CR1 petiion in Sao Paulo, or Rio, or K3 in US?

[mrsaright 0]

Hello, I'm new to the forum, and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience/insight into the DCF for my situation in Brasil. I'm not technically a resident, and the consulate here is not so clear as to whether or not I would be able to petition for my husband's CR1 here in Brasil.

I contacted the Rio Immigrant Visa Unit a few times trying to find out if they will let me petition for my husband's CR1 visa through the US Consulate in Brasil. The initial petition interview (I'm told by the attendant at the Rio IVU) can be at either Sao Paulo or Rio (the final interview of the beneficiary must be held in Rio). Well, the first time I called, I spoke to an attendant and told her my story:

I came to Brasil in January 2007 on a tourist visa.

I married in Brasil on June 22, 2007.

I applied for my Permanent Residency in July 2007 and received a Protocolo (a piece of paper which allows me to stay in Brasil).

It will take 1-3 years to approve the Permanent Residency application, so in the meantime I am not technically a Permanent Resident, but I do have the legal right to live in Brasil.

Ok. The first attendant I spoke to said "You need to prove you've been living here six months. In your case, if you can bring your original plane ticket from January, then this will help".

But then I sent an email to the IVU in Rio and got a response that said "If you were a permanent resident in Brasil then you could file a CR1. If not, you should file a K3 in the US".

So I called again to get confirmation. This time I told the attendant the same information and she said "Well, it depends on the consulate officer who takes your petition. But in general he would not accept a petition from someone in your situation".

Another American in Sao Paulo said something like "you must wait 6 months from AFTER you received your protocolo".

So... now I'm confused. I sent a few emails to some lawyers, but they basically told me the same thing "it's up to the consular official at the interview"

Should I set up an interview to try and petition for the CR1 and give it a shot? The only problem is that I live VERY far away from Sao Paulo AND Rio, so I can't just walk over and try. We need to take time off of work and spend money on plane tickets and accommodations, etc. But I do think it's worth it to file a DCF rather than go through the US (especially since the K3 has become so expensive to adjust the status). So I'm even willing to try and file the petition at BOTH Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro until they tell me that they'll accept the petition. But I heard that the consulate in Sao Paulo has become very strict, so I'm wondering if there's some more concrete guidelines I can go by in order to make a good case for "being a resident who's not a permanent resident".

But I'm also wondering, if we were to submit the I-130 petition to the U.S., would we be able to attempt a CR1 here in Brasil while we are waiting?

I'm at the point where I'd rather try and submit all possible applications and just see which one comes back first, but I'm not sure if this creates conflicts in the end. I know that I can file for the CR1 and K3 through the US and abandon the K3 if the CR1 comes through quickly, but could I file for the CR1 and K3 in the U.S. AND a CR1 in Brasil all at the same time?

thanks