DCF Mexico

[ulises 0]

DCF or no? Goal is to get VISA ASAP. ( Congrats chuk686 on your fastrack approval... WOW!)

Greetings all. I have been reading through the forum and trying to develop a strategy for getting my fiance and her son to the US. Posting in this forum as we can get married in Mexico and file DCF, actually leaning that way but could use some of your esteemed advice.

BACKSTORY - Have been living together since AUG 2010 in Ensenada, B.C. Mexico in a rental house with both names on the lease. I have been semi-retired for 10 years but want to to get back to the US to work, self employed. I do not have my FM-3 but can get it ASAP, do have a valid tourist VISA for Mexico that expires in mid June. I will use financial assets to prove ability to provide for them.

Assuming we get married in Mexico and I have my FM-3 I have the following questions:

What is the correct or best location for getting her CR-1 done ASAP? Mexico Df, Monterrey, Ciudad Juarez, or ????? The Us GOV website is not clear on what consulate would process a DCF from Baja California.

Our marriage would be recent, does this

1. eliminate the financial savings of DCF?

2. also a little confused on her status regarding recent married. Am I correct in understanding we will have to file AOS for her after 2 years? Does these mean she is also treated the same as someone who comes in under a fiance VISA?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

Hi JohnnyOOO

Check the information and phones in this webpage.

http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/sinsinfo.html

Call the numbers and ask where you can apply. I think the office in Tijuana is closed. I think one of the member of this forum started the process in Monterrey. However it is better for you to call and figure out where you need to apply for your petition.

As for your number 1 question, what financial saving are you talking about?

On number 2, I am not sure, I understand they issue the green card on conditional status, but after 2 years you will need to prove that you are still together. I am not sure how this is done, but I don't think it is an AOS.

I do remember a member here that was wondering about how to proceed, (fiancee visa or DCF), but someone explained to him that DCF would be faster and better. Just go back to April/May posts and you will surely find the info you want to know.

Curious, do you need a VISA to enter Mexico???

[Natalien 0]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks again Ulises for your response about emailing to get my case number. I have it now, and the packet 3 info, but I´m trying to fill out the 230 online and it asks for a beneficiary ID number. Does anyone know what this is about? I called Juarez to ask, and they told me they don´t have this number, only the NVC has it, but our cases don´t go to NVC right? I called NVC anyway to check, and they don´t even have my case number on file. What should I do? How did you guys obtain this number? I can´t believe we need another ID number in addition to the invoice ID and the case number. Thanks!

-Natalien

[Natalien 0]

Or maybe I don´t even need the beneficiary ID. I can print and mail the DS 230 instead of filling out the online application which asks for the ID number. Is that what you all did?

[ulises 0]

Or maybe I don´t even need the beneficiary ID. I can print and mail the DS 230 instead of filling out the online application which asks for the ID number. Is that what you all did?

Hi Natalien, when I received packet 3 instructions I downloaded and printed form DS-230. I don't remember any beneficiary ID number, maybe form DS-230 has changed recently?

I have attached the form I filled up. But forms do constantly change, so make sure to fill up the current form.

DS-230_1.pdf

[chuk686 0]

Or maybe I don´t even need the beneficiary ID. I can print and mail the DS 230 instead of filling out the online application which asks for the ID number. Is that what you all did?

Hi Natalien!

Just pulled up our DS-230 copy. I have never heard of the DS-230 being filled out online, and we just got approved. You might be talking about the DS-260?

Regardless, you need to fill out both. The DS-260 confirmation that is e-mailed to you (after you fill out the form online), you bring that to the interview. You fill out the paper DS-230, mail Part I in and bring Part II in with you to the interview to sign in front of a consular officer.

Never heard of a beneficiary ID. The only thing I can think of is Invoice ID, which I talked about in a previous post. It is required to fill out the DS-260 online.

[chuk686 0]

Hi JohnnyOOO and welcome to the forum, I have answered your questions as best I can they are in bold below.

