DCF Paris short job notice with long stay student visa

[B and G 3]

Hello everyone!

 

Long story short, I am an american citizen who has been living in France for the past 2.5 years on a long stay student visa, working as an apprentice in a French company. I met a french man, fell in love, and now I have received an official job offer starting in the fall back in the states (4 - 5 months away).

 

After spending a lot of time researching our options, my conjoint and I have decided to get married and request DCF with exceptional circumstances (short notice job relocation) while I am still a legal resident of France and before I move back. My fiancé and I have recently submitted our marriage file to the city hall here in France, with our marriage date set for mid-august. I plan on emailing the embassy in Paris shortly after the wedding with the attached documents (sponsor's proof of US citizenship and titre de séjour in France, my fiancé's birth certificate and passport, our marriage certificate, and my job offer in the US) to request DCF.

 

I guess my question is, is DCF still possible with a long stay student visa, given that I have a current work contract in France? My visa does not expire until March 2024, and I will be moving back to the US long before that (fall 2023), and I definitely have proof of living in France legally for over 6 months. I understand that only the embassy has the authority to make the decision on whether they accept the request to file directly or not, but maybe it would help calm my stress if I knew there were other people who have been through similar circumstances.

 

Another question : what forms of payment are accepted at the french embassy? Cash (in dollars), credit card, and/or money orders from an american bank?

 

We are already in the process of gathering all the required documentation and filling out the i-130 and i-130a. As I am very stressed about this process, I am adamant about having all our ducks in a row before the marriage to help expedite the process if we are accepted (hopefully). Thank you in advance for your responses and advice, this community has already provided so much information and hope.

[Lemonslice 4,834]

Why lose two months until August? Expedite on their part might, or might not, work, why delay yourselves?

 

If French bureaucracy is slowing you down (and the August date is not being a personal decision), then look into Utah Zoom marriage.  
[You will have to research how to get your Livret de famille , but that can be done later]

 

Bonne chance!  

[Just Paul 4,595]

You can't do (file) anything until you get married.  Get married and file and see what happens.   You will need the normal documents for the I-130/I130-A plus proof that you legally reside in France.

[B and G 3]

Thank you guys for your replies! A lot has happened since my last post, and I wanted to give an update on our case. 

 

We got married about a month ago, and I immediately sent an email to the embassy requesting DCF for short notice job relocation. Here's the timeline so far :

 

August 15 : email sent to embassy requesting DCF short notice job relocation (attached to email : both birth certificates, both passports, my french residence permit, signed job offer letter, and marriage certificate)

August 22 : email received from embassy, DCF request accepted

September 6 : first appointment at embassy to file I-130 and pay $535 filing fee (petitioner only) *I was at the embassy for 3 hours, mostly waiting for an officer who knew the DCF process to be available to look at my file - make sure you know how the DCF process works before going, because the first officer I saw was very confused and asked why my husband didn't also come to the appointment*

September 13 : email recieved from embassy, petition approved and case number assigned - instructed to prepare documents, medical, and fill out DS-260 (visa appointment date given in the email for mid october)

September 14 : completed DS-260 online

September 15 : medical exam in Paris ($400 for the exam) *there was a last minute opening - be sure to check doctolib daily for last minute cancellations and don't forget to bring proof of 2 covid vaccination doses*

 

I will come back and update the timeline as things progress further. We have already gathered all the supporting evidence/documents needed for the second visa appointment (joint sponsor/financial evidence, police records, etc.), so we are going to reach out to the embassy and attempt to get an earlier visa appointment. I return to the US in the middle of October and we are hoping to have my husband's visa in hand by then so that we can leave together (fingers crossed!). 

 

We wouldn't have been able to have gotten this far without all of the resources here on visajourney. I have been constantly scouring the site trying to be the most prepared possible, and boy has that helped immensely. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this website, it really is an invaluable resource for this stressful process.

[B and G 3]

Alright so final update on our case :

 

September 20 : visa appointment (I-864, marriage certificate, birth certificate, police report, passport, and passport style photos submitted to embassy in person). Originally the appointment was scheduled automatically for October 18, but we emailed the embassy and asked for the next available appointment, as we had all the supporting documents ready. Despite the medical appointment being done on September 15, the embassy had not yet received the results and therefore the visa was refused. We were informed that when the medical results were received, the visa would be issued and the passport returned. We called the doctor's office and they said they had sent the results, but sometimes the embassy has trouble accessing them.

 

September 26 : checked ceac status - visa status still says 'denied'. Email sent to embassy asking if medical results were received or not, embassy replies acknowledging the receipt of the medical results

 

September 27 : ceac status changed to 'approved'

 

October 05 : passport with visa and original documents delivered! Woohoo!

[Chancy 6,241]

2 hours ago, B and G said:

October 05 : passport with visa and original documents delivered! Woohoo!

 

Congratulations and thank you for keeping us up to date on your progress!