DCF From Canada Under Exceptional Circumstance

[Trident 0]

Living in Canada (Vancouver) with my wife and our kids. They are all US and Canadian citizens, I am Canadian only.

 

We just found out that my wife is being transferred to a US office of her current employer.  

 

The immigration attorneys her employer arranged a call with only discussed the normal I-130 process (via Chicago lockbox), and gave an estimated timeline of 6 to 12 months once we file. 

The attorneys did not even mention the DCF process and it is only through this site that I found out this may be an option. 

 

Does anyone have experience or information regarding DCF from Canada under exceptional circumstances?

 

This thread has some information and I am wondering if anyone has any further information.  Thanks. 

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/657843-update-timeline-for-dcf-from-a-non-dcf-country-with-exceptional-circumstances/

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

1.  My understanding is that is no DCF in Canada.

2.  Your attorney is wrong.  Current CR-1/IR-1 processing time is 12-14 months from filing to visa in hand.

[acidrain 325]

The DCF process for Canada is done through Mexico so a person's circumstances would have to be very exceptional (life or death situation). A job offer would not be considered exceptional as others have already tried this route. If Canadians could expedite for a job offer we would all be doing it.

 

I am going through the final steps of the IR1/IR2 and it's been over a year for filing abroad. The final interview for immigration visas is done at the Montreal consulate. The i130 itself (one part) can take anywhere from 6-9 months. It's best to start the application process right away. You should be able to travel back and forth to visit but will have to show ties back to Canada.

 

 

[Jorge V 195]

1 hour ago, acidrain said:

The DCF process for Canada is done through Mexico so a person's circumstances would have to be very exceptional (life or death situation). A job offer would not be considered exceptional as others have already tried this route. If Canadians could expedite for a job offer we would all be doing it.

 

I am going through the final steps of the IR1/IR2 and it's been over a year for filing abroad. The final interview for immigration visas is done at the Montreal consulate. The i130 itself (one part) can take anywhere from 6-9 months. It's best to start the application process right away. You should be able to travel back and forth to visit but will have to show ties back to Canada.

 

 

Isn't a job offer explicitly listed as an exceptional circumstance? Here's a thread from only a month ago where the OP was able to file DCF in a non DCF country (though Denmark, not Canada). http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/657843-update-timeline-for-dcf-from-a-non-dcf-country-with-exceptional-circumstances/

 

EDIT: Just realized that the thread I posted is the same as the one posted above, my point still stands though.

Edited February 9, 2018 by Jorge V

[Jorge V 195]

1 hour ago, acidrain said:

The DCF process for Canada is done through Mexico so a person's circumstances would have to be very exceptional (life or death situation). A job offer would not be considered exceptional as others have already tried this route. If Canadians could expedite for a job offer we would all be doing it.

 

I am going through the final steps of the IR1/IR2 and it's been over a year for filing abroad. The final interview for immigration visas is done at the Montreal consulate. The i130 itself (one part) can take anywhere from 6-9 months. It's best to start the application process right away. You should be able to travel back and forth to visit but will have to show ties back to Canada.

 

 

 

Just to add more evidence, as you mentioned, the DCF process in Canada is handled through Mexico. Mexico City's USCIS site ( https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/mexico-uscis-mexico-city-field-office ) has this under the I-130 section:

 

Quote

Who May File or Receive Service:

...

 

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.

 

The document they link to for exceptional circumstances says this:

Quote

The following are some examples of exceptional circumstances when USCIS will likely authorize DOS to accept and process an I-130 petition.

 

...

 

Short notice of position relocation: A U.S. Citizen petitioner, living and working abroad, who receives a 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.

 

[NikLR 13,230]

No one has really tried because despite saying "job relocation" is an exceptional circumstance, due to Montreal's strictness about domicile.  Most USC who were living in Canada must be living in the USA or have a US job by interview regardless.  Since Canada and the USA also share a large border and it doesn't normally take more than 5 hours to fly from one side to the other... I personally cannot see how this is an extrordinary circumstance.  

 

Do you currently work? If you are not wholly dependent on your wife's income and are unable to work, they may decline the exceptional circumstances. 

Pretty much the only expedites we even see on VJ are for military orders and extreme safety issues like a natural disaster. 

You can request it, of course, but you've wasted time if it's declined in several months. 

