Transferring I-130 form to London US embassy

[Cheesecakelover 0]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone can advise.

My wife is a US citizen and I'm a UK citizen, married for 8 years, both residing in the UK. We recently started a lengthy medical treatment for our child (a US citizen also) in the US which requires repeat visits by travelling back and forth from UK to US every 3/4 months. Based on this, it led us to want to relocate there. And so, we completed the I-130 + I-130A application 4 weeks ago, got confirmation email etc. All hunky-dory.

Prior to submitting our application, I've looked at the "Exceptional Circumstances" list and we weren't sure if our situation fell in the "Medical Emergencies" category. So I called the embassy and the person on the phone wasn't sure either. Having looked at the London US embassy website, it stated that "as of March 2020, USIC no longer operated in London embassy". So I assumed the appropriate department aren't there to give us a concrete clarification. So we decided to just complete the forms online and follow the normal standard process. Looking at the latest status, it states that it's being "reviewed by USIC... "

Fast forward to today, since submitting our forms, I came across the below request form and had I been aware of this prior, I COULD have used it to make enquiry. 

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/family-immigration/i130-exceptional-circumstances-request-form/

Long story short, here's my question - as we have already submitted the forms, is it worth making an enquiry using the above link to see if our existing application could be categorised as "exceptional circumstance" and thus follow the DCF route? Or will it cause duplication/confusion etc?

Thanks.

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

The consulate is not authorized to accept you case if an I-130 has already been submitted.  You can, however, request an expedite at USCIS.

Chapter 3 - Filing | USCIS

 

"In addition, USCIS does not authorize DOS to accept a local filing abroad if the petitioner has already filed a Form I-130 domestically for the same beneficiary. If exigent circumstances exist, the petitioner should request expedited processing for an electronic or domestically-filed petition. Local consular or USCIS staff should inform the petitioner of the process to request expedited adjudication.^[7]"

 

 

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

***Moved to the DCF discussion forum****

[Cheesecakelover 0]

Thank you! 

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

Just now, Cheesecakelover said:

Thank you! 

It costs nothing to ask the consulate if the first I-130 can be withdrawn, then resubmitted locally.