Success Story: 1 Month Approval of an I-130 Petition Through Direct Consular Filing 

Success Story: 1 Month Approval of an I-130 Petition Through Direct Consular Filing 

Our client, a UK national, is married to a U.S. citizen who is a member of the armed forces in the UK. Their spouse, the U.S. citizen, received a short notice relocation order, forcing them to quickly move back to the States. At the time they contacted our firm, the U.S. citizen was supposed to move back to the U.S. within 2 weeks. Not wanting to leave their spouse behind in the UK, our firm assisted in securing and expedited I-130 (Petition for Alien Relatives) through Direct Consular Filing in London. 

Direct consular filing (DCF) lets a U.S. citizen petitioner living abroad file Form I-130 straight with a local U.S. embassy or consulate instead of a USCIS lockbox, and because the consular post can review and approve “clearly approvable” cases on the spot, it skips the mail time and backlog of domestic processing. This can result in an expedited process for obtaining a green card. 

The DCF route is discretionary and limited to cases the U.S. Embassy considers to be truly urgent. A short notice relocation for a job or for military involvement is recognized as a qualifying circumstance. However, it is important to note that acceptance of DCF is at the discretion of the U.S. Embassy a person is applying from, in this case it was the London embassy. In general a U.S. citizen petitioner living and working abroad who has received a job offer in or reassignment to the United States with little notice for the required start date can qualify, as can a service member,  a U.S. service member abroad who becomes aware of a new deployment or transfer with very short notice, meaning exceptionally less notice than would normally be expected in their position. 

Because of the tight time line and the nature of this case, our firm directly requested the U.S. Embassy in London for a DCF of the I-130 petition. The embassy accepted the DCF case, with constant liaison between our firm, our clients, and the embassy, we were able to keep up with the quick tempo of this particular case. As a result our firm was able to secure the Immigrant Visa for our clients within only a month! Blue Lake Law would like to extend a huge congratulations to our clients, who are now on their way settling down in the U.S.!

At Blue Lake Law, we understand that military and relocation timelines don’t always leave room for the usual pace of immigration processing. When a short-notice deployment or job transfer threatens to separate a family, having experienced counsel to make the case directly to the appropriate U.S. Embassy can make all the difference. If you or your spouse are facing a sudden relocation order and need to explore whether Direct Consular Filing is right for your situation, our team is ready to move quickly on your behalf. Contact Blue Lake Law today to see how we can help keep your family together during your transition to the United States.