[Lenchick 133]

33 minutes ago, NikLR said:

No one has really tried because despite saying "job relocation" is an exceptional circumstance, due to Montreal's strictness about domicile.  Most USC who were living in Canada must be living in the USA or have a US job by interview regardless.  Since Canada and the USA also share a large border and it doesn't normally take more than 5 hours to fly from one side to the other... I personally cannot see how this is an extrordinary circumstance.  

 

Do you currently work? If you are not wholly dependent on your wife's income and are unable to work, they may decline the exceptional circumstances. 

Pretty much the only expedites we even see on VJ are for military orders and extreme safety issues like a natural disaster. 

You can request it, of course, but you've wasted time if it's declined in several months. 

Many DCFs don't consider military orders exceptional circumstances, it's even specified on their website that it's not. DCF process is faster than usual itself and takes from 4 to 6 months in a whole, so they don't do exception, because USC spouses who work overseas they usually know when their tour ends, yet they drag the process until the last moment and then suddenly want it expedited. 

[acidrain 325]

@Jorge VIf Mexico started processing Canadian DCF cases based on the USC starting a new job, they would be inundated. Montreal is notoriously strict on domicile and without a job in the US it's difficult to get approved. Unfortunately Mexico only looks at exceptional circumstances (for Canadians).

 

Recently another Canadian tried this route and was told to apply for an expedite with USCIS if they felt their case warranted a faster approval.

 

Nobody knows why Canadians are not given the resources other countries receive. It's talked about in the Canada section along with why Montreal is the only consulate who does interviews. Canada used to offer DCF but stopped a few years ago.

[NikLR 13,230]

3 hours ago, Lenchick said:

Many DCFs don't consider military orders exceptional circumstances, it's even specified on their website that it's not. DCF process is faster than usual itself and takes from 4 to 6 months in a whole, so they don't do exception, because USC spouses who work overseas they usually know when their tour ends, yet they drag the process until the last moment and then suddenly want it expedited. 

Not so much those types of orders but rather deployments. 

[geowrian 22,337]

Yes it's possible for that reason. No, it's rarely approved. I can only imagine how much this would be abused if it was regularly approved. A job offer is not inherently exceptional so it would need to have other circumstances surrounding it for a realistic chance of success.

Edited February 10, 2018 by geowrian

[Trident 0]

19 hours ago, acidrain said:

The DCF process for Canada is done through Mexico so a person's circumstances would have to be very exceptional (life or death situation). A job offer would not be considered exceptional as others have already tried this route. If Canadians could expedite for a job offer we would all be doing it.

16 hours ago, acidrain said:

@Jorge VIf Mexico started processing Canadian DCF cases based on the USC starting a new job, they would be inundated. Montreal is notoriously strict on domicile and without a job in the US it's difficult to get approved. Unfortunately Mexico only looks at exceptional circumstances (for Canadians).

 

Recently another Canadian tried this route and was told to apply for an expedite with USCIS if they felt their case warranted a faster approval.

8 hours ago, geowrian said:

Yes it's possible for that reason. No, it's rarely approved. I can only imagine how much this would be abused if it was regularly approved. A job offer is not inherently exceptional so it would need to have other circumstances surrounding it for a realistic chance of success.

 

 

 

Yeah, I can see if it was just a job offer it would not qualify.  But we are not talking about a job offer. This is not a situation where a person is trying an expedited process to get a green card via the US citizen spouse getting a job offer in the US.  Instead, it is a case where a family is living in Canada and the US citizen spouse is transferred by her employer to a US office (on short notice), and, were it not for an exception, they would be looking at a year (or more?) of separation.

 

This is a situation that the list of exceptional circumstances explicitly includes (intra company transfer on short notice).

 

If the exception does not work, is it somewhat odd in that the family would be better off if the transferred spouse was not a US citizen? Consider a case where a company transfers two employees from a Canadian office to a US office.  Employee 1 is not a US citizen and is married to a non US citizen. Employee1 can get an L1 and his wife can get an L2. In a very short period of time, both are in the US and can work. 

 

Employee 2 is a US citizen and is married to a non US citizen.  In this case, employee 2 can of course enter the US right away and start working in the US office, but, if the short-notice transfer exception does not apply, his wife has to wait a year (or more) to gain entry?  So the spouse of the non-citizen has an easier time getting entry and working than the spouse of the citizen?

