US Immigration from Chile

Starting the thread for those of us starting the New Year by filing an I-130.

Looking forward to hopefully seeing a lot of updates in 2026 or earlier

We re trying to gather all the documents we ll need for the process ahead of time. My fianc was saying that in Chile all documents from the Registro Civil are available in a certified digital format.

As an example: certified birth certificates can be downloaded for free. Would uploading the certified PDF to CEAC be sufficient for the NVC/Consular part or would physical copies be needed at some point.

Realize I m asking early but we re trying to have everything we can ready for the entire process when we file the I-130 so it s a more seamless process.

Hi all,

My fiance and I are planning on getting married in the U.S. on his ESTA over the holidays. We plan on going back to Chile together afterwards for about a month and filing the I-130 there before I d return to the U.S. while he waits the processing out.

If I start working on the draft online now so it s ready to submit the second we land in Santiago, would that be something that flags for CBP when he s entering? Don t want to put his ESTA at risk or delay the marriage.

Hi,

My wife Marcela will be eligible to become a naturalized citizen on April 11th of 2025.

We were planning on filing the n-400 application 90 days early.

I see the period for the process is much shorter than naturalization, which was about 18 months in total.

Can appointments like the bio test, language, and history tests, and the interview all possibly happen within the 90 days before actual eligibility?

We want to make sure Marcela is available and prepared for those events.

Thanks Martin

Wanted to get advice. We just made it past the USCIS stage of our spousal visa process, and now filling out the I-864. I (the petitioner) just started my new job in the US (living overseas with family the past 5 years) that is salaried and over the minimum income, but have yet to receive my first paycheck. Questions:

- Should I only use myself as the sponsor (no co-sponsor)? Because technically I do make enough to cover the requirement, though I would only at this time have a signed offer letter that states my yearly salary. Though at the interview I would have a few more paychecks that my wife could show.

- Or should I use a co-sponsor? I had previously asked my father to co-sponsor before I knew I would be moved up before my wife, so no problem there. And I was initially thinking to always include him even when I started my new job (basically just in case), but after reading the instructions better for the I864 I see it says "Form I-864A may only be used when a sponsor s income and assets do not meet the income requirements of Form I-864." So that made me doubt my plan to include him regardless, since I do now technically earn enough.

- If I do include my father as a co-sponsor, should I use the I-864A since currently I am living with him and my mom, until my wife moves up?

Thanks for any help!