london dcf ir1

[lillico84 0]

Hi all

New here and very happy to be here with all the wealth of knowledge you guys have...

quick intro im 29 yrs old ukc born in uk, married to my 30 yr old usc. we have been married in uk for four years. she is on a indefinite leave to remain visa here. were planning on selling up and moving to mandeville, louisiana where her family is from.

My brother in law has offered to be joint sponsor which i think is ok (earns $100k+ a year), and my inlaws have offered to have us stay with them temp untill we get place sorted, stuff arrives from shipping. her old boss has offered her her job back. We have filed her taxes since she left, renewed driving liscence, bank account maintained etc...and i have a job offer so i think we should have all bases covered?

Last monday we sent the i-130 pack to london emabassy dcf was recieved 9am tuesday morning and by lunchtime i checked and they had charged the credit card with the fee.

I havent recieved a email notification though?

Is this normal?

Let me know if i do something wrong regards the forum, its new to me.....

We contacted one immigration lawer before we did it ourselves (due to the £3000 fee!) and he said we were in the strongest position as we have been living together married for four years and she has indefinite leave to remain in uk so seemed to think 4 months should see us sorted...is this true or was he poaching for business?

gaian thanks in advance!!

lillico84

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Four months is very possible. Some have done it in less but the Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year's holidays plus extra time off the staff will be taking slows them down at the embassy this time of year. Everybody's timeline seems to vary a few weeks one way or the other.

Some experiences and tips are here in the UK forum in a guide done by lost_at_sea for London DCF. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/443127-dcf-london-i-130-for-ir1cr1-spouse-guide/. Some of paper forms mentioned in the first post changed to online submissions but I believe all the London updates have been added to the thread if you read it all.

[lost_at_sea 995]

4 months is possible. Did the lawyer mention the US domicile requirements to you at all?

You def don't need a lawyer, BTW, unless you have unusual circumstances (like convictions).

Edited December 16, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[lillico84 0]

Thanks nick

hi lost_at_sea, He did, asked if we had filed taxes, kept bank account open. Job offer for my wife back to old job. (usc) shipping documents for household items, confirmation of place to stay.regular travel to USA. Renewal of drivers licences etc should be enough to prove?

Have I been informed wrong?

Regards

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thanks nick

hi lost_at_sea, He did, asked if we had filed taxes, kept bank account open. Job offer for my wife back to old job. (usc) shipping documents for household items, confirmation of place to stay.regular travel to USA. Renewal of drivers licences etc should be enough to prove?

Have I been informed wrong?

Regards

Nope. That sounds great. A lot of folks don't realise that they need that sort of info for the I-864, so it's good you've got that covered already.

[lillico84 0]

That's great, I have looked at a lot if peoples timelines and there seem to be a gap between recieval the initial application and payment taking and then a notification.

Is my situation normal? Just seemed very quick to take money!!

[lost_at_sea 995]

That's great, I have looked at a lot if peoples timelines and there seem to be a gap between recieval the initial application and payment taking and then a notification.

Is my situation normal? Just seemed very quick to take money!!

Check your spam folder. My receipt ended up in there and I know at least one other person's who did. Assume payment being taken to be as good as a receipt, though - they wouldn't have cashed it if you'd done the filing wrong.

You sound normal to me.

Edited December 16, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[LauraDP 10]

I never actually got the email notification that the I130s had been received and processed. I just knew they had because of the fees being taken and then when we received the NOA2 notification in the post. Frustrating communications with the Embassy are something you are going to have to get used to.

Best wishes

Laura

[Yorkshirelass 1]

Yep - 4 months is really possible. Mine has taken about 4.5 months but I asked for a later interview date because I was going to be traveling (to the USA to find somewhere to live - although didn't tell them that detail!)

Really agree - don't use any paid for legal advice - it is really straightforward, if rather nerve wracking at times as you wait for the next bit of paper. And this website is very useful.

Good luck

[lillico84 0]

thanks everyone, make sme feel better.

We had some real trouble getting her uk visa's as they are useless over here regards, well most of it....so makes us nervous.

Ill keep you posted.

regards