Update: timeline for DCF from a non-DCF country with exceptional circumstances

[pyridine 12]

10 hours ago, festin said:

We have a similar case too, our exceptional circumstances fall under Job Offer and Pregnancy .

Dec. 19, 2017 ~ we emailed US Embassy in Ankara.

Dec. 21, 2017 ~ Embassy emailed us that USCIS in Athens approved our request. Booked December 28 for filing of I-130.

Dec. 28, 2017 ~ We filed I-130 at the Embassy in Ankara.

Jan.  2, 2017 ~ I-130 was approved! Consulate in Ankara emailed us case number, checklist of documents and instruction about IR-1 visa interview. 

Now we are waiting for appointment date for IR-1 Visa Interview.

That's an even faster timeline from Ankara! I technically also had a double exceptional circumstance, since I found out I was pregnant the very day that I accepted the job offer. That got worked into the letter too of course, since might as well use what you've got, but I'm pretty sure the job offer alone would have also worked.

 

Do you have all of your documents ready for the interview so fast? We have a nightmare in that, since my husband has lived in 3 countries and has a son living in one of them (for which we apparently need an original birth certificate, even though he is not coming with us and lives with his mother, and the mother will undoubtedly never agree to send us her original because she'd rightfully wonder why the hell do we need that), and did mandatory military service in his home country...just a ton of stuff to obtain from so many places.  Not to mention all the translations. Since we have to go to Sweden for the interview, I'm not sure if they'll accept documents in Danish like the embassy here would. This is gonna cost a damn fortune.

Edited January 5, 2018 by pyridine

[festin 2]

On 1/5/2018 at 3:13 AM, pyridine said:

That's an even faster timeline from Ankara! I technically also had a double exceptional circumstance, since I found out I was pregnant the very day that I accepted the job offer. That got worked into the letter too of course, since might as well use what you've got, but I'm pretty sure the job offer alone would have also worked.

 

Do you have all of your documents ready for the interview so fast? We have a nightmare in that, since my husband has lived in 3 countries and has a son living in one of them (for which we apparently need an original birth certificate, even though he is not coming with us and lives with his mother, and the mother will undoubtedly never agree to send us her original because she'd rightfully wonder why the hell do we need that), and did mandatory military service in his home country...just a ton of stuff to obtain from so many places.  Not to mention all the translations. Since we have to go to Sweden for the interview, I'm not sure if they'll accept documents in Danish like the embassy here would. This is gonna cost a damn fortune.

Yes we've been arranging document to file through Chicago Lockbox before Job Offer and Pregnancy. 

Surprisingly, we have another thing in common. That is, my husband has a son too that's not coming with us at least not within 6 months after we move, we will have to file I-130 for him in the future but not anytime soon. But Ankara did not request for his Birth certificate(not even a copy).

 

We are still waiting on how to make payment for DS-260 so that we can proceed with the medical exam and visa interview. Ankara says it's not in their hand but in the hands of their contractor called GSS, who are in charge of scheduling appointments, visa fees, and courier services( visa application document delivery).

[CanadaFresh 0]

Thank you Pyridine for sharing this ! Like you, I received a lot of wrong information on forums. People may not be aware of the exceptional circumstances. A quick question I have for you would be: was your job offer from the same company or a completely different one ?

[skyzee 182]

Thanks again, I think at this point, I'm pretty much just stuck waiting out the remainder of the CR-1 if they deny this request. About 30-40% in already.

 

I did talk to the Montreal consulate in fact, and they too have sent me the list of documents that they need to see, which if course I'll be forwarding their way. I'm curious also if your new job was from your existing employer. I realize their memo is somewhat vague in that the "new job" second part of the clause could be referring to an existing employer offering a new job back in the US, or that it's just a new job offer from the US, period. I'm guessing it refers more to the former, otherwise everyone would be doing it, but then again, they don't heavily advertise this method.

[Lemonslice 4,843]

5 minutes ago, skyzee said:

Thanks again, I think at this point, I'm pretty much just stuck waiting out the remainder of the CR-1 if they deny this request. About 30-40% in already.

 

I did talk to the Montreal consulate in fact, and they too have sent me the list of documents that they need to see, which if course I'll be forwarding their way. I'm curious also if your new job was from your existing employer. I realize their memo is somewhat vague in that the "new job" second part of the clause could be referring to an existing employer offering a new job back in the US, or that it's just a new job offer from the US, period. I'm guessing it refers more to the former, otherwise everyone would be doing it, but then again, they don't heavily advertise this method.

Please report if you're successful - haven't seen a report of DCF from Canada since 2011 or so... 

[skyzee 182]

20 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

Please report if you're successful - haven't seen a report of DCF from Canada since 2011 or so... 

 

Will do... But, I do remember reading a post from another Canadian who was successful in filing DCF in 2013 or 2014. There were unfortunately no details attached to her profile though and I didn't end up PMing her about it. I do know this for certain - Montreal knows this memo exists... they quoted the list of items off the memo and some examples of supporting documentation needed. I'm very upset that I didn't know about this sooner as I'm almost certain my spouse and I would have qualified for sure half a year ago.

