Is DCF available in Ghana

[Black Unicorn 22]

Hi Y'all, I am brand new to VJ and this is my 1st post. Having read through many post regarding IR1/CR1 in various topic threads. I have a very specific questions and will frame it for you all first. My husband and I live in Accra Ghana together since 2019 (pre-covid) and married in 2020. We met when I was on vacation in Ghana and he was at his work site (military) by chance and hit it off. At the time I was living in Germany for 2 years and working there. My husband was able to visit me for 2 months while I lived in Germany which allowed us time to really get to know each other. Long story short we have a fully registered business together here, in which I am an employee and is in full operation. We have real estate property together and a business bank account. I have been offered a position back in the states that starts in August (academia) and for the first time we are considering the move and trying to gather info on how to apply for a spousal visa that will allow him to come with me. I have US bank accounts and fully intend to live in the area where my job is, which will be our domicile in the US. Yet, we haven't even started looking yet but will do so online. Since I live in Ghana and hold a five year residency permit:

 

         1. Can we apply via DCF at the embassy in Accra? 

         2. Can I file earnings made abroad on my 2021 income taxes? As proof of income earned

         3. Is receiving a job offer still considered when filling or requesting to DCF?

 

I am a US Citizen and he is Ghanaian. He has never been to the states nor applied for any visa to the states in the past and I have never applied for anyone for the US. However, I did apply/petition for him to obtain a tourist visa to german and it was granted. It was extremely intense and I had to be interviewed by German immigration, swear an oath that I will be fined and/or jailed if he ran away or committed a crime during his stay. He also went through 2 interviews at the Germany embassy in accra. We had to provide almost all the documentation needed for K1 visa just so he could visit for 60 days and we weren't even engaged then, so I think it's great practice for the American process!

[Dashinka 24,488]

Most US consulates will look at accepting the I130 for exceptional circumstances, not sure specifically about Ghana, but you can ask.  Here is another thread with someone working trough DCF in Japan.  There are some good tips in this thread for trying to get the information to the consulate.

 

Good Luck!

 

 

[Black Unicorn 22]

Thanks for sharing! It's a great thread and very informative but I think things work a bit differently in Africa. I tried calling the consulate and was told that department does not take phone calls and I should email or call the consulate call center. The call center is fully automated with no details at all for DCF. I sent an email and I am waiting now. 

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

2 hours ago, Black Unicorn said:

Hi Y'all, I am brand new to VJ and this is my 1st post. Having read through many post regarding IR1/CR1 in various topic threads. I have a very specific questions and will frame it for you all first. My husband and I live in Accra Ghana together since 2019 (pre-covid) and married in 2020. We met when I was on vacation in Ghana and he was at his work site (military) by chance and hit it off. At the time I was living in Germany for 2 years and working there. My husband was able to visit me for 2 months while I lived in Germany which allowed us time to really get to know each other. Long story short we have a fully registered business together here, in which I am an employee and is in full operation. We have real estate property together and a business bank account. I have been offered a position back in the states that starts in August (academia) and for the first time we are considering the move and trying to gather info on how to apply for a spousal visa that will allow him to come with me. I have US bank accounts and fully intend to live in the area where my job is, which will be our domicile in the US. Yet, we haven't even started looking yet but will do so online. Since I live in Ghana and hold a five year residency permit:

 

         1. Can we apply via DCF at the embassy in Accra? 

         2. Can I file earnings made abroad on my 2021 income taxes? As proof of income earned

         3. Is receiving a job offer still considered when filling or requesting to DCF?

 

I am a US Citizen and he is Ghanaian. He has never been to the states nor applied for any visa to the states in the past and I have never applied for anyone for the US. However, I did apply/petition for him to obtain a tourist visa to german and it was granted. It was extremely intense and I had to be interviewed by German immigration, swear an oath that I will be fined and/or jailed if he ran away or committed a crime during his stay. He also went through 2 interviews at the Germany embassy in accra. We had to provide almost all the documentation needed for K1 visa just so he could visit for 60 days and we weren't even engaged then, so I think it's great practice for the American process!

