DCF in Brazil - have info?

[saradanielle 2]

We married in Brazil in 2006. I (US Citizen) applied for and obtained permanent residency in Brazil after marriage. I am on my third 6-month renewal while waiting for the final residency card. Marriage and residency can be quite a process. The correct documents filed at the correct offices can be quite a challenge. In my reasearch I found that the permanent resident visa is what the foreign resident needs to have in order to file the I-130 petition while living in Brazil. For various reasons, I chose to return to the US to apply to bring my wife to the US. When we first wanted to apply USCIS discontinued taking I-130 petitions at the consulate offices. By the time they reinstated the normal program I was already in the US but I did reasearch the option to apply at the US Consulate while having foreign residency in Brazil. To the best of my knowledge, a USC must have the permanent residency visa and be living in Brazil with their spouse.

Hey,

Thanks very much for your reply. The hardest thing I have been trying to figure out - and have not gotten a really clear answer on yet - is whether I need only to be residing legally in Brazil or whether I need acutal permanent residency. I had been coming to the conclusion that I needed acutal permanent residency, and it is good to have confirmation (although that unfortunately means that I will need to go through the US - but at least I know it´s the correct place). Are you still waiting to get a visa for your wife or have you successfully managed that already? Thanks for the input.

[mrsaright 0]

We married in Brazil in 2006. I (US Citizen) applied for and obtained permanent residency in Brazil after marriage. I am on my third 6-month renewal while waiting for the final residency card. Marriage and residency can be quite a process. The correct documents filed at the correct offices can be quite a challenge. In my reasearch I found that the permanent resident visa is what the foreign resident needs to have in order to file the I-130 petition while living in Brazil. For various reasons, I chose to return to the US to apply to bring my wife to the US. When we first wanted to apply USCIS discontinued taking I-130 petitions at the consulate offices. By the time they reinstated the normal program I was already in the US but I did reasearch the option to apply at the US Consulate while having foreign residency in Brazil. To the best of my knowledge, a USC must have the permanent residency visa and be living in Brazil with their spouse.

Hey,

Thanks very much for your reply. The hardest thing I have been trying to figure out - and have not gotten a really clear answer on yet - is whether I need only to be residing legally in Brazil or whether I need acutal permanent residency. I had been coming to the conclusion that I needed acutal permanent residency, and it is good to have confirmation (although that unfortunately means that I will need to go through the US - but at least I know it´s the correct place). Are you still waiting to get a visa for your wife or have you successfully managed that already? Thanks for the input.

Yes, it's confusing, and just to add to the confusion, I've gotten different answers from the attendants who answer the phones in Rio's Immigrant Visa Unit--I'm kind of in the same boat as all those who came on tourist visas, got married, applied for residence, but don't yet have it. I explained all this to the attendants (three times by phone and twice by email). I get a different "response" every time and never a straight answer--at the end of it all, the attendants (who are not immigration officials--meaning they don't make decisions, just pass along information) couldn't give me a "decisive answer" for my gray situation. So they advised me to schedule a window interview to ask these questions. Which, if you live near a consulate makes sense--but if you live 18 hours away (like I do) then it makes more sense to do as much research as you can, put together as convincing of a case as you can, and then try and petition (which I'm going to do this month).

If you want the details of my phone conversations and email correspondence, read below:

Phone call 1:

Me: Hi, I'd like to know if I'm eligible to apply for a CR1 visa for my husband from Brasil.

Attendant: Well, are you a resident of Brasil?

Me: I've been here since January 2007. I came on a tourist visa, got married in June, and applied for my residence in July. But my residence won't be approved for 1-3 years.

Attendant: Hm... you applied for your residence in July... Do you have your original plane ticket from when you arrived?

Me: Yes, and I have my protocolo and me and my husband have been renting a house here since January.

Attendant: Yes, you can petition for your husband. You can schedule an interview in Rio or in Sao Paulo.

Me: Ok, I will call back to make the appointment.