[pyridine 12]

 

9 hours ago, CanadaFresh said:

Thank you Pyridine for sharing this ! Like you, I received a lot of wrong information on forums. People may not be aware of the exceptional circumstances. A quick question I have for you would be: was your job offer from the same company or a completely different one ?

Hi CanadaFresh - it was a completely different job offer. I have a local job in Denmark and this was at a company in the US. The exceptional circumstance wording says it can either be a relocation or a new offer.

Edited January 9, 2018 by pyridine

[pyridine 12]

On 1/6/2018 at 9:14 PM, festin said:

Yes we've been arranging document to file through Chicago Lockbox before Job Offer and Pregnancy. 

Surprisingly, we have another thing in common. That is, my husband has a son too that's not coming with us at least not within 6 months after we move, we will have to file I-130 for him in the future but not anytime soon. But Ankara did not request for his Birth certificate(not even a copy).

 

We are still waiting on how to make payment for DS-260 so that we can proceed with the medical exam and visa interview. Ankara says it's not in their hand but in the hands of their contractor called GSS, who are in charge of scheduling appointments, visa fees, and courier services( visa application document delivery).

Hi festin, that's interesting that they didn't request the birth certificate. Actually that document has ended up not being a problem since his mother was agreeable to send it, so it's already in the mail. Now it's the military record that is back to being the main problem document. Were you able to submit documents to Ankara in Turkish or did you need translation to English? For us this is further complicated by our interview not being held in the same country we filed the I-130 in, and the checklist from Stockholm says everything needs to be in English. 

 

The info we got from Stockholm says to file the DS-260 here: https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/. I haven't filed it yet to see how to pay the fee though, but hopefully there will be something online?

[festin 2]

34 minutes ago, pyridine said:

Hi festin, that's interesting that they didn't request the birth certificate. Actually that document has ended up not being a problem since his mother was agreeable to send it, so it's already in the mail. Now it's the military record that is back to being the main problem document. Were you able to submit documents to Ankara in Turkish or did you need translation to English? For us this is further complicated by our interview not being held in the same country we filed the I-130 in, and the checklist from Stockholm says everything needs to be in English. 

 

The info we got from Stockholm says to file the DS-260 here: https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/. I haven't filed it yet to see how to pay the fee though, but hopefully there will be something online?

Ankara asked that all documents must be in either English or Turkish so they accept all Turkish documents without translations.

 

DS-260 is free, it's after filling and submitting of it that you will need it confirmation number along with your case number to pay for the Immigrant Visa(CR1/IR1) fee either online by the contractor handling the visa appointments on behalf of the embassy or by cash at the embassy.

 

I'm glad to hear that birth certificate is out of the way.

We are still waiting for our case number to be available for appointment.

[pyridine 12]

1 minute ago, festin said:

Ankara asked that all documents must be in either English or Turkish so they accept all Turkish documents without translations.

 

DS-260 is free, it's after filling and submitting of it that you will need it confirmation number along with your case number to pay for the Immigrant Visa(CR1/IR1) fee either online by the contractor handling the visa appointments on behalf of the embassy or by cash at the embassy.

 

I'm glad to hear that birth certificate is out of the way.

We are still waiting for our case number to be available for appointment.

Ah ok, they say here that the interview fee is payable at the embassy in Sweden and they accept cash and credit card. Is there another fee you're having trouble with? I'm losing track of all of these...it adds up to a lot. The medical exam is going to cost a damn fortune and my husband needs 4 vaccinations (they require varicella now for all ages?? Ludicrious - I'm not even vaccinated for it and both of us already had chicken pox as kids and are already immune), 3 of which they won't ordinarily give here so he'll have to pay for it at this medical office.

 

I wrote Stockholm asking if it's true that Danish is not OK. Danish is mutually legible to anyone fluent in Swedish anyway. It will cost a fortune if we need all the documents from Denmark also translated. My husband is of course fluent in his home country's language and can do those translations himself. The only ones that we were getting so far were ones from the third country he was living in before that, which has only been a few documents.

Once you've had all the documents in order, how long has the process been to get your interview scheduled? That's something I have no idea about the timeline for. 

[pyridine 12]

10 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

Please report if you're successful - haven't seen a report of DCF from Canada since 2011 or so... 

It should be perfectly possible if the US embassy in Canada requests permission to do it from the USCIS office with jurisdiction over Canada (it's the one in Mexico City) for an exceptional circumstance, the same procedure as any other non-DCF country. It even explicitly says so on the Mexico City office info about filing the I-130 there, which was the same exact thing it said for Denmark on the website for the USCIS office in London:

 

"Who May File or Receive Service:

U.S. citizens residing in one of the Mexican states in this office’s jurisdiction filing on behalf of their spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21 or parent (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older).

U.S. citizens residing in Canada may file with the Department of State only if the USCIS Mexico field office director determines that there are exceptional circumstances."

 

That said, skyzee has other problems with doing this now since he's already filed I-130 with Chicago Lockbox and his wife is already working in the US, so it's infinitely more doubtful it will work. 

