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Hello everyone,

As of very soon, I will be starting an application for my fiancé to move with me to the US! This is all very exciting but very confusing but I am currently NOT living in the US (I was born a US citizen by my father) but we both live in London.

So, I am very confused about the whole process because everyone on the forum seem to have one person in the US while the other is abroad... In our case, we are both living abroad and we have actually been living together for about 2 years now!

My questions are as follow: How can I file the forms + affidavit of support when I don't work in the USA and have never filed tax returns or anything because I was living abroad and was a student. Can someone from my family file in the affidavit of support in our name? I can certainly provide UK bank information under my name but would that be aceptable?

Also, I am very confused as of the forms I am supposed to send to Chicago. I know about the I-129F, obviously and DS-156, but I was wondering what I needed to send in the first place along with that? I know that there are several steps to this which is where all the confusion comes from.

Thank you so much for your help, you have been amazing with all the information but none seems to concern two people living together outside the US!

All the best,

Deborah


 

Spoiler

 

CR-1 visa by Direct Consular Filing in London:

July 01, 2013 Married in Wolfeboro, NH (before returning to U.K.)

July 10, 2013 I-130 sent

July 12, 2013 Notice of Receipt (NOA1)

July 22, 2013 NOA2 approved (10 days)

August 8, 2013 Packet 3 sent but never received.

August 15, 2013 Received case number after enquiry. Booked medical and sent packet 3 forms.

August 31, 2013 Medical

Sept 18, 2013 Packet 3 forms logged into the system

Sept 24, 2013 Packet 4 received (dated September 19)

October 4, 2013 Interview *approved*

October 9, 2013 Passport received

November 12, 2013 POE Los Angeles

November 22, 2013 Social Security Number received

December 20, 2013 Green Card received.

 

Removal of Conditions:

September 4, 2015 I-751 sent

September 8, 2015 NOA

October 8, 2015 Biometrics

April 22, 2016 Approved


 

 

N-400 Naturalization Application:

July 5, 2018 N-400 filed (online)

July 7, 2018 Biometrics appointment letter mailed

July 23, 2018 Biometrics Appointment

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Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Fiji
Timeline

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

this will get you started

you will face additional challenges bringing a fiancée over to the states if you are not living here

your tax situation will need to be remedied.. albeit sometimes a letter stating that you were not required to file will work sometimes

you will need a sponsor for your fiancée

nobody can sponsor in your name.. they will sponsor the fiancée and then be held liable for any public charges in the future should they be used

the 156 is not needed until you get the first approval

total time for first approval is 6-9 months, then you add another couple months on that for nvc processing and interview dates


8/16/2012 I-129F NOA1
11/8/2012 Married
1/3/2013 I-129F cancelled
1/29/2013 withdrawal notice received
2/5/2013 I-130 NOA1 with error on wife's name
Case status not available
2/5/2013 Unable to generate service request

3/13/2013 transferred to local office
3/26/2013 Service request generated
4/12/2013 Infopass, file in workflow March 28
4/19/2013 Case status available - APPROVED!

Detour to the NVC via NRC

For information on my detour and the steps I took to free my petition, check
"about me"

NVC

6/7/2013 NVC logs file as received

6/11/2013 Case number and IIN assigned

6/12/2013 DS-3032 emailed

6/13/21013 AOS paid

6/14/2013 DS-3032 emailed attention superuser (stupid me)

6/23/2013 DS-3032 emailed attention supervisor

6/24/2013 DS-3032 accepted

6/25/2013 IV bill generated and paid

07/06/2013 IV & AOS sent; 07/11/2013 NVC logs received

07/30/2013 IV Accepted; AOS Checklist

08/01/2013 AOS Checklist received

08/02/2013 AOS resent; 08/07/2013 NVC logs received

08/28/2013 Case Complete

09/10/2013 Interview date assigned

Embassy

08/14/2013 Medical; 08/19/2013 Medical Ready

08/07/2013 Police cert ordered (Fiji delivers straight to the embassy)

10/02/2013 Interview

xx/xx/2013 Visa in Hand

xx/xx/2013 POE Los Angeles International Airport

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Hi both,

Thank you so much for your response. I looked at the DCF as well but was not sure about it. I heard on the forum that London was a very busy place and that it could take months.

Do you think the DCF would be a better option for us given our current situation?

 

Spoiler

 

CR-1 visa by Direct Consular Filing in London:

July 01, 2013 Married in Wolfeboro, NH (before returning to U.K.)

July 10, 2013 I-130 sent

July 12, 2013 Notice of Receipt (NOA1)

July 22, 2013 NOA2 approved (10 days)

August 8, 2013 Packet 3 sent but never received.

August 15, 2013 Received case number after enquiry. Booked medical and sent packet 3 forms.

August 31, 2013 Medical

Sept 18, 2013 Packet 3 forms logged into the system

Sept 24, 2013 Packet 4 received (dated September 19)

October 4, 2013 Interview *approved*

October 9, 2013 Passport received

November 12, 2013 POE Los Angeles

November 22, 2013 Social Security Number received

December 20, 2013 Green Card received.

 

Removal of Conditions:

September 4, 2015 I-751 sent

September 8, 2015 NOA

October 8, 2015 Biometrics

April 22, 2016 Approved


 

 

N-400 Naturalization Application:

July 5, 2018 N-400 filed (online)

July 7, 2018 Biometrics appointment letter mailed

July 23, 2018 Biometrics Appointment

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Hi both,

Thank you so much for your response. I looked at the DCF as well but was not sure about it. I heard on the forum that London was a very busy place and that it could take months.