Email 1:

Dear Miss,

If you were a resident of Brasil then you could file a CR1 visa for your husband from Brasil. Otherwise, you must file through the USCIS in the United States.

My Email Response:

Thank you for your reply. I do not have an RNE (permanent resident number) but I have applied for my permanent residency in July of this year and I have a Protocolo which allows me to reside in Brasil. Can I apply for the CR1 in Brasil if I don't yet have an RNE?

Email 2:

In response, I advise that you schedule a window interview at the Consulate and speak with a Consular official about your situation.

Phone Call 2:

Me: Hello, I would like to know if I'm eligible to petition for my husband's CR1 visa in Brasil?

Attendant: Are you a permanent resident?

Me: No, but I applied in July.

Attendant: In general, you must be a permanent resident.

Me: Well, I've been living here since January of this year...

Attendant: The point is that we don't want Americans coming to Brasil just to make a CR1 petition. The law says that the petitioner must be living permanently in Brasil for at least 6 months.

Me: Ok, well, I haven't lived in the US for a few years now.

Attendant: Where did you live before?

Me: My husband and I lived in New Zealand and I came to Brasil on a tourist visa...

Attendant: Then, no, in general they would not accept a case like yours.

Me: Well, thanks that's what I wanted to know.

Phone Call 3:

Me: Hello, I would like to schedule an interview to petition for my husband's CR1 visa.

Attendant: I'm sorry?

Me: I was told that to petition for my husband's CR1 visa I need to mark an appointment.

Attendant: Ok... are you a permanent resident?

Me: No, but I applied for my permanent residency.

Attendant: So you applied for your permanent residency and now you want to live in the U.S.?

Me: Yes. My husband and I intended to live here in Brasil, but just recently I 've received news from my family in the US and it looks like we will have to move back to the U.S. now

Attendant: Have you been living permanently in Brasil for 6 months?

Me: Yes.

Attendant: Do you have all the documents that we need to see when you come for the interview?

Me: I have the I-130 form,

my passport & birth certificate to prove my citizenship,

my Protocolo to prove I've been living in Brasil,

two of form G325A--one for me and one for my husband,

my husband's birth certificate and copy

my marriage certificate and copy,

and one color passport photo for both me and my husband.... Is that everything?

Attendant: Yes... so what is your husband's last name?

Me: [Husband's last name]

Attendant: And his first name?

Me: [Husband's first name] It's not a problem that we don't have the same last name?

Attendant: No, we just put the appointment in the name of the beneficiary.

Me: Ok.

Attendant: Ok, your appointment is for October 22 at 1:30pm.

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So--as you can see, there IS a clear answer for those with permanent residence, and that's YES, you can apply for your spouse's DCF.

But if you don't have it yet (because paperwork takes so damn long in Brasil), you'll have to make a case for your having lived permanently in Brasil. For the first phone attendant, it didn't bother her that the majority of my time in Brasil was on a tourist visa--the fact that I came, stayed, applied for Brasilian residency was enough for her. For the other attendants they were a bit more wary about my situation--as soon as I said "tourist visa" to one phone attendant she cut me off and said, "No, they won't accept it in general." But when I called the last time, even though the attendant had hesitations about whether I qualified, she asked the questions she was supposed to ask, made the appointment, and now it's up to the official who conducts our interview.

And in reality, I'm going to bring a lot more with me to show that I've been living here "permanently"--contract of our house's rental agreement, letters from the volunteer group that I have consistently participated in since I got here, my protocolo, and of course, a good story to put it all into context (sudden change of plans AFTER applying for my residence, and not so much premeditated jumping around the world to find fastest way to get husband to US). Because if the attendant is already asking questions about my intentions to do all that i've done, then the consular official will probably do the same! I can just imagine now: Why did you come to brasil on a tourist visa if you knew you wanted to live here?

But the other thing is, if you can afford to wait, I would put some space between you and your tourist visa status--one gringo told me that I would have to wait 6 months from the date I received my protocolo, but maybe if I make a good case for myself they'll make an exception for me... which is essentially what this law leaves room for... lots of exceptions.