My husband and I live in Israel and becuase of a recent trip to the US my 6 month period to qualify for DCF is void. (I was under the impression that as long as you have Temp. Res., or at least 6 months in the country you could qualify........I was stupid and wrong, but the trip was VERY important, not leisure.) But at least I have EVERY form and photo ready.

We are having a baby in June and we're really hoping to move to the states by December. But since we cannot start the process right away from here, should we send everything off to the states, or are we better off waiting until August to file from here??? Which would end up taking longer?

I am so stressed and considering the baby is coming so soon, this is the LAST thing I want, or need to be doing, but we need help............this entire process makes me nervous and confuses me.......

Thanks for any help!!!

Did you contact the consulate and ask them exactly what is the requirement to file? It is usually a type of PR visa not necessarily a strict amount of time.

haha, actually, I went there with all my papers and everything, ready to file.........and it was then that they told me it had to be a consecutive 6 month period before I could file................what should I do??

Wait six months.

It is up to you really. At this point, not knowing what the processing times are once the period is up, it might be better to file from the US. Hard to say. Depends on how much you care about staying in Israel vs. coming back to the US.

I would try checking some timelines for Israel, what is the time to interview for DCF, did the consulate give you any indication of what the processing times are there?

To file with USCIS directly it took us 11 months, from filing to interview in Montreal (took 2 months from completion at NVC to interview date).

I suppose it would be better for us to wait the remaining 4 months (August), and file it from here. Don't want to risk the papers getting lost and all of that.

Thanks a lot for your help!

The very RUDE man at the consulate told me that it would only be 2-4 months. Apparently the load is quite small....but I can imagine it growing larger very soon as the we are no longer able to file at the Tel Aviv Embassy, and we can only file at the Jerusalem consulate................yikes.

If you only need to wait four months to be eligible to file, I would wait the four months and do DCF. It may be close to equal visa dates either way but there are fewer variables and hands to pass through but doing DCF.

I agree with others who say wait and do DCF. One, you are pregnant, and I can imagine you would want your husband with you the whole time if possible! Two, if you have all the necessary documents, etc. lined up early you can usually speed your process along quite quickly.

Do all your research for the Consular processes now, do your research for the time-frames for things like obtaining Police Certs now and then when you submit your I-130 in August and it is approved, you can turn around immediately with your DS 230 and any other requirements for the Israeli Embassy and get that interview fast! Good luck with this process and with your future little one!

Keep us posted on your progress!

Thank you very much for your response...............We have decided to just wait it out and in the meantime......prepare as much as humanly possible!!!!

While we are waiting I am going to change my name in my passport............

Oh, what are the guidelines to obtaining the police records and health reports?? Are we able to do that now, or in the following month?? That would be a great thing to do............and we are going to get moving on this affidavit of support..........which i am so nervous about.....it just seems like such a pain!!!

Thanks again for your help and suggestions, let me know if you think of anything else!!!

Have you contacted the senior consulate at the embassy? It seems absolutely absurd that a temp trip outside should disqualify you from DCF. When we filed we had been in and out all over the place. i really think someone is interpreting this incorrectly. would someone be disqualified for going on a weekend holiday to a different country? Seems like the same difference. Look closely at the FAM and i bet you can find something to invalidate the consular comment you received.

BEST OF LUCK!!!

We did acutally wait around an extra hour just to speak with him and he made it EXTREMELY clear that becuase I went to the states I could not file for another 6 months. He said "why didnt you file there, its like youre trying to take advantage of filing overseas because it is faster"..........uhhhh, YEAH, like its THAT much easier!!!!! I am so tired of all of the bureaucracy! Nothing is personal these days........everything is by the book, and I understand why, but it is just a bit depressing.

Yeah, I agree, that is really odd... I don't remember anyone even looking at my passport (except security to get in and maybe the bio page), definitely not looking at any of the stamps, etc. once they saw my resident permit, etc. from the Indian govt. Hmm... every Consulate/Embassy is different I guess...

You might want to further investigate the embassy website in Israel, send an email, make a phone call, etc. Where is the USCIS office in Israel? That is where we had to file our I-130, not sure how it works there. Keep digging, you might get a different answer if you try again!

Indeed sister, nothing is personal anymore. and these folks, who sometimes are overworked, are also quite rude (some of them). Hang in there and file when you are eligible. We'll be here for you, every step of the insane way!!!!