DCF in Barbados

[prpplague 0]

hello all,

i've been reading visajourney.com for sometime now in preparation for doing our DCF. well.....today we went and filed our I-130 at the embassy.

we arrived right at 8:30 (opening time) and there was already a line of atleast 40 people. i showed the security guard my US passport and was moved to the front of the line. after getting into the consulate area, we waited for an open window and told the agent what we were there for. she took our I-130 form , but without any supporting documents and we were told to take a seat and wait. we waited for about one and a half hours, then we were called to another window. the agent took copies of our documents including my passport, my wife's birth certificate, our marriage certificate, my divorce degree from my first marrage(doh!). we were then told that the consular would call us up to a window shortly. shortly turned out to be another one and a half hours. we spoke to the consular, answered a few questions about how we met, where we were living, where i was working, and if my wife had ever lived in the US. after answering his questions he said that he intended to approve the I-130 and we'd get our packet-3 in about 10-15 minutes. indeed about 10 minutes later we were called to a forth window and receive our packet-3.

we'll be starting on the forms in packet-3 tonight.

thanks visajourney.com for providing a nice forum for reasearch and support during this process!

[prpplague 0]

there were several people who messaged me with questions regarding our application:

Q:Are you currently living in the U.S.?

A:No we both are currently residents of Barbados

Q:I just wish to know if there is any residency requirement for both the USC and the spouse in barbados?

A:Yes there does appear to be a requirment. the embassy/consulate webpage does state the following "U.S. citizens residing in the U.S. should file their petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the U.S."

Q:Can both just be tourists in barbados and file I-130 at the embassy?

A: you might be able to get away with the USC being a tourist and the applicant having a local address, but if you are both in the US i would recommend you stay there and file your adjustment of status there.

Q:Were you both asked for any proof of residency in barbados?

A:No we were not asked to show anything such as a lease or bill with our names on it, however the consular did as a few questions about our stay in barbados, i.e. when we moved here, what school our children go to, if we had a local bank account.

Q:Did they ask for the G325a form for you and your spouse? The instructions on the I-130 form suggest that you need that form also.

A: No to my surprise they did not require the G325a for me or my spouse.

Q:What was the instruction from the consulate for packet 3?

A: the Packet-3 had a DS-2001 Readiness sheet along with a DS-230. it also contained a list of documents needed. oddly i was unable to find the DS-2001 pdf on the DoS web site however i did find it on the london embassy web page:

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/visa/.../DS2001list.pdf

the DS-230 is available from the DoS web site:

http://foia.state.gov/FORMS/visa/ds0230.pdf

Q:Are you going back to submit the documents in-person or do you plan to send them in?

A: we will be submitting the documents in person as we are both residents of barbados

Q:Any tips on how to handle the questions they ask?

A: be honest

[meauxna 15]

Fantastic posts!!!

Thank you

[prpplague 0]

some updated info on the packet 3. you will need to get a "Certificate of Character" from the Barbados Police Department for your DS-230 interview. you can get the form at http://www.barbadospolice.gov.bb/photos/A54.doc . the cost is $10BBD or about $5USD. the person who the certificate is for needs to be present and will be fingerprinted. you will have to pick up the certificate in about 7-10 days. the office that handles the "Certificate of Character" is NOT at the Central Police Station. it is across from the central bank on Spry Street. the sign on the door says it opens at 8am but it appears no one usually shows up untill 9 to 9:30.

[prpplague 0]

some updated information.....

as of 11/1/2006 , the Consulate in Barbados is seriously understaffed. all immigrant visas have been pushed back to a 2-3 month waiting period after approval of the I-130 ( or other relavent petition). if absolutely possible, it is your best bet to have your Packet-3 prepared ahead of time and turn it in along with the documents at you petition interview.

the consulate only receives questions about immigrant visa between 1:30pm and 3:30pm monday thru friday. the phone information is : 246-431-0225 ext 5014 and 5015. it is every difficult to get them to answer the phone so you may have to call repeatedly for 5-10 minutes before actually getting someone on the line. if you leave a message with a call back number, don't expect them to call back.

