Done!! Here's what I learned

[JasonE 0]

Greetings all,

My wife(Canadian) and I(USC) had our interview in Montreal on Monday the 10th and were granted our IR1 immigrant visa! The interview was a breeze(5 mins max) and we were outta there in time to go have a nap before the Habs game that night. I thought I'd share my experience with those of you still going thru the process and those about to begin, in the hopes that the info will help others avoid the same mistake we made and give some comfort to those at wits end.

So here goes, we went the DCF route mainly due the fact that my wife was finishing her Master's at U of T and we knew she had to be in Canada for the better part of last year. I, BTW, have been living in Georgia the entire time working on my own degree(Yes we're gluttons for punishment)

Start to finish took about 14 months, which is a fairly typical time frame for DCF. Just to be clear, the USC DOES NOT have be in Canada or whatever country in oder to DCF. We filed the I-130 and the I-129 simultaneously, which I would advise everyone to do. It doesn't cost any more and this allows you to take whichever one gets processed first. the I-129's are supposed to be approved more quickly, but in our case they were approved at the same time. So we went ahead and declined the K-visa route in favor of finishing more quickly. The NVC handles this portion of the process, and we found it much easier to assemble EXACTLY what documents were needed this way. The NVC is far more competent at communicating with petitioners and they will tell you exactly what you need and when you need it. This means by the time of the interview most of the subjective decision making is done and that when we had our visa interview the green card was approved that day and my wife can work as soon as they mail it back to her and she can get down here...and thats it!! Fees are already paid and Done!! When you go the K Visa route, you may or may not be able to be together more quickly and the interview is much more rigorous. The only thing we had to bring was the medical, not a huge folder with pictures, AOS's, domicile and on and on and on... not to mention the fact that you must Adjust Status at some point down the road (more paperwork and bureaucracy blah!!!)

So there it is, for what its worth. One last word of advice... Get your congressman involved early and often! They all have underlings that handle this kind of stuff, so use them. Write, call whatever..just do it. The USCIS and NVC and the consulate all respond with much greater urgency when the boss calls!

Good luck and feel free to post questions. i'll answer the best I can

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Congratulations! It will be nice to have another Canadian in Georgia .

I just have one question - I am curious how were you able to file the I-130 application at a US Consulate in Canada (which is what Direct Consular Filing -DCF- means) since you yourself did not have proof of legal residency in Canada and were not residing in Canada? Did you mean you decided to pursue the IR-1 instead of the K-3, but still initiated the process by filing the I-130 here in the US?

Edited May 14, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Yeah, I'm curious about that as well. 14 months for DCF? That's definitely not a typical time frame. Maybe for filling for a CR-1/IR-1 without DCF.

And I'm not really sure why you think a non immigrant visa interview would be a lot more rigorous. We went through the K-1 process and the interview was very fast and simple.

[JasonE 0]

Congratulations! It will be nice to have another Canadian in Georgia .

I just have one question - I am curious how were you able to file the I-130 application at a US Consulate in Canada (which is what Direct Consular Filing -DCF- means) since you yourself did not have proof of legal residency in Canada and were not residing in Canada? Did you mean you decided to pursue the IR-1 instead of the K-3, but still initiated the process by filing the I-130 here in the US?

So DCF is actually a slang term that can mean several different things. In our case it refers to the manner in which our petition was handled. Our I-130(which results in IR-1)/I-129(which results in the K) petitions were first filed in the US and processed first by the USCIS. We indicated to them that we wanted to file directly with the Consulate. So they forwarded the approved petition to the NVC, who then forwarded the completed package to the Consulate. Its just a different means to the same end. It eliminates alot of the back and forth mailing and reduces the confusion over what to send, when to send it, and who it goes to..... in my opinion...and I'm certainly no expert..just speaking from our experience

[trailmix 77]

So DCF is actually a slang term that can mean several different things. In our case it refers to the manner in which our petition was handled. Our I-130(which results in IR-1)/I-129(which results in the K) petitions were first filed in the US and processed first by the USCIS. We indicated to them that we wanted to file directly with the Consulate. So they forwarded the approved petition to the NVC, who then forwarded the completed package to the Consulate. Its just a different means to the same end. It eliminates alot of the back and forth mailing and reduces the confusion over what to send, when to send it, and who it goes to..... in my opinion...and I'm certainly no expert..just speaking from our experience

Yes DCF stands for direct consular filing (here on VJ). The process you went through is not out of the ordinary - USCIS - NVC - Consulate - is exactly the same way everyone does it - who mails their petition in to the US address.