 

Acidrain, re the Canadian who tried this route and was told to apply for an expedite via USCIS if they felt their case warranted a faster approval, are you referring to Skyzee?  He shared his experience in another thread. I believe in his case he found about the exceptional circumstance route after he had filed his I-130 with the Chicago lockbox.  The application was already in process.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

1 hour ago, Trident said:

Yeah, I can see if it was just a job offer it would not qualify.  But we are not talking about a job offer. This is not a situation where a person is trying an expedited process to get a green card via the US citizen spouse getting a job offer in the US.  Instead, it is a case where a family is living in Canada and the US citizen spouse is transferred by her employer to a US office (on short notice), and, were it not for an exception, they would be looking at a year (or more?) of separation.

I'm not disagreeing...I never said this specific case was just a job offer or if it had other circumstances that would increase the likelihood of meeting those requirements. I was just pointing out that a job offer in itself has very little chance of success as it is not exceptional (people have tried to use this circumstance in such a way).

[acidrain 325]

3 hours ago, Trident said:

Yeah, I can see if it was just a job offer it would not qualify.  But we are not talking about a job offer. This is not a situation where a person is trying an expedited process to get a green card via the US citizen spouse getting a job offer in the US.  Instead, it is a case where a family is living in Canada and the US citizen spouse is transferred by her employer to a US office (on short notice), and, were it not for an exception, they would be looking at a year (or more?) of separation.

 

This is a situation that the list of exceptional circumstances explicitly includes (intra company transfer on short notice).

 

If the exception does not work, is it somewhat odd in that the family would be better off if the transferred spouse was not a US citizen? Consider a case where a company transfers two employees from a Canadian office to a US office.  Employee 1 is not a US citizen and is married to a non US citizen. Employee1 can get an L1 and his wife can get an L2. In a very short period of time, both are in the US and can work. 

 

Employee 2 is a US citizen and is married to a non US citizen.  In this case, employee 2 can of course enter the US right away and start working in the US office, but, if the short-notice transfer exception does not apply, his wife has to wait a year (or more) to gain entry?  So the spouse of the non-citizen has an easier time getting entry and working than the spouse of the citizen?

 

Acidrain, re the Canadian who tried this route and was told to apply for an expedite via USCIS if they felt their case warranted a faster approval, are you referring to Skyzee?  He shared his experience in another thread. I believe in his case he found about the exceptional circumstance route after he had filed his I-130 with the Chicago lockbox.  The application was already in process.

There is a lot to US immigration that makes no sense. Engaged couples are reunited faster than married couples. Illegals can stay In the US as long as a waiver is approved (they just go home for the final interview). The system is unfair. There is a reason why immigration is a core issue in the US right now.

 

Most families going through the process are separated because the US citizen is working and living in the US. I mean this with all sincerity but everybody has a story. Nobody feels they should have to wait. While this article by the NY Times was published in 2014 it gives an idea to the experience of the average family: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/program-benefiting-some-immigrants-extends-visa-wait-for-others.html

 

You are more than welcome to try the DCF route. Let us know how it goes.

[NikLR 13,230]

While we do not have children together , my husband and I maintained 2 separate households during our immigration journey.  Its not impossible by any means.  There are single parents out there with 4 kids that make their lives work.  

Let us know how it goes if you try!

[Jorge V 195]

On 2/9/2018 at 6:18 PM, acidrain said:

@Jorge VIf Mexico started processing Canadian DCF cases based on the USC starting a new job, they would be inundated. Montreal is notoriously strict on domicile and without a job in the US it's difficult to get approved. Unfortunately Mexico only looks at exceptional circumstances (for Canadians).

 

Recently another Canadian tried this route and was told to apply for an expedite with USCIS if they felt their case warranted a faster approval.

 

Nobody knows why Canadians are not given the resources other countries receive. It's talked about in the Canada section along with why Montreal is the only consulate who does interviews. Canada used to offer DCF but stopped a few years ago.

I understand what you're saying, I guess I'm just under the thinking that we shouldn't dismiss the possibility of someone's situation possibly being approved, especially if the guidelines explicitly mention possible approval. 

 

I think I have a more lax view of USCIS than most. A few months ago I began asking if one might be able to DCF in Mexico on a tourist visa. I was told on here to not even try as it was against the official guidelines and a waste of time. I decided to call USCIS in Mexico and they were very friendly. The guy told me he wasn't allowed to guarantee anything but that he thought it should be ok. I mailed my package and explicitly stated in my cover letter that I was in Mexico on a tourist visa. It was approved a few days later, no questions asked.

 

So my point is that USCIS was more than happy to process my case even though it unequivocally did not meet their guidelines. With this in mind I'm just not so quick to dismiss a case from someone who explicitly does meet published guidelines. Is it guaranteed to work? Absolutely not, but I think it's worth a shot.