American student with Singaporean wife in the UK

[oxfordkentuckian 0]

So I am a third year PhD student in the UK and an American citizen. My wife is Singaporean and we were married last year, after which she got a UK dependent visa to join me here. After my PhD is done, we plan on moving back to America permanently.

I have seen some conflicting information online about DCF, some saying that those on student visas cannot apply via DCF and some saying that say this is possible. Can a couple in the UK for more than 6 months on Tier 4 visas file via DCF or not? If not, can someone point me in the right direction for filing from abroad apart from DCF? Thank you and excuse my rank ignorance!

[lost_at_sea 995]

They removed the 6 month requirement sometime earlier this year and the student restriction was lifted some time before that - it's now restricted so that just visitors cannot use DCF, as far as I know.

So long as you're legally resident in the UK right now, you should be able to file DCF. You can easily just email the USCIS field office in London and ask with your specific circumstances and they'll usually reply very quickly with a yay or nay (see guide link in my signature).

[oxfordkentuckian 0]

Thanks very much. I actually emailed them while we were waiting for a reply and the said, and I quote: "Our office accepts filing by those in the UK with valid student visas." So it looks like we're good to proceed with DCF! Thanks again.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thanks very much. I actually emailed them while we were waiting for a reply and the said, and I quote: "Our office accepts filing by those in the UK with valid student visas." So it looks like we're good to proceed with DCF! Thanks again.

Good job. Thanks for reporting back and re-confirming.