Help! DCF for IR-1 Visa Needed For Medical Emergency

[thebaileyohana 1]

Wondering if someone can help me out here. My husband (Canadian) and I (US Citizen) currently live in Canada. Over the past few months I've had to go back & forth (Canada to USA) to provide care for my critically ill father.

In the next couple months my father will be having a serious open heart surgery. He is a high risk patient due to multiple critical health conditions and will require immediate around the clock care once he is discharged from the hospital. We estimate surgery & discharge to be completed around April 2014. He will need someone physically strong enough to provide support and care for him (i.e. lifting him, transporting, assistance bathing, etc) and someone that can build/make alterations to my parents home to accommodate my father's needs. Neither my mother nor I can do this.

We need to get my husband here to do all those things for him once he is discharged from the hospital. My husband is both physically strong and is also a carpenter. He can care for my father and do a renovation for my parents immediately to help accommodate his critical condition. There is no other family capable of doing these things.

Would this be possible? If so, where would I have to file? Could I go to my consulate in Calgary, AB, Canada initially & then Montreal for my husbands interview? All and any advice and suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!

[Lakehouse 293]

If I understand correctly, you're wondering how to get your husband down to help with your father's recovery...

Are you also wondering then about the immigration process? As your husband can certainly go to the US as a visitor to perform the care you've referred to (although just as a caution, if he goes to the US to help out, don't mention he'll be building things or doing carpentry for your father, as some border officers will consider this 'work' that would be taken away from a hired carpenter there, and could refuse him access. They have been known to be very particular about any form of work, even helping someone move).

However, if you are planning to relocate and stay in the US, you should start your I-130 application as quickly as possible, as it can take roughly a year in most current cases. If you file this application, your husband would generally be allowed to visit the US, as long as he can show evidence of 'ties to Canada' such as bills, an employment letter, rent or mortgage or home ownership information, and the like. Many of us Canadians here on VJ have visited the US, and you can search this site via the search box to find more related information and experiences on the topic.

Filing is by mail to the US. The Calgary consulate does not have any role in Immigration of spouses - unfortunately Canada does not do DCF. The final stage of the Immigration process will be an interview in Montreal.

The guides at the top of this site, and the USCIS website are your next sources of info on forms and instructions for the I-130 application.

I hope this answers some of your questions. Please clarify if there is more information you are hoping for.

[lost_at_sea 995]

The above reply has the best advice. BUT assuming you are looking to have your husband emigrate ASAP, rather than just visit, consulates without field offices can accept petitions in *exceptional situations*. I can't say I've seen anyone do DCF in Canada in this situation since they closed the field office, but I don't see why you shouldn't at least enquire. I wouldn't pin your hopes on it, though, and prepare to file the long way.

I can't navigate the Canada embassy website that well to find the proper link on I-130 filing, but here's the news article (see the last part about exceptional filings):

http://canada.usembassy.gov/news-events/2011-news-and-events/august-2011/15-august-2011-new-immigrant-visa-petitions-filing-process-starts-today.html

And the link it then clicks through to:

http://www.uscis.gov/iframe/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-3481/0-0-0-6254.html

It mentions medical emergencies as a category, but only for the petitioner or beneficiary (but the list is not exhaustive). It may not stretch to immediate relatives abroad who need your support. I'd call and ask, at least.

[thebaileyohana 1]

Thanks for your responses. Yes, I will clarify sorry! I was talking about immigrating to get an IR-1 Visa so he can get permanent residency. We were already planning on moving to the USA and I have already applied to go back to school in the USA at the end of the year. Also, if my parents don't get my husbands help they will need to put my dad into a nursing home (Averages $10,000/month where they live), which they cannot afford, causing financial hardship where they would likely lose their home because the govt would take it to pay for the nursing home.

I know that Canada no longer has DCF so perhaps I'm referring to it incorrectly? I wasn't sure what to refer to it as but I believe that in emergent situations you are able to get a spousal immigrant visa from a consulate as an exception. Normally, the only consulate that would take immigrant visa's is Montreal, but I read that "Petitioners who believe that their situation merits an exception may contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate to request an exception and explain their circumstances in detail. Each request for an exception will be evaluated individually and must be authorized by the USCIS office that is responsible for that specific U.S. embassy or consulate."

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/petition/file/filing-immigrant-petitions-outside-the-u-s.html

This link below shows that medical and family emergency expedite the interview process in Canada:

https://usvisa-info.com/en-CA/selfservice/us_expedited_appointments

I'm thinking that it is possible to expedite the process in obtaining an Immediate Relative Immigrant Visa for my husband im just uncertain if for my particular situation they will, only because I have read so much about others who are in need of expedition and have been denied.

Thoughts?

[thebaileyohana 1]

Idk maybe the expedited appts only apply to non immigrant visas, which isn't what we want. Hmmmm. Immigration Grrrr!

