After DCF how long does it take to actually get Green Card

[USADCFSpainSpouse 0]

Once one files directly with the US Embassy (DCF) the following check list (see below) for spouse after July '08 marriage how long does it take to get the Green Card? Does anyone know the waiting time frame???

As of right now, these are the forms/paperwork I have prepared:

I-130

G-325 for both

OF-169 Consulate Checklist (actual police cert. and med. eval. still to do in June) plus I-134 plus employer letter plus bank statement

DS-230 Part I and Part II

I-864 (3 tax yrs. transcripts and w-2s, pay stubs for 6 mths. and employer letter

Please let me know if I have missed anything?

ANY help is REALLY appreciated!!!

[Dr. Obvious 49]

You do not need the I-134. Make sure you remember the photos that go with the I-130.

It took about a month after arrival in the US for my husband to receive his green card in the mail. That seems to be about average.

Edited March 2, 2008 by Wacken

[Chica Yeyé 41]

You might also want to include the papers that prove the USC's legal residence in Spain.

Oh! And my GC arrived about 50 days after being in the US. But in the meanwhile you will have the I-551 stamp in your passport and a visa (looks like the biopage in your passport).

Edited March 2, 2008 by Len_and_Bren

[USADCFSpainSpouse 0]

You do not need the I-134. Make sure you remember the photos that go with the I-130.

It took about a month after arrival in the US for my husband to receive his green card in the mail. That seems to be about average.

Okay, I'm confused!!! Do we have to be in the US to get the Green Card? After we file the DCF at the US Embassy in Madrid, I was hoping we could wait for the Green Card and we we just pick it up at the US Embassy or they would mail it to us in Madrid? Does one have to be in the US to get the Green Card? I know you usually get a visa before the Green Card, but since we are doing the DCF directly to get the Green Card-I guess I was thinking we wouldn't have to be in the US to get it since we are not going the visa route??? Please let me know your thoughts???

The idea is that if my husband has the Green Card in hand, he would feel secure enough to take the leap or rather move to the US if we decide to do it. This way he can work, etc.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Unfortunately, you can't wait for the Green Card to arrive before you leave. The visa you will receive (CR1 or IR1 depending on how long you two have been married) allows your husband to enter the country as an immigrant. Once he enters, the packet of papers (known on here as the Mysterious Brown Envelope) he gives to the immigration officer at the POE will be forwarded on to USCIS. This acts as the trigger for USCIS to generate his physical green card. This can be fairly quick (my husband got his in under 4 weeks) but in some cases can be protracted. In the interim, the stamp he receives at the POE (an I-551 stamp) will act as a temporary green card, and is good for one year.

Sorry if this wasn't what you were expecting to hear! He is still a permanent resident, physical green card or no. He can seek and obtain employment just as if he had the piece of plastic. It isn't the card that is important, but his immigration status, and that is evidenced by the stamp in his passport. And incidentally, doing DCF doesn't mean you're "not going the visa route" -- your husband is still getting a visa to enter the country as an immigrant. Just a little terminology clear-up!

Good luck!

Edited March 3, 2008 by elmcitymaven

[USADCFSpainSpouse 0]

Unfortunately, you can't wait for the Green Card to arrive before you leave. The visa you will receive (CR1 or IR1 depending on how long you two have been married) allows your husband to enter the country as an immigrant. Once he enters, the packet of papers (known on here as the Mysterious Brown Envelope) he gives to the immigration officer at the POE will be forwarded on to USCIS. This acts as the trigger for USCIS to generate his physical green card. This can be fairly quick (my husband got his in under 4 weeks) but in some cases can be protracted. In the interim, the stamp he receives at the POE (an I-551 stamp) will act as a temporary green card, and is good for one year.

Sorry if this wasn't what you were expecting to hear! He is still a permanent resident, physical green card or no. He can seek and obtain employment just as if he had the piece of plastic. It isn't the card that is important, but his immigration status, and that is evidenced by the stamp in his passport. And incidentally, doing DCF doesn't mean you're "not going the visa route" -- your husband is still getting a visa to enter the country as an immigrant. Just a little terminology clear-up!

Good luck!

Elmcitymaven,

Okay, so let me see if I understand this? After we get married and file all the paperwork via DCF with the embassy...we go through all the motions and wait. Once we do this than we have to make a trip to the US in order to trigger the Green Card to be sent to us? Is this to say that we HAVE to make a trip to the US in order to complete the process to get the Green Card? How long after the paperwork is filed do we have to make the trip so as not to let the paperwork expire. AGh! please help!!!

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Elmcitymaven,

Okay, so let me see if I understand this? After we get married and file all the paperwork via DCF with the embassy...we go through all the motions and wait. Once we do this than we have to make a trip to the US in order to trigger the Green Card to be sent to us? Is this to say that we HAVE to make a trip to the US in order to complete the process to get the Green Card? How long after the paperwork is filed do we have to make the trip so as not to let the paperwork expire. AGh! please help!!!

