Frankfurt DCF

[El-boss-pr 6]

Just wanted to follow up and see if anyone had any questions about the process. So far the embassy has been great. We submitted our DCF and got it approved in 6 days. Then the next day we got packet 3. It doesn't say to send it anywhere, just to "bring it" to the embassy. I've seen a lot of people here "sending" it somewhere. Not sure if I'm confused. 

However, all seems to be going according to the timeline since we have to leave at the end of November. Doctor appointment also says that is not required prior to the interview, although the interview set up process says that it does, but I'm assuming that's the general appointment thing, and not a DCF. So we have a medical schedule for next week and we already requested an interview. I'm hoping the interview is within the next week or so, since we have everything we need. If so, this process was incredible and way faster than going the USCIS route (of course because we have an emergency situation to move, but still). If I can finish the visa process in a month, that would be epic. 

[Dashinka 24,635]

Good to hear it is moving forward for you.  It is nice sometimes when the US government actually helps its citizens when necessary.

 

Good Luck!

[JeanneAdil 6,581]

you take all documents to interview as u did DCF not a petition like we do that goes USCIS,  then NVC and onto embassy

 

and medical is required,  if not done before interview,  they would put case in AP till medical was completed

so, glad u have one scheduled

[millefleur 5,047]

8 hours ago, El-boss-pr said:

It doesn't say to send it anywhere, just to "bring it" to the embassy. I've seen a lot of people here "sending" it somewhere. Not sure if I'm confused.

 

As @JeanneAdil said, you just bring all your documents to the embassy the day of your interview. There's no USCIS or NVC step, you bypass all that. Basically just follow instructions from what the embassy tells you.

 

8 hours ago, El-boss-pr said:

However, all seems to be going according to the timeline since we have to leave at the end of November.

Just remember not to book any tickets until you have the visa in hand. The visa will be valid for 6 months from the day of the medical exam.

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

***One comment was split to a new topic****

[Algorithm6117 0]

Hi thanks so much for your post! My wife and I live in Frankfurt and want to take the DCF route after hearing about it. What kind of evidence did you need to provide to them as reason for approval? I have conditional job offers from the U.S. but nothing final. Do these work?

[Pat2014 2]

Hi, thank you for posting this thread!

 

I have a very basic/general question that I'm struggling to answer: who exactly do I contact at the Frankfurt Consulate when asking for a DCF? 

 

My wife and I live in the Munich area and wish to file for a CR-1/IR-1 visa via DCF, since I am a US Citizen and have established residency in Germany.  I have a job offer in the US that expires in August, so I am trying to move us back there.

 

I've tried calling the Munich consulate, who referred me to file via USCIS without even offering the option for a DCF.  To be clear: they didn't tell me that our situation didn't qualify for DCF, rather that the DCF option didn't exist in Germany at all.  I called the Frankfurt consulate but found it impossible to get a human being, being sent instead to a pre-recorded message telling me to file via USCIS every time.  So, I then emailed Frankfurt directly and was told via auto-reply to use their website.  After sending a message via their website, I was again referred to USCIS and told the USCIS department at the consulate closed in 2020.

I've seen multiple posts of couples requesting and getting DCF through Frankfurt since 2020, so I know there has to be someone to contact there.

 

The closest thing I've gotten was an email address (FrnUSCISInquiries@state.gov) to forward my request to, but I haven't heard back from them in over a week.

 

Am I missing something in the wiki, and/or do you have a Point of Contact I could refer to about my request?  We know that once we start the I-130, it's really hard/impossible to switch to DCF, so we don't want to do that unless we absolutely have to.

Thank you!

[Pat2014 2]

Hey everyone, just wanted to post that my DCF request was denied.

 

My situation: US Veteran living abroad in Munich area after leaving Army.  Accepted in March to a US Grad School that starts in August.  Requested DCF via email April 10th, did not see reply, so mailed a completed packet and cover letter with payment to Frankfurt Consulate around May 20th.

 

The Frankfurt Consulate mailed it back with a cover letter telling me my situation did not qualify and referenced an email sent on May 10th, which had been sent to my Spam folder.  This email was 1 line and said our situation "did not meet the criteria for exceptional circumstances" and provided no other explanation.

 

This outcome genuinely surprised, to say nothing of frustrated, me as I've seen countless anecdotal evidence that similar situations did warrant DCF in Germany as recently as last year, and DCF seems to more lenient in many other countries than Germany.

 

Outside of pleading with the Consulate or contacting my Congressional representatives, I don't know what else I can do.  I have to attend school on August 12th and fly back before that.

 

I have only seen people posting positive outcomes on their DCF requests and wanted to post mine as a cautionary tale - my wife and I had our hopes dashed pretty hard.

[powerpuff 6,744]

Thank you for updating.

 

Considering the OP of this thread hasn’t logged on in about a year, this thread is now closed.