DCF New Delhi / Mumbai, India

[Kuneesa 92]

17 minutes ago, IndiFamily said:

Hey! I am a US Citizen filing I-130 for my wife (married over 2 years) , I've been continuously living in India now since early 2018 with my wife, initially on a tourist visa, now on an Entry visa with plans to get an OCI. We also have a child together, and my wife has a child from her previous marriage. I think I might be eligible for a DCF based on what I have read.. had a couple of questions

 

- In the intial DCF submission can USCIS Delhi also reject the application (and maybe ask us to apply in the US)? If so would that count as a denial of the petition? Its not entirely clear if USCIS Delhi can actually approve or deny the petition or just reject it (ask us to apply in Chicago)

 

- Evidence of residence / cohabitation - we do have a child together and lots of family photographs, FRRO registration and entry exit stamps in my  passport. But other than that, since I am living in a relatives' property, there is no lease, and I am unemployed so no work permit or employment document. No bank account either since I am using my wife's account for local transactions. Will this do? Any evidence I need to collect?

 

Hey! 

It looks like you should be eligible for DCF. Go to USCIS Delhi section here (https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/india-uscis-new-delhi-field-office) and read the I-130 dropdown section. You will need to prove your residency and there are certain documents that will be helpful like FRRO registration, utility bill, local driver's license, bank account, etc. It should not matter much regarding lease or employment as long as you satisfy the staying in the country/long term visa requirement, but it should be easy enough to add yourself to your wife's bank account, for eg., and use that evidence. The burden of proof is ultimately on you so I'd suggest frontloading the application with as much different evidence as you can. 

USCIS Delhi can reject the petition. The good thing is, because you do the filing IN PERSON, they will tell you if they are going to accept or reject the petition based on the evidence you present. If you're NOT eligible for DCF, they will tell you right then and there that you'll need to send your application to Chicago Lockbox and you save $550. They take the payment only after going through your application. It won't count as a denial of the petition as the petition was never submitted. However, they CAN accept your petition and THEN deny it and that will count as a denial. That is extremely rare as most of the time they will only accept the petitions which they intend to approve. In our case, the officer told us on the spot that we will most likely be approved as ours was a straightforward case and we should expect the approval letter within a month. She also very helpfully told us what more evidence, sponsorship documents, etc. we should start collecting for the actual interview. YMMV. 

Also given that Trump administration is closing down all the foreign USCIS offices (Moscow & Manila offices have already shut down and have stopped accepting DCF petitions), I'd suggest you take an appointment ASAP and file your petition as quick as you can.

Good luck with your filing and let us know about your experience! 

[IndiFamily 0]

1 hour ago, Kuneesa said:

Hey! 

It looks like you should be eligible for DCF. Go to USCIS Delhi section here (https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/india-uscis-new-delhi-field-office) and read the I-130 dropdown section. You will need to prove your residency and there are certain documents that will be helpful like FRRO registration, utility bill, local driver's license, bank account, etc. It should not matter much regarding lease or employment as long as you satisfy the staying in the country/long term visa requirement, but it should be easy enough to add yourself to your wife's bank account, for eg., and use that evidence. The burden of proof is ultimately on you so I'd suggest frontloading the application with as much different evidence as you can. 

USCIS Delhi can reject the petition. The good thing is, because you do the filing IN PERSON, they will tell you if they are going to accept or reject the petition based on the evidence you present. If you're NOT eligible for DCF, they will tell you right then and there that you'll need to send your application to Chicago Lockbox and you save $550. They take the payment only after going through your application. It won't count as a denial of the petition as the petition was never submitted. However, they CAN accept your petition and THEN deny it and that will count as a denial. That is extremely rare as most of the time they will only accept the petitions which they intend to approve. In our case, the officer told us on the spot that we will most likely be approved as ours was a straightforward case and we should expect the approval letter within a month. She also very helpfully told us what more evidence, sponsorship documents, etc. we should start collecting for the actual interview. YMMV. 

Also given that Trump administration is closing down all the foreign USCIS offices (Moscow & Manila offices have already shut down and have stopped accepting DCF petitions), I'd suggest you take an appointment ASAP and file your petition as quick as you can.

Good luck with your filing and let us know about your experience! 

Ok, thank you so much for the excellent advice!! Will let you know how things go.

[AnonIndia 58]

We filed our I-130 petition in New Delhi on May 30th. The lady at the counter took our passports and went back inside to check it out for an hour. Another Indian lady came out and took our petition in. She went through the petition and she asked us to fill in our mailing address on our I-130 application which we had missed. She asked both of us if this marriage was the first marriage in our lives and we said yes. She explained that if the USCIS Delhi wants more document they will contact us and if it is approved they will notify us through email and to our mailing address. The filing process was very smooth and there are hardly anyone waiting in line for these particular services. We had to turn in our electronics and our bags at a tiny kiosk across the road from the embassy. 50 rupees for an article of prohibited item. Thank you to @Kuneesa for being a tremendous help to us! 

[AnonIndia 58]

Also there are more appointment dates available for filing I-130 petitions in Delhi for the first 2 weeks of June. 

[AnonIndia 58]

On 5/28/2019 at 7:44 PM, Kuneesa said:

 She also very helpfully told us what more evidence, sponsorship documents, etc. we should start collecting for the actual interview

We tried to front load the petition with as much evidence as possible like people here recommend. Proof of residency, Proof of identity of both the petitioner and beneficiary and proof of a bonafide relationship all compiled into separate subsections with a contents page explaining what we have submitted in order. We also added 30 pages filled with 70 pictures of us together during our engagement and marriage.  The lady asked us for our marriage pictures and I explained to her that we got married at the sub registrar's office where they did not allow us to take pictures. What other evidence did she suggest you guys have for the interview other than the sponsorship documents? 

