Routine I-130 processing ends at most USCIS international offices

Validated finding · five-country-2010-20260922-v118-evidence-presentation-fix

CountryUnited States

Operative dateFebruary 1, 2020

CategoryFamily immigration

Policy toolOverseas petition processing

Affected groupUs-citizen and other eligible form i-130 petitioners seeking overseas uscis filing

Policy effect

For petitions filed on or after February 1, 2020, USCIS generally stopped accepting and adjudicating routine Form I-130 petitions at its remaining international offices. Accra and London continued through March 31, 2020 to accept petitions from US citizens residing in the respective country for a spouse, unmarried child under 21, or parent where the citizen petitioner was at least 21. Other filing options remained available, including online filing and qualifying local filings with the State Department.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: For petitions filed on or after February 1, 2020, USCIS generally stopped accepting and adjudicating routine Form I-130 petitions at its remaining international offices.; Accra and London continued through March 31, 2020 to accept petitions from US citizens residing in the respective country for a spouse, unmarried child under 21, or parent where the citizen petitioner was at least 21.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

… e process. USCIS encourages all eligible petitioners to utilize online filing. This guidance, contained in Volume 6 of the Policy Manual, is effective February 1, 2020, and applies to petitions filed on or after that date. Once effective, this policy will supersede the guidance found in Chapter 21.12 of the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM), related AFM appendices, and related policy memoranda. The guidance contained in the Policy Manual is controlling and supersedes any related prior guidance on the topic. Policy Highlights • Clarifies that USCIS will, generally, no longer accept and adjudicat … e routine Form I-130 petitions at its remaining international offices, as of February 1, 2020, 2 and outlines filing options, including the new Form I-130 online filing. 1 See Process for Responding to Requests by the Department of State (DOS) to Accept a Locally Filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, PM-602-0043.1, issued May 14, 2012. 2 However, the USCIS offices in Accra, Ghana and London, United Kingdom will continue to accept and adjudicate Form I-130 petitions filed by U.S. citizens residing in-country who are filing on behalf of their spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21, … or parent (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older) through March 31, 2020. PA-2020-03: Accepting Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) Abroad Page: 2 • Removes the requirement that DOS seek and receive case-specific permission from USCIS in advance, and instead explains when DOS may exercise its discretion to accept and adjudicate Forms I-130 filed abroad, and related procedures. • Provides examples of exceptional circumstances, such as medical emergencies, and clarifies blanket authorization criteria, such as for certain active duty military members, that petitioners must meet in …

USCISPOLICY ALERT - Accepting Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) AbroadOpen official source

Retrieved from https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-manual-updates/20200131-I-130FiledAbroad.pdf

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Automated source validation is not independent human legal review. The finding should not be treated as legal advice. Record recovered-us-overseas-i130-20200201. Something wrong? Flag this record.

Routine I-130 processing ends at most USCIS international offices

Policy effect

Conditions and exceptions

Official source excerpt

Review method

Other United States changes operative in 2020