[prpplague 0]

more updated information:

the medical exams are done at the 'Diagnostic Clinic" on beckles road in bridgetown. the basic fee appears to be $157USD plus

some additonal if you need vaccinations. the clinic does not make appointments and is done on "first come ... first serve" basis.

the staff informed me that Monday is the worst day to go, and that Wed. seems to be the slowest day.

Medical Exam

Location: Diagnostic Clinic on Beckles Road

Phone #: 246-421-5056

Cost: $157USD for adults

Appointment not needed

medical exam MUST be done two(2) full days prior to your interview!

[prpplague 0]

updated information:

there are a number of photo shops that will do passport photos in barbados. however most are still using the old polaroid

cameras and do a max of 4 identical pictures at once. they also don't seem to be very familiar with the US passport photo

requirements. in addition if the photos are not correct, for example too dark or out of focus, you still have to pay for the 4 photos.

we shopped around and found "True Colour Digital Photo Lab" at the Quayside Centre. they have a very nice digiital camera

specifically designed for passport photos. in addition the clerks there are very familiar with the US requirments. after taking the

picture, the clerk will allow you to view the picture on a lcd screen prior to printing the photos. you may purchase the photos in

multiples of 2 for a cost of $19.00BDS or around $9.50USD.

based on our experience you will need 5 identical photos for the applicant:

1 for the I-130

1 for the Medical Exam form

3 for the ir-1/cr-1 interview

the USC will also need 1 for the I-130 application.

my suggestion is that if you can only afford to get 6 , that is fine, but if possible, go ahead and have the clerk do 8 photos.

the extra $9.50 USD is well worth the time and hasle if you have to come back for more.

PASSPORT/VISA PHOTOS

NAME: True Colour Digital Photo Lab

LOCATION: Quayside Centre, Rockley, Christ Church

PHONE #: 246-435-8200

COST: $19.00BBD or $9.50USD for 2 photos

HOURS: monday thru saturday 8:30am to 5:30PM

[prpplague 0]

updated information:

well we were able to get an interview date of December 4th at 7:30am. just got email confirmation, however we have not received our packet-4 yet.

Edited November 17, 2006 by prpplague

[prpplague 0]

more updated information:

the medical exams are done at the 'Diagnostic Clinic" on beckles road in bridgetown. the basic fee appears to be $157USD plus

some additonal if you need vaccinations. the clinic does not make appointments and is done on "first come ... first serve" basis.

the staff informed me that Monday is the worst day to go, and that Wed. seems to be the slowest day.

Medical Exam

Location: Diagnostic Clinic on Beckles Road

Phone #: 246-421-5056

Cost: $157USD for adults

Appointment not needed

medical exam MUST be done two(2) full days prior to your interview!

the phone number was posted incorrectly:

Medical Exam

Location: Diagnostic Clinic on Beckles Road

Phone #: 246-426-5051

Cost: $155USD for adults

Appointment not needed

you will need to bring four photos to the medical exam. you will also need to bring your interview letter. they will not process your

medical exam without the letter.you must arrive before 8am to have your exam complete that same day. the packet you receive

from the consulate does not include the medical exam forms. these will be forwarded to the Diagnostic Clinic for the exam.

[prpplague 0]

updated info on medical exam

my wife went for her medical today. here is some additional info on the procedure. you MUST arrive at the clinic before 8:30am or

you WILL NOT be seen that day. after arriving you are given a card with a letter on it and are called in alphabetical order. the

receiptionist will require you to show your appointment letter as well as your passport. if you are under any medical care you must

bring a letter from the attending physcian(s). if you were glasses you must bring a copy of the prescription and the glasses. you

must present your vaccination card. if you do not have a vacination card, you will have to get the required shots. after waiting for

about 30 minutes, you will get your blood drawn for tests. after about another 30 minutes, you will get a chest x-ray done. again

after another 30 minutes your height, weight will be checked as well as checking your vision and providing a urine sample. after

yet another 30-45 minutes you will be called you will be called in to see the doctor. the exam basically covers questions about your

general medical health, heart rate, and blood pressure. a general check of you ears, nose, throat as well as examination of your

overall body appearance. note - the doctor does require you to disrobe. although there was no mention of it, i did get the

