DCF was an option - did I screw up ?

[Hank_ 9,174]

On 7/16/2019 at 8:44 PM, MikeMinusWife said:

The basics - I am a dual US/UK citizen and I also have dual residency with a home in the UK and one here in Chicago.  I’m bringing my new (British) wife and her 2 children from a prior marriage over to live with me here, at the moment they are living at my UK address.  

 

So following the the rules I filed the 3 x I-130s and the I-130A in Chicago and I just received all 4 I-797C forms back in the mail indicating that they went to the Potomac processing center.  My shock was when I came to look at the processing times 6-9 months.  It suddenly occurred to me that I could potentially have made a Direct Consular Filing application to the Us Embassy in London, as I could reasonably demonstrate UK residency.

 

I’m sure that I am far from alone in wanting my wife here with me in the US, but did I miss an opportunity to reduce the processing time?

 

Any advice appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

DCF was ended about a month ago for most all embassies.    If it were still available in the UK you would need to be residing in the UK full time for 6 months or more to qualify for DCF.

Edited July 19, 2019 by Hank_

[payxibka 10,047]

3 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

DCF was ended about a month ago for most all embassies.    If it were still available in the UK you would need to be residing in the UK full time for 6 months or more to qualify for DCF.

He's a dual UK / USA citizen with primary residence in the UK

Edited July 19, 2019 by payxibka

[Hank_ 9,174]

He does not state his UK address is his primary.   And obviously from the way he is writing he is in Chicago.

 

" I am a dual US/UK citizen and I also have dual residency with a home in the UK and one here in Chicago"

[payxibka 10,047]

7 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

He does not state his UK address is his primary.   And obviously from the way he is writing he is in Chicago.

 

" I am a dual US/UK citizen and I also have dual residency with a home in the UK and one here in Chicago"

You need to read his other posts where he says his UK is continuous and US is occasionally

 

BTW, DCF is not dead, only location based will soon be gone.   Extenuating circumstances will still be available upon approval by the uscis 

Edited July 19, 2019 by payxibka

[MikeMinusWife 42]

51 minutes ago, Boiler said:

So you buy travel insurance for when you visit the US? You are paid in the UK etc and regularly visit the US.

 

I hate to think how you manage your taxes.

My employer has signed me up for US healthcare insurance and has even included my family -

although the fact they don’t have SSNs is complicating things.  Taxes - don’t get me started.  The worst part is the travel - that’s all down to me, but my employer is being generous with time off and work from home (England) etc.

 

Oh well, I guess I’m stuck at this point.  Wait until the wife hears all this.....

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

2 hours ago, MikeMinusWife said:

So I also contacted the USCIS office in London and they played it with a straight bat “if you are currently the US - file in the US”.  End of.

 

So by the letter of the law what I have done is 100% correct, yet I have a house in the UK and a UK passport - so DCF is theoretically an option?

 

As I see it I have 2 options:

 

1. Wait out the one year US waiting time and just deal with it.

 

2.  Pull the existing I-130s and re-file in London.

 

Thoughts ?  

We had many options available and went for the longest and most expensive one. But funny enough, in the end it was the most convenient and suitable for our needs. 

I would personally wait and avoid withdrawing the existing one. The process is already "quite bumpy" and anything can happen as is. 

You could try expediting, based on financial hardship; some couples have been successful doing so. You can check around the forum.

Edited July 19, 2019 by Allaboutwaiting

[Boiler 46,247]

You do not need SSN for health insurance.

[MikeMinusWife 42]

6 hours ago, Boiler said:

You do not need SSN for health insurance.

 

Correct, our health insurance is safe, but my company keeps sending me warnings about the risk of a $50 fine if you don’t link it to an SSN for the Feds - which I ignore for obvious reasons.

[MikeMinusWife 42]

7 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

 You could try expediting, based on financial hardship; some couples have been successful doing so. You can check around the forum.

 

That’s very useful - thanks.