DCF in Warsaw - How does this work in practice?

[Ale_al 6]

Hi! We had an appointment to submit a DCF at the Consulate in Warsaw for medical reasons for a CR-1 visa.
Who has had experience filing there?

How does this happen?

does the Consulate ask for confirmation of an emergency?

What questions will be asked to petitioner?

What currency should I pay $535 in?
Can they refuse to accept I-130?

Do they require documents of residence in Warsaw or is it enough for the petitioner to live in the status of a tourist in Poland?

[SteveInBostonI130 3,471]

DCF has been phased out with the closing of USCIS international offices.  

 

But in the past, one of the situations that qualified for DCF was if the US citizen lived with the spouse as a resident in the foreign country and needed to move back to the US, due to things such as a job transfer.

 

If you have an emergency medical reason, then yes, they will ask for proof of the emergency. 

 

They will ask for your reasons and why you cannot go through normal consular processing.  Basically, why the normal process may cause you harm. 

 

Yes, they can deny the DCF request and will not accept your I-130.  Only if they grant DCF will they accept the application.   The US embassy needs extraordinary evidence to justify them taking a case away from DHS.

 

You will need to be a resident in the foreign country, or be there in some other non-tourist capacity (temporary long term job assignment, for example).

 

[Just Paul 4,595]

2 hours ago, Ale_al said:

How does this happen?

Contact the consulate Immigrant Visa section by email.   Be very specific as to why you need to file under exceptional circumstances.  Provide as much proof but be concise.   They will not want to review a 300 page chart.   A single page letter from a doctor is fine.  Indicate why this is a hardship. You do not send the i-130 at this time.

2 hours ago, Ale_al said:

Do they require documents of residence in Warsaw or is it enough for the petitioner to live in the status of a tourist in Poland?

For exceptional circumstances the residency of petitioner is not always required.  However having residency does make it easier.  If you are not a resident you can obviously return to the US and have a limited presence in Poland.

2 hours ago, Ale_al said:

What currency should I pay $535 in?

Either US or Local.  Because of COVID you may not be asked to pay until the interview.  They usually accept credit cards as well.

2 hours ago, Ale_al said:

What questions will be asked to petitioner?

Usually very little.  No questions are asked stateside of a petitioner unless there is an issue with the I-130.   When I filed at the USCIS office in Mexico they reviewed it in front of me any only asked me conversational questions. If they were contact you with any questions I would expect they would pertain to the medical necessity and residency.

2 hours ago, Ale_al said:

Can they refuse to accept I-130?

Yes, and many exceptional circumstances cases are not accepted worldwide.  It sounds like you aren't "residing there" and that will be a potential issue.

[Ale_al 6]

5 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

Contact the consulate Immigrant Visa section by email.   Be very specific as to why you need to file under exceptional circumstances.  Provide as much proof but be concise.   They will not want to review a 300 page chart.   A single page letter from a doctor is fine.  Indicate why this is a hardship. You do not send the i-130 at this time.

For exceptional circumstances the residency of petitioner is not always required.  However having residency does make it easier.  If you are not a resident you can obviously return to the US and have a limited presence in Poland.

Either US or Local.  Because of COVID you may not be asked to pay until the interview.  They usually accept credit cards as well.

Usually very little.  No questions are asked stateside of a petitioner unless there is an issue with the I-130.   When I filed at the USCIS office in Mexico they reviewed it in front of me any only asked me conversational questions. If they were contact you with any questions I would expect they would pertain to the medical necessity and residency.

Yes, and many exceptional circumstances cases are not accepted worldwide.  It sounds like you aren't "residing there" and that will be a potential issue.

Hello Paul & Mary! I often see you in this section, and I am very happy to hear about your experience.
Tell us please, regarding the first stage, if we wrote a letter describing medical problems to email, and they set a date for submitting documents, then we will no longer need to prove emergency circumstances when submitting documents? Or is it better to prepare a letter from the doctor for submission?

[Just Paul 4,595]

7 hours ago, Ale_al said:

Hello Paul & Mary! I often see you in this section, and I am very happy to hear about your experience.
Tell us please, regarding the first stage, if we wrote a letter describing medical problems to email, and they set a date for submitting documents, then we will no longer need to prove emergency circumstances when submitting documents? Or is it better to prepare a letter from the doctor for submission?

You need to submit the Doctor's Letter with your request.  If they accept your request then they will instruct you how and when to file.  With COVID many consulates have accepted the I-130 by mail / courier and had you pay the I-130 fee later.  You don't have to submit more evidence for exceptional circumstances once they tell you to submit the I-130, but I would include a copy of the original correspondence attached to a cover letter.

[LeThanhTon 14]

On 10/26/2020 at 4:55 AM, Ale_al said:

Hi! We had an appointment to submit a DCF at the Consulate in Warsaw for medical reasons for a CR-1 visa.
Who has had experience filing there?

How does this happen?

does the Consulate ask for confirmation of an emergency?

What questions will be asked to petitioner?

What currency should I pay $535 in?
Can they refuse to accept I-130?

Do they require documents of residence in Warsaw or is it enough for the petitioner to live in the status of a tourist in Poland?

I petitioned for my spouse to file her I-130 at the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam rather than with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) due to extraordinary circumstances and was approved in September. Process is very straightforward.

1. Petitioner must live in the same country as Beneficiary (spouse).
2. Must meet requirements as defined in: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-b-chapter-3.
3. Attach proof of your U.S. citizenship.
4.  A detailed letter of explanation and scanned supporting documents to demonstrate that you are physically present in country and qualify for the exceptional circumstance(s) as defined in: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-b-chapter-3.

Submit the above the the IV group of your local embassy / consulate and they will contact USCIS on your behalf to seek for approval to file the petition locally. If USCIS determines that you qualify for the exceptional circumstances referenced above they will instruct the U.S. Consulate to accept your petition.  Once received, the consulate / embassy will notify you of USCIS’s decision. In our case, it took 3 days for HCMC Consulate to notify us that we had been approved.

Good luck!

[milajulia 0]

On 10/25/2020 at 10:55 PM, Ale_al said:

Hi! We had an appointment to submit a DCF at the Consulate in Warsaw for medical reasons for a CR-1 visa.
Who has had experience filing there?

How does this happen?

does the Consulate ask for confirmation of an emergency?

What questions will be asked to petitioner?

What currency should I pay $535 in?
Can they refuse to accept I-130?

Do they require documents of residence in Warsaw or is it enough for the petitioner to live in the status of a tourist in Poland?

Hello! Did you end up being successful with your pursuit of DCF in Warsaw? My spouse and I are hoping to go the DCF route soon--also in Warsaw--and we want to be as prepared as possible.