dcf in Paris is back

[hmm 0]

The Immigrant Visa Unit is now able to accept I-130 petitions on a limited basis for Americans who are legally resident in France. Please click here for more information. We will be closed to the public on Friday, April 6.

good luck

[captainButch 0]

The Immigrant Visa Unit is now able to accept I-130 petitions on a limited basis for Americans who are legally resident in France. Please click here for more information. We will be closed to the public on Friday, April 6.

good luck

I'm just curious, do they stipulate residency prior to marriage? Or, does it matter? I know getting residency in Central America is a snap if your spouse is a citizen. However, to get residency on your own takes a little time. Nicaragua is not too bad, you can get residency in a few months. Costa Rica takes years. Of course if you are willing to lay down some big bucks investing in a business and hiring some people, doors open fast.

captainButch

[hmm 0]

The Immigrant Visa Unit is now able to accept I-130 petitions on a limited basis for Americans who are legally resident in France. Please click here for more information. We will be closed to the public on Friday, April 6.

good luck

I'm just curious, do they stipulate residency prior to marriage? Or, does it matter? I know getting residency in Central America is a snap if your spouse is a citizen. However, to get residency on your own takes a little time. Nicaragua is not too bad, you can get residency in a few months. Costa Rica takes years. Of course if you are willing to lay down some big bucks investing in a business and hiring some people, doors open fast.

captainButch

if u have residence card i dont see why it matters

good luck

[meauxna 15]

The Immigrant Visa Unit is now able to accept I-130 petitions on a limited basis for Americans who are legally resident in France. Please click here for more information. We will be closed to the public on Friday, April 6.

good luck

I'm just curious, do they stipulate residency prior to marriage? Or, does it matter? I know getting residency in Central America is a snap if your spouse is a citizen. However, to get residency on your own takes a little time. Nicaragua is not too bad, you can get residency in a few months. Costa Rica takes years. Of course if you are willing to lay down some big bucks investing in a business and hiring some people, doors open fast.

captainButch

hi butch,

Make special note that this is just for European posts, so far.

The residency does not have to be before marriage, and there are various ways that each country has calculated 'really resident' in the past. How those will be brought together regionally remains to be seen.

If you are a USC living abroad and you do NOT have a residency permit of some sort from your host country (due to the many reasons one might not have one), you might consider making a point of gathering evidence to support your claim of living there for X period of time.

This could include items like a letter from your landlord, utility bills, entry/exit stamps, evidence from the US that you are NOT living there etc (off the top of my head).

[captainButch 0]

The Immigrant Visa Unit is now able to accept I-130 petitions on a limited basis for Americans who are legally resident in France. Please click here for more information. We will be closed to the public on Friday, April 6.

good luck

I'm just curious, do they stipulate residency prior to marriage? Or, does it matter? I know getting residency in Central America is a snap if your spouse is a citizen. However, to get residency on your own takes a little time. Nicaragua is not too bad, you can get residency in a few months. Costa Rica takes years. Of course if you are willing to lay down some big bucks investing in a business and hiring some people, doors open fast.

captainButch

if u have residence card i dont see why it matters

good luck

Like I said, I'm just curious, I'm not trying to upset anyone's apple cart. I read where some Embassies require residence prior to marriage thereby making DCF harder to do. I'm just checking to see which way the wind may be blowing for the future of DCF is all. By making it a requirement to be a resident prior to marriage, they are plugging up a loop hole that I think could change the landscape a little for DCF. In some countries it's a long process to become a resident without the benefit of being married to a citizen. Just a way of trying to discouraging us from getting married overseas, a control thing that I don't like seeing. But you're right, if you have one, it shouldn't matter. But if you don't have one and you're thinking about getting married, knowing that you need one before you get married in order to do a DCF is an important issue

[hmm 0]

The Immigrant Visa Unit is now able to accept I-130 petitions on a limited basis for Americans who are legally resident in France. Please click here for more information. We will be closed to the public on Friday, April 6.

good luck

I'm just curious, do they stipulate residency prior to marriage? Or, does it matter? I know getting residency in Central America is a snap if your spouse is a citizen. However, to get residency on your own takes a little time. Nicaragua is not too bad, you can get residency in a few months. Costa Rica takes years. Of course if you are willing to lay down some big bucks investing in a business and hiring some people, doors open fast.

captainButch

SOME MORE INFO

immigrant visas

Limited Filing in Paris

The Immigrant Visa Unit will be closed to the public on Friday, April 6, 2007.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, the U.S. Embassy in Paris will accept I-130 petitions for immediate relative immigrant classification from American citizens who have been continuously, legally resident in France for at least the six months prior to petition filing. Individuals, who are in the country on a temporary status, such as student or tourist, do not meet this residency standard and may not file a petition in Paris.

