Time for approval of "exceptional circumstance" DCF in London from another country? Or from any USCIS office?

[pyridine 12]

My husband (Hungarian) and I (American) have been residents in Denmark for the past 5 years. I now have a new job offer in the US that would require me to start in February-March. A short-term job relocation can qualify as an exceptional circumstance for DCF at the USCIS office in our jurisdiction in London. Without an exceptional circumstance, it's not possible from Denmark because we lack a USCIS office. I contacted the US Embassy in Denmark and they gave me a list of the documents to send for them to make the request

 

I have also been in contact with an immigration attorney who agrees this route is possible and she gave me a time frame of 4-6 months for I-130 approval once it was in the pipeline in London, however she told me she could not get a time estimate for how long it takes to be approved by the London office once the embassy in Denmark makes the request for DCF on my behalf. Has anyone had experience having this requested from their embassy to either the London office, or to any other USCIS office from a country where DCF is not otherwise possible? I need to decide whether to accept the job offer next week and if it would only be 1 month, that would still be ok, but if it added 2-3 months or even more to the process, then there is hardly a point and it would strongly make me consider rejecting the offer. 

 

Thanks for any advice!

[EandH0904 1,184]

You could go back to the US and take your job while he completed the i-130 couldn't you? 

 

None of us like being away from spouses, but it's something we have to do sometimes 

[pyridine 12]

10 minutes ago, EandH0904 said:

You could go back to the US and take your job while he completed the i-130 couldn't you? 

I will already have to do that by default given Feb-March start - I could at earliest send documents to the embassy in December and then it's unknown amount of time to get request for DCF approved, plus 4-6 months for I-130 approval.  I'm trying to minimize the time apart as much as possible for various personal reasons. I'm quite non-desperate and don't need to take this job in the US if it ends up being too much trouble.

Edited November 26, 2017 by pyridine

[Boiler 45,522]

Seems a long shot but no harm trying.

[pyridine 12]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Seems a long shot but no harm trying.

It's actually not a long shot at all - this situation precisely falls into the category of being one of the exceptional circumstances for being able to file DCF from a country without a USCIS office. I'm just trying to figure out how long it takes to get this approval from USCIS London 

[Boiler 45,522]

First you need to accept the job.

[pyridine 12]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

First you need to accept the job.

I know - I have to send the signed job offer as part of the documents to the embassy. I need to decide whether or not to take the offer next week, and as soon as I do (if I do), I am planning to send the documents to the embassy that day. I'm looking for a time estimate for this process of how long it takes for USCIS London to put me into the DCF pipeline once they get the request from my embassy - BEFORE I sign the job offer - because it will play into my decision of IF I sign the job offer. Do you have any actual advice for this situation?

Edited November 26, 2017 by pyridine

[Hypnos 6,576]

These kinds of requests are rarely granted, so it certainly is a long shot.

 

But you'll only find out for sure by trying.

[geowrian 22,337]

Agreed - sounds like a long shot. Here's the USCIS memo on the current process and the criteria for what qualifies as an exceptional circumstance:

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2011/August/Locally-Filed_I-130s_Interim_PM_Approved_for_Pubic_Comment_8-8-11.pdf

 

While not completely exhaustive, these are the types of things they look for:

"The following are some examples of exceptional circumstances when USCIS will likely authorize DOS to accept and process an I-130 petition.

 

Military emergencies: A U.S. service member overseas be comes aware of a new deployment or transfer with very little notice. This should be an exception to the regular relocation process for most service members.

Medical emergencies: A petitioner or beneficiary is facing an urgent medical emergency that requires immediate travel. This includes the situation where a petitioner or beneficiary is pregnant and delaying travel may create a medical risk or extreme hardship for the mother or child.

Threats to personal safety: A petitioner or beneficiary is facing an imminent threat to personal safety.

Cases close to aging out: A beneficiary is within a few months of aging out of eligibility.

Cases where the petitioner has recently naturalized: A petitioner and family have traveled for the immigrant visa interview, but the petitioner has naturalized and the family member(s) requires a new, stand-alone petition;

Cases involving the adoption of a child: A petitioner who has adopted a child locally and has an imminent need to depart the country. This exception should only be considered if the child has been in the petitioner’s legal and physical custody for at least two years and the petitioner has a full and final adoption decree on behalf of the child."

[Nitas_man 3,100]

2 hours ago, pyridine said:

I know - I have to send the signed job offer as part of the documents to the embassy. I need to decide whether or not to take the offer next week, and as soon as I do (if I do), I am planning to send the documents to the embassy that day. I'm looking for a time estimate for this process of how long it takes for USCIS London to put me into the DCF pipeline once they get the request from my embassy - BEFORE I sign the job offer - because it will play into my decision of IF I sign the job offer. Do you have any actual advice for this situation?