I would recommend DCF if your goal is to get a VISA asap. Also something that would speed things up if you were married in the US. Then you don't have to get the Permiso here in Mexico and the medical. And deal with the bureaucracy here. I hope this helps.

DCF or no? Goal is to get VISA ASAP. ( Congrats chuk686 on your fastrack approval... WOW!)

Greetings all. I have been reading through the forum and trying to develop a strategy for getting my fiance and her son to the US. Posting in this forum as we can get married in Mexico and file DCF, actually leaning that way but could use some of your esteemed advice.

BACKSTORY - Have been living together since AUG 2010 in Ensenada, B.C. Mexico in a rental house with both names on the lease. I have been semi-retired for 10 years but want to to get back to the US to work, self employed. I do not have my FM-3 but can get it ASAP, do have a valid tourist VISA for Mexico that expires in mid June. I will use financial assets to prove ability to provide for them.

Assuming we get married in Mexico and I have my FM-3 I have the following questions:

What is the correct or best location for getting her CR-1 done ASAP? Mexico Df, Monterrey, Ciudad Juarez, or ????? The Us GOV website is not clear on what consulate would process a DCF from Baja California. Any office that has a USCIS. (Monterrey, Juarez, Mexico DF and Tijuana). http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=a374b363bf568110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextoid=1e09aba06bb09110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

Our marriage would be recent, does this

1. eliminate the financial savings of DCF? no, since you won't have to adjust status when you get to the US. The date of the wedding has no bearing. With a K-1 you'll still have to adjust status, where with CR-1 you will have a green card and SSN immediately.

2. also a little confused on her status regarding recent married. Am I correct in understanding we will have to file AOS for her after 2 years? Does these mean she is also treated the same as someone who comes in under a fiance VISA? You don't have to adjust your status, just "remove conditions" from the VISA and show them you are still married after 2 years. The cost of that is around $500. Adjusting Status from a K-1 is over $1000

Thank you in advance for your advice.

The bottom line is as soon as you enter the US, your wife will have her SSN and Green Card mailed to her. Where with K-1, you'll have to adjust status, and wait some more till that's done. Only after that she will be able to work.

[ulises 0]

Hi Folks,

I received the welcome letters and green cards for both of my kids two weeks after entering U.S.

However my wife's didn't arrive and we called before 30 days, they asked her to wait for 30 days and then call again. She did so, and they found out that they sent it apt 162 instead of 1624, so mail was returned to them.

We went to Mexico for vacations the day after we called, and upon our return, we had no problems, she showed the immigrant visa on her passport and they only asked her a couple of questions to verify it was her visa (they asked her parent's names).

When we arrived home, we finally got her welcome letter, but the green card hasn't arrived yet.

Also, for my youngest son we got his Social Security Card, but not for my eldest kid and nor for my wife.

The question is, should I go ahead and file for their cards in the corresponding SS office, or should I first inquire as if there was a similar error with the address and mail was returned to them? I don't want them to have 2 social security numbers.

[chuk686 0]

For anyone that is interested, I think ZeeZee was inquiring about the "Police Certificate". I was stressed about this too, and brought mine from Canada, after going through many hoops to get it.

Anyways, they never asked for it at all!!!! The other thing they never asked for was the DS-230 part II signed in front of them. I thought this was odd, but I have my visa in hand. So their loss I guess.

I would still bring it, just in case.

[chuk686 0]

Hi Folks,

I received the welcome letters and green cards for both of my kids two weeks after entering U.S.

However my wife's didn't arrive and we called before 30 days, they asked her to wait for 30 days and then call again. She did so, and they found out that they sent it apt 162 instead of 1624, so mail was returned to them.

We went to Mexico for vacations the day after we called, and upon our return, we had no problems, she showed the immigrant visa on her passport and they only asked her a couple of questions to verify it was her visa (they asked her parent's names).

When we arrived home, we finally got her welcome letter, but the green card hasn't arrived yet.

