, and where can I get a list of requirements for the step beyond the I-130 (police clearance, vaccines, etc)?

The guides here are very clear and straighfoward. THere are TONs of ppl doing DCF through London so do a search,r ead their stories, do some research...

Also-when you say you have friends who can "vouch" for her...are you saying they would be a co-sponsor?? If someone sponsor's her or whoever the USC is, they are legally bound by the committment...do some reading on our guides here...

Also look here here

Good luck

Edited October 10, 2006 by CarolineM

[meauxna 15]

OK; questions----when we arrive in the US, will my fiance be able to work immediately upon finding a job? does our being married less than 2 years affect this? we usually fly into Toronto and cross the border in Niagara Falls---will we be held up there or will we be able to have documentation to let us straight through? and what are we supposed to receive from Point of Entry??

I'm finding the informational sites are mostly gobbledygook, so any information you can give would be appreciated...oh, and where can I get a list of requirements for the step beyond the I-130 (police clearance, vaccines, etc)?

Thanks in advance,

Anna (and Paul)

Have you read the DCF Guide? It may answer a lot of your questions.

5- The foreign spouse enters the US, and at the port of entry will have their MRIV endorsed with a stamp. That is now proof of the immigrant’s new status: Permanent Resident. It is adequate evidence for most purposes and is equal to the I-551card that will be mailed to them, also known as the Green Card.

The foreign spouse receives immediate work and travel authorization from the “green card stamp”, and will only need their social security card before starting to work. You may have already applied for this on the visa application DS-230 II. If you have applied for the Social Security number via the visa application, your SS Card s mailed to you separately within a month. Your Green Card will be mailed to you in the same time frame.If you haven’t received anything within a month, it’s time for follow up.

Note: If you have been married for less than 2 years when you enter the US, your Permanent Resident status has “conditions”. A CR-1 PR is no less a PR than anyone else, but they do have an additional step to take 2 years after they enter the US. Please see the Guides for Removal of Conditions (form I-751).

The visa resulting from a DCF case is the same Immigrant Visa that one would get by filing I-130 in the US: CR-1 or IR-1.

I recommend the following reads to anyone who is becoming a Permanent Resident, so you can better understand your rights and responsibilities.

Now That You Are A Permanent Resident

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/PermRes.htm

How Do I Remove the Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage?

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/remcond.htm

Welcome to the United States:

A Guide for New Immigrants

http://uscis.gov/graphics/citizenship/imm_guide.htm

This thread explains what happens at the border:

Arriving in America, The POE Drill

[CarolineM 0]

i wish we could pin that POE drill one Meauxna!

[annasherwood 0]

OK; questions----when we arrive in the US, will my fiance be able to work immediately upon finding a job? does our being married less than 2 years affect this?

If you do DCF, she will be able to work as soon as she gets her SS number which is generally fast.

"The foreign spouse receives immediate work and travel authorization from the “green card stamp”, and will only need their social security card before starting to work. You may have already applied for this on the visa application DS-230 II. If you have applied for the Social Security number via the visa application, your SS Card s mailed to you separately within a month. Your Green Card will be mailed to you in the same time frame.If you haven’t received anything within a month, it’s time for follow up."

found here...

we usually fly into Toronto and cross the border in Niagara Falls---will we be held up there or will we be able to have documentation to let us straight through? and what are we supposed to receive from Point of Entry??

Held up? How do you mean? You'll have a POE where they'll take the mysterious brown envelope, ask questions, fingerprint...They'll stamp your passport and you're in. I'm not sure what you mean by held up...

I'm finding the informational sites are mostly gobbledygook, so any information you can give would be appreciated...oh, and where can I get a list of requirements for the step beyond the I-130 (police clearance, vaccines, etc)?

The guides here are very clear and straighfoward. THere are TONs of ppl doing DCF through London so do a search,r ead their stories, do some research...

Also-when you say you have friends who can "vouch" for her...are you saying they would be a co-sponsor?? If someone sponsor's her or whoever the USC is, they are legally bound by the committment...do some reading on our guides here...

Also look here here

Good luck

caroline----thank you for your help; i'm sorry to have bothered you with such infantile questions and for not using the right terms...i'm still learning...

i have done research, but i still find all this very daunting and confusing; the terms people use are perplexing but i'm trying my best to sort it out and do things right...this is important, and i'm very anxious about it...

i did mean act as co-sponsor when i said 'vouch'...both my fiance and i work here in the UK but i have no assets in the US at all. We will have some money saved (about £15,000) and my fiance will be working in the US, but no jobs lined up yet. We probably won't have jobs until we actually relocate...if my friends don't sponsor him, what is the alternative? i am disabled, and not able to work enough to get us past the poverty line...we will be renting a room from my friends when we first arrive.

thanks again for any and all help. I have finally found the POE post and read that, so at least that is clear. I'll try not to ask stupid questions anymore!!

anna

[CarolineM 0]

You're fine...not stupid questions and I'm not annoyed.. I'll leave the complicated financial questions for the more experienced ppl here

btw co-sponsoring is fine!

[jess5377 0]

What sort of visa are you on now? I know the embassy has tightened their rules regarding applying through them.

[annasherwood 0]

What sort of visa are you on now? I know the embassy has tightened their rules regarding applying through them.

i have indefinite leave to remain; i've been here in the UK for 6 years in january. Initially i came over on a work permit but now i've got the stamp, so i'm quite sure i can do DCF.

[jess5377 0]

Yes, you can!

I just read some people have been getting denied b/c they didn't have ILR. I saw that you have been here for a long time, but I know it takes quite a long time to get ILR on visas other than marriage or unmarried partners (longer than the 2 yrs on those anyway).

Good luck and keep us updated!

[meauxna 15]

For future readers, generally if a USC has been really resident in the UK for an extended period of time, the case will be accepted. The visa type isn't as important as the fact that the person has really been living there.