DCF in Canada - YES, it *IS* possible!

[NikLR 13,227]

Obviously outland is faster than it was 6 years ago.   As it is no longer an issue for us for the unforseen future it is not something I've bothered to keep up with.  It is easier to change things within the Canadian government due to the type of system it is.  Also there is 10x the population here.   If you expect this government to run in a similar manner as the Canadian one, I can inform you now it never will.  It is frustrating at best to deal with the US government. 

The US government is not purposefully, willfully, or deliberately maximizing pain for families.  The USCIS is completely self funded as a side note.  The NVC, consulates and embassies, as a part of the DOS are not.  When immigrating to the USA, unless the choice was made within the US borders, leads you to deal with TWO government systems that are within two other government systems. 

 

Does the system leave much to be desired? Yes.  

But are you making a choice to change your life? Also yes.  

Just because you do not like a choice, or like the end result, or even the process involved, does not mean a choice was not made.  If you do not research the entirety of that choice, when you have the ability and time, you can blame no one but yourself for any hardship.   If you do the research you are thus choosing the sacrafice required of that choice and again, any hardship was of your own choosing. Ignorance does not mean blame falls elsewhere.  At least knowledge can lead to preparedness, understanding, and an ability to cope when you have no control.  Giving up control is one hardest things we can do.  It is what it is.  It will be what it will be. 

[acidrain 325]

Thank you for sharing your personal story @NikLR. I can't imagine this process taking substantially longer.

 

Everybody's experience with immigration can vary by large margins. So it's hard to know what to expect. They say everyone is treated the same but I'd disagree. How long the process takes varies by months at every service center. Most Canadians who got Potomac had their Visa in hand before my i130 was touched in Nebraska. 

 

If everybody was treated more fairly, I wouldn't complain so much. Either get rid of AOS or allow all couples to AOS. If an i130 takes 6 months then try to make it the same at all service centers. If the US offers a K1 visa to keep boyfriends and girlfriends together why not offer a similar Visa to married couples? There are several ways the system could be corrected but nobody seems to care.

 

I guess my point would be moot if there was a DCF option like there is in places like London and Mexico. I don't understand why those countries are offered that option who have way more people.

[geowrian 22,337]

3 minutes ago, acidrain said:

If everybody was treated more fairly, I wouldn't complain so much. Either get rid of AOS or allow all couples to AOS. If an i130 takes 6 months then try to make it the same at all service centers. If the US offers a K1 visa to keep boyfriends and girlfriends together why not offer a similar Visa to married couples? There are several ways the system could be corrected but nobody seems to care.

The issue with AOS is that there are so many circumstances where it doesn't make sense to prohibit it. What it really needs, IMHO, is more restrictions to cut down on abuse.

And yes, there's no good reason why a form type should take significantly different amounts of time to process across service centers. They have enough data on the workflows and processing rates to keep the variations across centers minimal. If it's anything like some government projects I've worked on, those types of decisions are made after a review or via committee, whereas they should be made based on current data and rules around that data.

 

There's no visa for boyfriends and girlfriends...just fiances and fiancees.   From a technical standpoint, that one is tougher. It's unique because it's the only non-immigrant family-based visa. Since it's non-immigrant, it doesn't go through the same types of processing as NVC, which is the biggest different in processing timelines between that and a CR-1 (immigrant) visa. Immigrant visas have different requirements under the law, which is where the added time comes into play. There's also slightly faster processing of the underlying petition, but that's probably due to a little less strict requirements to check (just validating the authenticity of marriage certificates has got to be a hassle).

The K-3 was an option to help with the separation, but it's currently only a couple months faster at best (NVC time) and then creates the bigger backlog at USCIS due to AOS afterwards. It's a bit of a double-edged sword...it gets people together faster but then slows down processing for those after you.

 

IMO, ROC is the biggest unnecessary backlog creator. I would imagine killing that off would at least have a measurable effect on petition adjudication and AOS timelines.

 

3 minutes ago, acidrain said:

I guess my point would be moot if there was a DCF option like there is in places like London and Mexico. I don't understand why those countries are offered that option who have way more people.