We will also exceptionally accept petitions from non-residents in true emergency cases, such as life and death or health and safety, plus instances where minor children who would be unexpectedly left without a caretaker.

To file, you may appear at the entrance to the Embassy’s consular section between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Fridays. No new admissions will be allowed after 10:00 a.m. The U.S. citizen petitioner and all alien beneficiaries must appear in person on the day of petitioning.

You should bring the following documentation:

U.S. citizen petitioner and each family member beneficiary passports

U.S. citizen petitioner’s French titre de sejour as proof of six months of continuous, legal residence in France

Two passport-sized photos for the U.S. citizen petitioner and each beneficiary

Proof of relationship:

- Petition for spouse: marriage certificate or copie integrale de l’acte de marriage (Persons previously married must also provide a divorce judgment or death certificate as proof of termination of the previous relationship.)

- Petition for child: child’s birth certificate or copie integrale de l’acte de naissance

Completed forms I-130 Petition and G-325A for each beneficiary

Completed form G-325A for U.S. citizen petitioner (1 copy per petition to be filed.)

Completed form DS-230 for each beneficiary.

$190 petitioning fee. Payment may be made in cash or by credit card. No checks are accepted.

For faster service on the day of petitioning, please have your forms downloaded and completed before coming to the Embassy.

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[Niels Bohr 72]

YAY!

[captainButch 0]

This is what I was talking about, residency requirement, or, as Meauxna named it "da bomb" I was wondering how they were going to handle that part of the Adam Walsh Act

Even though I have been living here for over a year and have my "Cedula" Nicaraguan Residency Card there is a chance I would have to have filed from the States. Why? Because I am tax exempt, and being tax exempt instead of supplying tax returns I had to prove I had a permanent residence in the States, a house. It's the old "Catch 22"

I don't think they updated the changes for people who file a DCF who are tax exempt and need to prove a permanent residence in the States within the frame work of the Adam Walsh Act yet either. So, according to what it states now; "All lawful permanent residents, and American Citizens resident in the United States or with a permanent address in the United States, must file I-130 petitions at the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over their place of residence" I'd be screwed.

Hopefully those of us who were caught in the middle of all this and our I-130's are currently being checked by our local USCIS office won't be affected by this new change. What a can of worms this is turning out to be. However, I feel damn lucky to have filed when I did, even with all the problems, can you imagine how long of a wait we'd have if we went to the Embassy today and were told we'd have to file with Service Center that has jurisdiction over our place of residence back in the States? Also, right now it seems that it's not necessary for us to have been permanent residences prior to our marriage, just continuously living in the country we filed from for past 6 months.

captainButch

[meauxna 15]

This is what I was talking about, residency requirement, or, as Meauxna named it "da bomb" I was wondering how they were going to handle that part of the Adam Walsh Act

Even though I have been living here for over a year and have my "Cedula" Nicaraguan Residency Card there is a chance I would have to have filed from the States. Why? Because I am tax exempt, and being tax exempt instead of supplying tax returns I had to prove I had a permanent residence in the States, a house. It's the old "Catch 22"

I don't think they updated the changes for people who file a DCF who are tax exempt and need to prove a permanent residence in the States within the frame work of the Adam Walsh Act yet either. So, according to what it states now; "All lawful permanent residents, and American Citizens resident in the United States or with a permanent address in the United States, must file I-130 petitions at the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over their place of residence" I'd be screwed.

Hopefully those of us who were caught in the middle of all this and our I-130's are currently being checked by our local USCIS office won't be affected by this new change. What a can of worms this is turning out to be. However, I feel damn lucky to have filed when I did, even with all the problems, can you imagine how long of a wait we'd have if we went to the Embassy today and were told we'd have to file with Service Center that has jurisdiction over our place of residence back in the States? Also, right now it seems that it's not necessary for us to have been permanent residences prior to our marriage, just continuously living in the country we filed from for past 6 months.

captainButch

hi butch,

Could you clarify a couple of things?

When you say that you are tax 'exempt', do you mean that you have some special status--I'm not aware of Nicaragua being a tax haven, but that sort of thing---OR, do you mean that you are not subject to additional US income tax because your income (or lack thereof) is already taxed abroad and you are under the 80K (or whatever it is now) threshold?

By proving 'residence' in the US in lieu of tax returns, do you mean that you had to show domicile to complete the I-864 without a US income history?

I wonder if you're not misinterpreting what is there, because I don't see the new instructions in quite the same way as you. You are just the kind of person for whom DCF was created.

(Speaking of screwed, many people HAVE filed to the US from abroad because they didn't want to wait for this new release, or couldn't wait).