 

Aha, and Mexico City actually managed to link the more recent 2012 version of the exceptional circumstances guidance: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2012/May/DOS-I130May1412.pdf

 

I bet you that if you've never heard of it and no one here in Canada has tried it, it's simply because they didn't know it's a possibility, like skyzee. Purpose of this thread is to give people the knowledge!

Edited January 9, 2018 by pyridine

[festin 2]

48 minutes ago, pyridine said:

Ah ok, they say here that the interview fee is payable at the embassy in Sweden and they accept cash and credit card. Is there another fee you're having trouble with? I'm losing track of all of these...it adds up to a lot. The medical exam is going to cost a damn fortune and my husband needs 4 vaccinations (they require varicella now for all ages?? Ludicrious - I'm not even vaccinated for it and both of us already had chicken pox as kids and are already immune), 3 of which they won't ordinarily give here so he'll have to pay for it at this medical office.

 

I wrote Stockholm asking if it's true that Danish is not OK. Danish is mutually legible to anyone fluent in Swedish anyway. It will cost a fortune if we need all the documents from Denmark also translated. My husband is of course fluent in his home country's language and can do those translations himself. The only ones that we were getting so far were ones from the third country he was living in before that, which has only been a few documents.

Once you've had all the documents in order, how long has the process been to get your interview scheduled? That's something I have no idea about the timeline for. 

The cost of medical exam is fixed price to $270 and the vaccination cost between $20 to $200 depending on how many shot one has to take.

Immigrant(CR1/IR1) Visa fee which is connected with DS-260 cost $325

Affidavit of Support(AOS) also known as the form I-864 cost $120 and you probably pay in cash at the embassy.

And then after receiving the visa CR1/IR1 you have to pay USCIS Immigrant Fee(Issuance of Green Card and it delivery) cost $220 it's advised to pay it before traveling to the US but you can also pay it after arrival. You can pay it with your card on USCIS website. So nothing more than $1,200 in total.

 

The schedule of interview is up to you, it can be a month away or a week away but you must definitely have your medical exam done before the interview. Is your case number ready for interview appointment?

 

 

[Lemonslice 4,843]

4 hours ago, pyridine said:

It should be perfectly possible if the US embassy in Canada requests permission to do it from the USCIS office with jurisdiction over Canada (it's the one in Mexico City) for an exceptional circumstance, the same procedure as any other non-DCF country. It even explicitly says so on the Mexico City office info about filing the I-130 there, which was the same exact thing it said for Denmark on the website for the USCIS office in London:

 

"Who May File or Receive Service:

U.S. citizens residing in one of the Mexican states in this office’s jurisdiction filing on behalf of their spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21 or parent (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older).

U.S. citizens residing in Canada may file with the Department of State only if the USCIS Mexico field office director determines that there are exceptional circumstances."

 

That said, skyzee has other problems with doing this now since he's already filed I-130 with Chicago Lockbox and his wife is already working in the US, so it's infinitely more doubtful it will work. 

 

Aha, and Mexico City actually managed to link the more recent 2012 version of the exceptional circumstances guidance: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2012/May/DOS-I130May1412.pdf

 

I bet you that if you've never heard of it and no one here in Canada has tried it, it's simply because they didn't know it's a possibility, like skyzee. Purpose of this thread is to give people the knowledge!

Only a few applicants ever find/register/report their experience in Visajourney, if it has happened, we wouldn't automatically be advised. I am sure it's not frequent.

[skyzee 182]

6 hours ago, pyridine said:

It should be perfectly possible if the US embassy in Canada requests permission to do it from the USCIS office with jurisdiction over Canada (it's the one in Mexico City) for an exceptional circumstance, the same procedure as any other non-DCF country. It even explicitly says so on the Mexico City office info about filing the I-130 there, which was the same exact thing it said for Denmark on the website for the USCIS office in London:

 

"Who May File or Receive Service:

U.S. citizens residing in one of the Mexican states in this office’s jurisdiction filing on behalf of their spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21 or parent (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older).

U.S. citizens residing in Canada may file with the Department of State only if the USCIS Mexico field office director determines that there are exceptional circumstances."

 

That said, skyzee has other problems with doing this now since he's already filed I-130 with Chicago Lockbox and his wife is already working in the US, so it's infinitely more doubtful it will work. 

 

Aha, and Mexico City actually managed to link the more recent 2012 version of the exceptional circumstances guidance: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2012/May/DOS-I130May1412.pdf

 

I bet you that if you've never heard of it and no one here in Canada has tried it, it's simply because they didn't know it's a possibility, like skyzee. Purpose of this thread is to give people the knowledge!

Incredible, just flabbergasted to think we could have been done a month ago and avoided so many fights and tears regarding immigration. Basically have done back to back immigration processes with Canada and US now and frankly, I don't remember what it's like to live a normal life anymore.

 

Anyways, I've sent off the request to Montreal. In our specific case, my wife actually was being hired by her previous employer before moving to Canada, so we should be able to fulfill both conditions of the clause.

 

Sorry to hear you're having troubles with the requested documents and having to get them translated... what a nightmare. 

[Hamada91 9]

what exceptional circumstances do we need to have to proceed for DCF ? me and my American wife are living in Saudi Arabia and she's a college student here as well.

 

please advise