Expediting Visa Process Brasil

[Lea_in_Brasil 0]

I just received my permanent residency here in Brasil where I live with my husband. I've been living here for over a year now and I emailed the consulate asking if I could go ahead and petition for my husbands CR-1 visa now instead of waiting the six months of legal residency they say they require on their site. I also asked if we could turn in the required docs for the visa the same day we file the I-130 and for a list of those docs. Basically I want to make this process go as fast as possible.

The response I recieved back from them was vague. It wasnt really the yes/no, here you go type answer that I was expecting. The email simply said find the attatched instructions (which there was no attatchment) and provide us with your husbands full name and contact number so we can set up the appointment. Thats it.

I emailed them back with the name and contact numbers and mentioned there was no attatchment.

But does this mean that we can file striaght away?

[000 0]

Yes, if you are a resident of Brasil then you are qualified to file using DCF. The U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro is the only Consulate in Brazil which accepts and processes the I-130 Petition under DCF. However, as of March 2007, they will only process petitions submitted by a U.S. Citizen who is a Resident of Brazil or under very limited emergency circumstances. You are now a resident and are entitled to file, you do not have to wait 6 months of being a resident. Pretty much they were giving you the instructions of what you needed to file and where in that attachment. So you should be good to go.

[Deanne and Carlos 0]

The U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro is the only Consulate in Brazil which accepts and processes the I-130 Petition under DCF.

Actually, you may file the I-130 at ANY consulate in Brazil, and then they forward it on to Rio. Rio is the only consulate that processes the I-130, and the only consulate that holds Immigrant Visa interviews.

I just filed my I-130 at the US Consulate in Sao Paulo on Monday! The list of documents is listed on the Rio consulate's website.

What kind of visa had you been living in Brazil on prior to getting your permanent residency? I assume you were registered at the Policia Federal?

I have been living in Brazil on two separate student visas since July of 2007, and this qualified me as a "resident" of Brazil, albeit temporary. So I would say, that if you can proove that you have been living legally in Brazil for the past year, as you mentioned, even without having been a permanent resident, it should be perfectly fine!

Good luck