E-filed I-130 instead of visiting london

[fishlioni]

Hi. My wife recently filed a i-130 petition for my US green card. Instead of physically handing in my petition to the London office, it was e-filed online and is now in the e-filing queue with the Nebraska office. The filing for the Nebraska office says 12 - 15.5 months but the London field office say 120 day. I was wondering if e-filing would mean that my petition has to adhere to the longer processing times?

[PKumar01]

That's not the same thing. What you're referring to, in the US Embassy, is called Direct Consular Filing. That's a separate procedure for getting a spousal visa and it has different requirements. What your spouse did was the correct petition with the I-130. Indeed, by filing the I-130, nowadays the waiting time for USCIS review is 12+ months.

[fishlioni]

That's not the same thing. What you're referring to, in the US Embassy, is called Direct Consular Filing. That's a separate procedure for getting a spousal visa and it has different requirements. What your spouse did was the correct petition with the I-130. Indeed, by filing the I-130, nowadays the waiting time for USCIS review is 12+ months.

Thank you for your reply - much appreciated. Do you know if it is possible to move the application or cancel and resubmit? What a frustrating error

[PKumar01]

Well, before you cancel or withdraw the petition, realize that Direct Consular Filing (DCF) has many requirements. Be sure that your spouse in the US can meet those requirements, otherwise, you will have to revert back to the i-130 in the US. So, I suggest you look at the procedures for DCF in London and check whether you're eligible to file before you decide to withdraw your I-130 petition. The reason I say that is because sometimes there's a residency period that the US citizen must have within the host country before they're eligible to get DCF benefits. To me, the I-130 that your spouse is probably the one you're going to end up using.

[fishlioni]

Well, before you cancel or withdraw the petition, realize that Direct Consular Filing (DCF) has many requirements. Be sure that your spouse in the US can meet those requirements, otherwise, you will have to revert back to the i-130 in the US. So, I suggest you look at the procedures for DCF in London and check whether you're eligible to file before you decide to withdraw your I-130 petition. The reason I say that is because sometimes there's a residency period that the US citizen must have within the host country before they're eligible to get DCF benefits. To me, the I-130 that your spouse is probably the one you're going to end up using.

Thank you. My wife has been a resident in the UK for the last 2 1/2 years on a spousal visa. The online enquiry even gave us an option of attending london for the interview so we were shocked when this came up.