I think the biggest piece is that the "DCF only at embassies & consulates where there is a USCIS field office" policy is still only several years old. Adding a USCIS office is a large (and expensive) endeavor that takes a while to do. I would be surprised if Canada didn't get one in the future, or if some other arrangement isn't made. But until then, the policy is applied the same everywhere.

[NikLR 13,227]

Canada used to have dcf and the USCIS office was removed.  Fewer and fewer countries offer DCF. 

 

I hate AOS and joint sponsors personally.  

[broppy 204]

On 19/01/2018 at 5:29 AM, NikLR said:

I know people who have spent 2-3 years trying to immigrate to Canada and eventually give up and move to the USA.  The main difference between our two systems, from the research I did at the time, is Canada allows to immigrant intent.   But outland immigration to Canada is about the same timeframe as the CR1/IR1.

Ouch! When wife and I moved from Europe to Canada 6 years ago, we literally arrived at the airport with a letter from her employer to CBSA stating that she's been transferred, please give her a work permit. And they did. And even gave me one too as her spouse.

When it came to moving south, though, even with 8 months notice, there was no way I could get a visa in time to go with her. It would have been easier for us both to move if she wasn't a US citizen - L-1/L-2 processing time is peanuts compared to IR-1.

[skyzee 182]

Since I've been getting quite a few DMs from various Canucks from this thread about DCF with the same questions, I thought I'd update the thread. FYI, I did recently receive confirmation from a Canuck outside of this thread who successfully filed for DCF using the job clause in extenuating circumstances. Yes, I would have withdrawn my first I-130 to refile for DCF had I known this would have worked for certain as NVC wait after NOA2 has been brutally difficult, more stressful than anything I've gone through in life including cancer, and is STILL ongoing. And yes, you can e-mail Montreal to ask for permission to file for DCF before you actually file for any visa which won't kill your timeline significantly even if they turn you down. It took about 2 weeks of back and forth for them to get back to me with a yes or a no, in my case it was a no because I already had a I-130 in progress when I asked for permission.

 

Email: Montreal-IV-DV@state.gov

 

What they'll ask for in e-mail, or at least what they did back in January when I emailed them:

 

Good Morning,

 

Thank you for your inquiry.

 

I-130 petitions are usually filed in the USA with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In a limited number of exceptional circumstances, USCIS may authorize the Department of State to adjudicate I-130 at a Consulate abroad only in certain emergency situations, including when:

 

•                     A U.S. service member stationed overseas becomes aware of a new deployment or transfer with very little notice.

•                     A petitioner or beneficiary is facing an urgent medical emergency that requires immediate travel.

•                     A petitioner or beneficiary is facing an imminent threat to personal safety.

•                     A beneficiary is within a few months of aging out of eligibility.

•                     The petitioner and family have traveled for the immigrant visa interview, but the petitioner has naturalized and the family member(s) require a new, stand-alone petition.

•                     The petitioner adopted a child and there is an imminent need to leave the country.

•                     Short notice of position relocation: A U.S. Citizen petitioner, living and working abroad, who receives job relocation within the same company or subsidiary to the United States, or an offer of a new job in the United States with very little notice (employment letter is required).

 

If you are confident that your case falls under any of the above exceptional circumstances, please provide the following information and scanned documents to support your case, e.g. employment letter, deployment orders, medical documents, etc.

1.       Petitioner’s Last Name:

2.       Petitioner’s Maiden Name:

3.       Petitioner’s First Name:

4.       Petitioner’s Alias (Also known as):

5.       Petitioner’s Middle Name:

6.       Petitioner’s DOB, POB:

7.       Applicant’s Last Name:

8.       Applicant’s Maiden Name

9.       Applicant’s First Name:

10.   Applicant’s Middle Name:

11.   Applicant’s DOB, POB:

12.   Family relationship Petitioner-Applicant (child/spouse/parent ):

13.   Explanation of the exceptional circumstances (please include scanned documentation to support the case).

 

Once we receive all the information, we will forward it to USCIS for concurrence to accept your I-130 in Canada.  We will get back to your with a response.  When you reply to us, please include “I-130 Filing in Canada” in the subject line of your e-mail.

 

Do me a favor, if anyone actually uses this information and is successful, for the love of all that is good, please report back on this thread or your own thread. There are many Canucks including me who would have LOVED to have known this information before filing for IR1 or AOS or any of the BS streams the government has for us suckers. 