14 months is about average bordering on long for the petition to process.

Anyway, just wanted to clarify that the US citizen must be a resident of Canada, on a valid visa, to file DCF - the way you did it - yes you can file from anywhere.

Congrats on your visa.

Edited May 14, 2010 by trailmix

[Kathryn41 3,205]

So DCF is actually a slang term that can mean several different things. In our case it refers to the manner in which our petition was handled. Our I-130(which results in IR-1)/I-129(which results in the K) petitions were first filed in the US and processed first by the USCIS. We indicated to them that we wanted to file directly with the Consulate. So they forwarded the approved petition to the NVC, who then forwarded the completed package to the Consulate. Its just a different means to the same end. It eliminates alot of the back and forth mailing and reduces the confusion over what to send, when to send it, and who it goes to..... in my opinion...and I'm certainly no expert..just speaking from our experience

Actually, that is the usual process for all spousal CR-1/IR-1s to be handled. The US partner starts the process by filing the I-130 in the US. It is then moved to NVC (National Visa Center) for the next stage, and then is forwarded to the US Consulate overseas (in this case Montreal) for the alien spouse's part of the process.

DCF means that the US citizen does not file in the US - he files in the foreign country in which he is legally residing - in other words, he files the I-130 directly with the overseas Consulate and not in the US. It isn't a slang term, it is a distinction in the process of where the spousal visa is initiated. DCF is usually the course used when a US citizen is living and working in a foreign country, marries in that country and then wishes to move back to the US with their spouse. DCFs are actually the fastest type of processing - often taking 4 to 5 months rather than 12 to 14 months.

ALL spousal petitions go through a US Consulate overseas unless the foreign spouse is already resident in the US having legally entered under a different type of visa.

If when the spousal visa is approved you have been married for more than 2 years then the spouse receives an IR-1 visa and the green card is issued for 10 years; if when the spousal visa is approved you have been married for less than 2 years, then the spouse receives a CR-1 visa and the green card is valid for 2 years. During the 90 day period before the green card expires, the CR-1 spouse and partner need to file a joint application I-751 requesting that the 'conditional 2 year status' be removed and replaced by a 10 year permanent status. Failure to do so will result in the foreign spouse's status in the US expiring and a deportation order issued. So, it is important to make sure whether you have an IR-1 which will have an expiry date 10 years from date of issue, or a CR-1 which will have an expiry date 2 years from date of issue.

Edited May 14, 2010 by Kathryn41

[CanAmBride 5]

JasonE-

Was your wife allowed to visit you in Georgia while her petition was in process? If so, did she encounter any issues with customs?

Thanks,

Tracy

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Congratulations, sounds like all went smoothly

[SupportGeek 21]

Congratulations on the visa!

14 months seems average to long for IR-1/CR-1, Im just at 8 months now for K-1 with my consular interview next week, so while I wont be able to work right away, Im not sure its going to take me 6 more months to clear that up and get eligible to work though.

[Flames9_RN 358]

Ya thats the normal cr-1/ir-1 route and actually may have taken a bit longer than average! Congrats

[JasonE 0]

Sorry to create the confusion. We had an attorney prepare our petition and he regularly told us that we were filing directly withthe Consulate, so thats why I thought thats what we were doing. It seems as if CONFUSION is the norm when it comes to US immigration.

Yes, it does seems that our case took longer than most.. very frustrating as our case was cut and dry. I guess my point was that foregoing the K-visa seemed to be a shorter, easier to understand and ultimately clearer path to the end. But thats just my opinion. It felt like we needed an act of Congress to keep our petition moving... pulling teeth every step of the way. Which leads me to my next point: Use your Congressional reps to your advantage! We asked for help on several occasions, and were immediately rewarded with results. In fact, our I-130 was approved the DAY AFTER I CONTACTED MY SENATOR!!

Someone asked about visiting while the petition is pending.. We choose not to even try. We'd had some trouble at the border on previous occasions(even though we never did anything wrong) and once you are on CBP's radar your're screwed. I know for a fact that Canadian's with pending immigration petitions have been able to enter the US on thier passports, but it's entirely up the CBP officer. So you can try, but I would be prepared to be turned back. If you do try, bring as much as evidence as you can of an ongoing life in Canada.. mortgage, lease agreement, letter of employment, bank records, current utlilty bills... the more the better.

Sory again for the confusion..thanks for the Congrats