My emotions have run from being extremely encouraged to that of hopelessness since the end of DCF. Extremely encouraged with reading all these recent rumors that DCF was coming back (albeit with one change and a few extra processing days but with its essence intact) to being totally hopeless that it will never come back and that all of us who were hoping to file are just waiting and wasting time for something that will never come back.

I wouldn't mind filing the I-130 with the California USCIS as it's my home state. However, I've held off on doing this because I still see notices that if filing from Europe, I should send it off to Vermont. I mean, what gives? I came across someone's timeline where the couple filed for DCF with the Irish embassy in early 2006 and the whole process took about 79 days from filing the I-130 to getting the immigrant visa! That was what I was looking forward to before our interview for last Monday got cancelled.

If only I had a magic ball with a definite date if/when DCF is coming back, then I can gauge my time and perhaps hold off. But since there's nothing definite, I'm also tempted to give up and file with the CA USCIS (or Vermont?)

I mean, DCF may not be brought back for another 6-8 months. If I file now with the CA (Vermont?) USCIS, then chances are my husband might have his visa by then instead of starting the process at a much later time (wasting 6-8 months that we could spend finally home in the US).

Am I making sense? I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated and need to vent. I was really counting on this as I'm sure a lot of people were. I don't mean to act like a spoiled demanding brat but I don't like to waste time either.

I think a few people have sent their I-130 petitions back to the States in accordance with the new law. I would greatly appreciate it if you keep us updated with your applications' progress.

Thanks for listening.

Don't apologize, I know exactly how you feel.

Our interview was canceled a week before our wedding, while my husband was on his way here. We had our wedding,. then he had to leave a few days later and I was supposed to be going with him

I think taking a while to hear news on the DCF front isn't a bad thing. It suggests to me that they're actually working out details so the process can work properly again. If it was a no, I'm assuming they would've just said no and that would've been done already.

Dont give up hope just yet. Every piece of news so far has been positive.

I'm definitely on the verge of completely breaking and giving up waiting as well, but my husband assures me that waiting a little longer is worth it and that the right decision will be made for us

I know how you feel. In my case, the US embassy in Tokyo does not have a USCIS office (the closest one is in Korea). So even if the involved government agencies (USCIS, DOS) are in discussions about how to implement any new procedures, our government works very slow. In light of this I decided to go ahead and fedex my petition to CA instead of waiting 6-8 months for them to get their act together. I really feel for those who got stuck in the middle, trusting their local embassy/consulate to send their pending package to USCIS, and then wondering if it's being processed or if it's just sitting in box that's with a stack of more boxes from around the world. It's quite possible that individually sent petitions could get processed before they get to sorting out all those boxes. This is such a big scew-up on our government's part. They are playing with peoples' livelihoods, placing a severe hardship on innocent families. Punish the 99% of our good people in order to stop the 1% of the bad people from doing something bad.

I can certainly relate. I'm fighting against the clock here. I had my wedding/trip planned back when DCF was still an option. I'm getting married on Sunday Feb. 18 and had an appointment to file my I-130 with the Kyiv Embassy on Feb. 22. I already took more vacation time then I was really able to on account of my boss being understanding of my situation. That said, it's almost impossible for me to get more time off, so unless DCF comes back in the next couple days and I'm able to get my original appointment time from the Kyiv embassy, I'm out of luck. I wish they would just start accepting the I-130s again since almost everyone can see this is a good thing. They can sort out some of the finer points later and let people know there will be some delays for these background checks but that it should still be much quicker than filing through the USCIS in the USA. Please get a move on folks! There are so many of us that are just on pins and needles here wanting to be with our loved ones!

Well I'm one of those few that have sent their applications to the US.3 days after our wedding day 01/21/07, we were told about the new regulations,on the next day my husband had to fly back to the States.we didn't know there was a chance of DCF coming back,so we filed at VSC,we sent the package on 02/06/07,NOA1 date-02/08/07,next week we are filing for a K3 as well.

We thought that if DCF is back we can withdraw our I-130 from VSC and then file through DCF in Sofia,but they said it's impossible.So it seems that we've made our choice without knowing we are taking an important decision
I still hope for all of you gyus that you get together with your families pretty soon!

Aneta, thats terrible.
Im sure its not impossible. My husband spoke to USCIS in America after wed decided to get married, to see how wed go about withdrawing our Fiance visa. There was a way to do it, though Im not sure what that was. (Ill ask him).
If you change your mind about a visa, Im sure they couldnt prevent you from withdrawing your application.

Aneta, I am on the verge of filing the I-130 stateside as well. Elle, in these forums, has two I-130s going on if I recall correctly. She actually had the stateside I-130 going on for a while but then applied via DCF just before the change. She has two in the pipeline now. Sydney accepted her DCF at the time though after she told them that she had another I-130 pending.

I'm going to file the I-130 in the next day or so (Vermont Service Center). Should the DCF option come back, I'm going to ask the Sydney Consulate if I can file when I visit my wife in April. Worst case is I have to follow the stateside IR-1/K-3 path.

Good luck with your journey!

(<--- Hannah07's husband)

USCIS told me to send back the RFE we had received with a signed letter stating that I wanted to withdraw my petition. Shouldn't take much.

Thanks a lot guys ! Now I feel a lot better!Although I am not sure if we are going to withdraw our application-even if DCF is back(which nobody knows when is gonna happen) the new process is not going to take less than a mounth and a half,besides-my husband has to come back to Bulgaria...it's getting too complicated
When I read the processing times for a K3 visa filed at VSC it says-30 days for approval,which would be great if it comes to happen and I would be there round mid May(how I wish it could happen!!!)
I don't know,maybe if we don't get an approval till end of March or mid April we are gonna go for a DCF as well,this is also an option.

Whatever you do you always take some kind of risk

We should be positive!!!

Hello everybody,
im new here but i came across this web-site while i was
feverishly looking for some information about the new law
and what should we do now. My finace and I are looking for
answers everywhere
Does anybody know whether it is better to get married
in the states with K1 visa and then apply for readjustment of status
or do it here and then file the I 130 form from the states(cause obviously
we can't do it from Sofia now:( )and then file for K3?
In which way u get your status earlier?
And my other question was
about those work authorizations-does anybody know how
long it takes to get one?
Please if somebody can help me, I would be really grateful...
We are so confused about all those changes and timelines....
It looks as if it takes forever in the US to get all those permissions and satuses...
and we have to start working on the K1 visa if that is the better option...
If anybody can help us please, we'd really appreciate it.
Thank you in advance(Blagodarq)