[BigBuford 3]

Hi Skyzee and Everyone,

 

I'm new to this forum.  I plan to try this approach in the next 3-6 months once I get a job offer in the States, of course.

 

Skyzee - quick question, for those that have DM'ed you who have previously tried DCF, did they mention how long the process took to 1) get the petition approved  2) visa issued?

 

Would love to know the timeline I'm dealing with.  I would hate to have to be without my Canadian spouse and our American-Canadian son for too long.

 

Also, I assume that with the DCF process, if I were to start a job in 4 weeks, I would assume that I'd already be in the U.S. working (with my family still in Canada) by the time the process is complete, correct?

 

Thanks for all this information and I will let everyone know of my outcome.

 

Btw, if we go the normal route of applying to the lockbox, does anyone know approximately how long it will take?  I've been seeing threads for a little over a year.. which is wayyyy too long.  I got my Canadian PR in 3-months time.

Edited December 3, 2018 by CalifornianInBC

[skyzee 182]

25 minutes ago, CalifornianInBC said:

Hi Skyzee and Everyone,

 

I'm new to this forum.  I plan to try this approach in the next 3-6 months once I get a job offer in the States, of course.

 

Skyzee - quick question, for those that have DM'ed you who have previously tried DCF, did they mention how long the process took to 1) get the petition approved  2) visa issued?

 

Would love to know the timeline I'm dealing with.  I would hate to have to be without my Canadian spouse and our American-Canadian son for too long.

 

Also, I assume that with the DCF process, if I were to start a job in 4 weeks, I would assume that I'd already be in the U.S. working (with my family still in Canada) by the time the process is complete, correct?

 

Thanks for all this information and I will let everyone know of my outcome.

 

Btw, if we go the normal route of applying to the lockbox, does anyone know approximately how long it will take?  I've been seeing threads for a little over a year.. which is wayyyy too long.  I got my Canadian PR in 3-months time.

Hi CIBC!

 

Well, the one confirmation I did receive from the other Canuck I heard who was successful was as such back in May:

"Hi Skyzee, yes it actually has been approved for DCF in Montreal... Getting approval of our case was longer than anything I read (a little more than 2 weeks). Once we get approved, they gave us a date for the I-130, about 10 days after. I-130 interview went great, we just received the instructions for packet #3 yesterday, getting that ready now. We will see how long it takes to be reviewed and get the final appt." 

 

The I-130 is the longest by far to get approved (ours took 6 months and that was considered to be fast), so to be done within 10 days is incredible. I'd say in total, if you do manage to get approved for DCF, it'll probably be around 90 days at most since that seems to be the going speed for other countries.

 

Yes, it's almost guaranteed you will have to be separated for some time. The Montreal US Embassy is very strict on job being one of the domicile conditions. 

 

I would never ever recommend going through the IR1/CR1 visa route if given the choice again - I'm moving onto 17 months now with my application and being separated from my spouse for most of it and feel forever changed by how awful this experience was. If you're lucky, you can be done within 8 months, but the average seems to be 12. In the best case scenario for myself, it would have taken 13 months, which is 13 months too long. Keep us posted on how it goes for you. BTW, if you PM me, I'll give you another possibility.

[BigBuford 3]

Hi Skyzee.. thank you for the quick response and great information.  I do hope things get completed soon on your end.  It's terrible being away from loved ones.  When I was first dating my wife, I tried desperately to apply for Canadian PR by myself (not spousal PR) or trying to get a job in BC going through the NAFTA route, it was very frustrating as no companies would interview and I did not quality to get into Canada via express entry.  After a year of trying my then gf and I decided we needed to get married so I can get spousal sponsored PR, which happened very quickly given how thick and detail oriented our application and documentation were.  But it took about 1 yr 8 mos of doing long distance til we were united.

 

I promise to keep everyone posted of what happens.. first thing's first is  1) look for a job  2) get all the paperwork lined up for the I-130

 

 

[NikLR 13,227]

You were lucky to get your Canadian PR so fast.  Current timelines are a year there too, inland and outland.  (Ive seen it as bad as 2 years too.  Bleh!)