USCIS Advises Petitioners Overseas - Do Not Re-File I-130

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) advises anyone who filed a Petition for Alien Relative, (Form I-130) with an American embassy or consulate since July 2006 that they do not need to re-file the petition. USCIS is working with the Department of State to process those petitions.

The Department of State announced in January 2007 that certain requirements of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (enacted in July 2006) precluded them from accepting new petitions.

U.S. citizens who live abroad may continue to file new petitions with a nearby USCIS international office. A list of offices and the countries they service is on the USCIS web site: http://www.uscis.gov.

USCIS expects to issue instructions for new filings in the near future and will provide updated information once the details have been finalized with the Department of State.
Petitioners traveling overseas who actually live in the United States must file their I-130 petitions with the appropriate USCIS service center in the United States, according to the instructions on the form, http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130.pdf
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