No i130 filing in Brazil?

[HeidiFer 0]

Good morning visa journeyers,

I am new to visajourney and am attempting to relocate to the United States with my Brazilian husband. I have been living in Brazil for the past two years, am now a permanent resident here, and have a one month old Brazilian son. I have been informed by the consulate that i130 forms are no longer being filed here in Brazil and that they must be filed in the US while the Brazilian spouse awaits approval for an interview. We were expecting to file a k3 visa in order to avoid excessive wait times and to avoid separation. With this news, that the i130 may not be filed here, it seems we are left with no other option than for me to go to the US with our son and leave my husband behind for who-knows-how-many-months until the i130 is approved. This doesn't seem right! Am I misunderstanding some information?! I'm looking to you visa trekking experts for some insight. It doesn't seem possible that there is no other option! We really do not feel comfortable having our 1month old separated from his father for an undetermined amount of time, yet we need to move to the US for my job... help!

[Hypnos 6,576]

K-3 visas are rarely issued anymore and are usually administratively closed because the IR-1 / CR-1 process is much faster now than it was before.

The processing time for an I-130 immigrant visa for your spouse is usually ~8 - 10 months. There is no way around it.

Edited December 28, 2012 by Hypnos

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

**** Moving from Bringing Family to CR-1 visa as this is the process the OP needs ****

As mentioned, K3 is obsolete and the process will take the bulk of a year, starting with you filing a I-130 petition via the Chicago Lockbox. However, you do not have to leave your husband. You can stay with him until he has his visa, as long as you can fulfill the Affadavit of Support via assets or a co- sponsor.

BTW, don't forget to file CRBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad) for your son to hget him a US passport.

[pushbrk 12,979]

K-3 visas are rarely issued anymore and are usually administratively closed because the IR-1 / CR-1 process is much faster now than it was before.

The processing time for an I-130 immigrant visa for your spouse is usually ~8 - 10 months. There is no way around it.

A visa is never "administratively closed". If something is not issued, it cannot be closed. What get's closed is the second petition (I-129F for spouse). Good news is that processing times for immigrant visas are now essentially the same as they were for the K3 when it was last a viable choice three years ago.

[HeidiFer 0]

I'm feeling more helpful with these tips! I'm assuming that in order to file the i130 in Chicago without leaving Brazil, I would be working through the mail system? I have a co-sponsor for my financial support who is located in the US. We will be registering our son shortly at the embassy and getting his American passport! His Brazilian passport will be ready in a few days. It would be ideal if we could keep our little family together through this process.

[pushbrk 12,979]

I'm feeling more helpful with these tips! I'm assuming that in order to file the i130 in Chicago without leaving Brazil, I would be working through the mail system? I have a co-sponsor for my financial support who is located in the US. We will be registering our son shortly at the embassy and getting his American passport! His Brazilian passport will be ready in a few days. It would be ideal if we could keep our little family together through this process.

You can keep your family together in Brazil, right? You can use an courier like DHL, or FedEx. If you do, use the courier address, not the PO Box.