Client, who was a U.S. citizen living abroad, got married to a foreign-born national and wanted to move into the U.S. with spouse as soon as possible. Client retained Attorney Chelico for representation. Attorney Chelico reviewed current law and determined that because the U.S. citizen spouse was residing abroad for more than 6 months, the petition could be filed directly with the consular’s office and there was no need to file the petition with USCIS. This filing process was previously suspended but was recently reinstated. Attorney Chelico proceeded accordingly.
Immigrant visa was approved and issued in less than 4 months from the original filing date.