Embassy's will no longer accept I-130

[John and Sonya 0]

OH my GOSH! I am panicking right now. I had everything planned out and ready to go. I am supposed to get married in March and with the embassy I would have worked through, my husband would have had his visa within about a month. What am I going to do? Can we call our Senators/Representatives? I am so upset right now.

I am extremely frustrated myself! I was planning to go to Sydney to see my wife and file for the DCF in April. Now I don't know if I should just file for the IR-1 / CR-1 immediately to try and make up for the time that will undoubtedly increase.

We are one of the fortunate ones that got caught at the interview today. No notice!!! MY wife paid the VISA fee, all of her paper work was approved, and she was just waiting for interview, she was first in line. Then they came out and said that they cannot process her visa along with the dozen other people there, gave her the money back and said go home.

They totally mishandled this, they needed to contact people or at least phase out. I have no issues with the new law, but the 100's of people like us that paid alot of money to goto the embassy and suppose to be the happiest day, turned out to be pure hell. And I called USCIS and The State Department and neither knew anything, it was all quiet and memo just sent out. SO ANYONE WHO HAS AN INTERVIEW AT A NON-USCIS facility, CALL!!!!!!!! London is a USCIS facilty, so you are fortunate. Here goes another few months added!! Good law, poor handeling.

How do u know if it is a uscis facility????????

The facilities are located on the bottom of this web page: https://egov.immigration.gov/crisgwi/go?act....office_type=OS

[David A. 0]

This is from the Embassy/Consulate Website in Australia. Updated 25 January 2007

"— Notice —

Recent legislation has led to changes in the procedures American citizens resident abroad will follow if they wish to sponsor an immediate relative (spouse, parent or minor child) for an immigrant visa. Effective immediately, the immediate relative petition (I-130) must be filed with the USCIS office responsible for the petitioner’s place of residence (that is, the place of residence of the American citizen who is filing the petition). Consular offices at U.S. embassies and consulates are no longer authorized to accept I-130s, although they will continue to provide guidance to American citizen petitioners and their family members. Responsibility for acceptance and approval of immigrant visa petitions rests solely with USCIS. American citizens should submit their I-130 at the CIS office responsible for their place of residence.

This procedural change may result in a processing delay for some applicants. The Department of State recognizes and sincerely regrets the inconvenience this may cause."

My wife's final visa interview is next week on Tuesday... so for all you who have not yet lodged your I-130... at least you know what steps to take. As for those that have already filed, paid their fees, etc... and gotten their final interview date sent to them including packet 4. We're probably all a bit worried.

Edited January 25, 2007 by David A.

[avoci 0]

This is from the Embassy/Consulate Website in Australia. Updated 25 January 2007

"— Notice —

Recent legislation has led to changes in the procedures American citizens resident abroad will follow if they wish to sponsor an immediate relative (spouse, parent or minor child) for an immigrant visa. Effective immediately, the immediate relative petition (I-130) must be filed with the USCIS office responsible for the petitioner’s place of residence (that is, the place of residence of the American citizen who is filing the petition). Consular offices at U.S. embassies and consulates are no longer authorized to accept I-130s, although they will continue to provide guidance to American citizen petitioners and their family members. Responsibility for acceptance and approval of immigrant visa petitions rests solely with USCIS. American citizens should submit their I-130 at the CIS office responsible for their place of residence.

This procedural change may result in a processing delay for some applicants. The Department of State recognizes and sincerely regrets the inconvenience this may cause."

My wife's final visa interview is next week on Tuesday... so for all you who have not yet lodged your I-130... at least you know what steps to take. As for those that have already filed, paid their fees, etc... and gotten their final interview date sent to them including packet 4. We're probably all a bit worried.

I filed I-130 in July and was approved the same day. We have already received and sent back in the packet 3. We were simply waiting on an interview date...

What do u think?

[John and Sonya 0]

If anyone wants to contact the people responsible:

Emilio Gonzalez

Director of USCIS - responsible for accurate, efficient and securing immigration benefits - 800-767-1833

Lynn Skeirik

Director of National Visa Center NVC - 603-334-0927

NVC Public Inquiries - 603-334-0700

June Kunsman

Director of VISA Services - 202-663-1153

Office of Inspector General - responsible for investigating mishandeling of USCIS (Department of Homeland security) operations - e-mail: dhsoighotline@dhs.gov

And the man who made this nightmare all possible - Micheal Aytes - Associate Director, Domestic Operations - however, I cannot find his number or e-mail He wrote the memo

Maybe we should let them hear us?

[blaaTgirl© 0]

I spoke to my mother in law in Sydney this evening and she herself rang up the consulate to confirm. She said that the rep she spoke to didnt know about this until just an hour before speaking to her.

Mom in law suggest that I write a letter to several newspapers in addition to radio stations in my local area. Seeing as immigration is such a hot button issue, lets let them see the other side of the coin. The tears and agony we all feel being separated from the one we love.

You dont always fall in love with the girl/boy next door...

[Henia 11]

You dont always fall in love with the girl/boy next door...

No, it is more like the boy/girl across the ocean

[David A. 0]

Wife got a call from the US Consulate today. Her FINAL appointment for next week has been cancelled. We had packet 4 in hand and ready to turn in, we were only waiting for the Visa and we were done. We've been through the entire process and with one phone call, it's over with.

To answer anybody else's question who got caught in the middle... There's your answer. No embassy/consulate will accept or approve visas for spouses or relatives.

Edited January 25, 2007 by David A.

[dinmir 0]

Does anyone know what happens to I-130's that are submitted to overseas USCIS offices? Will those be processed there or or will they be forwarded to the U.S.?