I also do not think that "permanent residence" is required abroad.. as you point out, that is hard to get in many places, and there are other ways to live abroad without it. I imagine that like so much else in DCF, it will be fluid and a bit flexible.

[hmm 0]

MORE INFOS

immigrant visas

As of January 22, 2007, consular offices abroad were instructed to cease accepting certain immigrant visa petitions because consular officers lacked the means to perform the required criminal background checks on American citizen petitioners, as required by the Adam Walsh Act. Subsequently, the Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) worked to develop a mechanism whereby USCIS will perform these required "Adam Walsh Act" checks for any petitions accepted abroad by consular officers.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, the U.S. Embassy in Paris will accept I-130 petitions for immediate relative immigrant classification from American citizens who have been continuously, legally resident in France for at least the six months prior to petition filing. Individuals, who are in the country on a temporary status, such as student or tourist, do not meet this residency standard.

All lawful permanent residents (“green card” holders) and U.S. citizens resident in the United States or with a permanent address in the United States will file I-130 petitions at the USCIS service center in the United States having jurisdiction over their place of residence. A list of service centers is included in the instructions with downloadable form I-130.

If you are eligible to file in Paris, please click here for further instructions and information.

[captainButch 0]

This is what I was talking about, residency requirement, or, as Meauxna named it "da bomb" I was wondering how they were going to handle that part of the Adam Walsh Act

Even though I have been living here for over a year and have my "Cedula" Nicaraguan Residency Card there is a chance I would have to have filed from the States. Why? Because I am tax exempt, and being tax exempt instead of supplying tax returns I had to prove I had a permanent residence in the States, a house. It's the old "Catch 22"

I don't think they updated the changes for people who file a DCF who are tax exempt and need to prove a permanent residence in the States within the frame work of the Adam Walsh Act yet either. So, according to what it states now; "All lawful permanent residents, and American Citizens resident in the United States or with a permanent address in the United States, must file I-130 petitions at the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over their place of residence" I'd be screwed.

Hopefully those of us who were caught in the middle of all this and our I-130's are currently being checked by our local USCIS office won't be affected by this new change. What a can of worms this is turning out to be. However, I feel damn lucky to have filed when I did, even with all the problems, can you imagine how long of a wait we'd have if we went to the Embassy today and were told we'd have to file with Service Center that has jurisdiction over our place of residence back in the States? Also, right now it seems that it's not necessary for us to have been permanent residences prior to our marriage, just continuously living in the country we filed from for past 6 months.

captainButch

hi butch,

Could you clarify a couple of things?

When you say that you are tax 'exempt', do you mean that you have some special status--I'm not aware of Nicaragua being a tax haven, but that sort of thing---OR, do you mean that you are not subject to additional US income tax because your income (or lack thereof) is already taxed abroad and you are under the 80K (or whatever it is now) threshold?

By proving 'residence' in the US in lieu of tax returns, do you mean that you had to show domicile to complete the I-864 without a US income history?

I wonder if you're not misinterpreting what is there, because I don't see the new instructions in quite the same way as you. You are just the kind of person for whom DCF was created.

(Speaking of screwed, many people HAVE filed to the US from abroad because they didn't want to wait for this new release, or couldn't wait).

I also do not think that "permanent residence" is required abroad.. as you point out, that is hard to get in many places, and there are other ways to live abroad without it. I imagine that like so much else in DCF, it will be fluid and a bit flexible.

hi butch,

Could you clarify a couple of things?

When you say that you are tax 'exempt', do you mean that you have some special status--I'm not aware of Nicaragua being a tax haven, but that sort of thing---OR, do you mean that you are not subject to additional US income tax because your income (or lack thereof) is already taxed abroad and you are under the 80K (or whatever it is now) threshold?

By proving 'residence' in the US in lieu of tax returns, do you mean that you had to show domicile to complete the I-864 without a US income history?

I am a 100% service connected disabled Vietnam veteran. I do not generate any taxable income. Therefore I wasn't required to show past income tax statements. However, I was required to demonstrate that I had a residence in the States. Now, this was the tricky part I can't remember exactly how I worded it, but the wording was really important and you had to say it right. Where do you live? Where do you reside? Where is your domicile, and so on.

I am afraid that if I had to do it again, the demonstrating that I have a house in the States part, it would jam me up. Maybe I'm just getting a little paranoid because of all the changes that's going on. But when I started the visa process everyone at the Embassy told me I couldn't do it without a tax return. I had to dig into their own guidelines to find out how to do without a tax return. It was funny, when I showed the embassy their own guidelines, they all of a sudden remember and I was allowed to proceed. My experience has been; you had better have all your ducks in a row and be more knowledgeable then the people at the embassies are regarding immigration issues. If there is a gray area, or any wiggle room, it will be use against you. at least this is what happened to me.

captainButch