Field Office Adjudication, time given to enter the US, and general questions

[jbbuck 6]

Hi everyone,

I am going to apply for DCF in Ecuador, that is file my i-130 with them. Although they don't do DCF, they could forward the request to Peru if there are "exceptional circumstances". Because my wife is pregnant, I believe we will be approved. A Policy Memorandum (PM-602-0043) states that "USCIS will likely authorize DOS to accept and process an I-130 petition" in "Medical emergencies". For example, "A petitioner or beneficiary is facing an urgent medical emergency that requires immediate travel. This includes the situation where a petitioner or beneficiary is pregnant and delaying travel may create a medical risk or extreme hardship for the mother or child."

I have a few questions in regards to this.

1) Before I contact the Ecuadorian Embassy or Consulate, can anyone tell me what I'll need to provide them with in order to have it be accepted (other than the standard forms I list below)? Do I need a doctor's note? If so, what does it need to say? Is pregnancy a sufficient reason, or should I bring up Zika and/or that she has other risk factors?

- Here's what I would have to include anyway: cover letter, i-130, filing fee, proof of my citizenship, required supporting evidence [marriage certificate, etc.], my wife's photograph, our G-325A forms, and a G-1145 (E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance)

1.a.) How would you recommend paying the filing fee? According to the "Peru - USCIS Lima Field Office" webpage, they do "not accept debit cards, checks or U.S. Postal money orders".

2) Let's say that my i-130 is accepted and approved by the overseas US embassy or consulate, and we have the interview and are approved. Then my wife will get an one-time-use immigrant visa, right? I've heard and read (but not from official sources) that she'll have 6 months to enter the US on that visa. Is that true in all cases, including DCF? Or is DCF different? I'm just wondering if with DCF we'd have to leave immediately. I understand that our purpose of doing the DCF is to go immediately, but I'm concerned that if something comes up and we can't do it immediately, would that be an issue?

3) Another question, if my case (i.e. my i-130) is not "clearly approvable" and is "forwarded to USCIS", um, what does that mean exactly? Or rather, what would happen then? Would they request corrections or whatever else they might need? If my case isn't approvable, I wouldn't have to file again and pay the filing fee again, would I?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[A'n'L 735]

I'm sorry, but a pregnancy is not a medical emergency

[Brazilian1901 12]

1.a.) How would you recommend paying the filing fee? According to the "Peru - USCIS Lima Field Office" webpage, they do "not accept debit cards, checks or U.S. Postal money orders".

Credit card? That is how I always pay for things at my consulate in São Paulo. I think unless it's a problem pregnancy you won't get expedited.

[jbbuck 6]

I'm sorry, but a pregnancy is not a medical emergency

Yeah, I know; however, Field-Office adjudication (FOA) is discretionary. Who knows? Perhaps in a country that has a travel alert from the CDC for a virus suspected of causing birth defects (Zika), they'll consider it an "exceptional situation". Perhaps not. Or perhaps some of her other risk factors with the pregnancy might be cause enough for them to allow FOA. I'd appreciate it if you might be able to speak specifically to any of the questions I asked, though.

[A'n'L 735]

Yeah, I know; however, Field-Office adjudication (FOA) is discretionary. Who knows? Perhaps in a country that has a travel alert from the CDC for a virus suspected of causing birth defects (Zika), they'll consider it an "exceptional situation". Perhaps not. Or perhaps some of her other risk factors with the pregnancy might be cause enough for them to allow FOA. I'd appreciate it if you might be able to speak specifically to any of the questions I asked, though.

Probably not. It is also usually only the health of the USC, not the foreigner, that is considered.

Should she be granted a visa through that route, the validity would still be 6 months (from medical).