Yes, you go through the whole process in Spain; then you cross the US border and establish residence here, and then you get your greencard. You have 6 months to activate your visa after you are approved at your interview in the Consulate. But you obviously have to move to the US (within 6 months); that's the whole point.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

You have to also keep in mind abandonment issues with your green card. You just cannot come here, wait a month for it to come and then leave again indefinitely. If you are gone for too long or make no real effort to establish residency here, they will cancel the green card and you will have to go through this all over again.

[USADCFSpainSpouse 0]

Elmcitymaven,

Okay, so let me see if I understand this? After we get married and file all the paperwork via DCF with the embassy...we go through all the motions and wait. Once we do this than we have to make a trip to the US in order to trigger the Green Card to be sent to us? Is this to say that we HAVE to make a trip to the US in order to complete the process to get the Green Card? How long after the paperwork is filed do we have to make the trip so as not to let the paperwork expire. AGh! please help!!!

Yes, you go through the whole process in Spain; then you cross the US border and establish residence here, and then you get your greencard. You have 6 months to activate your visa after you are approved at your interview in the Consulate. But you obviously have to move to the US (within 6 months); that's the whole point.

Okay, well my happy thought is that I have already established residency since I am obviously American and I am going to use my current pull-employment in the US to support his 1-130 DCF for Green Card, etc. However, I guess once his immigrant visa is approved then we have to make a trip to the US to trigger everything. We will also try to make a trip to the US in the window of 6 months.

Do you know where I can read up more on these technicalities with respect to following the rules to get the Green Card? Like what to do and what no to do? After all this, I don't want to mess things up..but logistically I am trying to work it all out with the filing in Madrid and then getting the visa, then Green Card.

I obviously don't want to jeapordize his Green Card, but rather find out what to do to faciliate getting it. I am wrong to think that if I have a stateside residential address (which they ask where to send the Green Card) that they will just send it to that address? Where can I learn more about what steps to take and not to take once we enter the US? I imagine we may be bouncing back and forth a bit-and I don't want to mess anything up.

[USADCFSpainSpouse 0]

You have to also keep in mind abandonment issues with your green card. You just cannot come here, wait a month for it to come and then leave again indefinitely. If you are gone for too long or make no real effort to establish residency here, they will cancel the green card and you will have to go through this all over again.

Can you please tell me where I can read up on all of this? I guess I thought once you file for the Green Card and are approved...you are done=obviously wrong. Please tell me where I can study about this???

[Chica Yeyé 41]

The visa you get is for establishing residence in the US. As a permanent resident, you need to reside in US territory for certain amount of time a year (not sure how many days); but certainly hopping around will not help him retain permanent residency. I'm not sure about the times needed, but this is something you should check out.

They will not send the green card until he has set foot in the US and activated his visa --- though they do "drop" the green card in the mailbox, you don't have like to sign for it or anything.

[Dr. Obvious 49]

You have to also keep in mind abandonment issues with your green card. You just cannot come here, wait a month for it to come and then leave again indefinitely. If you are gone for too long or make no real effort to establish residency here, they will cancel the green card and you will have to go through this all over again.

Can you please tell me where I can read up on all of this? I guess I thought once you file for the Green Card and are approved...you are done=obviously wrong. Please tell me where I can study about this???

Nope, that's why the little guy watching the clock is at the end of my signature. That is when my husband can file for naturalization. Only after is he a citizen can we finally relax knowing we will never have to deal with this again if we decide to leave the country (very probable). Abandonment is a tricky issue. Here is what the USCIS says:

You may be found to have abandoned your permanent resident status if you:

* Move to another country intending to live there permanently.

* Remain outside of the US for more than one year without obtaining a reentry permit or returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Remain outside of the US for more than two years after issuance of a reentry permit without obtaining a returning resident visa. However in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the US may be considered, even if it is less than one year.

* Fail to file income tax returns while living outside of the US for any period.

* Declare yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your tax returns.

[Reeena 0]

Just curious after reading this post...

I am the USC in the military living in Canada...

My husband is Canadian so if after we file all of our paperwork via DCF in Toronto and he gets his "VISA"

what happens if we get stationed in Japan and he never actually lives in the states...will my husband still get his "green card"?

Thanks

[MargotDarko 0]

Just curious after reading this post...

I am the USC in the military living in Canada...

My husband is Canadian so if after we file all of our paperwork via DCF in Toronto and he gets his "VISA"

what happens if we get stationed in Japan and he never actually lives in the states...will my husband still get his "green card"?

Thanks

As long as he enters the US with his valid visa (either CR1 or IR1 depending on how long you have been married) and you have a US mailing address (can use a family members' address), you'll be fine. His visa will be stamped and will be just as good as his physical green card for a year. Being stationed in Japan due to being the military does not cause the problems that occur for non-miltary families who do not live in the US.