DELAWARE IMMIGRATION LAWYER BLOG

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a change in filing location instructions and addresses for the Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) (Form I-129F). The new instructions, dated 6/14/10, are part of an overall effort to transition the intake of forms from Service Centers to USCIS Lockbox facilities. Centralizing form and fee intake to a Lockbox environment allows USCIS to provide customers with more efficient and effective initial processing of applications/petitions
and fees.

Beginning Aug. 3, 2010 all Form I-129F petitions being filed by a U.S. citizen on behalf of a fiancé(e) or spouse must be submitted to the USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility.

Detailed guidance can be found in the updated Form I-129F instructions online at www.uscis.gov (click
on the Forms tab).

Many petitioners after the filing of I-130 for their foreign spouses choose to file an I-129F so that their spouses can get a K3 visa to enter the U.S. to await the approval of the previously filed I-130. Normally, the I-129F petition will be approved before the I-130 petition. However, sometimes, before the foreign spouse’s K3 interview, the I-130 is approved. If the I-130 petition has been approved and received at the consular post, a K-3 visa will not be issued. If the foreign spouse begins the K3 process at the post by returning the DS-2001 thereby notifying the post they are ready to be interviewed, she or he may opt to continue the K3 process even if the approved I-130 has arrived at the post.