Santo Domingo Embassy- Original documents

[Rpizarro 2]

Hello all. Please- if anyone had experience with submitting the petition in person at the Santo Domingo office can you help me out with something:

 

When we submitted the i130 petition, the uscis representative at door 14 took my original marriage certificate and beneficiary’s birth certificate. Will I get these back? If so how, and when?

 

We went through the hardest time getting them legalized from Haiti. It took months and It wasn’t cheap. 
 

anxious and nervous,

 

Rebecca

Edited November 27, 2019 by Rpizarro

[Just Paul 4,595]

4 hours ago, Rpizarro said:

When we submitted the i130 petition, the uscis representative at door 14 took my original marriage certificate and beneficiary’s birth certificate. Will I get these back?

No, you won't get them back unless you ask.

 

You can file https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/g-884.pdf 

[Rpizarro 2]

Thanks for taking the time to reply, but I’m really fishing for someone who actually deposited them in the Santo Domingo office.
 

The form you gave me says “IMPORTANT NOTE: You do not need to file this request if you submitted original documents because U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requested originals. We will automatically return original documents that we requested once we no longer need them” 

 

So that reply was helpful in the sense that it says “they will return original documents” but as someone living in the DR I need to know exactly how and where.

We are doing DCF. The USCIS rep specifically asked me for my originals along with the copies 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ When I asked why, he said it’s because everything is processed “locally”.

 

I really want to know how they will be returned back to me. if someone went through this here in the DR, then please let me know 

Edited November 27, 2019 by Rpizarro

[Just Paul 4,595]

You provided originals that were not required by USCIS.   

 

Per the I-130 instructions:  Copies. You may submit legible photocopies of documents requested, unless the Instructions specifically state that you must submit an original document. USCIS may request an original document at the time of filing or at any time during processing of an application, petition, or request. If you submit original documents when not required, the documents may remain a part of the record, and USCIS will not automatically return them to you.

 

If they asked for the originals you should have asked to get them back.

 

I submitted copies of all the documents in the I-130 submission.  I took the originals with me to the I-130 submission and sent them with my spouse to the interview.

 

 

 

[Rpizarro 2]

😐I did ask for them back however he told me he was unable to give them back to me. As I mentioned previously. All USCIS field offices have their way of handling matters.
 

I’m kind of screaming into the void here, as it seems all the dcf Santo Domingo filers never come back to VJ once their case has been decided on..

Edited November 27, 2019 by Rpizarro

[Just Paul 4,595]

There are not many DCFers that stay online here.

 

File the G884 or get more certified copies.  You will need them later at ROC and Citizenship and for work in the US.   We got extra copies of both our marriage certificate  and my wife's birth certificate.  We have "lost" a few sets to various reasons - like her residency in Mexico, her nursing certificate, etc.

 

You have to be your own advocate with your documents and at the interviews.  My wife almost got a 221(g) because the CO miscalculated her time in Mexico and thought she needed a police certificate.  You need to take everything that would have been sent to the NVC to the interview.   The instructions are not written for DCF.

 

Your spouse will need their birth certificate for the interview.  The document checker at the consulate will not know or care that USCIS took it.  The consulate officer should have it in your packet, but you have to get that far to the interview.

[Rpizarro 2]

On 11/27/2019 at 1:05 PM, Paul & Mary said:

There are not many DCFers that stay online here.

 

File the G884 or get more certified copies.  You will need them later at ROC and Citizenship and for work in the US.   We got extra copies of both our marriage certificate  and my wife's birth certificate.  We have "lost" a few sets to various reasons - like her residency in Mexico, her nursing certificate, etc.

 

You have to be your own advocate with your documents and at the interviews.  My wife almost got a 221(g) because the CO miscalculated her time in Mexico and thought she needed a police certificate.  You need to take everything that would have been sent to the NVC to the interview.   The instructions are not written for DCF.

 

Your spouse will need their birth certificate for the interview.  The document checker at the consulate will not know or care that USCIS took it.  The consulate officer should have it in your packet, but you have to get that far to the interview.

Ok thanks again for your replies. My question now is if we get to the interview stage, do those documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate) have to be legalized at that stage as well?

[Just Paul 4,595]

13 minutes ago, Rpizarro said:

Ok thanks again for your replies. My question now is if we get to the interview stage, do those documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate) have to be legalized at that stage as well?

Yes,  spouse will need the legalized copies of birth certificate and marriage certificate.  Take an extra set of plain copies and ask for the originals back.  

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/DominicanRepublic.html