DCF Mexico

[marliesue 0]

Ok, just noticed this. Now I am unsure of what to do. I received this same email a few months ago, and have been following it exactly, except they NEVER wrote to spell out U.S. Department of Homeland Security... so mine is made out to DHS/USCIS . Go figure. I wrote directly to them to ask what I should do... anyone now if they can re-make the check? So frustrating.

· $420 USD filing fee by Cashier’s Check or U.S. Postal Money Order, payable to: U.S. Department of Homeland Security (not “USDHS” or “DHS”). You may also buy the Cashier’s Check at a Casa de Cambio where they’re also known as “Cheque Propio”

* We cannot accept checks/money orders from HSBC bank.

·

[panda1983 1]

Ok, just noticed this. Now I am unsure of what to do. I received this same email a few months ago, and have been following it exactly, except they NEVER wrote to spell out U.S. Department of Homeland Security... so mine is made out to DHS/USCIS . Go figure. I wrote directly to them to ask what I should do... anyone now if they can re-make the check? So frustrating.

[panda1983 1]

I would simply wait it out. They may go ahead and process the check with no problem. If they do have a problem, they will tell you. If you cancel it now, they may have already cashed it and I dont even know how that would work.

Just wait. I have read in other forums that people wrote the same thing and it went through fine. Mexico City was pretty good about emailing me back within a week, so give them time and they will respond.

You are probably ok. Worst case scenario: As long as you saved your receipt from the check place, (at least it is this way from CI Banco..) the guy told me you could cancel it with the receipt and a copy of the check and they can issue you another.

But just wait for now. Dont panic!

[marliesue 0]

Thanks, we havent actually sent it yet. We were going to send it his afternoon. We are going to go see if they can re-write it this afternoon. If not, I will just send it and hope for the best! Thanks for your encouragement!

I would simply wait it out. They may go ahead and process the check with no problem. If they do have a problem, they will tell you. If you cancel it now, they may have already cashed it and I dont even know how that would work.

Just wait. I have read in other forums that people wrote the same thing and it went through fine. Mexico City was pretty good about emailing me back within a week, so give them time and they will respond.

You are probably ok. Worst case scenario: As long as you saved your receipt from the check place, (at least it is this way from CI Banco..) the guy told me you could cancel it with the receipt and a copy of the check and they can issue you another.

But just wait for now. Dont panic!

[marliesue 0]

Well, we have returned from the bank. They are not making it easy. They cannot cancel the check even though I had the original, and the receipt in my hand. Therefore they need to buy back the check, and create a new one. They claim it was too late in the day to do it today, so we need to return Monday. What a pain.

Immigration did write me back though quickly, and responded with this...

If you are going to submit the I-130 petititon at the Mexico City field office, we like to remind you that this office only acepts either Cashier Checks or Money Order, payable to: U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

So, its a good thing we are taking the time to re-make the check. oooh I hope things go smoothly after all this.

[marliesue 0]

Well, we officially sent in our initial paperwork to D. F. a week ago, and they have confirmed that they have received it and it and that it is being processed. We will stay in touch on updates in case our experience can help anyone!! Fingers crossed for a fast turn-over.

[Eric & Idalia 56]

Hi.

My husband and I got married in Mexico last year. So our marriage certificate is in Spanish.

Also my birth certificate is in Spanish.

Do I need to get translated and get an apostille my birth certificate and marriage certificate for my interview in Ciudad Juarez?

In the letter from CDJ consulate does not say anything neither in mentioned links on it. I asked because when we got married the civil register in Mexico asked us my husband's birth certificate translated to Spanish and with apostille from California. I thought it was all the way around now.

Thanks in advance for any information.

Edited June 1, 2015 by Eric & Idalia

[marliesue 0]

Hello,

From what I understand, you should translate everything into English. I also have my birth certificate apostilled, but since our marriage was here in Mexico, we do not have that one done.

I hope this helps!

Hi.

My husband and I got married in Mexico last year. So our marriage certificate is in Spanish.

Also my birth certificate is in Spanish.

Do I need to get translated and get an apostille my birth certificate and marriage certificate for my interview in Ciudad Juarez?

In the letter from CDJ consulate does not say anything neither in mentioned links on it. I asked because when we got married the civil register in Mexico asked us my husband's birth certificate translated to Spanish and with apostille from California. I thought it was all the way around now.

Thanks in advance for any information.

[marliesue 0]

Advice needed.

So, update. We received our Aproval Notice from USCIS dated June 8th, just over 2 weeks after we sent the information to Mexico city. The letter told us that the information was being sent to Juarez and we should wait for information on the next step. I assumed we were ready to set up an appointment. Not so! We do not have a case number yet, which through many calls, i found out comes from a Reference Number listed on the aproval form. The electronic approval form I have does not have a reference number though. The person from the Dep. of State in California, who I was told to call, said it takes approximately 35 days to even reach them before we are in their system. Has anyone else dealt with this? We are nervous about all the problems with Visas.

[marliesue 0]

Update on this. In response, Mexico City was not helpful at all, and I am freaking out about their comment about 6-8 months.

Please direct all inquiries to the Immigrant Visa Section in Ciudad Juarez, we already sent the petition to them and we do not provide "reference number" when you request information about your petition, provide them your name and date of birth as well as your beneficiary's name and date of birth.

The consular process might take 6 to 8 months.

Advice needed.

