New update regarding the Form I-130 of the US

Form I-130 is one of the most widely filed in the US. US citizens or Green Card holders have to file the Form I-130 to sponsor a close relative to migrate to the United States of America.

Earlier, people filing the Form I-130 could do so directly with the USCIS or at any USCIS field offices abroad. They could also file the Form I-130 with a US Embassy or Consulate abroad provided they can prove an exceptional circumstance.

However, the latest update is that the USCIS will no longer accept the Form I-130 at any of its international field offices. The only exceptions are the field offices at London, England and Accra, Ghana who will continue to accept the Form I-130. The changes were announced on 31^st January and have come into effect from 1^st February 2020.

The field offices in Accra and London will continue to accept and adjudicate the Form I-130 until 1^st April 2020.

Going forward, Form I-130 would only be accepted by the USCIS domestically. Under special circumstances, the Form I-130 may be accepted internationally by the Dept. of State.

The US plans to expand and encourage petitioners to file the Form I-130 online. Online filing of the form has been made available from 30^th October 2019. Petitioners can now file the form online, track the status of the form and also receive notifications from the USCIS. With it, the US aims to transfer the international workload to the Dept. of State.

Between now and August 2020, the US plans to close 13 international field offices of the USCIS.

The processing time for the Form I-130 at many international field offices was less than a month. In contrast, the domestic USCIS field office has a wait time of 7 to 15 months. The new regulation would affect all foreigners seeking to join their relatives in the US. It would also affect the members of the US military who are applying for US citizenship.

If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to the USA, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.

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