Direct Consular Filing

What is Direct Consular Filing (DCF)?

For petitioners residing outside the United States, there are limited situations in which the Department of State (DOS) will accept I-130s. Generally, DOS will process Form I-130 locally if the petition falls under blanket authorization criteria, as defined by USCIS:  

• Temporary blanket authorizations for instances of prolonged or severe civil strife or a natural disaster; or  

• Blanket authorization for U.S. service members assigned to military bases abroad. 

In addition to these blanket authorizations, DOS maintains the discretion to accept Form I-130 if a U.S. citizen petitioner meets the “exceptional circumstance” criteria as outlined in the Policy Manual update. For guidance on establishing emergent circumstances, review the USCIS Guidance Memorandum

Processing of DCF applications differs from the standard USCIS-NVC process in that neither USCIS nor NVC are involved in the DCF process; everything is handled by the embassy where the application is filed (although the immigrant visa application and document submission is still done within CEAC).

DCF in the UK

Requests for DCF at the US Embassy in London are initiated through submission of the embassy's I-130 Exceptional Circumstances Request Form. The embassy identifies the following categories for DCF:

•  Military emergencies

•  Medical emergencies

•  Threats to personal safety

•  Close to ageing out

•  Petitioner has recently naturalized

•  Adoption of a child

•  Short notice of position relocation

•  U.S. Military member stationed in the UK

•  A widow(er) of a U.S. citizen self-petitioning

Applications should identify the basis for the DCF request from the list above. The embassy typically responds within 3-5 business days via email requesting proof of the basis for the request, along with documents relating to the US citizen petitioner. If accepted, the embassy offers the US citizen an appointment to file the paper I-130 form and supporting documents in-person at the embassy. About a month after approval of the I-130, the embassy provides the CEAC login information to begin the immigrant visa application process.