Instructions for Filing an I-130 & I-360 with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services office in London

Who can file their I-130/I-360 at the London Field Office?

The USCIS Field Office London will only accept I-130 petitions from United States Citizens who reside within our jurisdiction.  United States citizens whose principal residence is not in our jurisdiction, and/or who entered our jurisdiction as a temporary visitor or on a  UK student visa must file the petition with the appropriate USCIS office in the United States.

In order to meet the above criteria; the United States citizen must satisfy two requirements:

• The United States citizen must show evidence that he/she has permission from the UK Home Office to live and work in the United Kingdom; and
• The United States citizen must also show that his/her principal residence is in fact in the UK. 

“Principal residence will have been considered established after the United States citizen has resided in the United Kingdom at least six months from the date of arrival following approval of UK Entry Clearance”

News August 2011

Effective August 15, 2011, U.S. citizens resident in the United Kingdom now have the option of filing their I-130 petition at the London Field Office or they can file their petition with the Chicago Lock Box.  See more at USCIS.gov

U.S. citizens who reside in the United States or do not meet the above UK residency requirements must file their petition with the appropriate USCIS Service Center in the United States.  Be sure to include your U.S. address on the petition and submit the filing fee according to the instructions for filing in the U.S. which can be found on http://www.uscis.gov .

Lawful permanent residents must file their I-130 petition in the United States.

How do I file the petition?

Download and utilize the following checklists to file your I-130; they contain easy-to-follow detailed instructions.

• I-130 Petition for Alien Spouse [PDF - 71kb]
• I-130 Petition for Alien Child [PDF - 70kb]
• I-130 Petition for the Parent [PDF - 67kb]
• I-130 Petition for Sister or Brother [PDF - 68kb]
• I-130 Photo Requirements [PDF - 67kb]

To help you complete these forms we have a sample of a completed I-130 form [PDF - 593Kb].

Forms

• Form I-130 (PDF - 201kb)
• Form I-360 (PDF - 227kb)
• Form G-325A (PDF - 568kb)
• Credit Card Payment Form (PDF - 49kb)
• Form G-1145 – E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (PDF - 1kb) although instructions on the form relates to the Lockbox filing, please use this form to advise the London Field Office of your email address so that we can properly notify you of your filing of the I-130.

Processing Times

Upon receipt of the I-130, USCIS will send an email/postcard to the petitioner confirming the date the I-130/I-360 was filed with the USCIS London Field Office. Individuals will then be able to view on this web page the date we are currently processing petitions. All I-130s/I-360's are adjudicated in the order they are received. We ask that you please refrain from contacting this office for status checks while your application is pending. Your cooperation will help us ensure that we maintain our exceptional processing times.

What happens after the I-130/I-360 is approved?

Filing your I-130/I-360 petition is only the first step of a two-part process. If your immediate relative petition is approved, the petitioner will receive a Notice of Approval. The original I-130/I-360 will normally be transferred to the Immigrant Visa Unit at the U.S. Consulate in the country where the beneficiary resides (unless you have specified otherwise on the I-130). The Immigrant Visa Unit will then process the immediate relative beneficiary for an immigrant visa.

For beneficiaries residing in the UK: If you have questions concerning the second part of the processing (Immigrant Visa Processing); you can visit http://london.usembassy.gov/ivprocess.html or alternatively, you may contact the Customer Call Centre at 09042-450-100 (calls cost £1.23/min plus any network extras).