Feedback from Frankfurt Consulate?

[JasMi 1]

Hi All,

I have a few questions regarding I-130 DCF petition but first let me outline my IR-1/CR-1 experience so far.

My husband (USC) and I filed the I-130 directly at the Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany. We live together in Germany where my husband is stationed as a civilian working for the US Government.

We made the first appointment through INFOPASS on August 15, 2012 to file I-130 and DS-230 forms, which were accepted and we received our case number. We were told it would take approx. 90-120 days to approve the petition, so the next lot of documents (birth certificates, police clearances, I-864 form, U.S tax return, marriage certificates, photos, prepaid DHL label, translations etc.) should be sent around December, 2012.

We made another appointment in December 2012 to deliver the documents in person. But, as we got there, we were advised that no immigration officer would be able to see us in this case; as per instructions on the form we should send the documents by mail only to the Immigrant Visa Unit. As they required originals and copies of all necessary documents, I was concerned about my original police clearances being lost by post office, since it was quite a lengthy and complicated process to get them. So, we sent all documents in by registered mail and a few days later my husband tracked the delivery on the Deutsche Post website. There was a picture with an embassy official’s signature confirming the delivery.

Seven weeks have passed since then, with no updates from the consulate. I emailed them on Feb 5th 2013 to find out about my case, and got a response that they did not receive any documents sent in December 2012! They only got my medical exam results, which I did on January 8th, 2013. I replied back giving them tracking numbers and a few hours later they confirmed that they had found my documents and they would contact me shortly. Three more weeks have passed, and there is still no news from the Consulate.

I am starting to the get a little worried as my husband is scheduled to PCS (Permanent Change of Station) back to the USA, in 6 weeks, and I am still not sure if my visa will be approved in time. I also have not received any notifications from the Consulate since filing the petition in August 2012…

So, to all those couples doing DCF in Germany and elsewhere, what is your experience with the Immigrant Visa process? How long did it take to get the IR/CR 1 visa approved and issued? How far in advance were you informed about your interview appointment? If your husbands/wives were PCS-ing back to the USA, were you issued your visas in time for their departures or ahead of time or much delayed?

I am hoping that my case will be ok but I’d be grateful if you could share your experience and give some insights into your timelines!

Many thanks!!

JasMi

[Brokenness 3]

Hi,

That sounds quite worrisome. I did not have an issue at all with my submissions to the Frankfurt consulate except that there were no clearly defined timelines. I sent in the original documents only after receiving the request from the Consulate and like you, I tracked it online. We only had to wait one week until we received the interview date.

I would ignore the timeframe of one week as being relevant in your case, since when you fill out the required form on their website and which is mailed to you requesting the documents, you are required to give the expected date that you will be flying to the US. I assume that they prioritize the interviews to coincide with the date you added on this form. For me, I planned to fly out one month after sending in the original documents (sent in end of November, planned to fly to the US end of December). We received the interview date within one week which was in enough time to fly at our scheduled departure date.

If this date has changed, you are to contact the Consulate again and inform them of the revised date. However, be certain that you have everything in order by the proposed date: for example your Medical Examination.

One surprise for me was that I as the filer (USC), I was not allowed into the Consulate for the interview-so my wife went in on her own.

[JasMi 1]

Hi,

That sounds quite worrisome. I did not have an issue at all with my submissions to the Frankfurt consulate except that there were no clearly defined timelines. I sent in the original documents only after receiving the request from the Consulate and like you, I tracked it online. We only had to wait one week until we received the interview date.

I would ignore the timeframe of one week as being relevant in your case, since when you fill out the required form on their website and which is mailed to you requesting the documents, you are required to give the expected date that you will be flying to the US. I assume that they prioritize the interviews to coincide with the date you added on this form. For me, I planned to fly out one month after sending in the original documents (sent in end of November, planned to fly to the US end of December). We received the interview date within one week which was in enough time to fly at our scheduled departure date.

If this date has changed, you are to contact the Consulate again and inform them of the revised date. However, be certain that you have everything in order by the proposed date: for example your Medical Examination.

One surprise for me was that I as the filer (USC), I was not allowed into the Consulate for the interview-so my wife went in on her own.

Hi,

Thanks for your input, much appreciated! My husband is moving back in exactly one month, so hopefully I will get the interview date in the next few days. We also provided the date of travel on the form. I did medical exam nearly 2 months ago and the Consulate confirmed they had received it. It is the only feedback on my case so far.

Interesting, as we both planned to go the Consulate for my interview...now I will have to confirm with them, whether or not my husband could go in with me.

One more question, how do they send the interview date, by email or post it to a mailing address or both ways to make sure it gets to you on time?