Getting married next month in the UK and wanting to head to the US soon!

[jj80 0]

Hello! So, I am a dual citizen of US and UK from my English father. I am living in England with my English fiance.

We are fed up with England want to move back to where I am from, Florida. We are having a registry wedding next month to speed up the process. I have a few questions about what we need to do..

So, do I need to complete an I-130 petition? Also, is it quicker and better for us to do it here as we can go through the London embassy?

I want to head back to Florida as soon as I can to get a job and settled. Would that be ok with his visa process?

What happens after the I-130 is approved?

Thanks!

Jill

[Mark88 184]

So, do I need to complete an I-130 petition? Also, is it quicker and better for us to do it here as we can go through the London embassy?

You have file the I-130 and supporting documents and other forms. Doing DCF over the Embassy is usually a quicker way.

I want to head back to Florida as soon as I can to get a job and settled. Would that be ok with his visa process?

As an USC you can head back to the US anytime.

What happens after the I-130 is approved?

You get further instructions from the embassy. Reading the VJ guides first, usually helps you understand the whole process alot better. http://www.visajourney.com/content/guides

[lost_at_sea 995]

As long as you've been legally residing in the UK for at least 6 months, you should be good to go with DCF (see the guide in my signature). It's tons faster/easier than doing it the regular way.

[jj80 0]

Thanks!!!

[newgatejm 0]

We saw an immigration lawyer who said the same thing- London is apparently much faster than doing it through a service center based in the USA. We were told to expect the process to take around 6 months. We filed the i-130 in early Dec, and got the approval letter in early Jan (so, just over a month). From what other people on here have written, i am hoping to have the next set of forms by early Feb (please!).

Steps are

1. File i-130

2. Receive letter approving it, and explaining the case is now being transferred to the visa unit

3. Receive a case number- book medical and do the next round of paperwork (ds-260 and affidavit of support)

4. Complete a 'readinesss to interview' form once step 3 is in hand

5. When the embassy get the medical results, they will allocate you a visa appt (we were told this will be at least a month from the date of allication)

6. Go to the interview- if approve leave your passport. They will courier it back to you with your shiny new visa.

I cannot wait for this whole thing to be over!

[Schlaire 2]

The other option is to go through K-1, and then adjust status. This COULD be "faster" in terms of moving to the states, but would probably take longer in terms of adjusting status. Much easier to wait it out in London and do DCF. We did a DCF in Korea, and the process was literally a year faster than that of an acquaintance who did it through an Adjustment of Status from within the States.

[aaron2020 11,651]

In addition to filing the I-130 after your marriage, you will eventually need to meet the I-864 financial requirements. Fortunately, they are not as bad as the financial requirements for the spouse of a UK citizen to immigrate to the UK.

[NewChapter 0]

I found DCF to be pretty straight forward and quick. Also, once it's done...its done. You can start preping for life in FL...i.e Job, place to stay etc. But all in all it took about 5 months but we also had to wait to receive a birth certificate from my husband's birth country/Police clearance which took time. But in the UK it is a very quick process. Hope all goes well! It takes a bit of time but the wait is well worth it when you can get here and know he is a resident and it's over...next step citizenship!