Also, for my youngest son we got his Social Security Card, but not for my eldest kid and nor for my wife.

The question is, should I go ahead and file for their cards in the corresponding SS office, or should I first inquire as if there was a similar error with the address and mail was returned to them? I don't want them to have 2 social security numbers.

Ulises, sounds like they're not very organized. On the sheet I received with my Visa and packet it says: "Call us if you do not receive your Social Secuirty Card after 3 weeks". 1-800-772-1213

[ulises 0]

Ulises, sounds like they're not very organized. On the sheet I received with my Visa and packet it says: "Call us if you do not receive your Social Secuirty Card after 3 weeks". 1-800-772-1213

Thanks Chuck, I haven't read the documents they gave us very well I think.

I'll call that number to check what happened.

[zeezee44 0]

Visa approved today!!

Here's a run-down of the Juarez process:

We flew Aeromexico from Mexico City... I wasn't allowed inside any of the appointments, but really wanted to be with my husband for moral support. It's a stressful process!

We got in Tuesday afternoon and had Victor Garcia pick us up based on recommendations from Chuk and several others on VisaJourney. He was nice and reliable - we paid 350 pesos (in dollars it would've been $30) for the ride from the airport to La Quinta.

La Quinta was a good place to stay - pool, jacuzzi, small workout room, pretty decent free breakfast from 6am - 10am, high speed internet, friendly staff who are very familiar with consulate stuff. We went to the mall across the street from the Consulate a couple times for lunch (it's clean and decent, but a third of the stores are closed and it feels like a ghost mall), ate breakfast at La Quinta, and ordered dinner directly to our room from Papa John's, Chili's, and Tacos H (we didn't want to be out at night at all).

Wednesday we left at 5:55 for the medical appointment. I waited for my husband outside in the chairs - even that early it's really hot. Thankfully they had a cafeteria where I could buy water. My husband went in and did the x-ray first, then the blood test, then he went upstairs for the physical - weight, vision test (they didn't even ask if he wore contacts or glasses! He had gone in without glasses on purpose for the test, and they tried to tell him he needed glasses!), and blood pressure. Then he went to a cold room and had to strip down to his underwear. The doctor checked him out and then he got the shots he needed. Then they sent him to pay, and then he was sent to the pysch (probably for his tattoos), and he had to do a urine test. Something I wasn't prepared for about the medical is that the doctors can get on a bit of a power trip and ask a lot of questions to try to trip you up about past drug use, entries to the US, etc. I hear they're not as bad as they used to be though. People who didn't have to do the pysch evaluation could go back at 2 to get their results. Since my husband had to do the urine test, he couldn't get his until 10 am the next day. Because of that, I wouldn't recommend doing your medical the day before your interview, especially if you have tattoos. I was nervous because he was sent to the pysch evaluation, but it all turned out fine.

Thursday was a really easy day. We went at 12:30 to get his medical results. It was really easy, we just walked up to the information window around back and they handed him a black envelope which you can't open. We walked over to our appointment at the ASC processing center from there (I was surprised how close and easy everything is!), and even though his appointment wasn't until 2, they let him in at 12:50. I waited outside, and five minutes later he was out after doing fingerprints and pictures. He said the people in there were really friendly.

