DCF Process in Guatemala

[fgiron32 0]

Hi again, after 6 months of thinking about leaving my country (Guatemala) with my wife (US citizen), we finally decide to start the DCF process. So this past week we went to the US Embassy. So you don’t get confused, I, the beneficiary will be the one writing, my wife, the US citizen, is not that interested in reading a lot on the internet to know what to do, so I will be the one writing about the process.

I will use this thread to post everything about the steps we are taking, and also everything that I think can be helpful to others.

After reading a lot in forums, I decided to write a cover letter for my documents, I used one that I found in Visajourney, I only modified the documents I include in the packet.

This is the letter:

May 23rd, 2013

Officer-in-Charge

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Department of Homeland Security

Subject: Form I-130 submission, from petitioner XXX for beneficiary XXX

To whom it may concern:

I am an American citizen currently residing in Guatemala with my Guatemalan husband. We wish to move back to the United States together, and therefore are applying for a long-term/permanent residence permit for him. Please find the forms and supporting documents attached in conjunction with the I-130 for Beneficiary:

1. Form I-130 petition for alien relative, completed by Petitioner for Beneficiary

2. Form G-325A, biographic information for Petitioner.

a. Biometric photo of Petitioner attached to form G-325A.

3. Form G-325A, biographic information for Beneficiary.

a. Biometric photo of Beneficiary attached to form G-325A.

4. Document proving US citizenship of Petitioner.

a. Copy of United States Passport.

5. Documents proving legal residency in Guatemala of Petitioner

a. Guatemalan ID, issued back in 2001

b. Employment letter, proof of a year and half working in Guatemala.

c. Copy of Petitioner Guatemalan passport.

6. Documents proving beneficiary, Beneficiary, identity.

a. Copy of Beneficiary Guatemalan Passport.

b. Copy of Beneficiary Birth certificate.

7. Documents proving family relationship between Petitioner and Beneficiary.

a. Copy of Marriage Certificate.

b. XXX (daughter), birth certificate issued in 2002, with Beneficiary and Petitioner registered as parents.

Copies of the submitted documents are exact photocopies of unaltered documents, and I understand that I may be required to submit original documents to an Immigration or Consular officer at a later date. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance. My contact information is provided below.

Sincerely,

Petitioner
Guatemalan Address
Guatemala phone number

We checked in the US embassy in Guatemala web page, what were the schedules to turn this in, but it was confusing, as they have different schedules of attention depending on what you need. I checked this page:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=96290a9de954d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=1ac900c262197210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

So I decided to go on the 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM schedule, at window number 5 (Consular section), my wife and I arrived at 12:15, and there were already like 15 people, not that bad, we had to wait outside the embassy, and at 12:45 they started letting us in, once inside the embassy, we waited and exactly at 13:00, they opened the window, most of the cases that people went for, are because they’re in the middle of their process and they don’t know what to do (how do I know this? At the window when you make question and the embassy lady answers, she does it through a speaker so everyone can hear what you’re doing).

It took us like 20 minutes to get to the window, once there, the lady asked us what do we need, and we told her that we wanted to start the Immigrant Visa request process, she asked us for all the papers, so we gave the envelope to her. She started checking, she didn’t even checked the cover letter, neither she asked us anything else.

When she finished organizing our paper, she told us that we need translation of some papers (mostly the legal certificates, like the marriage certificate, and my birth certificate, I think all documents emitted by the Guatemala Government need translation), then she told us that it would be better if we send photographs in the package, we thought it was not necessary as we have been married for 8 years and our daughter is 10 years old, we thought that would be proof enough to show relationships, but the lady told us that the more proof the easier the process. I asked her if it matter if the forms had that days date, when we turn them in next week and she said it doesn’t matter. We also asked how we pay, and next to that window there’s a cashier, so after she checks all the papers, we have to pay, not before. We forgot to ask how much was it.

So basically that’s day 1, I know this doesn’t give you that many details, but I thought that it would be nice to share the entire process in case someone else is in the same spot as I am right now. I’ve been reading this forum to get an idea of what to expect, and as helpful as others have been to me I hope to be to others. So I’ll update this thread next week.

[fgiron32 0]

I forgot to write the background of my case....

I am from Guatemala, and my wife is a US citizen that has lived her entire life in Guatemala, while we were thinking about leaving to the US, I read a lot about the easiest way to get my papers, I found out that the best way is through the DCF. At the moment we have a couple of concerns, but I'm cofident that we will get past them.

One of the concerns is that, we don't have a domicile in the US, we already know that we will live with my wife's aunt, and she and my father in law they both will be my joint sponsors. I read that one of the ways to establish a domicile is to have a bank account, I found that Bank of America allows to open online accounts, the only requirement is to have a SSN, and an address to receive the statement, we have both, so we hope thats enough.

Another concern is about my wifes taxes, she never declared anything. My wife's sister is also a US citizen and when she had a daughter she sent the request for the citizenship, and because she didn't delcare taxes either, she wrote a letter explaining the reason and that was enough, we're planning on doing the same but don't know if it will go through.

Well basically that my case... I'll keep posted on how the process evolves.