Seeking Advice Regarding Our Ongoing DCF Process

[Shanghai904 0]

Hello!

My spouse and I live in China. I have already filed an I-130 which has (as of June) been accepted by USCIS. After this, they passed this info on to NVC, who has recently (July) given us a NVC case number.

My spouse and I are concerned that the transition to the US will be a financial burden on us, if we leave too soon. Both my spouse and I work in China and neither of us have jobs in the states.

How long can we wait until the NVC closes our case? Could we request a delay or extension? And if our case closes, what will the consequences be?

Thank you for your help!

[RandyW 149]

DCF (Direct Consular Filing) cases do not go through the NVC. It would go directly from the USCIS office you filed with (either Beijing or Guangzhou) to the Consulate at Guangzhou.

DCF cases have been known to go through in less than a month from I-130 filing to interview.

You apparently filed your petition stateside, not DCF.

[Penguin_ie 5,985]

Op, can you clarify if you sent your case to the US embassy in China, or to a lockbox state side? The resulting visa is the same, but the process is very different.

In general, the I-130 "stays approved"; as long as you stay in touch with NVC or the embassy at leats once a year, it will be kept open and you can resume the process when you are ready.

[Shanghai904 0]

Op, can you clarify if you sent your case to the US embassy in China, or to a lockbox state side? The resulting visa is the same, but the process is very different.

In general, the I-130 "stays approved"; as long as you stay in touch with NVC or the embassy at leats once a year, it will be kept open and you can resume the process when you are ready.

Thanks for the response. We sent our case to a lockbox stateside. How is the process different?

[Penguin_ie 5,985]

If you file DCF, everything is handled by the embassy; they tend to have their own policies, often unwritten, of what is acceptable and what is not. The process is also much faster (I got ours done in 6 weeks, though that is unusual even for DCF).

Since you are going through the US lockbox, most of the process will be handled by USCIS and NVC in the USA, until it is time for the medical and interview in China. Their policies are more streamlined, which can be good or bad. It also takes a lot longer (an average of about 14 months right now), which may actually be a good thing in your case.

[loesch 3]

Penguin_ie, can you help by clarifying a DCF question? We got our I-130 approval from the Frankfurt office a week ago but we're confused about what to do now. They wrote:

USCIS forwarded the approved petition to the Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany.... The Consular Section...will contact the beneficiary and provide instructions about applying for a visa.

So now are we simply waiting for something in the mail (or email?) addressed to my husband, with the next steps? Should this come fairly soon? Thanks!!

Edited September 29, 2016 by loesch

[Penguin_ie 5,985]

Yes it sounds like you need to wait.

You might check the embassy website, they may have the process outlined there (each DCF process is a bit different), or a list of doctors authorised to do medicals if you want to book that etc.

[loesch 3]

You're right, I did find more info on the embassy site.