DCF - both are non-residents of country

[kano98gl 0]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum, so wanted to check to see if anyone has gone through a similar situation. I've looked through the threads, but haven't been able to find any with the same situation I'm facing.

I am a US citizen who moved to Australia (Sydney) for work in 2009 on a 3 year work assignment. My company is sponsoring me on a 457 visa (long-stay business visa). While I have been here, I met and married my wife here in AU. The catch is that she is not from Australia either, she is from Thailand. My company has added her to my visa as my dependent (spouse), so we are both living together here legally. However, my assignment is coming to an end (tentatively) by the end of this year. So my question is: can we do a DCF where neither party is a "local"? Neither of us are Aussie citizens, but we are both living here under valid work visas, so Australia is our current place of residence. But I obviously want to have her visa sorted out by the time I will be going back home to the US.

Appreciate if anyone has any ideas or has gone through something similar.

As an FYI...I am meeting with my company's Immigration Agent (Fragomen) about this. So I'll be able to provide an update as to what they say later this week for those interested, but just wanted to see if anyone knew the process before I go into that meeting.

Thanks

[Anh map 2,098]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum, so wanted to check to see if anyone has gone through a similar situation. I've looked through the threads, but haven't been able to find any with the same situation I'm facing.

I am a US citizen who moved to Australia (Sydney) for work in 2009 on a 3 year work assignment. My company is sponsoring me on a 457 visa (long-stay business visa). While I have been here, I met and married my wife here in AU. The catch is that she is not from Australia either, she is from Thailand. My company has added her to my visa as my dependent (spouse), so we are both living together here legally. However, my assignment is coming to an end (tentatively) by the end of this year. So my question is: can we do a DCF where neither party is a "local"? Neither of us are Aussie citizens, but we are both living here under valid work visas, so Australia is our current place of residence. But I obviously want to have her visa sorted out by the time I will be going back home to the US.

Appreciate if anyone has any ideas or has gone through something similar.

As an FYI...I am meeting with my company's Immigration Agent (Fragomen) about this. So I'll be able to provide an update as to what they say later this week for those interested, but just wanted to see if anyone knew the process before I go into that meeting.

Thanks

You both legally reside there, so the answer is yes.

[GlobeHopperMama 95]

Yup. My Mexican husband and I (American citizen) were accepted to file DCF in South Korea this month. As long as you submit proof that both are legally residing in the country, all is OK. This is sometimes called third-country filing and it can be slightly more complicated than when one person is a citizen of the country where you're filing, but not much. Just stay on top of the consulate's requirements and give yourself time to gather the necessary documents and translations if necessary!

Edited July 17, 2012 by GlobeHopperMama