1.  You can apply, but the consulate has full discretion as to whether they will accept it.

2.  As a US citizen, you must report all world-wide income for tax purposes.  Unless that income will continue after re-locating to the US, it cannot be used as "current annual income" for purposes of proving your ability to support your immigrant spouse.

3.  That is a criteria other have used...

 

Note: In order to be the sponsor of a new immigrant, you must have filed your taxes for the 3 most recent tax years.

Good luck.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Black Unicorn 22]

Has anyone been successful at applying for DCF at the Accra Ghana Embassy?

 

I feel I needed to re-phrase the question.

[millefleur 5,046]

3 hours ago, Black Unicorn said:

Has anyone been successful at applying for DCF at the Accra Ghana Embassy?

I did a quick search and the only threads I could see here on VJ for DCF in Ghana were from 10 years ago. We don't get a lot of DCF filers in general nowadays (ever since they shut down the offices and made it exceptional circumstances only.) If anyone else with recent experience is active here, hopefully they will chime in.

 

The main factor with DCF now, regardless of the country, is getting approved under exceptional circumstances. Since you have a job offer, chances look good. It's up to the individual embassy to make the call.

 

4 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

Note: In order to be the sponsor of a new immigrant, you must have filed your taxes for the 3 most recent tax years.

Either this or you file your back taxes/write a note explaining why you didn't file and find a joint sponsor(s). This is way down the road, though, for DCF first you just need the embassy to approve you filing the I-130 petition with them. No reason to worry about taxes or domicile just yet, better focus on getting the embassy to accept your petition first.

 

5 hours ago, Black Unicorn said:

Thanks for sharing! It's a great thread and very informative but I think things work a bit differently in Africa. I tried calling the consulate and was told that department does not take phone calls and I should email or call the consulate call center. The call center is fully automated with no details at all for DCF. I sent an email and I am waiting now. 

That sounds fairly standard actually based on others' DCF experiences: basically you just have to email them. There's no phone or in-person communication until they approve you and accept your petition request. Please update us with how it goes.

 

 

[D-R-J 192]

8 hours ago, Black Unicorn said:

Has anyone been successful at applying for DCF at the Accra Ghana Embassy?

 

I feel I needed to re-phrase the question.

Yes, we got my wife’s visa through DCF from Accra, but at that point I think it was before they closed the USCIS office there. I sent an email to uscis.accra@dhs.gov and they set up a time for me to drop off all the required documents. The email may be dead now though, since the office is closed. I’d try IVAccra@state.gov, that was the first email I sent and they directed me who to contact.

Edited February 9, 2022 by D-R-J

[Redro 4,611]

Had a quick look at the embassy website and they have no language around filing in exceptional/emergency circumstances. 

Only direction is that one needs to go through NVC.

 

To apply for an immediate relative or family preference immigrant visas, follow the steps on the Immigrant Visa Process on usvisas.state.gov.  Once you have completed those steps, review the instructions given to you by the National Visa Center (NVC), along with the information presented on this website, for further guidance and instructions

 

They also state they prefer email as the preferred method of communication and to use this address: support-ghana@ustraveldocs.com

 

https://gh.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/family-based-immigration/

[Black Unicorn 22]

Thank you all for your feedback, advice, and additional emails. We are very appreciative. I will let y'all know what happens moving forward. As of now I received an automated reply from support-ghana@ustraveldocs.com letting me know they got it and created an account for me in the portal. I should see a response in 2 days. I also reached out to the other emails provided by @D-R-J just in case. Doesn't hurt to try. It's good to know that at least one other couple successfully tried DCF in the past at the Accra Embassy!

[Black Unicorn 22]

Update: After sending 5 emails to all the address I could find. I finally received a response from the consulate office in Accra. Which simply said "Unfortunately no, you will have to begin with USCIS".

 

Short and to the point! Now, I know that DCF is not possible in Ghana in 2022.