Do you think the DCF would be a better option for us given our current situation?

DCF isn't an option for fiancé visas. If you marry, then file for a spouse visa in London, it will be faster than fiancé via Texas Lockbox or regular spouse visa through Chicago Lockbox.

Do you have a US passport or US birth certificate to prove your citizenship? You didn't mention that.

England.gifENGLAND ---

K-1 Timeline 4 months, 19 days 03-10-08 VSC to 7-29-08 Interview London

10-05-08 Married

AOS Timeline 5 months, 14 days 10-9-08 to 3-23-09 No interview

Removing Conditions Timeline 5 months, 20 days12-27-10 to 06-10-11 No interview

Citizenship Timeline 3 months, 26 days 12-31-11 Dallas to 4-26-12 Interview Houston

05-16-12 Oath ceremony

The journey from Fiancé to US citizenship:

4 years, 2 months, 6 days

243 pages of forms/documents submitted

No RFEs

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Hi,

Thank you for your reply. My question was more to see if it was easier to marry in London and then file DCF instead of getting a fiance visa and getting married in the US?

I do have proof of my citizenship? I have a valid US Passport and my father told me he has a certificate of birth abroad from the US embassy in Paris.

 

Spoiler

 

CR-1 visa by Direct Consular Filing in London:

July 01, 2013 Married in Wolfeboro, NH (before returning to U.K.)

July 10, 2013 I-130 sent

July 12, 2013 Notice of Receipt (NOA1)

July 22, 2013 NOA2 approved (10 days)

August 8, 2013 Packet 3 sent but never received.

August 15, 2013 Received case number after enquiry. Booked medical and sent packet 3 forms.

August 31, 2013 Medical

Sept 18, 2013 Packet 3 forms logged into the system

Sept 24, 2013 Packet 4 received (dated September 19)

October 4, 2013 Interview *approved*

October 9, 2013 Passport received

November 12, 2013 POE Los Angeles

November 22, 2013 Social Security Number received

December 20, 2013 Green Card received.

 

Removal of Conditions:

September 4, 2015 I-751 sent

September 8, 2015 NOA

October 8, 2015 Biometrics

April 22, 2016 Approved


 

 

N-400 Naturalization Application:

July 5, 2018 N-400 filed (online)

July 7, 2018 Biometrics appointment letter mailed

July 23, 2018 Biometrics Appointment

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Hi,

Thank you for your reply. My question was more to see if it was easier to marry in London and then file DCF instead of getting a fiance visa and getting married in the US?

I do have proof of my citizenship? I have a valid US Passport and my father told me he has a certificate of birth abroad from the US embassy in Paris.

Yes, absolutely easier to DCF London. Why?

I think getting to skip National Visa Center is a bonus. Here's a current DCF timeline. http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=145628

Notice all the skipped steps in between I-130 approval and consulate received.

I-130 approved in 21 days.

Having the medical this week, then a few more weeks until the interview will be assigned. They could have the visa by the end of July, 3 months from the start.

And here's a current timeline for a couple who filed in the US. 11 months

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=146968

Here's a fiancé approved for a visa today in London. 11months.

http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=144907

I only asked about the citizenship documents because some think they are, but the parent never actually got the paperwork done. Yay for Dad.

England.gifENGLAND ---

K-1 Timeline 4 months, 19 days 03-10-08 VSC to 7-29-08 Interview London

10-05-08 Married

AOS Timeline 5 months, 14 days 10-9-08 to 3-23-09 No interview

Removing Conditions Timeline 5 months, 20 days12-27-10 to 06-10-11 No interview

Citizenship Timeline 3 months, 26 days 12-31-11 Dallas to 4-26-12 Interview Houston

05-16-12 Oath ceremony

The journey from Fiancé to US citizenship:

4 years, 2 months, 6 days

243 pages of forms/documents submitted

No RFEs

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+1 for Nich-Nick. Having experienced the wait of the K1 before changing our minds and doing DCF (after getting married) I can hand-on-heart say that DCF has been much smoother and easier to deal with. The paperwork alone is much easier to compile and London makes it really easy by being very prescriptive about what documents they want. This is their info for DCF: http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

p.s. excited by Nich-Nick's predictions that we could have our visa by the end of July. That's secretly what I think may happen too, assuming the last couple of steps go smoothly. ;)

Edited by lost_at_sea

* I-130/CR-1 visa by Direct Consular Filing in London
3rd May 2013 - Married in London

7th May 2013 - I-130 filed
4th June 2013 - NOA2 (approved)
16th July 2013 - Interview (approved)
30th July 2013 - POE San Francisco
29th August 2013 - 2 year green card arrived

 

* How? Read my DCF London I-130 for CR1/IR1 Spouse Guide

* Removal of Conditions (RoC) via California Service Centre
1st May 2015 - 90 day RoC window opened
6th May 2015 - I-751 filed (delivered 8th May, cheque cashed 18th May)
7th August 2015 - Approved / GC production

27th August 2015 - 10 year green card arrived

* Naturalisation (Citizenship) via Phoenix Lockbox

* San Francisco Field Office:
1st May 2016 - N-400 window opened
20th August 2016 - N-400 filed

26th August 2016 - NOA1
13th September 2016 - Biometrics

12th January 2017 - Biometrics (again)
30th May 2017 - Interview (approved)
7th June 2017 - Oath

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*** moved to general immigration as OP is discussing different visa paths ***

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.  - Dr. Seuss

 

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