Timeline DCF Frankfurt 2022

[texcal 9]

On 12/28/2022 at 8:53 PM, Andrew+MM said:

24 hours after I requested to interview, I received an email with a different link which allowed me to schedule the interview. The email was one line, and could easily be filtered by a spam bot.

 

If it's taking longer for you (10 days seems like longer than normal), it might be worth emailing the Consulate to see if there is an issue. They just changed the process a little and maybe the I-130 approval from 6 years ago is causing them some problems.

Thanks! We emailed them and also redid the request in the system and that did the trick 👍🏻

[Black Unicorn 22]

I'm sharing this for someone who may need it in the future.  It took us 4 months to go through the DCF process in Frankfurt. Our situation is very much unique as I haven't seen many discuss this on this forum.

 

I'm an American with residency in Germany and Ghana, my husband is a Ghanaian national with residency in Germany but still active military in Ghana, so he works in Ghana. My job wanted me back in the states but allowed me to work remote so I was working for about 4 -5 months before applying for the DCF process. The embassy was very good about responding to emails and providing information before my husbands interview so the process up until the interview was seamless. We had to send in the requested original docs, US cashier check for payment,  I-130 and I-130A via mail. Once received the embassy sent an email of approval to proceed with the process (packet 3) and they sent a separate email to set up an account with CEAC online and schedule the interview appointment via that site. All original docs for packet 3 had to be brought to the interview appointment in person. Not mailed. 

 

We had the choice of scheduling the interview appointment as early as Dec. 9, 2022 but we wanted to ensure that my husband competed his medical appointment prior to the interview. It was hard initially to find a medical appointment in Berlin, we eventually were able to schedule the medical for Dec. 12, 2022 in Frankfurt. Since we had planned to do some travels for the holidays we scheduled the interview appointment for Dec. 27, 2022.  The medical cost  390 euros for the exam and he paid an additional 132 euros for 3 vaccines that they said he didn't have, all given the same day, payment made before the exam. The blood work was an additional 15 euro and the invoice was mailed. Now at the medical the doctor asked my husband if he had a criminal record which was completely inappropriate as he has no tattoos or anything else that may indicate this. Needless to say he took this heavily loaded question with grace and let her know that he has never broken any laws in any country and he is a legal resident of Germany. I'm sharing this for others who may find it of value to prepare.

 

On the day of the visa interview his appointment was at 8am we arrived at the embassy at 7:15am and there was already a line. It was freezing. I left and waited at the McDonald's not far from the embassy. He took all the documentation and his cell phone into the embassy. After checking in at the outside visa window he was then led in where he was told to turn his phone off and proceed on to wait and then on to  window 1 to make the $325 payment (he paid with euros).  He was then asked for the documents and a few questions about his travel, wait some more, then on to window 2 where the visa officer conducted the interview. He said the  interview felt like a conversation and he talked a lot about our relationship, how we met, cultural difference, and how/where we got married. Since I lived in Ghana with him there was lots of discussion about this as well. He gave her all the original docs including the affidavit of support, my pay stubs, 2 months of bank statements, lease and my 2021 tax return (I gave him a copy of the taxes I filled and sent to the IRS in september). The interesting thing they didn't even ask for the tax forms. I guess they saw my salary and bank statements and realized financial support would never be an issue. We thought we had prepared and had all the documents they would ask for but we did not. They asked for his military record which he did not have and did not understand what they wanted, because non-western countries don't provide the American style military record. 

 

This is where things get super weird.  He was given the info about abuse and things and they explained to him the whole process of entry into the US and handing over the packet that he will receive with his visa. Shortly, after they gave him the 221g form and told him that they have to have the military record and that once he gets it they can move forward. At this point they never returned his passport. After being at the embassy for four hours he was finally done with the visa appointment. 

 

It took about 2.5 weeks for my husband to find out what the equivalent of a military record is/was for his country. He finally got it sent via DHL from Ghana. The delivery should have taken 3 - 4 days but they lost it. It took about a week for us to find the package and get our hands on it. Once we did we tried to take it to the embassy and they refused to take anything. After my full American came out they finally told me to take it to the same Mailbox etc that the embassy uses for visa pickup. We did this and the embassy received the docs the next day. It took 4 business days after this and my husband received an email that the visa was issued. A separate email was sent with info for the pickup. We were able to pick up the passport with the visa inside on Jan. 27, 2023.  I do want to add that after he was given the 221g the embassy was not responsive via email. It took them almost a week to respond to any email.With that said, even with the 221g, my husband still managed to get the visa so there is always hope  

[Andrew+MM 7]

@Black Unicorn I am so happy you got it sorted. It sounds like the military service of your spouse triggered some extra specialized vetting. The bureaucracy at the Embassy probably won't even allow for questions to be answered by the usual personnel as this vetting goes beyond the most common procedure. Hence the slow response time. I'm glad you kept it together and got through the process. Your post should help others in similar situations.

[TravelAccountant 0]

Hi everyone. I am a US citizen working overseas as an expat and days away from submitting my I-130 for my spouse. I am working with HR at my company to update the terms of my contract to state that my job is being relocated to the US later this calendar year. 
 

Does anyone have experience into what this proof has to explicitly say for them to accept a DCF? Any advice from your experience would be super! 

[Black Unicorn 22]

On 4/5/2023 at 6:44 AM, TravelAccountant said:

Hi everyone. I am a US citizen working overseas as an expat and days away from submitting my I-130 for my spouse. I am working with HR at my company to update the terms of my contract to state that my job is being relocated to the US later this calendar year. 
 

Does anyone have experience into what this proof has to explicitly say for them to accept a DCF? Any advice from your experience would be super! 

In my experience I asked HR for a proof of employment letter that outlined that I had to be state side to continue to work remotely. HR gave me a very nice letter that included this, salary, my date of hire, position and verification that I work for them with all the contact details listed for the HR rep. It worked! No issues at all. Of course it must be on company letter head and signed. Short, sweet and to the point works best😊

Edited April 11, 2023 by Black Unicorn