I-130/DCF question - 6 months?

Just a quick question

I was born in the UK and have ILR and UK citizenship (complicated - didn't get a UK passport till I was 20 so needed ILR stamp on my US passport). But we were in the US from August 2008 to April 2009 - so we have been back less than 6 months.  The UK authorities didn't consider us resident overseas (at least, not for tax purposes).  Can we still do DCF or do we have to wait till November (6 months after we got back)? It would still be quicker than filing in the US!

We're living at the same address (a house we own) in the UK as we were before we left the UK, if that matters.

I would think that since you have ILR (which technically is invalid since you are actually a UK citizen) that you can do DCF at any point since the criteria is that you're settled in the UK and that is what ILR lets you do.
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

The USCIS London Field Office has jurisdiction for adjudicating I-130 and I-360 petitions from U.S. citizens who have permission to reside AND who do principally reside in the United Kingdom.

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/dhs/forms/i130-checklist_for_spouse.pdf

Proof of UK Residence: The U.S. petitioner must
provide evidence that he/she has permission to live
and work in the United Kingdom. Submit a copy of
one of the following:
 Appropriate UK Entry Clearance Stamp(s); OR
 If Dual National, EU Passport – photo page; OR
 U.S. Military PCS orders assigning you to the UK.

Since you are Dual Citizen, submit both passports to show you meet the criteria.

I know - technically I had UK citizenship before I was 20 but never "took it up" so to speak so they stamped my US passport.

I don't have to submit the actual passports, do I, just copies?

The guidance says copies. You can click on the link in my previous post and have a look at the checklist to make sure.

Yep - it says copies of passports. It does say original marriage certificate so I think that's what confused me.

Thanks! V clear now.

Yep - it says copies of passports. It does say original marriage certificate so I think that's what confused me.

Thanks! V clear now.

Whatever you do, only send copies of documentation used as proof - all originals should be taken to the interview.

Yep - having re-read it for the Nth time, I can see what it means (and we've got the proper copy of the marriage certificate, though we didn't have it till we applied for his US visitor's visa last year)

Hmm, my understanding was that even with ILR you had to have been living there for at least 6 months. Is this for your spouse? I am so confused. If you had ILR do you also have US citizenship? 

Hmm, my understanding was that even with ILR you had to have been living there for at least 6 months. Is this for your spouse? I am so confused. If you had ILR do you also have US citizenship? 

All the guidance says is that you must have 'permission to live and work in the UK' or 'Principally Reside in the UK', which is basically any visa longer than 6 months. It does not specifically state if you actually have to be in the Country for 6 months before you can do a DCF.

The OP has ILR in her US Passport AND a UK Passport from UK Citizenship by descent. Obviously the UK Passport was issued after the ILR for what ever reason she did not apply for the passport before moving to the UK (which would have been a much more inexpensive option than the UK visa system).

Now I get to thinking about it, ILR would only be issued after 2 years of residence in the UK and since they did a Visitor's Visa to the US Last Year, why wouldn't she meet the 6 month residence requirement (if there actually is one) already? And I'd think that since it was a VISITOR visa for 9 months to the US AND they own a home in the UK and live in that home that they qualify under the 'principally reside' portion of the requirement and they were just on an extended VISIT to the US.

katiea- what visa do you actually have? Where was it issued & when was it issued? And why were you in the US for 9 months?

Hmm, my understanding was that even with ILR you had to have been living there for at least 6 months. Is this for your spouse? I am so confused. If you had ILR do you also have US citizenship? 

It is confusing...I read back through some of the OP's posts and she, as the US citizen, will be acting as the petitioner for her UK husband.  So, even though she's a dual citizen NOW, she has ILR in her US passport...

My only question is that you could get ILR and then leave the country, and the purpose of DCF is so people who live overseas can have an easier time getting the visa, so I am not sure if they will look at her passport, see she hasn't been in the country for 6 months, and then decline it. I think there is a possibility this could happen.

I found this:
In order to file your I-130 petition with USCIS London you must be a resident of the UK. Generally this means that you have been in the UK on some kind of resident visa for at least 6 months. ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain), LLR (Limited Leave to Remain) and EU Family Permits have all been accepted in the recent past. The important distintion is that the USC must be genuinely resident, and can prove it, rather than here temporarily.

I would suggest the OP contact the embassy and ask:
 By Phone

The embassy's phone lines are known both as 'the extortion line' and the 'misinformation line'. It is very expensive to call and frequently are not very helpful. It can be cheaper to call the DOS.

Operator Assisted Visa Information: 09042-450-100 (£1.20/min) Monday through Friday, between 8.00 am and 8:00 pm, and Saturday, between 09.00 am and 4.00 pm

Visa Information Line: 09068-200-290 (60p/min) 24 hrs only available in the U.K., within U.K. may be unavailable from some business telephones and mobile networks.
By Email

LondonConsular@state.gov

Just to clarify:

I was born in the UK and my mother is a USC. So, I got a UK birth cert, a certificate of USC birt overseas and as, at the time (umpty-ump years ago) it wasn't 100% clear (at least to us) whether I could keep my USC as an adult, I just got a US passport with an ILR stamp (at the time, this was a freebie stamped on re-entry to the UK)

I got my UK passport aged 20 to travel to France.

I've been mainly in the UK since 2000, but we spent Aug 2008 till April 2009 in the US (me working, him on a visitor's visa because it wasn't long enough for LPR). We hope to go back for longer so he'll get a green card then.

Just to clarify:

I was born in the UK and my mother is a USC. So, I got a UK birth cert, a certificate of USC birt overseas and as, at the time (umpty-ump years ago) it wasn't 100% clear (at least to us) whether I could keep my USC as an adult, I just got a US passport with an ILR stamp (at the time, this was a freebie stamped on re-entry to the UK)

I got my UK passport aged 20 to travel to France.

I've been mainly in the UK since 2000, but we spent Aug 2008 till April 2009 in the US (me working, him on a visitor's visa because it wasn't long enough for LPR). We hope to go back for longer so he'll get a green card then.

Based on this you are a normal resident of the UK. So set aside that you visited the US for 9 months, as you still maintained your principal residence in the UK. I would do the DCF, as there is a difference to visiting the US and residing in the US (which you have not done).