Inflatableboots

Thank you, I'm glad it helped! I have visa in hand, counting down the days until I move. 1. There was no follow up with her employer. The letter was purely to get the embassy to agree to following the DCF process, and they accepted it with a summary of the situation. 2. No issues, but we went above and beyond, providing each of their tax return documents for the last three years, as well as my wife's. Maybe overkill, but better safe than sorry. 3. A. I have been able to travel freely. I had an ESTA already so was able to travel to the US between the I-130 approval and the visa interview. I have also visited the EU without any issues - I don't even think the border police noticed I had a US visa as it's not relevant. Just make sure you have valid passports/visas to travel to those countries! B.My wife returned to the US shortly after the initial I-130 submission interview. Her UK visa has not expired yet. If you submit the I-130 before your visa expires then you will be fine, even if you leave the UK afterwards, because your work will be done. You will not need to attend anything else, only your spouse. It is imperative that you contact the US Embassy in London ASAP to confirm you can proceed with DCF and get an appointment to submit the I-130. Good luck!

Latest updates, almost done. Mid-Sep: Received police certificate and booked medical for 09 Oct 26 Sep-06 Oct: Took trip to US under ESTA, no issues or questions at border 09 Oct: Medical completed. No issues, but needed a few additional vaccinations. I could have had these done elsewhere for less money but had them given there to save time 10 Oct: Interview booked for 24 October 24 Oct: Visa approved at the interview. Quick - was in the building for just over an hour - and with few, basic questions, despite having joint sponsors per the I-864. Told to wait 1-2 weeks for the passport with visa to be returned to me

Go into as much detail as possible when requesting DCF. What they want to know in particular is the start date of the petitioner's new job/role. If you give them a deadline by when they need to be back in the US, and the nature of the position, then they will get back to you very quickly whether DCF is approved.

Sure, no problem To request DCF, the embassy didn’t ask for anything other than the job offer letter (which had a start date listed), and it was accepted. They gave my wife an appointment to hand in the I-130. I could have booked my medical immediately after the letter was received on 24 Aug, but was delayed while I waited for my police certificate to be received. Once I had that (mid Sep) I called for an appointment and took the earliest available date, but they had other times available too. You can ask them on the call. I travelled to the US on an ESTA from 27 Sep to 6 Oct and it was fine.

Oooh ok, interesting. I am going through the London embassy on DCF. My medical exam was 9 Oct and interview is on 24 Oct. In the confirmation email for the medical I was told to give 10 working days between the exam and the interview (5 days for the results to be received and prepared, and 5 days for the embassy to process them). Per the link below, it says that 'it takes a minimum of 5 work days for the results of the medical examination to be couriered to the Embassy.' https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/family-immigration/medical-examination/ From what I can gather from reports from others (so this is conjecture rather than personal experience), if the embassy don't have the info from the medical exam at the time of the interview, it can go ahead but the visa won't be issued until after they have received it and processed it.

If he’s DCF he shouldn’t be able to book a date or time for the interview until after he’s had the medical exam. I had my medical exam last week and booked the visa interview afterwards.

I don't think so, I didn't get anything by email.

The letter gives you the LND (case) number which is what you need to book the medical. The letter also tells you to follow this link, which you may have seen before, https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/family-immigration/how-to-apply-2/ I haven't booked the medical yet as I'm waiting on my police certificate, so can't confirm how easy it is to book. Good luck though!

Ours took a week. Wife filed in person in London on 17 Aug and was approved then. Received approval letter on 24 Aug.

A couple of updates (this is just my diary now!): 22 Aug: I collected my immunisation record from my GP. 24 Aug: I received a letter from the US Embassy confirming my immigrant visa petition approval and LND number, and inviting me to complete the steps on the website. Have started to complete the DS-260 form online and will book the medical on receipt of the ACRO certificate.

Currently intending to use her parents as joint sponsor (as she's employed part time employed her salary would be too low), although I am selling my property in the UK so hoping that we may be able to use this to support too.

Hi all. Sharing a bit of information about my experience to date in case it helps others. Very early in the process but encouraged by how smoothly things are moving along. Me - UK citizen Wife - US citizen with residency in UK March 2023 - My (now) wife was offered a post-grad course and (paid) job in US, to start in August. She contacted the US embassy in London to request DCF, but as we were not yet married we were told to submit the request again once married. July 2023 - We married on 24 Jul and applied for DCF again when we received our marriage certificate on 31 Jul. Within 24 hours she was given an appointment at the US embassy in London on 17 Aug to file the I-130 package. They provided a checklist via email that differed slightly from the one on in the USCIC website. August 2023 - I (beneficiary) did not attend the interview with my wife on 17 Aug. She wasn’t asked about our relationship at all, only for the documents and payment. They returned original docs to her. While there she was told that the package was approved (we provided lots of supporting evidence that they were not interested in, particularly photos) but it would need to be sent to USCIS for final approval. She was told that we should get a follow-up email in 2-4 weeks, but probably sooner. On 17 Aug I submitted my ACRO police certificate request (should have done this earlier). Even if I-130 is approved imminently I understand that currently I can’t complete the medical examination until I have the police certificate, expecting mid-Sep 2023 based on 30 day turnaround time. My wife returned to the US on 19 Aug to start her new position. I am going to visit at end of September for her birthday (under ESTA/VWP) for 10 days, therefore I intend to push the visa interview until after I have returned. TL:DR - Requested DCF on 31 July, interview scheduled for 17 Aug. Wife returned to US on 19 Aug.