[David A. 0]

Does anyone know what happens to I-130's that are submitted to overseas USCIS offices? Will those be processed there or or will they be forwarded to the U.S.?

This has been answered on here numerous times. It will be answered at a USCIS office with jurisdiction over your country. Australia does not have a USCIS field office so all of there's are now going to the USA.

[blueblue 0]

FYI - I got this reply from my embassy. It is much more specific regarding I-130s filed as DCF:

The Adam Walsh Act was a surprise to us all. Petitions affected are those filed after July 27, 2006.

Edited January 25, 2007 by blueblue

[Mary G. 0]

Does anyone know how this will affect I-130 petitions filed in Frankfurt. They have a USCIS office (I believe), but it is under the jurisdiction of the office in Rome. Does this mean that the petitions will have to be sent to Rome? I filed an I-130 for my husband back in December. They signed for it on December 11th, charged my credit card around the 21st of December, but we still haven't heard anything. Is this a bad sign?

-Mary

[Mary G. 0]

It looks like this might add a little time, but shouldn't be too complicated.

FYI:

Embassies stop handling immigration applications

By Teri Weaver, Stars and Stripes

Pacific edition, Friday, January 26, 2007

TOKYO — U.S. embassies and consulates no longer can process visa applications for foreign family members, such as spouses, parents, children and siblings, who want to immigrate to America, according to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Instead, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services centers around the world will process the applications — officially called I-130 applications — to comply with a new law that prevents certain sexual offenders from sponsoring immigrants, according to the embassy and the Immigration Services Web site.

The I-130 application is one of the first steps toward immigrating a family member into America, according to the Immigration Services Web site.

The change means an extra layer of red tape in the application process, but will not require any additional travel or in-person appointments for the sponsors.

Applicants must mail the I-130 form to one of four stateside service centers for processing, according to Dan Kane, spokesman for the USCIS in Washington.

Tony Edson, deputy assistant secretary of state for visa services, said they are working on getting more specific instructions to embassies around the world, but embassy staffs have already received some directions on how to guide applicants through the process.

The Tokyo embassy’s Web site at http://japan.usembassy.gov mentions the change in its visa section, but asks customers to check back for more details.

“We regret any inconvenience this change causes to American citizens but the law is clear,” a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tokyo wrote in a statement to Stripes on Wednesday. “We are consulting with [immigration Services] to confirm that current procedures for checking criminal-history records in these cases comply with the Adam Walsh Act.”

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, signed into law this past summer, means to build on notification and screening procedures for sexual offenders outlined in Megan’s Law a decade earlier. The new version standardizes registration information, increases employment information and expands notification procedures about sexual offenders.

It also limits eligibility for applications of family-based immigrants.

If a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident has been convicted of certain sexual crimes involving minors, Immigration Services can reject the I-130 application, according to the embassy.

The Immigration Services, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, has access to criminal databases, while the local embassies and consulates do not, according to embassy personnel.

The application fee is $190, according to the Immigration Services’ Web site.

Embassies will continue to handle petitions involving orphans in inter-country adoptions, according to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

For more information and a list of processing center addresses, as well as directions for filing the petition, visit the Immigration Services at www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis. Click on the “Immigration Forms” link at the top of the page, and then scroll down to click on the link “Petition for Alien Relative.”

[koolaidman23 0]

Wife got a call from the US Consulate today. Her FINAL appointment for next week has been cancelled. We had packet 4 in hand and ready to turn in, we were only waiting for the Visa and we were done. We've been through the entire process and with one phone call, it's over with.

To answer anybody else's question who got caught in the middle... There's your answer. No embassy/consulate will accept or approve visas for spouses or relatives.

I dont understand what you are saying.... You are telling me that now the consulate is not even issuing the visas?? That cant be right. This is about I-130s, not visas. Unless you have proof of this, in writing, please dont go scaring people. Your interview was cancelled PROBABLY because they have to find out if you are a sex offender.

[bostonparis 0]

Wife got a call from the US Consulate today. Her FINAL appointment for next week has been cancelled. We had packet 4 in hand and ready to turn in, we were only waiting for the Visa and we were done. We've been through the entire process and with one phone call, it's over with.

To answer anybody else's question who got caught in the middle... There's your answer. No embassy/consulate will accept or approve visas for spouses or relatives.

I dont understand what you are saying.... You are telling me that now the consulate is not even issuing the visas?? That cant be right. This is about I-130s, not visas. Unless you have proof of this, in writing, please dont go scaring people. Your interview was cancelled PROBABLY because they have to find out if you are a sex offender.

This is about the DCF process. It's in the DCF forum. Anyone who hasn't filed for DCF is not scared. What they are saying is that the consulates and embassies cannot issue a visa (at this point in time, until they figure out what is going on) to people who have filed DCF. Relax.

And to those of you going through this - my heart goes out to you. If I had known about DCF through Paris, I surely would have done that in October (as evidenced by my Paris thread here), and my heart would be in my throat now too. As it is, I'm sick about thinking what is going through your heads now.

[zyggy 9]

Acording to what has been stated here, it appears that this will not be unlike IMBRA where any I-130 petition where a visa has not already been issued is being recalled so that these mandatory checks can be made.

What is not known is if these checks are being performed at USCIS overseas field offices or if they are being sent back to the US. Personally, I think the better deal would be if they were being sent back to the US so that they can throw more adjudicators onto the problem and push these through...

But the ripples of this will be felt throughout the system, from I-130 applications that are being sent in stateside to I-129F peititons for fiancees....

Edited January 25, 2007 by zyggy