If they approve on the spot, as soon as it arrives at the CO's desk, you are looking at a minimum of about 2 months between receipt of Packet III and visa issuance. 

 

What takes some time is medical, police certificates, and whatever they do between interview and visa issuance (takes about 2 weeks).

 

Nobody can tell you or guess what will happen between the time of your petition arrival and review/approval.  I turned one into the consulate (not London) that was flipped through, approved, and then we got a packet III about a week later.  Some wait longer.  Depends on the case load at the embassy.

[Boiler 45,522]

2 hours ago, pyridine said:

I know - I have to send the signed job offer as part of the documents to the embassy. I need to decide whether or not to take the offer next week, and as soon as I do (if I do), I am planning to send the documents to the embassy that day. I'm looking for a time estimate for this process of how long it takes for USCIS London to put me into the DCF pipeline once they get the request from my embassy - BEFORE I sign the job offer - because it will play into my decision of IF I sign the job offer. Do you have any actual advice for this situation?

Assume you will not be expedited and if you are treat it as a bonus.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

We were granted a special case DCF from Denmark at the USCIS office in London, but we had a combination of issues relating to an expedite and then a serious USCIS error.  I've yet to even hear of a similar case and yours doesn't seem equivalent in seriousness.

 

It was about 1 day to approve the I-130, several weeks to get everything else done and in line for the interview and medical and Stockholm.  So, less than a month from sending the I-130 to interview.  The thing that took some extra time was receiving the medical results.

[pyridine 12]

4 hours ago, N-o-l-a said:

We were granted a special case DCF from Denmark at the USCIS office in London, but we had a combination of issues relating to an expedite and then a serious USCIS error.  I've yet to even hear of a similar case and yours doesn't seem equivalent in seriousness.

 

It was about 1 day to approve the I-130, several weeks to get everything else done and in line for the interview and medical and Stockholm.  So, less than a month from sending the I-130 to interview.  The thing that took some extra time was receiving the medical results.

Thank you N-o-l-a!  Exactly the sort of information I was looking for and glad to find someone who did this or something similar with another USCIS office before. I'm sorry about the error you had - since you say you've never heard of a similar case, do you know of others who have done this and not had any problems? You had to go to Stockholm for the medical exam? (ugh, not close).

 

I'm still kind of new to all the jargon despite having had a major dealing with the dreaded "INS" in the 90s.  Is the basic procedure here that the embassy in Denmark first asks USCIS London for permission to do DCF and then the I-130 gets submitted to the embassy, or does it go to the USCIS office? And then the interview is also in Copenhagen? I was confused whether things actually happen largely in Denmark or the UK. So when you say 1 day to approve the I-130, that was 1 day after you submitted the paperwork...to the embassy? And the interview is where the visa is issued, and all of that only took 1 month once you had permission to do DCF? That's really fast! 

[pyridine 12]

7 hours ago, Boiler said:

Assume you will not be expedited and if you are treat it as a bonus.

Boiler - it's not an expedite. It's just getting permission to do DCF at all when you don't live in a DCF country, and the list of exceptional circumstances is pretty explicitly listing a short notice job relocation as one. I understand there's always a risk because there's always some subjectivity in granting anything, but if an immigration attorney is telling me this is the way to go, then I'm not sure what else I can do.

[pyridine 12]

8 hours ago, Nitas_man said:

If they approve on the spot, as soon as it arrives at the CO's desk, you are looking at a minimum of about 2 months between receipt of Packet III and visa issuance. 

 

What takes some time is medical, police certificates, and whatever they do between interview and visa issuance (takes about 2 weeks).

 

Nobody can tell you or guess what will happen between the time of your petition arrival and review/approval.  I turned one into the consulate (not London) that was flipped through, approved, and then we got a packet III about a week later.  Some wait longer.  Depends on the case load at the embassy.

Thanks Nitas_man. Could you explain what is Packet III? I was told to expect a 4-6 months (probably as a somewhat pessimistic estimate and I think the attorney was thinking this would be at London USCIS? She was comparing with other UK DCF cases) minus the petition to get DCF approved. I know the time can vary substantially, but it means a lot to me to hear that some people get the approval to do DCF in only a week (this was my main question). I just want to make sure a usual time frame for this is not on the order of 2-3 months, although I know sh*t happens. I think that the embassy in Denmark will be a better place to do this than most. Is it correct that the I-130 and everything ends up getting processed at the embassy rather than the USCIS office? That was something that wasn't clear to me and I am more optimistic if this is actually done in Denmark vs. in the UK.