impression that the doctor was looking for "track marks" and other signs of drug usage. if you do not have you vacination record,

wou will need to get "Dyptheria, Pertussis and Tetnus" or DPT as well as the "Measles, mumps, and rubella" or MMR. after

completing the exam, you will need to provide the receptionist with your 3 IDENTICAL passport photos. once all the paper work

has been completed, you will need to pay and will be giving a receipt with the instructions to return on the next business day

between 10am and 10:30 to receive you documents. total cost of the medical was $390BBD or about $195USD. total time involved

between 2.5 and 3.5 hours. monday is the worst day to go. my personal suggestion would be to go on wednesday or thursday.

this way you can avoid the crowds on monday but still get the result before the weekend. my wife is a worrier and since we did

ours on friday, she gets to worry all weekend long ( read as "i will have to reassure her every half hour for the next 48 hours")

things to remember:

Appointment letter

passport

3 passport photos

while we were waiting several people arrived without their photos. the staff were less than pleased, so remember the photos.

there is still some question in my mind about the number of photos that are required for the process. some documents state that

only two are needed for the medical exam and one for the visa. however, all the documents for the barbados consulate state that

three photos are needed for the medical. with that in mind, i am thinking that the medical portion requiring three photos, is simply to

make sure all three photos are identical , and one of the photos will actually be used for the visa. i will definetly follow this question

up after our interview on the 4th.

Edited November 24, 2006 by prpplague

[prpplague 0]

updated info on medical exam

my wife went for her medical today. monday is the worst day to go. my personal suggestion would be to go on wednesday or

thursday. this way you can avoid the crowds on monday but still get the result before the weekend. my wife is a worrier and since

we did hours on friday, she gets to worry all weekend long ( read as "i will have to reassure her every half hour for the next 48

hours")

well we picked up my wife's paperwork today for her medical, all clear, no problems. we have our interview a week from today. i'll be going over all or paperwork this evening to have it ready!

[prpplague 0]

well tomorrow's the big day. we have all of our paperwork organized and ready. the only question we still have is about our i-94 for

her last stay which had a "d/s" on it. i called USCIS about it last week and they said that if it had a "d/s" that it would default to the max

admision period of 1 year. however i still have seen several people say that it will default to the 6 months for the b-1/b-2 admission.

we will ask the consular tomorrow about it.

[meauxna 15]

well tomorrow's the big day. we have all of our paperwork organized and ready. the only question we still have is about our i-94 for

her last stay which had a "d/s" on it. i called USCIS about it last week and they said that if it had a "d/s" that it would default to the max

admision period of 1 year. however i still have seen several people say that it will default to the 6 months for the b-1/b-2 admission.

we will ask the consular tomorrow about it.

You've done such a lovely job documenting your process---I really, really thank you.

I'll be thinking good thoughts for you tomorrow and will be interested to know more about the alleged overstay issue. You might let the interview more or less run its course and see what *they* bring up about it.

If you get to the end of the interview and are being congratulated, then you can ask them if/why that was not an issue.

Very best wishes, and I hope you're walking out on air tomorrow!

[prpplague 0]

well tomorrow's the big day. we have all of our paperwork organized and ready. the only question we still have is about our i-94 for

her last stay which had a "d/s" on it. i called USCIS about it last week and they said that if it had a "d/s" that it would default to the max

admision period of 1 year. however i still have seen several people say that it will default to the 6 months for the b-1/b-2 admission.

we will ask the consular tomorrow about it.

You've done such a lovely job documenting your process---I really, really thank you.

I'll be thinking good thoughts for you tomorrow and will be interested to know more about the alleged overstay issue. You might let the interview more or less run its course and see what *they* bring up about it.

If you get to the end of the interview and are being congratulated, then you can ask them if/why that was not an issue.

Very best wishes, and I hope you're walking out on air tomorrow!

thanks for the feedback, our only question is how to answer the question on the ds-230 part II about the overstays. if we answer NO, and they see an overstay on the record it looks like we lied. if we answer yes and they see no record of it, then they might dig deeper to find something.

[meauxna 15]

The nice thing about handing your docs in in person is that you can always ask.

I think you can safely answer that question 'unknown'.