Mexican wife admitted to PhD program, DCF for residency?

[coastallinguist 0]

Hi all, I must admit I'm feeling a little lost in this whole process, and not sure exactly where to start. I've asked on another forum and the advice I received was to do a Direct Consular Filing for my wife into the US.

Background:

I am a US citizen by birth 27 years old, living in Mexico and teaching English since 2007. My wife is a Mexican citizen, 24 years old. We met in Queretaro Mexico in 03, began dating in the US in 05 while she was on a Student Visa, dated nearly three years and were married in July of 08. We've lived together since the wedding. She has a laser tourist visa that is currently more than sufficient for our travel needs but...

We (She, really) applied for a PhD program at Arizona State University in Environmental Social Science (she is an anthropologist) and she was admitted to the university for Fall 2009. We are in the process of applying for a scholarship from the mexican federal government for her doctorate to be paid for.

Initially, we were planning on going there with her on a student visa, but according to one lawyer, it will almost assuredly be denied on account of her marital status since she's hitched to an American citizen. I read up on dual intent, but the last thing we want to do is pass up the opportunity for her to get her PhD while she is still quite young.

I have not worked in the US since the middle of 2007 before which I had two years of income that were more than sufficiently above the 125% of the poverty line. Based on rules on the IRS website because I have had minimal income down here in Mexico, I did not file/have not filed any taxes for the year of 2008.

Now that that's out of the way... here's my questions:

1. Do we apply for her permanent residency or a student visa?

2. If the answer is Permanent Residency for family ties, then Direct Consular File in Juarez or through a regional office in the US?

3. After acknowledgement of the I-130, what are the steps we need to take?

4. What do I do about the affidavit of support? I have no current residence in the US... I live in Mexico and earn PESOS. Do I automatically have my father submit an affidavit of support along with mine (which will obviously be insufficient)

What else am I leaving out? Forgetting?

Any information you need to help me along the way I will gladly provide.

-Michael and Sindy

[payxibka 10,045]

If I remember correctly, CDJ does not do DCF... but I would verify this information with the consulate

[Bobby+Umit 161]

Hi all, I must admit I'm feeling a little lost in this whole process, and not sure exactly where to start. I've asked on another forum and the advice I received was to do a Direct Consular Filing for my wife into the US.

Background:

1. Do we apply for her permanent residency or a student visa?

I would go for the LPR.

2. If the answer is Permanent Residency for family ties, then Direct Consular File in Juarez or through a regional office in the US?

3. After acknowledgement of the I-130, what are the steps we need to take?

Guides above will step you through it.

4. What do I do about the affidavit of support? I have no current residence in the US... I live in Mexico and earn PESOS. Do I automatically have my father submit an affidavit of support along with mine (which will obviously be insufficient)

If you can't meet the criteria, you will need a co-sponsor. Follow the instructions on the I-134 and for reference, for the I-864

What else am I leaving out? Forgetting?

Follow the guides, then you will know

Any information you need to help me along the way I will gladly provide.

-Michael and Sindy

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Congrats on the acceptance to the doctorate, that is sooooo cool!

I am not too sure about the US immigration side of things BUT, having worked for Conacyt back in the day (the ones that give the $$$ for study abroad), I can tell you she is expected to return and reside in Mexico after she completes her PhD program; so you want to be careful about that condition for her scholarship.

If Juarez takes DCF (check the "embassy info" link), go for that one. Do note that immigrant visa processing takes a while; I don't know when does her admission to ASU expires.

If you file stateside, GET A CR-1.; not a K-3.

Get a co-sponsor (your parents, friends, someone); even if you still have to file an I-864.

Best of luck!

[YuAndDan 153]

Will the Mexican government pay a scholarship for a student who is in the USA on a green-card??? Typically when a government pays someone's tuition for schooling in the USA, the required visa tends to be a J-1 visa with a 2 year foreign residency requirement after completing schooling.

As for your questions:

1) If she wished to remain in the USA permanently then a CR-1 or IR-1 visa needs to be filed for, A student cannot remain in the USA after completing studies.

2) DCF REQUIRES US citizen to have been resident in foreign country for 6 months or longer, IF SO then file in Mexico, If not then file the I-130 to USCIS Chicago PO BOX.

3) You will get mail either form consulate (DCF) or USCIS and NVC if you file I-130 to USCIS Chicago, instructing your next steps.

4) You will need to file an I-864 as sponsor and petitioner, I-864 REQUIRES evidence of US Domicile, YOU will need to re-establish US domicile if you gave it up before the visa interview or else NO VISA.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

addition: I just checked the Embassy Info and Ciudad Juarez does not process DCF. Sorry

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Will the Mexican government pay a scholarship for a student who is in the USA on a green-card??? Typically when a government pays someone's tuition for schooling in the USA, the required visa tends to be a J-1 visa with a 2 year foreign residency requirement after completing schooling.

As for your questions:

1) If she wished to remain in the USA permanently then a CR-1 or IR-1 visa needs to be filed for, A student cannot remain in the USA after completing studies.

2) DCF REQUIRES US citizen to have been resident in foreign country for 6 months or longer, IF SO then file in Mexico, If not then file the I-130 to USCIS Chicago PO BOX.

