Hello,

My wife and I were just recently married outside of the US. We have been living on and off in the Czech Republic for some time now, but are now ready so settle down more permanently. I have recently been accepted into a graduate program in the United States, and it seems like that's the best route for us to take at this point in our lives. However . . .

In order to get her (non US citizen) to the United States, I understand the process as follows:

1) application with the I-130 form
2) if approved, the paperwork is prepared for the local consulate
3) the alien will be invited for an interview at the embassy
4) if approved, the alien is given 6 months to enter the United States

I also understand that in order to apply for the I-130 from abroad (which is where we both currently are), there is a 6 month residency abroad minimum - herein lies the problem. We were married on 26 April of this year, but I only received my residence visa on 3 June (surprisingly fast actually). We would like to move in December (or early January at the latest), but that will be the 6 month minimum, not granting enough time to get everything done before the move. Does anyone know any way to apply for the I-130 before this date? My details are as follows:

-multiple entrance/exit visas all the way back to August 2003
-two long-term residence visas from 2005 and 2006 respectively
-a tourist extension visa from April of this year (when I was granted extra time to maintain legal status between the expiration of my tourist visa and our wedding date)
-a Schengen, type "D" visa from May 2008 (Schengen visas replaced the long-term visas mentioned above)
-my wife has a US tourist visa from 2006 which contains the note "TO ACCOMPANY BENJAMIN BENNETT" (me) in the Annotation section (she was given the visa on the basis of our engagement)

It seems to me that there is sufficient evidence that I've lived here before, but of course that doesn't necessarily change the rules. Any suggestions are more than welcome.

Thanks.

First, find out whether you are qualified to do a DCF with the US consulate in Czech, that's the fastest route.
Different US consulate in different country has different rules, so your best source is to call or email the consulate in Czech to find out whether you are qualified to do DCF.

You don't have to be present after you have submitted the I-130 petition, you can leave and your wife can stay on and leave later if you are running out of time.

DCF can save you from dealing with USCIS service centers and the quickest route to get your spouse to America.

Leah

My local consulate told me that I should fill out and submit the forms and then they would tell me if they considered me qualified to Direct File.

List all your conditions and send them an email inquiry?

I don't know about consulate in where you are. The one in my country is very quick in replying emails and any sort of visa related inquiries.


Leah

Thanks, everybody. I emailed the consulate at the beginning of the week regarding my situation, but have yet to hear back from them. They're not extremely fast at responding, but in my experience have at least done so 100% of the time.

I'll post the reply here if anyone's interested.

i was in the same boat as you. I had lived in Colombia for 8 months, but was not a resident until April 2008... We were married in January 2008. Put in for DCF and was turned down.. By your timeline of being a resident since June 3, the soonest you can use DCF is Dec 3, 2008. Sorry to give you the bad news. I have had to leave my wife and kids behind and return to the USA. I filed thru Chicago for I-130. Play the waiting game.

i read about some one in india filing in less then 3 months (69 days if i remember correctly)...never hurts to try and you may get lucky. I was in india 89 days and thought it wasnt long enough and didnt try.