Hi everyone,

my spouse (USC) and I (German citizen) were planning to file the I-130 at the Calgary consulate here in Canada. DCF is supposed to be the fastest route, however, since everything goes through Montreal the I-130 approval may be fast but the wait times for interviews seem to be very long. We'd love to file an I-129 as well and keep the K-3 option open. Do you receive an NOA when doing consular filing?
As I understand, this NOA1 is necessary to file the I-129F. Also, I heard someone mention that we won't be able to track anything online when doing DCF. Correct?

Thanks in advance,
Krazykraut

Krazy,
The NOA1 is not necessary to file the I129F, just proof that you have a pending I130. This could be the receipt notice (NOA1) if you get one, a cashed check with file number/case number stamped on it, or something else that definitively proves you have filed the I130.

K-3 is not an option when filing DCF because you are dealing with the consulate not USCIS for the visa and no NOA1 for the I-130 is generated, DCF results directly in a CR-1 or IR-1 visa, which is way better than the K-3 anyway.

CR-1/IR-1 results in an immediate green-card, K-3 has to file AOS and perhaps wait months to a year or more for the green-card.

Thanks,

we will probably file the I-130 with the USCIS VSC then, this way we can have both processes running.

- Krazykraut

are you both considered permanent residents of Canada? if not, the DCF discussion is a moot point.

I'm here on a work permit, with the PR expected anytime soon (had the medical 4 wks ago). Spouse is on open work permit (tied to mine), so I believe that is good enough for residency requirements. SIN card, her name on the lease and provincial health card should help to prove that.
Has anyone here been turned down at the consulate because of this?

Krazykraut

With the increased fees coming up, being able to file a I-130 directly at a Canadian consulate right now and foregoing the K3 (even with the longer wait for interview) certainly seems to me to have a lot of advantages.

I don't know the details of the delays in Montreal. Is it just the CR1/IR1 interviews that are taking so long? It seems that if they're taking a long time to get, the K3 visa interview would also take longer than usual to get. And then with the time saved on getting the I-130 approval, I don't think you'd be in America any faster with a K3 and you'd certainly save money with DCF.

EDIT - Another thing - the money saved isn't just on the fees. It's also in your spouse being able to work right away rather than having to wait roughly 3 months for work authorisation after filing for adjustment of status.

Correct, filing at the consulate DCF, and going for the CR-1 visa saves big bucks, filing the I-129F for K-3 will cost more starting July 30, and then if you do adjust status from the K-3 the fee will be $1010 starting July 30. The consulate fee for the CR-1 is around $380, and no adjusting status to do.