Friday we left La Quinta at 6:30 for his 7:15 appointment. I was sort of curious about appropriate attire - my husband wore a polo, jeans, and tennis shoes. I saw people in suits with briefcases and everything (my husband saw a lot of the same people get denied inside). This was the only day that was really crowded. For the interview you have to go to the Sala de Espera first, not directly to the Consulate windows. I waited with him outside the Sala de Espera and then waited there for almost four hours while he was at his interview. Bring coins of exactly 5 peso value if you want to use the bathroom! My husband said it was packed over inside the Consulate - first they checked his papers and sent him to the appropriate line for the CR-1 visa. Then they checked his papers again at that line, and he went through security. Don't bother to bring anything but money to pay, room key, and the papers you need for the interview, they won't let you in with anything else. After security they gave him a number, and they sent him to wait until his number came up on a screen. They didn't call the numbers in chronological order. When the number came up, he went and turned in his DS-260 confirmation, copy and and original of his birth certificate, copy and original of our marriage certificate, the invitation letter from Juarez, and his pictures. Then he sat to wait again for his number to be called again. When they called him, he went to pay. NOTE - apparently it is a good sign if you pay in the 2nd or 3rd step. It seems like people who were denied didn't get called to pay until the end. My husband paid with his Mexican credit card - apparently this is better because they give you the real exchange rate this way. If you pay cash in dollars you're fine, but if you pay cash in pesos they give you a 13-1 rate. After paying, my husband went to wait again, then they called him for his fingerprints to verify his identity. Then he sat to wait again, then after a while he was called for the interview. His interviewer gave him the choice of doing it in Spanish or English and he said whatever - it ended up being in English though the American consular interviewer said he had kind of wanted to practice his Spanish. First, he made my husband swear to tell the truth. Then he asked my husband what my name was (believe it or not my husband overheard another interview where the applicant couldn't answer that one!), how we met, when we met, and if we live together. Then he asked about my husband's criminal record - even though we'd paid a lot to have his police and military records sent from Spain, the interviewer didn't want to see these when my husband offered! He then asked if we have kids (we don't), what I was planning to do in the US (I have a job lined up already and my husband had the offer letter, but the interviewer didn't want to see it), looked briefly at my financial information (I'm the sole sponsor for my husband), and what my husband is planning to do. When he answered that he couldn't line anything up until he had the visa, the interviewer told him he'd better start lining things up because he had been approved! It seemed like the interviewer had a pretty good sense of humor, because later my husband told me about a few jokes he'd (my husband) made that made me cringe, but he got approved anyway! A little before 11 I went to the Oxxo in the same lot as the Sala de Espera to get more coins for the bathroom, and that's when my husband finally appeared in the parking lot, trying to fool me into thinking he was denied (applicants - DON'T put your spouses through this!!).

Since we live in Mexico City we're having it DHLed there - the guy told us we should have it in one week.

It was honestly a lot more simple than I had expected once we got here - the worst was trying to get all the paperwork together and playing the waiting game! Good luck to everyone going through this!

Oh, I forgot to include a huge THANK YOU to chuck and dhudson and everyone else for all their advice and support - it helped us a TON in this process!

[chuk686 0]

ZeeZee, CONGRATULATIONS! It feels so great doesn't it!? Your experience was almost the same as mine. I'm so happy for you guys, have a safe trip back. I am in the process of "lining things up" as well at this moment. It really is quite painless, except for standing in line so much. Best of luck to you and your husband.

[lexus 0]

Hi everyone! First I wanted to say thank you in advance to everyone that has taken their time to post and help the rest of us that are just beginning the process. This is really a great community. =)

I was reading through the posts and I find that ZEEZEE44 was kind of in the same boat I am right now but if anyone has any input on my questions it will be greatly appreciated.

I already sent in I 130 and it was approves fairly quickly and then I received a letter to now follow instructions on the website and to send packet 3 but then it has a warning note that ds 230 is no longer valid and to do ds 260 print confirmation page and send that in. I then got another letter like 5 days later telling me to follow the instructions on the website but now mentioning nothing about packet 3 or ds 260... just follow instructions on the site.

I read the instructions and they have changed since april and make no mention of packet 3 in the process and that once the approved I 130 was sent to ciudad juarez they will send an appointment letter.

I dont know what to do because I call the 703 # and they tell me to do ds 230 and send in packet 3 even though it says ds 230 is no longer valid which makes no sense to me.

Zeezee44: What did you end up doing in this case? What did you send in? How did you prove domicile on I 864?

Thank you!!

[zeezee44 0]

Hi everyone! First I wanted to say thank you in advance to everyone that has taken their time to post and help the rest of us that are just beginning the process. This is really a great community. =)

I was reading through the posts and I find that ZEEZEE44 was kind of in the same boat I am right now but if anyone has any input on my questions it will be greatly appreciated.

