According to USCIS, U.S. citizens who live abroad, including members of the armed forces, can now resume filing the Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130, with a U.S. embassy or consulate in countries where there is no USCIS international office.

USCIS international offices will continue to accept I-130 petitions from U.S. citizens living in countries where those offices are located and there is no expected interruption in this service. For more information about these international offices, visit: https://egov.immigration.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.

All consular offices and internationally-based USCIS officers will also accept petitions from certain individuals who do not live abroad in the following cases:

~ Emergency situations, such as life and death, health and safety, etc.
~ Situations where allowing for an overseas filing would be considered in the national interest, such as processing petitions filed by U.S. military personnel stationed overseas who are in the middle of a transfer of orders.

According to the Department of State, a U.S. citizen who has been living outside of the U.S. for a minimum of six months is considered as residing overseas, for the purposes of accepting filed-in forms I-130. Please note that U.S. citizens who are outside the U.S. for short periods of time, but who live within the U.S. should file their I-130 petitions with the correct service center in the U.S., not abroad.