DCF FILING: from those who have gone through it recently

I did read this a while ago and it helped. Life has kept my mind going from place to place before finding a time to respond!

Thank you for answering the questions, good to know about the I-130 I was unsure what the rules were. As for the visa we have decided that she will return to the US on the 17th March next year that way no problems will arise.

I actually just reread your last point and that is good to hear. I thought you sent each stage of the application and you were given a date after they received your last package but if you have to give notice and it is always between two to four weeks after that makes planning the application simpler, although it is still hard to judge when the initial application should be sent. We want the interview to be the end of May to the start of June so when should the DCF process be started?

Thank you for mentioning about the payslips too, it is always good to know if something is missing it can be forwarded on later

We want the interview to be the end of May to the start of June so when should the DCF process be started?

Well I would give it a good 5-6 months based on my experience from I-130 filing until the interview was scheduled.  It's so hard to know as waiting times vary.  But from what I recall, you have 6 months to enter the US after the interview and approval envelope is received in the mail.

May I also suggest adding extra 'padding' to your timeline, for unforseen obstacles? We added a couple months to that, and it still wasn't enough. Everything we'd seen said 5 - 6 months, and we added extra to it. When hubby went for his medical, they decided they had to do an extra test to prove his cold like symptoms, probably spring allergies, weren't in fact, TB. That added an extra 6 - 8 weeks to the timeline. THEN they contaminated one of his three samples, so they had to send another one, which then added another 4 to 6 weeks to things. Even with the 6 - 8 weeks added for the test all would have been fine with the extra time we were allowing.

We figured we were safe, with all our extra time we'd added, but now I am going to have to go back to the States a few weeks before him.  We never dreamed this would happen, and I would hate to see it happen to anyone else. Sure, ours is a worst case scenario type situation, but we've found out things can go differently than you plan.

Throwing my hat into the ring (and my heart into my throat):

We have officially started the process to move to the States (home?)

29 June 2012: I-130 posted
5 July 2012: Email notification- Wait time 4 months

Here we go!

Good luck! Are you returning to Philly?

Good luck! Are you returning to Philly?

Thanks! If my DH decides to get his Masters- we'll be looking at living in Philly/Eastern PA. Otherwise we are looking for jobs somewhere between Boston and DC- though we are concentrating on Philly area. I am sort of terrified not knowing where we will be (or if we will have jobs) in a year!

Thanks! If my DH decides to get his Masters- we'll be looking at living in Philly/Eastern PA. Otherwise we are looking for jobs somewhere between Boston and DC- though we are concentrating on Philly area. I am sort of terrified not knowing where we will be (or if we will have jobs) in a year!

Be patient and it will all fall into place.

I thought I would share our recent good fortune. We had approved I-130 back in 2010 which we never acted on because our circumstances changed. A little over two years on and we have decided to go ahead and make the move. After having received a letter that our case was being terminated a 4 months ago, we assumed that we would need to do the whole process again. But I phoned the Embassy in London and had a nice young man who reactivated it, moved us from CR to IR, and sent us a new petition approval letter dated 27 July 2012.

Saved us a bit of money and a few months of waiting... now just need to time medical and interview right for the big move in April.

The end is finally in sight for us! Hubby has his visa and will be flying Monday! If they hadn't decided he needed a TB test, because of his cold, and they hadn't contaminated one of his samples at the lab, he would have been here June 18th with me.

It has been a long several weeks, but at least it is nearly over. Plus, this time of not seeing each other every day, having to schedule phone calls because of time zones and work schedules, has had a bit of a 'dating' feel to it.  That doesn't mean I want to do it again any time soon, but it has been a bit of a reminder of the pre-marriage days.

Surprising update today!

29 June 2012: I-130 posted
5 July 2012: Email notification- Wait time 4 months
18 August 2012: I-130 APPROVED packet coming within 5 weeks

So I guess they are done clearing that backlog since it was just a 6 week processing time instead of 4 months?!
This might mean we could get the green card before our visit to the States in December?! Sort of freaking out because I was hoping to collect my parents part of the application in mid-dec when we were there...hmmm, what to do?

Surprising update today!

29 June 2012: I-130 posted
5 July 2012: Email notification- Wait time 4 months
18 August 2012: I-130 APPROVED packet coming within 5 weeks

Wow - that was quick
Guess you got your application in at the right time.
Best wishes on your move

Hello, I filed for my husbands i-130 and received NOA1 on August 29th.  They are currently processing applications filed on August 28th?  Any ideas on when I should hear some thing from them, ie. NOA2 ?  I am SO ready to move back to the states. =)   Thanks Amanda 

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking around the UK-Yankee sight since I applied for my spousal visa to come to the UK in 2010, but am only just now contributing anything. My husband and I have recently decided we'd like to move back to the States to be closer to my family and we sent off the I-130 on the 27th of September. I hadn't heard anything, not even an e-mail to say they'd received it and then today I got my self-addressed envelope back in the post! It had the receipt for the credit card payment and a 'Notice of Approval of Relative Immigrant Visa Petition'. It says the date the petition was filed on was October 2, 2012 and the date of approval was October 16, 2012. Only 2 weeks! I'm shocked, but elated! Now I'll be scrambling around trying to get the rest of the paperwork together over the next few weeks!

Hi all,

So from my understanding, one can do DCF filing after they have been residing in UK for 6 months on a spousal visa(I do not have ILR), is that correct? Now in that 6 months can the USC go on a vacation (2-3 week) outside of UK and still be able to file DCF? Since she has been residing in UK for 6 months except the 2-3 weeks she was gone on a vacation. Or is it you cannot even go anywhere outside of UK in the first 6 months of residing in UK if you decide to do DCF filing? Please advise!!

You have to be permanently resident in the UK. Vacations of a short duration don't affect your residency.