Fiance Visa

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

From the US State Dept website:

"You must file the Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), Form I-129F, with the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office that serves the area where you live. See the Department of Homeland Security's USCIS Field Offices for information on where you can file the petition. Note: You cannot file this petition at an embassy, consulate or U.S. immigration office abroad."

I think that means no.
Cheers,
Bev

Postman Pat in cooperation with Cliff Claven provide an excellent and cheap delivery service to file it in the US of A. You don't need to be physically present.

However, from an immigration point of view, much easier to marry in the UK and file an I-130 for a CR1 directly with the Consulate -- provided you've been resident in Britain for long enough. Takes around the same time but you hit the ground running with a green card.

[From_Turin_To_Austin]

Originally Posted by Fatbrit

However, from an immigration point of view, much easier to marry in the UK and file an I-130 for a CR1 directly with the Consulate -- provided you've been resident in Britain for long enough. Takes around the same time but you hit the ground running with a green card.

That's right: if the US citizen (sponsor) is already residing with the spouse outside the USA, the sponsor can file directly with the local Consulate/Embassy. If that isn't the case, the sponsor residing in the USA can only file with the USCIS (in the US).
I live in Italy and when I looked for info at the American Consulate General in Naples they would actually encourage to file directly with them, cos the process is on average faster [careful though: the suggestion was based on their own experience with US citizens residing in Italy, so it applied to Italy and Italy only. It could be slower elsewhere].
Either way the classification CR1 or IR1 is assigned by Immigrant visa section at the Consulate when the visa is issued.
Good luck!

[synthia]

I think it makes a big difference if you are in a developing country or a developed country. While in Central America and SEAsia, I heard story after story about the length of time it took. The general concensus was two years.