I'm looking for informaiton about DCF process. We have already filed the I-129F in pursuit fo a K1. I am an American expat living and working in Baghdad. My fiancee is in Odessa, Ukraine. Our original plan was to be married in the U.S. next June when I de-mobe and we return to the States. Yesterday she tells me that she is thinking that it would be better if we go ahead and marry in Odessa this summer. Works for me The only question is, what are the pitfalls in the whole visa process. The DCF would have to be done in Kiev. Is this doable with only her living in Ukraine and me living in Iraq? Is it immigration attorney time?

I preface my response with noting that I have no idea how DCF works in Kiev. Each Embassy has their own procedures. I did my DCF at the Embassy in Tokyo.

That being said, DCF appears to be the best option in these cases. In my case, I filed from the US while she was still in Japan, got fed up with how long it was taking, flew to Japan for the DCF and she was in the states less than 3 months later. I highly recommend DCF if your circumstances allow. If you want further information about the process we went through, let me know.

Kiev is still very non-resident USC DCF friendly. If I were in your shoes, I would start a contact with Kiev and make sure you've got the all-clear before signing a marriage certificate, but your new plan sounds fun, and nicer for your fiancee.
An attorney does give you a stable mailing address. For me, it would depend on how friendly/helpful Kiev is going to be. Study their immigrant visa instructions closely to look for pitfalls, but I think their I-130 process is straight forward.
Stay aware of how much time it will take to get married in Ukraine.

My wife and I are on the final stretch of our CR-1 for her. The US Embassey part has been very easy. The staff at the US Embassy in Kiev are SUPER! The real issue is the Ukraine government. It take FOREVER to get all of the proper paperwork from them. Unfortunatly, you will need to go through all of this no matter how you go about getting her to the US.

Now that being said getting married in Odessa is AWESOME! The marriage takes place in modified Soviet style. You line up with your wedding party at the scheduled time and wait for the party in front of you to finish. Soon enough it is your turn. The neat part is that you get to come out of the building and be in beautiful downtown Odessa. Literally right in front of the Opera House and the Black Sea. You really can't have a more beautiful spot for wedding pictures. Then depending on your choices you might go to one of the beautiful Othodox Churches for a religious ceremony. I am not Christian so we did not do this option, but I have attened several. Beautifully done!

Another advantage is that her family will be able to be involved. In my mind that is SO important as their is not much chance that they would be able to come to a wedding in the US. However it is not that big of a deal to get your family to Odessa. There are several flights and it is a fun city to be in. And the food!!! Best in the world!!! I just got back to the US after spending 3 weeks with her and my family. We had a great time. We got a translator for my family when they needed one. It was only $5.00 per hour. Once they figured out the city though they were able to go out and about on their own fairly easily.

If you have any question please ask! I have become quite the expert on Ukraine. ;-)

Joel

hi Joel--great story about the weddings!

Did you file your I-130 in Kiev directly, or in the US? If you filed abroad, we'd love to have your story posted for the benefit of future filers! (please please please )

We went to the US Embassy in Kiev directly. We called to get an appointment as they no longer do drop-ins. Katya and I went together. I dropped off both the I-130 and the I-864 Support documents. There was no line and no other people there. I guess I just happened to be lucky. It was kind of interesting because they did a mini interview with both of us. Asked us both questions about how we meet and how the wedding went. They approved it of course and gave us a case number and CR-1 packet right there. In theory we could have made and appointment for some time 3 weeks later for the final interview, except that Katya did not have an international passport with her new last name. The US Embassy said that she would need that before they would make time for us. That is the rough part because Ukraine takes 60+ days to get that done. And there is no expedite process with an extra fee like we have in the US. So...once again we are waiting on the Ukraine government.

I do have to say that based on my experience going to the Kiev embassy is the way to go for expediency...at least it has been so far. We will see what the final interview is like.

Joel

Excellent! And just to confirm, no specific residency requirement for the USC? You do not live abroad/haven't spent extra time there?

I'm so glad to hear this worked out so well for you.

[quote name='meauxna' post='258340' date='Jun 18 2006, 08:26 AM']
hi Joel--great story about the weddings!


[/quote]

Excellent! And just to confirm, no specific residency requirement for the USC? You do not live abroad/haven't spent extra time there?

I'm so glad to hear this worked out so well for you.
[/quote]

Actually...You know...I didn't ask about residency requirements. I live in Phoenix, Arizona and that was what was listed on all of my paperwork so there would not be an issue with me. I do know that to be able to file with the US Embassy in Kiev directly the I-130 petition needs to come from a UCS AND the Ukrainian national needs to be a resident of Ukriane at the time of filing. PRs of the US need to file with their proper office in the US. If the Ukrainian national lives somewhere other then Ukraine you will need to file stateside as well.

Joel