3) You will get mail either form consulate (DCF) or USCIS and NVC if you file I-130 to USCIS Chicago, instructing your next steps.

4) You will need to file an I-864 as sponsor and petitioner, I-864 REQUIRES evidence of US Domicile, YOU will need to re-establish US domicile if you gave it up before the visa interview or else NO VISA.

Ciudad juarez does not accept DCF YuandDan; unless the VJ guides are wrong.

Conacyt, the scholarship granting body in Mexico does not look at your visa status, that is your responsibility, as is admission to the university in question. They -stupidly- operate on a good faith code that expects you not only to return after graduation, but to repay through teaching and research at a public higher education institution for "x" number of years -- or you should pay back the money they invested in you. Needless to say, a lot of folks with little ethics pay no attention and just never return; attitude which completely pisses the hell out of me. But it happens.

I am only so happy I did not get funding from them

[coastallinguist 0]

Will the Mexican government pay a scholarship for a student who is in the USA on a green-card??? Typically when a government pays someone's tuition for schooling in the USA, the required visa tends to be a J-1 visa with a 2 year foreign residency requirement after completing schooling.

As for your questions:

1) If she wished to remain in the USA permanently then a CR-1 or IR-1 visa needs to be filed for, A student cannot remain in the USA after completing studies.

2) DCF REQUIRES US citizen to have been resident in foreign country for 6 months or longer, IF SO then file in Mexico, If not then file the I-130 to USCIS Chicago PO BOX.

3) You will get mail either form consulate (DCF) or USCIS and NVC if you file I-130 to USCIS Chicago, instructing your next steps.

4) You will need to file an I-864 as sponsor and petitioner, I-864 REQUIRES evidence of US Domicile, YOU will need to re-establish US domicile if you gave it up before the visa interview or else NO VISA.

Ciudad juarez does not accept DCF YuandDan; unless the VJ guides are wrong.

Conacyt, the scholarship granting body in Mexico does not look at your visa status, that is your responsibility, as is admission to the university in question. They -stupidly- operate on a good faith code that expects you not only to return after graduation, but to repay through teaching and research at a public higher education institution for "x" number of years -- or you should pay back the money they invested in you. Needless to say, a lot of folks with little ethics pay no attention and just never return; attitude which completely pisses the hell out of me. But it happens.

I am only so happy I did not get funding from them

We don't mind coming back to mexico for a couple years if she's guaranteed work. I can find work here easily. This is one of the reasons we didn't think there'd be a problem with a student visa, she doesn't have immigrant intent, she just wants to study and HAPPENS to be married to an American. I in fact have already started the immigration process here in Mexico.

I'll go through and read the guides.

If we can't do a DCF and she can't get a student visa there's pretty much no way to get her her visa in time for THIS fall semester, is there? I'm here because I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place and I couldn't very well just move up to some random city in the US crossing my fingers that it would be the city where a uni would accept her to a PhD program.

Any thoughts? Do we need a lawyer? Can we afford one?

[cmdpdiva 0]

If it's impossible for her to get a student visa when married to an American, you still have a few options. You could file for the I-130 at a USCIS service center, and maybe get it expedited by enlisting the help of a U.S. member of congress. If it's not done in time for a Fall 2009 start, it could still be possible for your wife to enter on a tourist visa, start her classes, go back to Mexico for her interview, and then enter again with her CR-1 Green Card.

She could complete her studies, then, if it's required that she return to Mexico and work due to having received scholarship money, you could apply for a travel permit. I work at an international firm in Denmark and several of my colleagues are U.S. green card holders but are allowed to live/work outside of the States because they have travel permits that allow them to do so for 1-2 years.

However, getting a green card means that you intend to live in the U.S. If your wife gets a CR-1 (then her 10 year green card after you remove conditions) and completes her studies and then you decide to abandon it and move to Mexico for an indefinite period of time, it could be difficult for you both if you ever decide to move to the U.S. again.

[coastallinguist 0]

If it's impossible for her to get a student visa when married to an American, you still have a few options. You could file for the I-130 at a USCIS service center, and maybe get it expedited by enlisting the help of a U.S. member of congress. If it's not done in time for a Fall 2009 start, it could still be possible for your wife to enter on a tourist visa, start her classes, go back to Mexico for her interview, and then enter again with her CR-1 Green Card.

She could complete her studies, then, if it's required that she return to Mexico and work due to having received scholarship money, you could apply for a travel permit. I work at an international firm in Denmark and several of my colleagues are U.S. green card holders but are allowed to live/work outside of the States because they have travel permits that allow them to do so for 1-2 years.

However, getting a green card means that you intend to live in the U.S. If your wife gets a CR-1 (then her 10 year green card after you remove conditions) and completes her studies and then you decide to abandon it and move to Mexico for an indefinite period of time, it could be difficult for you both if you ever decide to move to the U.S. again.

The scholarship she's hoping for has a residency requirement stating that she must return for two years. She has property here and is specifically studying water usage in the hopes that she can apply it to the city she is from and that we live in.

The problem with applying for the student visa is that if it is denied then we would only have a week or two to try other avenues as it's all contingent on a scholarship that she's got a 99% chance of getting based on contacts and academic performance. I've contacted a few immigration lawyers and the university and we're waiting on answers back from them.

We'll keep you posted on progress.