Petition Spouse from Peru

[vic23 0]

Hi! I got married 2 years ago in Peru and have been living here since then and before then too. I went to the US embassy to ask about applying for a visa for my wife to live in the US and they said I could do this from Peru but needed a carnet de extranjeria. I read here:

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Peru&cty=Lima

at the very bottom:

DCF filing is allowed for US Citizen residing in Peru for at least 6 months. In my case they did not require legal residence (Carnet Extranjeria) but only proof of having been living in the country for 6 months. If you are not a legal resident but have been staying on a tourist visa, you can prove residency in Peru by presenting documents such as house lease, phone bill, job letter, etc. Also they require a Migratory Movement issued by DIGEMIN which takes about 2 hours to get and S/50 Soles (about US$18). The lady at the embassy told me they were not the police and were not interested in why I did not have legal residence. They have been very accommodating and extremely efficient.

- I was also permitted to file DCF without Carnet Extranjeria.

Anyone recently been able to do this without a Carnet Extranjeria? Thanks!

[yachachiq12 43]

The VJ member Norteamericano_CM filed via DCF in November 2011 and was approved in January 2012 and he filed with a tourist visa that he had renewed once after 6 months of residence.

Are you on an expired tourist visa, visa oficial, or what?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Topic has been moved from K-3 forum to DCF forum as a more appropriate location for this discussion

[vic23 0]

Yes, I came in on as a tourist with my US passport and have since overstayed my allowed time but am willing to pay the overstay fees if needed. I've been here for about 2 years already.

[yachachiq12 43]

Yes, I came in on as a tourist with my US passport and have since overstayed my allowed time but am willing to pay the overstay fees if needed. I've been here for about 2 years already.

The member who used his tourist visa during DCF made sure he crossed the border and had it renewed. It seems that in Lima you need to have a valid status of some sort (be it valid tourist stay, visa oficial, or CE). Officially, you are supposed to have a CE since USCIS says you must be legally resident in any given country to qualify for DCF, but we have seen that in practice they have defined that broadly. They have also given mixed information about the policy via email and at the window hours. You might be a little too far on the illegal resident side at this point.

You are aware that when you leave Peru you will be required to pay one US dollar per day of overstay, right? You may be owing at least $500 already...

[vic23 0]

Yeah, fortunately I can pay these fees. I'm thinking of traveling now then so that I can start accumulating the minimum stay of 6 months from entry date and then apply for my wife. What you say about mixed info at window hours is true, the lady told me that if I did not have the CE it would not work. Thank you for all the information, you've helped me a lot!

The member who used his tourist visa during DCF made sure he crossed the border and had it renewed. It seems that in Lima you need to have a valid status of some sort (be it valid tourist stay, visa oficial, or CE). Officially, you are supposed to have a CE since USCIS says you must be legally resident in any given country to qualify for DCF, but we have seen that in practice they have defined that broadly. They have also given mixed information about the policy via email and at the window hours. You might be a little too far on the illegal resident side at this point.

You are aware that when you leave Peru you will be required to pay one US dollar per day of overstay, right? You may be owing at least $500 already...

[yachachiq12 43]

You can exit and re-enter and immediately apply if they'll let you. You don't have to be continuous present for 6 months, but rather continuously resident. Present evidence like a house lease, Peruvian bank account, or work/research/whatever you're doing with yourself to show you've effectively been a resident all this time.

[vic23 0]

Awesome, thank you for clarifying this! I have a house lease so this should be no problem

[yachachiq12 43]

Again, they're within their rights to not allow you to apply via DCF, but try anyway since there is a history of this broad definition being used in Lima.

[vic23 0]

True, hopefully who ever reviews me is having a good day!

Another quick question, not sure if I should post this elsewhere, when my wife is approved and we travel to the US, when does she receive her Social Security number? I am trying to get this done for next tax year to be able to include my wife and child since I am currently filing as independent because my wife does not have a social security yet, we never really planned to live in the US. Thanks for the help!

[yachachiq12 43]

There are many threads on this topic in the "Moving here and your new life" forum. If you are married, no matter where you live, you should not be filing Single but rather Married Filing Separately or Married Filing Jointly (or Head of Household if you have qualifying dependents -- a spouse is not a dependent though).

If she comes in with the IR-1, she'll get the SS within a few weeks.

You may want to go back and amend your returns for your married years. If you're married by the last day of the tax year, then that's your status that year. You will likely find big tax savings AND it will help show the bona fide relationship to USCIS.

Please go read the existing threads to get more info in general. There are lots of publications on the IRS website about this too.

[vic23 0]

thank you for this valuable information. I've been married for 2 years already and was not declaring my wife because she did not have a SS!

There are many threads on this topic in the "Moving here and your new life" forum. If you are married, no matter where you live, you should not be filing Single but rather Married Filing Separately or Married Filing Jointly (or Head of Household if you have qualifying dependents -- a spouse is not a dependent though).

If she comes in with the IR-1, she'll get the SS within a few weeks.

You may want to go back and amend your returns for your married years. If you're married by the last day of the tax year, then that's your status that year. You will likely find big tax savings AND it will help show the bona fide relationship to USCIS.

Please go read the existing threads to get more info in general. There are lots of publications on the IRS website about this too.