DCF in India - Advice Needed

[AnonIndia 58]

I am 23 and my fiance is 25. We got engaged this January when she came to visit me for 15 days. We are now thinking of getting married and living together in India for more than 6 months and then applying for the CR1 visa through the DCF process. New Delhi has a USCIS which accepts DCF applications from what I read here on this website. Is it necessary to hand over the application in person or can it be mailed to them? Also my fiance will be arriving here on a traditional Indian tourist visa that is valid for 6 months. We have to extend it to an X-type Entry visa to let her stay beyond the 6 month limit after getting married. Looking for advice from people who have already done this. We will have our interview in the Mumbai consulate. Do they allow my fiance in with me during the interview? What kind of documents are we going to need during the initial application and the interview? I read that during the interview process people were having problems showing proof of domicile in the US. My fiance lives with her godmother and it looks like her adoptive father will be our joint sponsor. Fiance is a naturalized US Citizen. She was adopted from Russia when she was 6 years old. I myself was in Russia for a few years so I would need passport clearance certificate from the Russian Embassy. Any advice on how to move forward and get the necessary documents in order? 

[Russ&Caro 1,549]

You'll probably need more detailed advice on filing a DCF application from India. I don't have any direct experience with this but one thing I've heard is that a US citizen filer needs some type of residency status in the country from which he/she is filing from. It's not clear that your US citizen fiancee will qualify as a resident with just a tourist visa. That's where you might concentrate further research activities. Good luck.

[AnonIndia 58]

1 minute ago, Russ&Caro said:

You'll probably need more detailed advice on filing a DCF application from India. I don't have any direct experience with this but one thing I've heard is that a US citizen filer needs some type of residency status in the country from which he/she is filing from. It's not clear that your US citizen fiancee will qualify as a resident with just a tourist visa. That's where you might concentrate further research activities. Good luck.

Yes I need to convert her tourist visa into an X-Entry VIsa that allows her to stay with me indefinitely based on the marriage certificate. She would be a legal resident here at the time of filing the CR1 application. 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

DCF unlikely to work through a tourist visa, which can neither be extended nor converted imo. Have you two abandoned Maldives as an idea? 

 

And lack of parental support in India of marrying an older female and from a different culture might still be a challenge. 

[AnonIndia 58]

3 minutes ago, WeGuyGal said:

DCF unlikely to work through a tourist visa, which can neither be extended nor converted imo. Have you two abandoned Maldives as an idea? 

 

And lack of parental support in India of marrying an older female and from a different culture might still be a challenge. 

We plan on staying with my mom for 2 months. Maldives honeymoon is still on the books. We need to look into how it will fit into our finances. This website says a traditional tourist visa can be converted into an X-Entry visa based on marriage certificate. An online Visa on Arrival e-visa can however not be converted.  https://www.bankbazaar.com/visa/how-to-convert-tourist-visa-to-xvisa-in-india.html