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I'm an Australian citizen still residing in Australia, My wife is an Amercian citizen currently living/working in the U.S, she will be with me in Sydney, Australia in early March and we intend to submit an I-130 for my immigration to the U.S. at the U.S. Consulate. I have read extensively on the internet about immigration and we are fully prepared with all the right documents in order to arrive on a Thursday between 8:30-11:45am as required by the US Consulate. We were married in Australia and have a legal Australian marriage certificate.
With the countless hours of reading about immigration, I think I have found a contradiction that I would like cleared up prior to us coming into the consulate. I understand that we are applying for an Immigrant Visa for me, but on the FAQ page about Non-Immigrant Visa it states the following.
How long does each type of visa take to process?
Processing time for Immigrant visa applications may take 2-4 months if the U.S. citizen files the petition (I-130) with this office. To file a petition in Sydney, the U.S. citizen spouse (petitioner) must reside in Australia.
I have read multiply times in different sections about immigration that the U.S. citizen can apply at the consulate in Sydney, in person, with no mention of residing in Australia. So my question is, seem as my wife does not currently reside in Australia and will be in Australia on a tourist visa, can she still submit the I-130 while we are in Sydney? If not, is there someway around this small hiccup especially as we are maintaining a residence in both the U.S. and Australia?
It is far more beneficial for us to submit the I-130 in Australia as it would speed things up substantially than submitting it in the U.S.
Tim Harris
With the countless hours of reading about immigration, I think I have found a contradiction that I would like cleared up prior to us coming into the consulate. I understand that we are applying for an Immigrant Visa for me, but on the FAQ page about Non-Immigrant Visa it states the following.
How long does each type of visa take to process?
Processing time for Immigrant visa applications may take 2-4 months if the U.S. citizen files the petition (I-130) with this office. To file a petition in Sydney, the U.S. citizen spouse (petitioner) must reside in Australia.
I have read multiply times in different sections about immigration that the U.S. citizen can apply at the consulate in Sydney, in person, with no mention of residing in Australia. So my question is, seem as my wife does not currently reside in Australia and will be in Australia on a tourist visa, can she still submit the I-130 while we are in Sydney? If not, is there someway around this small hiccup especially as we are maintaining a residence in both the U.S. and Australia?
It is far more beneficial for us to submit the I-130 in Australia as it would speed things up substantially than submitting it in the U.S.
Tim Harris
