Nicaragua citizen - Costa Rica resident question related to embassy interview

[Btranquilo 2]

Hi, not sure I am posting this in the right section and apologize in advance if there was a better place for me to post this. My question applies to the petition I filed for my wife's visa. She is a Nicaraguan citizen and I was advised by the USCIS office here in Portland, OR to file both the I-130 and the I-129F applications which I did. On the I-129F application there is a section which asks which embassy or consulate the spouse will apply at. The instructions to form 1-129F say "The LIFE Act requires that the Form I-129F beneficiary apply for a K-3 visa in the country where the marriage to the US citizen petitioner occurred.

Our marriage took place in Managua, Nicaragua and we indicated that on both the I-130 and I-129F applications. And, while it may not be relevant, my wife has applied for "resident status" in Costa Rica (she has a daughter born in Costa Rica and the daughter is a Costa Rican citizen); however her application for CR residency which she filed almost two years ago is still not approved although she has been told it will be approved in September, 2014 (she had also been told it would be approved back in July, 2014).

Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica is very common because of the lack of work in Nicaragua. My question is does anyone on this forum have experience with a Nicaraguan Beneficiary spouse living in Costa Rica and was there embassy interview conducted in Managua, Nicaragua or in San Jose, Costa Rica? The only other reference I can find from USCIS documents is this on the I-129F form "Note: Designation of a US embassy outside the country of your (spouse's) last residence does not guarantee acceptance for processing by that foreign post. Acceptance is at the discretion of the designated embassy or consulate."

Thanks in advance for any information or guidance on this.

[NikLR 13,227]

I wouldn't bother with the I-129F honestly.

Is she legally living in Costa Rica? If so then her CR1 visa interview will likely occur there.

[Btranquilo 2]

Thanks for the response. Yes, my wife is legally living in Costa Rica (CR) although she has had to leave every 30 days and return to maintain her status to work. She does not yet have a CR identity card (cedula) although she applied almost two years ago and is eligible; hopefully she will receive her official CR residency soon although it will be a moot point if she receives the visa to enter the US before she receives CR residency. We don't have a problem in having her interview at the US embassy in Costa Rica - it would be nice to know though where it will be.

As for not "bothering" with the I-129F application, I am not exactly sure what that means? We were advised by the USCIS office here to file both the I-130 and the I-129F application because it would ..."speed up the process." Will both applications be approved and sent to the national center in Vermont at the same time? If both are approved how does one go about ignoring one of them, etc.

Are others confused about this process, find it hard to understand the underlying logic, etc?

Thanks again for the response.

Btranquilo

[NikLR 13,227]

USCIS doesn't do anything past the petitions and sending the eventual hard copy green card. It actually slows the process to send the I-129F because the I-130 is pulled out of line, put with the I-129F and both are adjudicated together. After being adjudicated they are sent to the NVC (National Visa Center) who has a policy that if they receive the I-129F at the same time or after the I-130 they will close it and you will be on the IR1/CR1 path anyhow. Or it might be sent onto embassy and it still may be closed.

If it isn't and you choose to proceed at embassy level with the K3, remember the beneficiary must AOS after arriving in the USA. So instead of getting a green card, they have to spend $1070 and wait to get the work authorization and eventual green card. So the K3 route doesn't save any time (maybe a few months at the NVC, if you're lucky) but in the meantime costs twice as much.

[Btranquilo 2]

Thanks for this response also Interesting that the filing of the I-129F along with the I-130 may end up costing me more money than simply filing the I-130 alone. I recall that I read something to that effect when I first began doing research on this site and I asked the official at USCIS in Portland if filing the I-129F along with the I-130 would cost me more and I distinctly remember her saying the total costs would be the same.

Also, I am under the impression I am seeking a IR1 / CR1 Visa and not a K3 visa; when I asked on this site a previous question which type of visa I was applying for a member responded that I was applying for a IR1 / CR1 visa and not a K3 visa since we had not been married more than two years.

I consider myself fairly intelligent and generally I am OK at understanding a process by reading however I have to say that it is very difficult for me to understand why there would even be an option of filing a I-130 and a I-129F application if the goal is to simply obtain a visa for your spouse. And in completing the two separate forms it seems strange that while there are some identical questions on each there are also questions unique for both. And the I-129F form seems to be mainly designed for a fiancée visa however in some places it references that it can be used to apply for a visa for a spouse.

Seems to me that either an experienced USCIS employee or short term contractor could re-design this process and forms and make it all clearer and do so in a relatively short time - but perhaps (as John Lennon said) "I am a dreamer."

[NikLR 13,227]

The I-129F is meant for a fiancé which is why it is weird for a spouse. If you were petitioning for a fiancé you would send this form and not an I-130.

The member that informed you about the type of visa was wrong.

IR-1 = married 2 or more years at POE = 10 year green card and no need to ROC

CR1 = married less than 2 years at POE = 2 year green card and need to ROC

K3 = married any period of time, non-immigrant visa like a K1 with a need to adjust status after arrival in USA and I-130 approval. Is multi entry until AOS. Green card granted at end of AOS. 2 or 10 year depends on length of marriage at time of AOS approval.

Basically IR1/CR1 are exactly the same in processing, the only difference being the length of the green card validity which is entirely dependent on length of marriage at POE.

K3 was brought into being when the I-130 took years to be approved.