DCF timeline logistics

[noreaga 0]

Hi everyone! I've been away from vj for a bit now to finish up my studies, and now that that's complete, I'm focusing my attention back of the dcf process.

In short, I am a Canadian and my girlfriend is American. I am scheduled to start work in Seoul, South Korea in September and so need to make sure that I have all the right documentation with me to minimize delays in our processing. For those who have gone through the process, what docs do both of us absolutely need to have (birth certificate, etc.), outside of filling out the necessary forms ?

Also, I believe that in order to file dcf, we both need to be considered residents of the country we are filing in; does anyone know what qualifies as residency in Korea? My girlfriend and I will most likely be engaged, but not married, before I head off, with her planning to join me a few months after I leave. At that time, she may or may not have a job in Korea . We understand that if she comes over without a job, she will only be able to stay so long in Korea ... To avoid this, we are planning to get married there. If we did marry in Korea, would this cause us any issues when we try to eventually move to the US in a couple of years ?

As you can tell, I have a lot of questions, so I do apologize about the unstructured nature of this post ! Thank you everyone for your replies in advance.

[richardkorea2010 15]

My wife and I are doing our DCF through the Seoul US embassy. Only my interview is left next week.

To file the DCF, this is what I got from USCIS.

Who May File in Korea:

THIS IS FOR THE US CITIZEN PART.

Military and civilian members with orders to Korea

U.S. citizens employed with private companies

Students studying in the various universities

English teachers

(The last three categories must present a residence card, and/or employment documents.

They didn't ask for my wife's residency card, when we filed, but we have been married for almost 2 years, when we applied. they were very helpful on answering all my questions.

You have to show that you didn't just get married to do the DCF process through Seoul e.g if you get married on Monday, and file the I-130 on Tuesday, it would raise concern.

As the non US citizen, you would require to present an unabridged birth certificate(obtainable from your government), the marriage certificate( if you get married at the ward office, and go back to the US embassy, the US embassy will issue you an American marriage certificate).

When it comes to your interview, you would need a police clearance, from Korea(translated into English), and from your country of residence.

If you do your homework right, and follow the guidelines as the US embassy gives you, it would be a pleasant experience.

[richardkorea2010 15]

I can also say: I am not sure if you can get married on a tourist visa, on entering South Korea. The US embassy won't allow you to file DCF if you enter on a tourist visa since you are not a resident.

Even if you are Canadian and teaching in Korea, that doesn't mean a thing to them. They are only interested in the status of the US citizen, so for you to get married, she would need to get a teaching visa(E2),and Alien registration Card,

[noreaga 0]

Thanks for the reply. You are correct, a USC on a tourist visa in Korea cannot file for DCF, so we would need her to get a visa and therefore an alien registration card in order to file.

You additionally mention that you need to show that the intent behind getting married was not to use the DCF process; how can one go about doing this? Also, what documents did you need in order to go through the process? I am a naturalized Canadian, and so wont be able to get a copy of my birth certificate from the government, but can make copies of the original, which is already in English.

[noreaga 0]

One more thing: another option that we have been discussing more recently is for me to fly into the US and get married in New York (her hometown) in a civil ceremony. Once we have the necessary marriage documentation (certificate, most importantly), I will fly back home and then eventually onto Korea. I will get my employer in Korea to process a spouse visa for my wife to get her to come over to Korea, and then when we are a few months out from moving back to the US, file for DCF with the consulate.

Thoughts ?

[richardkorea2010 15]

Well..In our case. We have lived in Korea for 3-4 years respectively, so we have had some time to decide whether we would like to live in the US or not. In our case, we have Alien cards, that have renewed every year, and proved that we have only decided this year that we wanted to move to the US.

To answer this:

You additionally mention that you need to show that the intent behind getting married was not to use the DCF process; how can one go about doing this? I think that you have to show that you have lived in Korea, or at least tried to live in Korea, in order to do DCF in Seoul. If you come to teach in Korea for 6 months, and just do it to do DCF, I don't think they will allow that.

Even if you are a naturalized Canadian, you would need an unabridged certificate from the country where you were born. Where were you born? if you are unable, to provide that, you would have to have a very good reason, why you don't or could not.

TO answer:

One more thing: another option that we have been discussing more recently is for me to fly into the US and get married in New York (her hometown) in a civil ceremony. Once we have the necessary marriage documentation (certificate, most importantly), I will fly back home and then eventually onto Korea. I will get my employer in Korea to process a spouse visa for my wife to get her to come over to Korea, and then when we are a few months out from moving back to the US, file for DCF with the consulate.

THis option is possible, BUT I don't recommend it. If the CBP agent asks you for your intent, and you say you come to marry, he will refuse you, because you a tourist visa is to visit, not to get married. That is why there is a fiance visa, that you can obtain in order to get married.

[noreaga 0]

I was born in India, and as far as i know the only copy of the birth certificate i have is the only that my parents have.

And as far as entering into and marrying in the US, I think it's fine, but I will have to show the US border agents proof that I do not intend to stay in the US. As per my understanding, entering to marry itself is not what can get you in trouble, but instead it is entering and trying to change your status. I think as long as I can show them my Korean job offer, my signed contract, and maybe even my Korean visa, along with a return ticket to go home and a ticket to go to Korea, i should be OK.

[richardkorea2010 15]

From what I understand, if you enter with the intent to get married it is not right. That is why there is a fiance visa.

IF they know, you are entering to get married, they might refuse you entry, and even if you get allowed in, getting a marriage certificate, on a tourist visa. I don't know.

a Korean job offer, return ticket, and ticket to Korea is not necessarily going to give you entry, as your purpose is to get married in the US.

Once you start the DCF process, and they see that you used a tourist visa to get entry into the US, to get married, they can be more strict in your process, Thats all I can think,

[noreaga 0]

Hi everyone ! I'm back after a little hiatus and needing to figure out other aspects of my life first. So here's where we are: I ended up moving to Seoul, South Korea and am have been living and working there since August 2012. My fiancee, the US citizen, and I have decided to get married in Toronto (me being the Canadian citizen).

With that in place, what does she need to know about making her intentions known when she lands in Toronto and has to speak to the border agents? She does not plan to stay in Canada, but rather return back to the US after the wedding (and I back to Korea). Our plan is to get her to move over with me to Korea, and maybe we can eventually pursue the DCF route.

Please let me know what you guys think and if you see any major issues. Thanks all, and happy holidays !