Has anyone seen this? Does it mean no more DCF after 2/1/2020?

[zjyxh]

Hello everyone,

Does anybody know what is going on with DCF after 2/1/2020? The following was on 1/31/2020 received From: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services <uscis@public.govdelivery.com> recently with the Subject: USCIS Updates Process for Accepting Petitions for Relatives Abroad.

Thanks.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that, as part of the adjustment of its international footprint to increase efficiencies, Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, will only be processed domestically by USCIS or internationally by the Department of State in certain circumstances beginning Feb 1, 2020.

DOS will assume responsibility for certain services previously provided at USCIS international offices, services that DOS already provide in countries where USCIS does not have a presence. Eligible active-duty service members assigned overseas will file their Form I-130 locally with DOS, as will certain non-military petitioners who meet specific criteria for consular processing.

“USCIS continues to modernize and become more efficient as an agency,” said USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans. “Since the Department of State has a much larger international presence, we have delegated authority to our State partners to accept and adjudicate petitions for immediate relatives abroad in certain circumstances. USCIS continues to expand online filing options, which are available to those filing domestically or those filing from abroad, saving applicants and petitioners time and money.”

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.

All other petitioners residing overseas must file Form I-130 online or by mail through the USCIS Dallas Lockbox facility for domestic processing.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and LinkedIn (/uscis).

Please do not reply to this message. See our Contact Us page for phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

 

[Randy W]

No - there will be accepting DCF applications as long as the USCIS office is open. There are presently no plans to ACTUALLY shut it down. I believe the USCIS office closures were simply a gleam in Steve Bannon's eye.

 

Check the existing CFL topic to find a list of those offices which actually WERE shut down.

 

NOTE however, that they may also be attempting to consolidate petition processing into the stateside offices.

 

Stay tuned.

[Randy W]

existing CFL topic

 

 

DCF ending??

http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/49869-dcf-ending/

[Randy W]

In other words, they may still accept DCF-filed petitions at overseas offices which are still open, but the processing may be shifted to the U.S.

 

This would pretty much eliminate the advantage of filing DCF.

 

Then again, what with the adoptions processed through the Guangzhou office, they MAY decide to keep this processing available.

[newacct]

No - there will be accepting DCF applications as long as the USCIS office is open. There are presently no plans to ACTUALLY shut it down. I believe the USCIS office closures were simply a gleam in Steve Bannon's eye.

 

Check the existing CFL topic to find a list of those offices which actually WERE shut down.

 

NOTE however, that they may also be attempting to consolidate petition processing into the stateside offices.

 

Stay tuned.

Have you read the announcement and the new section in the policy manual about the exceptional circumstances DOS can accept I-130? It seems to be a new policy that took effect February 1 and is different from the office closings. A regular petitioner living in the country filing DCF doesn't seem to fall into any of the exceptional circumstances that DOS can accept I-130 now.

[Randy W]

No - it is a work in progress concerning the office closures.

 

Like I said if DCF'd petitions are processed stateside, that pretty well takes away most of the advantage of filing DCF., but if you fit the circumstances in effect, you can still do so.

 

I'm trying to double check, but USCIS Guangzhou is still alive and, I expect still accepting DCF, which yes, may be processed stateside

[Randy W]

Yes, they are! According to their website

 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services | U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China

 

https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/embassy-consulates/beijing/sections-offices/u-s-citizenship-immigration-services/#collapse2

[canrun]

Does the wording of this article change what has been written previously in this thread? Thanks.

 

https://lawandborder.com/i-130s-no-longer-accepted-by-uscis-international-offices/

[Randy W]

Does the wording of this article change what has been written previously in this thread? Thanks.

 

https://lawandborder.com/i-130s-no-longer-accepted-by-uscis-international-offices/

No. Notice that it says, "accept and adjudicate" . The adjudication is being centralized in the U.S.

 

This has not been fully implemented and is being implemented under a fairly opaque transition.

 

 

Gary Chodorow is simply reiterating the target policy of the Trump administration

[canrun]

Thanks, Randy! Much appreciated.

[jnqian]

I am at the point to go through DCF for my wife's I-130.

I found this online "USCIS has delegated authority to DOS to accept and adjudicate a Form I-130 filed by a U.S. citizen petitioner for an immediate relative[4] if the petitioner establishes exceptional circumstances or falls under blanket authorization criteria defined by USCIS. This policy applies even in countries with a USCIS presence. Without such delegation, DOS has no authority to permit a U.S. embassy or consulate to accept a local Form I-130 filing abroad."

I did get an auto message from CIS filed office in Guangzhou that DCF is no longer available from CIS in Guangzhou, however from above statement, I read that DOS could perform DCF under some criteria.

My question is that is the DOS office the same as Citizen Service Counter at Guangzhou Consulate? Which, is still open and taking appointment. Can I just go there to process I-130?

Please help.

[Randy W]

Yes you can go there and find out.

 

It may be worth your while to do so, but I can't guarantee even that

 

See also what I posted in your other thread

[jnqian]

Thanks, Randy.

I would appreciate any clue I could get.

Could we move the discussion to the other thread? I posted some questions at "DCF Ending" thread...

[Randy W]

Thanks, Randy. I would appreciate any clue I could get. Could we move the discussion to the other thread? I posted some questions at "DCF Ending" thread...

 

I couldn't figure out how to easily do that on my cell phone, so I'll have to leave it alone for now.