I already sent in I 130 and it was approves fairly quickly and then I received a letter to now follow instructions on the website and to send packet 3 but then it has a warning note that ds 230 is no longer valid and to do ds 260 print confirmation page and send that in. I then got another letter like 5 days later telling me to follow the instructions on the website but now mentioning nothing about packet 3 or ds 260... just follow instructions on the site.

I read the instructions and they have changed since april and make no mention of packet 3 in the process and that once the approved I 130 was sent to ciudad juarez they will send an appointment letter.

I dont know what to do because I call the 703 # and they tell me to do ds 230 and send in packet 3 even though it says ds 230 is no longer valid which makes no sense to me.

Zeezee44: What did you end up doing in this case? What did you send in? How did you prove domicile on I 864?

Thank you!!

Hi lexus! Yeah it starts to get really confusing right? I was confused too because I never got a "Packet 3" letter. The only thing I ever received in the mail was a letter telling us to go to mexico.usvisa-info.com and schedule an appointment, and a link to a page telling me what documents to bring in. We brought this letter and used it, along with the bar code confirmation page from the DS-260, and my husband's passport, to get into all of his appointments. So I never actually mailed any documents to Ciudad Juarez, we just scheduled the appointment online and brought everything with us. We also never did the DS-230, only the DS-260.

We brought a bunch of stuff to the appointment, but the documents they actually took were: the invitation letter we were mailed, the appointment confirmation that was emailed to us after we scheduled our appointments through the website, the bar code confirmation they emailed after we filled out the DS-260, the I-864, 3 years of tax transcripts I had ordered from the IRS, my husband's birth certificate and a copy, and a copy of my passport.

Have you tried going to the website to see if you can schedule an appointment? Good luck!!

As far as domicile on the I-864, I never really understood that... when I do my taxes I have them mailed to my parents' house in California so my US address is on those, and that's the address my husband gave in his interview when they asked for a phone number and address in the US.

[lexus 0]

Hi lexus! Yeah it starts to get really confusing right? I was confused too because I never got a "Packet 3" letter. The only thing I ever received in the mail was a letter telling us to go to mexico.usvisa-info.com and schedule an appointment, and a link to a page telling me what documents to bring in. We brought this letter and used it, along with the bar code confirmation page from the DS-260, and my husband's passport, to get into all of his appointments. So I never actually mailed any documents to Ciudad Juarez, we just scheduled the appointment online and brought everything with us. We also never did the DS-230, only the DS-260.

We brought a bunch of stuff to the appointment, but the documents they actually took were: the invitation letter we were mailed, the appointment confirmation that was emailed to us after we scheduled our appointments through the website, the bar code confirmation they emailed after we filled out the DS-260, the I-864, 3 years of tax transcripts I had ordered from the IRS, my husband's birth certificate and a copy, and a copy of my passport.

Have you tried going to the website to see if you can schedule an appointment? Good luck!!

As far as domicile on the I-864, I never really understood that... when I do my taxes I have them mailed to my parents' house in California so my US address is on those, and that's the address my husband gave in his interview when they asked for a phone number and address in the US.

Thanks ZeeZee44 for replying so quickly and congratulations!!

Yes, very confusing indeed and the service agents seem to be just as confused! I have not received a letter telling us specifically telling us to go to mexico.usvisa-info.com just to go to the ciudad juarez website and follow the directions there... which according to that, I should have received a letter telling me to schedule an appointment once my case got to ciudad juarez. As a matter of fact I did go into the visa website after I filled ds 260 and I couldnt even get in but about 3 days later I finally got access and I went into the appointments link and it says not to schedule an appointment if you were not told to but I went in anyway just to see what it would say and it said that the next available appointment was in 8 days and I freaked and thought that cant be right so I didnt schedule anything. Maybe I should call service center again and see if they have different info. Thank you so much for your help!! =0)