[English]

Just got an email from our lawyer who submitted our application about 3 weeks ago for me to move to the states with my US husband. I'm British and we currently live in the uk.

The lawyer has been telling us all along for the last few months that it'll take 6 months. Today they've said USCIS are not even accepting the applications for 330 days so won't event look at it until September next year! Hubby's visa runs out before then so we'll end up living separately.

Anyone else going through this right now or got any experience of this?

We are both in shock as we were all set for moving early next year!

 

[Davis1]

Just got an email from our lawyer who submitted our application about 3 weeks ago for me to move to the states with my US husband. I'm British and we currently live in the uk.

The lawyer has been telling us all along for the last few months that it'll take 6 months. Today they've said USCIS are not even accepting the applications for 330 days so won't event look at it until September next year! Hubby's visa runs out before then so we'll end up living separately.

Anyone else going through this right now or got any experience of this?

We are both in shock as we were all set for moving early next year!

if he filed for you in the US for the IR1 .. it normally takes up to a year
in normal times

 

[twostep]

Just got an email from our lawyer who submitted our application about 3 weeks ago for me to move to the states with my US husband. I'm British and we currently live in the uk. !

What did the attorney submit?

The lawyer has been telling us all along for the last few months that it'll take 6 months. Today they've said USCIS are not even accepting the applications for 330 days so won't event look at it until September next year! Hubby's visa runs out before then so we'll end up living separately.!

Where is an official link to this statement? I assume it was made by your attorney.

Anyone else going through this right now or got any experience of this?!

Everything is down due to squabbles within US government.

We are both in shock as we were all set for moving early next year!

When it comes to visas anywhere - do not make plans until you have them in your pocket.

 

[English]

It was a spouse visa application (i think it's called CR1 or something like that?). We've not actually booked flights etc to move but the lawyer kept telling us it would only be 6 months from submission to completion so we mentally made plans to move early next year. When she actually submitted it on Oct 3rd, she said it had changed to 7 months so we were shocked today to hear back that it's a year before they will even look at it.

She's also told us not to contact her again until after Sept 3rd 2014 as there is nothing she can do until then :s

We are living in the UK. The lawyer is from an immigration law firm in California filing on our behalf.

 

[English]

it's I130 application.

This is what the Lawyer said

"Your I-130 spousal visa petition was receipted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS,” formerly the INS) on October 3, 2013. It is currently taking between 300-330 days from the receipt date until USCIS approval, and then another 10 days before we receive a Notice of Approval from the USCIS. Your USCIS Receipt Number is *************.

We do not expect to hear anything from the USCIS regarding your petition before September 3, 2014. We ask that you please not contact our office regarding the status of your case before this date since we will not likely have any information to offer you. If you will call us anytime after this date we will reassess timing and consider what further steps may be required."

 

[Crawford]

it's I130 application.

This is what the Lawyer said

"Your I-130 spousal visa petition was receipted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS,” formerly the INS) on October 3, 2013. It is currently taking between 300-330 days from the receipt date until USCIS approval, and then another 10 days before we receive a Notice of Approval from the USCIS. Your USCIS Receipt Number is *************.

We do not expect to hear anything from the USCIS regarding your petition before September 3, 2014. We ask that you please not contact our office regarding the status of your case before this date since we will not likely have any information to offer you. If you will call us anytime after this date we will reassess timing and consider what further steps may be required."

Must say that this forum usually give between 6 and 9 months for completion of processing times;with the shutdown maybe they are giving the worst scenario.

 

[BBCWatcher]

So why don't you proceed now to a CR1/I-129F? The I-130 does take a long time, and that's why there's the I-129F.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Where did you find this immigration lawyer? I ask because the wording of that letter sounds "funny" (and not in the "ha-ha" way) to me.

Yes, there are going to be delays due to the current government shutdown, but to tell you not to contact them for a full year is highly suspicious. From the National Law Review:

As a fee-based agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to process applications and petitions for immigration benefits during the shutdown. This includes petitions for immigrant and nonimmigrant workers as well as applications for adjustment of status. However, processing delays are possible as some staff will be furloughed.

You may have been scammed on this one. You should definitely contact the US Consulate in London and try doing your submission yourself. (I'd report the law firm in the process if I were you.)
Cheers,
Bev

 

[twostep]

The attorney does not appear up to speed. Unfortunately one of many.

OP has been married for a while and the couple has been living in the UK. How about DCF at the London Embassy?

 

[English]

Hi. Sorry for delay in responding. Been trying to get our heads around everything. We did finally speak to the lawyer again (they are a Californian law firm) and they have said we can contact them with questions etc but they won't have news on the status for a long time. They have said that the gov. Shutdown could be affecting the processing times but also that the recognition of same sex marriage is now causing a influx of new applications, which affects processing times. They have said they will keep us informed should anything with our application change. Th para legal we spoke do who's dealing with our case doesn't fill us with confidence and they have to keep putting us on hold to ask colleagues when we ask questions, but the original attorney we spoke with when we signed up with them seemed more knowledgeable. He'S not been available for us to talk to again since though.

What's DCF?

 

[English]

The other thing the lawyer has told us was about expediting the application but I've not seen anyone else mention this. Have any of you heard of doing this for the I-130?

When we first starting providing the lawyer with all the documentation, I was pregnant and due around March 2014. I unfortunately lost the baby at 10weeks in August (our second miscarriage, within 10moths of our first). The lawyer has said if I were to get pregnant again (we are still actively trying to have a family), then they would be able to petition to expedite the application on the grounds that I would be classed a higher risk pregnancy after having had two miscarriages. They would say I only had a short window in which I could safely travel and that the child should be born in the US.

Have any of you heard of anything like this before?

 

[Davis1]

there is no expediting a spousal visa
you need a better lawyer ..

try ...this guy .. if you call him you get him


K1 Fiancee Visa About Visa Earth Matthew Udall Attorney

 

[English]

Thanks Davis1. We've already paid our lawyer half the fees (we pay monthly) and signed the contract for the full amount. If we decided to switch lawyers (or take this on independently), and therefore lose the money we already paid, how would that affect our application as its already been submitted by this lawyer?

 

[Davis1]

Thanks Davis1. We've already paid our lawyer half the fees (we pay monthly) and signed the contract for the full amount. If we decided to switch lawyers (or take this on independently), and therefore lose the money we already paid, how would that affect our application as its already been submitted by this lawyer?

if you have alread paid ..probably best to stay with them

but its not a fast process

 

[ina]

Just a quick question. Why couldn't you have done DCF (direct consular filing) at the embassy in London? You can do DCF if you have both been a legal resident in the UK for the past 6 months. It's much faster, usually around 3-5 months on average.

 

[English]

We didn't realise that was an option. We hires the lawyer in the US after discussion everything with them and they never mentioned filing in London. We should have researched it a little more but we have so much on at that moment that we left everything to the lawyer. That was our mistake

Is there any way of changing this now or is it too late?

 

[ina]

Yes, I have heard from others that having a lawyer isn't always in your best interest. I once figured this out the painful way myself.

Maybe you could contact the embassy in London and ask them directly if it's too late to file directly with them. Just tell them your situation and let's see what they have to say. For sure it can't hurt your case.

 

[English]

Ok thank you

 

[twostep]

I can only tell you what I personally would do - cut my losses and walk away from the attorney. There is no such thing as expediting a spousal visa especially using birth in the US as reason.
Contact the London Embassy and take it from there.

 

[English]

Thanks. We'll update you on what happens