So, update. We received our Aproval Notice from USCIS dated June 8th, just over 2 weeks after we sent the information to Mexico city. The letter told us that the information was being sent to Juarez and we should wait for information on the next step. I assumed we were ready to set up an appointment. Not so! We do not have a case number yet, which through many calls, i found out comes from a Reference Number listed on the aproval form. The electronic approval form I have does not have a reference number though. The person from the Dep. of State in California, who I was told to call, said it takes approximately 35 days to even reach them before we are in their system. Has anyone else dealt with this? We are nervous about all the problems with Visas.

[marliesue 0]

Question... after you got the email of i-130 approval, how long after that was it that you got any information from Juarez?

While it looks as if this topic is not very active, I'll throw my two cents in so that anyone following us can have updated information.

I am an American citizen who has been living in Mexico for the past 10 years. Three years ago, I married a Filipina woman and brought her and her son to live with me here. Just recently, we increased the size of our family with my wife giving birth to another son. Earlier this year, we decided to move back to the U.S. - well back for me as my wife and stepson have not lived permanently in the U.S. Last Thursday, we set up an appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City to register the newborn as a U.S. citizen. After we were done, we stopped off at the USCIS office in the embassy to start the paperwork for permanent resident visas to the U.S. (Our youngest son is actually a triple citizen - U.S., Philippines and Mexico. After we finished up at the U.S. Embassy, we walked over to the Philippine Embassy and registered him as a citizen there as well.) Our experience at the U.S. Embassy was, by and large, a good one - outside of the long wait to complete the CRBA. The baby was declared a U.S. citizen and we filed for his passport which should arrive by the end of January.

Our visit to USCIS was also pleasant. Although the Embassy website says that no appointment is necessary, the lady behind the window said that we should have had one. She was very kind and helped saying something to the effect of "well, you're here already so let's go over everything." We dropped off all the paperwork and she went through all of the original documents that we had brought to verify that they were true copies. In addition to the I-130s for both my wife and stepson, we delivered I-325a for the three of us, included a passport sized picture of each of us, copies of our passports, Mexican visas, birth certificates and our marriage certificate.

After we finished with the paperwork, she told us that the length of the process is currently running from 6 - 8 months (although recent posts here indicate that visas are being processed much quicker than that here in Mexico.) She also told us that approval paperwork would be sent to our Mexican mailing address. I asked if there was a means of being notified electronically via email as the Mexican postal system is inefficient at best and she supplied a form through which I could supply my email address and telephone number to be notified.

All of this took place last Thursday, December 18. Today, I received notification by email that the Embassy has approved the request for both my wife and stepson and were forwarding the information to the consulate in Juarez. They also included a link where we could inquire in Juarez for further information. The information contained scanned PDF copies of the approval letters, which were password protected. The password was sent in a follow-up email a couple seconds later. So, basically the Embassy approved the request in 2 working days. That's not bad at all. I'll give it a month and make inquiries at the consulate in Juarez about the next steps of the process.

If you are planning to start the DCF process, I highly recommend that you take a trip to the Embassy and deliver the paperwork personally. The process was fast, efficient and the personnel friendly, plus I had the satisfaction of knowing that they had everything that they needed.

Good Luck,

Chuck

[Eric & Idalia 56]

Hello,

From what I understand, you should translate everything into English. I also have my birth certificate apostilled, but since our marriage was here in Mexico, we do not have that one done.

I hope this helps!

In a document from Ciudad Juarez (http://photos.state.gov/libraries/ciudadjuarez/231771/PDFs/packet4oct2014.pdf) says:

"2. Petitioner’s original long form birth certificate (not abstract) and applicant’s birth certificate. Applicants with non-English or non-Spanish birth certificates must submit a notarized translation with the original."

So I just translated and apostilled the marriage certificate.

[Eric & Idalia 56]

We got approved on Oct 14 (3 business days after we delivered the I-130 in Monterrey consulate) by email. Then we got a letter like at the end of October.

We got the letter from Ciudad Juarez a month and a half later (more or less).

You need to wait for the letter from Ciudad Juarez. Please do not panic. Focus on what you can do. Get the papers. Get evidence of bona fide marriage. Facebook chats, Skype chats, Affidavits, prepare the I-864 (check if you need joint sponsor(s))

Update on this. In response, Mexico City was not helpful at all, and I am freaking out about their comment about 6-8 months.

Please direct all inquiries to the Immigrant Visa Section in Ciudad Juarez, we already sent the petition to them and we do not provide "reference number" when you request information about your petition, provide them your name and date of birth as well as your beneficiary's name and date of birth.

The consular process might take 6 to 8 months.

I mentioned it before in the other response, but here too: like a month or a month and a half.

Question... after you got the email of i-130 approval, how long after that was it that you got any information from Juarez?

Edited June 24, 2015 by Eric & Idalia

[marliesue 0]

Thanks! I got so excited getting an approval notice that I didnt stop and realize what it really meant, and was let down when it wasnt what I expected. Thanks for the help, ill keep everyone updated on when it finally comes.

We got approved on Oct 14 (3 business days after we delivered the I-130 in Monterrey consulate) by email. Then we got a letter like at the end of October.

We got the letter from Ciudad Juarez a month and a half later (more or less).

You need to wait for the letter from Ciudad Juarez. Please do not panic. Focus on what you can do. Get the papers. Get evidence of bona fide marriage. Facebook chats, Skype chats, Affidavits, prepare the I-864 (check if you need joint sponsor(s))

I mentioned it before in the other response, but here too: like a month or a month and a half.

[Eric & Idalia 56]

I went to my interview this morning and they approved my visa!!

I will post more info and a review later today.

God bless you!