[Puneetashley 20]

On 3/22/2019 at 9:00 AM, VNK said:

Hello Kuneesa,

       I hope you could help to clarify few doubts. I am US Citizen by birth and moved to Hyderabad, India 6 years back for studies . I started working in Bangalore, India from May 2018 and got married in Feb 2019. I don't have work permit and didn't register with FRRO since I am having the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI - Life long visa) card. Now I want to file CR-1 through DCF in New Delhi for my husband (Indian Citizen) who is working in London.  We have taken Marriage Certificate from Sub Registrar's Office. I have lease agreement for the apartment, Aadhar card, PAN Card and Indian Driving license, but don't have earlier tax filings. My father is US Citizen  and working in US, will be Joint Sponsor for Affidavit Support. I am working in Bangalore and my  husband is working in London. We have joint bank account which opened in last month. No joint lease agreement in India. Do I have to stay in India till the whole process completed or not? What is your suggestions and tips for the smooth approval, please. I highly appreciate you great help.

 

Best Regards.

I am on the same boat. But I am sending my file in Chicago lockbox instead of dcf.

[Kuneesa 92]

On 5/31/2019 at 12:45 PM, AnonIndia said:

We tried to front load the petition with as much evidence as possible like people here recommend. Proof of residency, Proof of identity of both the petitioner and beneficiary and proof of a bonafide relationship all compiled into separate subsections with a contents page explaining what we have submitted in order. We also added 30 pages filled with 70 pictures of us together during our engagement and marriage.  The lady asked us for our marriage pictures and I explained to her that we got married at the sub registrar's office where they did not allow us to take pictures. What other evidence did she suggest you guys have for the interview other than the sponsorship documents? 

Congrats on your filing. We took a copy of everything we submitted with our I-130 just in case. Apart from that, we had our passports, original birth & marriage certificates, form i-864/i-864a (sponsorship documents), IRS transcripts, tax forms & pay stubs from the past 3 years, Police clearance certificate & medical documents (minus the X-ray CD which is not allowed). You should also start working on the fact that the US citizen would now have to prove domicile in the US. That means updated drivers license, bank accounts, credit card statements, applying for jobs, inquiring about apartments etc. You can check my interview experience thread here for more info. Hope this helps! 

 

[Kuneesa 92]

6 hours ago, Puneetashley said:

I am on the same boat. But I am sending my file in Chicago lockbox instead of dcf.

Just curious. Why did you choose to go through Chicago if you have the option of DCF available to you? 

[Puneetashley 20]

1 hour ago, Kuneesa said:

Just curious. Why did you choose to go through Chicago if you have the option of DCF available to you? 

Yeah my wife don't have her two year taxes so just worried.

[Kuneesa 92]

26 minutes ago, Puneetashley said:

Yeah my wife don't have her two year taxes so just worried.

Umm you'd need those regardless if you do any kind of filing. Through Chicago, you'll need them at the NVC stage and through DCF you'll need them at interview. It is super easy to file back taxes btw. 

[AnonIndia 58]

53 minutes ago, Kuneesa said:

Umm you'd need those regardless if you do any kind of filing. Through Chicago, you'll need them at the NVC stage and through DCF you'll need them at interview. It is super easy to file back taxes btw. 

Did you use a tax consultant in the US to file your taxes from abroad or did you mail in your filled out 1040 to the IRS? Did you fill out a W7 form for your spouse to get a Individual Taxpayer Identification Number when you filed your 2018 tax return? TurboTax would not let us file jointly without me having a Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.  Also there is a Form 4506-T Request for Transcript of Tax Return. Will the IRS mail it to india if we fill it out and send it to them or would a third party in the US need to do it for us? 

[Kuneesa 92]

11 minutes ago, AnonIndia said:

Did you use a tax consultant in the US to file your taxes from abroad or did you mail in your filled out 1040 to the IRS? Did you fill out a W7 form for your spouse to get a Individual Taxpayer Identification Number when you filed your 2018 tax return? TurboTax would not let us file jointly without me having a Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.  Also there is a Form 4506-T Request for Transcript of Tax Return. Will the IRS mail it to india if we fill it out and send it to them or would a third party in the US need to do it for us? 

We used a US based accountant. Claiming the foreign earned income exclusion will essentially put your taxable income as zero in most cases (Unless you're earning above $100,000 or more, https://www.irs.gov/publications/p54#en_US_2018_publink100047594). I don't think the IRS will mail your transcripts to India but you can use the registered mobile phone number linked with your tax account to get a code and download them online. 

For filing 2019 taxes, you can file as Married Filing Separately and write "NRA" in the SSN/ITIN field for the NRA (Non-Resident Alien) spouse which you can amend later once the spouse gets their SSN. Go through the tax forum link here (https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/159-tax-finances-during-us-immigration/) and see which condition applies to you. You may have to file via mail. A US-based tax consultant/accountant is the best option I believe. 

[AnonIndia 58]

Thank you! @Kuneesa Do you know how much these consultants usually charge? I don't wanna get ripped off. 

[AnonIndia 58]

@Kuneesa Did you guys receive any updates from the USCIS after filing the petition through email or sms? We filled out the e-notification form but we haven't received any form of notification concerning the petition yet. Should we give them a call and ask about the status of our petition?

[Kuneesa 92]

On 6/14/2019 at 1:16 AM, AnonIndia said:

@Kuneesa Did you guys receive any updates from the USCIS after filing the petition through email or sms? We filled out the e-notification form but we haven't received any form of notification concerning the petition yet. Should we give them a call and ask about the status of our petition?

Hey! 

 

You should get an email from USCIS within 3-4 weeks ideally. If not, you can email them on CIS.NDI@uscis.dhs.gov with your name & other details and they will reply back to you.