DCF In Peru...just a few questions holding me back from filing.

[Lucy_Nani 0]

Hi,

I have read that I don't need to be a resident or have a carnet de extranjeria to file DCF in Peru. Does anyone else have experience with this? I have been living her for 2 years on a tourist visa. Legally I leave every so often to renew it.

I have also read here that I can do the translations myself if I certify that I am competent to do them. Other anecdotal evidence?

Finally, if we solicit affidavits to prove our relationship do they need to be notarized?

Thanks!

[Inky 1,111]

Moved to DCF forums.

[oohpartiv 484]

Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty positive you have to be a resident to do DCF. If just anybody could do it, what would keep people from taking a summer long vacation and doing DCF in a month or two? There has to be some requirement that separates normal I-130 filers from DCF filers, and I'm pretty sure that requirement is that the USC has to be a legal resident in their spouse's country. Then again, I could be wrong, so maybe somebody who's done DCF in Peru could elaborate.

The translation part is correct - you can do them as long as you sign a statement saying that you're competent and able to do the translation, and that the translation you've done is, to your knowledge, correct. As for the affidavits, I notarized them - the Ecuadorian ones down here, and the American ones in the States.

[Lucy_Nani 0]

Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty positive you have to be a resident to do DCF. If just anybody could do it, what would keep people from taking a summer long vacation and doing DCF in a month or two? There has to be some requirement that separates normal I-130 filers from DCF filers, and I'm pretty sure that requirement is that the USC has to be a legal resident in their spouse's country. Then again, I could be wrong, so maybe somebody who's done DCF in Peru could elaborate.

The translation part is correct - you can do them as long as you sign a statement saying that you're competent and able to do the translation, and that the translation you've done is, to your knowledge, correct. As for the affidavits, I notarized them - the Ecuadorian ones down here, and the American ones in the States.

[/quote/]

Ok thanks. I have read that I can do it without being a resident, I just wish someone else on here would respond that has done it without a being a resident. I don't know why more people don't do exactly what you say and take a summer long vacation and then file. What do you think would happen if I tried without? Would we get rejected? What if I got a letter proving residence? Like a lease, and a letter from my job?

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty positive you have to be a resident to do DCF. If just anybody could do it, what would keep people from taking a summer long vacation and doing DCF in a month or two? There has to be some requirement that separates normal I-130 filers from DCF filers, and I'm pretty sure that requirement is that the USC has to be a legal resident in their spouse's country. Then again, I could be wrong, so maybe somebody who's done DCF in Peru could elaborate.

The translation part is correct - you can do them as long as you sign a statement saying that you're competent and able to do the translation, and that the translation you've done is, to your knowledge, correct. As for the affidavits, I notarized them - the Ecuadorian ones down here, and the American ones in the States.

Ok thanks. I have read that I can do it without being a resident, I just wish someone else on here would respond that has done it without a being a resident. I don't know why more people don't do exactly what you say and take a summer long vacation and then file. What do you think would happen if I tried without? Would we get rejected? What if I got a letter proving residence? Like a lease, and a letter from my job?

Obviously each embassy is different, but in other DCF countries you have to prove residency with a visa or a passport that allows you to reside in the country permanently or at least long term. How we did it for our second I-130 - a UK passport, which allows me residence in Denmark.

This is from the embassy's website:

n certain very limited cases, petitions may be filed with the USCIS Office in Lima. These cases include those involving U.S. citizens who have been legal residents of Peru for more than six months, cases of humanitarian emergencies (such as life and death, or health and safety), or if determined to be in the national interest (such as facilitating the travel of U.S. military families). Qualified applicants may contact the Lima office of USCIS during their window hours in the Embassy's Annex building on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00am to 11:00am, excluding American and Peruvian holidays.

http://lima.usembassy.gov/iv/apply/petition2.html

[Lucy_Nani 0]

Right....well I have been legally living in the country for more than 2 years, but on a tourist visa..... maybe just maybe, I have read cases here on VJ. What do you think would happen if I just applied?

[oohpartiv 484]

Right....well I have been legally living in the country for more than 2 years, but on a tourist visa..... maybe just maybe, I have read cases here on VJ. What do you think would happen if I just applied?

You could surely try, but there's a possibility (a pretty big one, it seems) that you'd get denied and have to refile, but the normal way (through a lockbox/service center in the USA).

Also, I'm not sure what the laws are like in Peru, but in Ecuador it is extremely illegal to work on a tourist visa, regardless of how long you've been staying in the country or the fact that you make sure your tourist visa is valid. A student visa allows a small amount of weekly hours at a job, but the only other visas that allow you to legally work are actual work visas, "exchange" visas (for foreign teachers, for example, that come to teach English), and the actual residency itself. I would be very hesitant to mention any job to the Peruvian consulate/embassy if you're there on a tourist visa - it could cause you some major problems.

Edited April 13, 2013 by oohpartiv

[Lucy_Nani 0]

You could surely try, but there's a possibility (a pretty big one, it seems) that you'd get denied and have to refile, but the normal way (through a lockbox/service center in the USA).

Also, I'm not sure what the laws are like in Peru, but in Ecuador it is extremely illegal to work on a tourist visa, regardless of how long you've been staying in the country or the fact that you make sure your tourist visa is valid. A student visa allows a small amount of weekly hours at a job, but the only other visas that allow you to legally work are actual work visas, "exchange" visas (for foreign teachers, for example, that come to teach English), and the actual residency itself. I would be very hesitant to mention any job to the Peruvian consulate/embassy if you're there on a tourist visa - it could cause you some major problems.

Haha oh right! Yeah I lived in Ecuador for 6 months on that visa for teachers. No Peru is waaay more lax about that kind of this. When I enter the country I tell them that I need a 6 month visa because I am working. Brazil is the same way they wont let you in if they think you're even going to volunteer. It's incredible how different the laws (or what is acceptable) from country to country.