Living abroad but cannot do DCF????

[AmandaLane102 3]

Hi all, I am living in a country with my husband (Namibia) that has no NSCIS presence at the U.S. embassy and therefore does not offer DCF . . . neighboring South Africa does, but you must be a resident there. Therefore I have to mail my I-130 all the way to the States??? Has anyone else ever heard of this or had this experience??? Also, does anything important get snail mailed from Stateside because the postal service here is unreliable.

[kzielu 1,147]

Yes, have to mail it to US if you live in a country with no USCIS international office.

[Ontarkie 14,133]

~~Duplicate thread removed. Please do not post multiple threads for the same or similar topic.~~

[silverjetplane 34]

This is the case for very many of us. I would get comfortable with the idea of sending all your documentation via mail to the US - the USCIS for the I-130 and then at least 2 packages to the NVC after you move to the next step.

Use FedEx or UPS, especially since in the 2nd package you will be required to submit original documents like birth certificate, etc.

Start doing your research on this website to find out more!

[Ryan H 3,810]

OP, FYI, most petitions that are being sent to the US by petitioners living abroad where DCF is unavailable have been adjudicated quickly by USCIS.

[Mark88 183]

Use UPS, DHL or FedEx for anything important.

[AmandaLane102 3]

This is the case for very many of us. I would get comfortable with the idea of sending all your documentation via mail to the US - the USCIS for the I-130 and then at least 2 packages to the NVC after you move to the next step.

Use FedEx or UPS, especially since in the 2nd package you will be required to submit original documents like birth certificate, etc.

Start doing your research on this website to find out more!

Hi - I have been doing a lot of research, though admittedly haven't gotten much past the I-130 stage but when you say in the 2nd package I will be required to submit original documents like my birth certificate, which step of the process are you referring to? Because surely I cannot be expected to place my original birth certificate through the post across continents?

Edited September 11, 2014 by AmandaLane102

[silverjetplane 34]

Hi - I have been doing a lot of research, though admittedly haven't gotten much past the I-130 stage but when you say in the 2nd package I will be required to submit original documents like my birth certificate, which step of the process are you referring to? Because surely I cannot be expected to place my original birth certificate through the post across continents?

Hi. I would start looking at this Wiki about the NVC process. The beneficiary will need to submit original documents (which you receive back at the interview) or a certified copy - a copy that is given to you from the issuing authority. The petitioner will only need to submit copies of their birth certificate or passport as part of the I-130 process along with their original or certified copy of the marriage license.

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

Additionally, the country-specific documents required are here:

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Supporting_documents.html

Also note that there are rumors that the NVC has changed some of their processes in the last few days to reduce the submitted paperwork to just once submission. But that still includes the documents listed on the links above.

If you are uncomfortable sending originals, you might want to start now getting certified copies of the beneficiary's documents.

Good luck!

[AmandaLane102 3]

Hi. I would start looking at this Wiki about the NVC process. The beneficiary will need to submit original documents (which you receive back at the interview) or a certified copy - a copy that is given to you from the issuing authority. The petitioner will only need to submit copies of their birth certificate or passport as part of the I-130 process along with their original or certified copy of the marriage license.

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/NVC_Process

Additionally, the country-specific documents required are here:

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/Supporting_documents.html

Also note that there are rumors that the NVC has changed some of their processes in the last few days to reduce the submitted paperwork to just once submission. But that still includes the documents listed on the links above.

If you are uncomfortable sending originals, you might want to start now getting certified copies of the beneficiary's documents.

Good luck!

Hi - thanks so much for the response. I have one last question (for today): when you say we will receive back the original copies at the interview, does this mean that the NVC will send the copies back to the embassy abroad or to our address? Our postal service is unreliable here. Also, will the interview be conducted in our country (though it has an American embassy but no USCIS field counter) or will it be conducted in neighboring South Africa that has a USCIS field counter? Do you know?

[AmandaLane102 3]

Since there is no NSCIS presence here, what do I put for question #22 on I-130 which asks which consular post abroad the relative will apply for a visa with?

[kzielu 1,147]

Since there is no NSCIS presence here, what do I put for question #22 on I-130 which asks which consular post abroad the relative will apply for a visa with?

Consular post is consulate or embassy that processes immigrant visas. Has nothing to do with USCIS office.

[AmandaLane102 3]

Consular post is consulate or embassy that processes immigrant visas. Has nothing to do with USCIS office.

I do not believe the U.S. embassy here in Namibia processes immigrant visas due to no USCIS presence and hence the reason why we are not able to go the DCF route - if they were able to process immigrant visas I assume I would be able to do DCF. The embassy in South Africa allows for DCF to its residents. So my question is whether I put the embassy here in Namibia for question number 22 or the embassy in South Africa.

[kzielu 1,147]

USCIS presence has nothing to do with processing immigrant visas - there's plenty of countries with no USCIS office in embassy that do process immigrant visas.

[mofatsd 127]

Just to give an example - We have no USCIS presence in our country but they will still do our interview (when we get to that stage).

[AmandaLane102 3]

Oh ok! Thank you kzielu and mofatsd for the clarification - I was given wrong information by a lawyer during a consultation (he told me we would have to go to Johannesburg for our interview and our visa would be processed there), all the more reason I am glad I am deciding to tackle this without a lawyer. You guys have been a great help , and this is also is a relief. Thanks!