[lost_at_sea 995]

That link is for interviews. That's not the slow bit. The petition for the visa currently takes 6 - 10 months to get approved before you even get to deal with the embassy.

[*Snowdrop* 604]

You can definitely apply and make a case for an expedited petition but be aware it's not an easy process. You'd have to chase that expedite at each stage of the petition process. USCIS, NVC and Embassy.

Even if you are successful in each of those situations your deadline of April is tight.

You probably need a good Plan B.

A long visit (up to six months allowed to Canadians) by your husband while the process is underway plus hiring some local nursing help perhaps?

But also bear in mind that if your husband is not allowed in for his long visit (because the border official suspects immigrant intent) then your parents may also need a Plan C

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

There is a way to do DCF in a non-DCF country and you are correct, it does take exceptional circumstances. I don't know if you will qualify (because usually it has more to do with the parties involved in the case), but I think it is worth a try along with your incredible anguish about the situation.

We were able to DCF in Denmark through using a local field office (London), but it isn't clear if we got the expedite because of the circumstances or because of USCIS errors.

What will happen if the DCF works is a field office (or the embassy itself) will directly approve your case and send it on to the embassy with interview being scheduled ASAP (we were offered next day, but needed a little time to plan the travel to the embassy).

Edited January 29, 2014 by N-o-l-a

[lost_at_sea 995]

Hey,

Just to be clear for the OP, the process is essentially a 2 part affair.

FIrst, you need to file the I-130 petition with the USCIS. In some countries, you're able to do that locally (DCF), but most people, including those in Canada, are expected to file via the USA. To get the approval for that takes 6 - 9 months, or there abouts. Then the approved petition goes to the NVC and you start the actual visa application process, having a medical, doing an interview etc. in Canada - that stage takes about 3 - 5 months before the visa is in hand. So, you see, generally speaking, it takes about 1 year to get an IR-1 visa (petition approval + visa application approval). Even if you could be expedited at every step of the way (which, I honestly think is unlikely since your emergency situation is about your parents, not you or the beneficiary) you still stand a slim to zero chance of getting a visa by the end of April.

So, I agree with Lynne that you should spend some time thinking about Plan B while you wait for your I-130 to be processed (and you can try and expedite, but it'll still be a couple of months even if that's accepted).

Edited January 29, 2014 by lost_at_sea

[ricnally 259]

Thanks for your responses. Yes, I will clarify sorry! I was talking about immigrating to get an IR-1 Visa so he can get permanent residency. We were already planning on moving to the USA and I have already applied to go back to school in the USA at the end of the year. Also, if my parents don't get my husbands help they will need to put my dad into a nursing home (Averages $10,000/month where they live), which they cannot afford, causing financial hardship where they would likely lose their home because the govt would take it to pay for the nursing home.

I know that Canada no longer has DCF so perhaps I'm referring to it incorrectly? I wasn't sure what to refer to it as but I believe that in emergent situations you are able to get a spousal immigrant visa from a consulate as an exception. Normally, the only consulate that would take immigrant visa's is Montreal, but I read that "Petitioners who believe that their situation merits an exception may contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate to request an exception and explain their circumstances in detail. Each request for an exception will be evaluated individually and must be authorized by the USCIS office that is responsible for that specific U.S. embassy or consulate."

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/petition/file/filing-immigrant-petitions-outside-the-u-s.html

This link below shows that medical and family emergency expedite the interview process in Canada:

https://usvisa-info.com/en-CA/selfservice/us_expedited_appointments

I'm thinking that it is possible to expedite the process in obtaining an Immediate Relative Immigrant Visa for my husband im just uncertain if for my particular situation they will, only because I have read so much about others who are in need of expedition and have been denied.

Thoughts?

The financial hardship of your parents will have no bearing on your case, unfortunately.

[thebaileyohana 1]

Hey Everyone. Check out this link. For exceptional circumstances it gives examples of additional "compelling humanitarian reasons"

http://www.immigrationattorneyla.com/Visa-Processing-Times/i-130-uscis-abroad-us-immigration.html

Thoughts?

[lost_at_sea 995]

Hey Everyone. Check out this link. For exceptional circumstances it gives examples of additional "compelling humanitarian reasons"

http://www.immigrationattorneyla.com/Visa-Processing-Times/i-130-uscis-abroad-us-immigration.html

Thoughts?

Yes, that's in the reasons above, too. The best you can do is state your case and hope for the best. No one here can guarantee you'll get an expedite (for filing the I-130 petition via the USA) or qualify for "exceptional" circumstances to have your petition processed in Canada. Either way, it's extremely unlikely your husband will have an IR-1 visa in hand by the end of April.

[thebaileyohana 1]

@lost_at_sea

True true! It would be doing the impossible but it's worth a try if anything it might speed up the process alittle. There are other ways I could go for an expedited process request too but really the successful recovery of health for my critically ill father is the most vital reason to my family.