Can/Am Maried Couple

[Stephen&Kim 1]

So I'm not sure where to start so thought this was a good place!

My husband, a US Citizen now a Canadian PR, and I have been married for almost 6 years. I am a Canadian, I have one child from a previous marriage and we have one child together. We want to move back to the US to be closer to his family, he has a huge family network mine is extremely small. We want to go ASAP and need help deciding on the best method to do this. It seems like it's taking a long time for DCF but i'm not sure that we can file at a USCIS office in the US. Can we go to the US and apply and then he can find a job and get established? Not sure what the time frames are or how to go about it.

Any help would be appreciated!

[Christi85 86]

Ok, sounds like you have it a little backwards. DCF is actually quicker than filing directly with USCIS. Direct Consular Filing usually takes approximately 6 months, which can be anything from 2 to 6 months quicker than a petition to USCIS (start to finish). It may not be such huge a difference in timelines, but it's extremely unlikely that DCF will take longer than filing in the US, even if it's just a small difference of 2 months or so. Filing with USCIS takes 8-12 months for most people start to finish.

Your husband being a PR in Canada, he should have no problem being accepted for DCF at your local Consulate.

Now, filing with USCIS: you don't have to be in the US to file. You can file from Canada if you want to and your husband can either: a)stay in Canada until the whole process is completed - in which case he will need to show evidence of intent to move back to the States for the purposes of the affidavit of support (I-864), and possibly line up a US co-sponsor or claim assets if he doesn't have a US source of income, or, b) move back to Canada at any point during the process to establish US domicile and possibly look for a job there.

The exact same goes for DCF though - he can either stay with you in Canada till the end of the process, or move back ahead of you. Note: for DCF, he needs to stay in Canada until your I-130 petition is approved. From that point onwards, he can move to the States.

If I was you, I'd do DCF. It's quicker, sounds like you have the right to do it, and although it has its hoops too, it's generally more straightforward than filing with USCIS.

[Stephen&Kim 1]

Thank you Christi85! That clarified things for me a lot!

Ok, sounds like you have it a little backwards. DCF is actually quicker than filing directly with USCIS. Direct Consular Filing usually takes approximately 6 months, which can be anything from 2 to 6 months quicker than a petition to USCIS (start to finish). It may not be such huge a difference in timelines, but it's extremely unlikely that DCF will take longer than filing in the US, even if it's just a small difference of 2 months or so. Filing with USCIS takes 8-12 months for most people start to finish.

Your husband being a PR in Canada, he should have no problem being accepted for DCF at your local Consulate.

Now, filing with USCIS: you don't have to be in the US to file. You can file from Canada if you want to and your husband can either: a)stay in Canada until the whole process is completed - in which case he will need to show evidence of intent to move back to the States for the purposes of the affidavit of support (I-864), and possibly line up a US co-sponsor or claim assets if he doesn't have a US source of income, or, b) move back to Canada at any point during the process to establish US domicile and possibly look for a job there.

The exact same goes for DCF though - he can either stay with you in Canada till the end of the process, or move back ahead of you. Note: for DCF, he needs to stay in Canada until your I-130 petition is approved. From that point onwards, he can move to the States.

If I was you, I'd do DCF. It's quicker, sounds like you have the right to do it, and although it has its hoops too, it's generally more straightforward than filing with USCIS.

[birdnerd 5]

Ok, sounds like you have it a little backwards. DCF is actually quicker than filing directly with USCIS. Direct Consular Filing usually takes approximately 6 months, which can be anything from 2 to 6 months quicker than a petition to USCIS (start to finish). It may not be such huge a difference in timelines, but it's extremely unlikely that DCF will take longer than filing in the US, even if it's just a small difference of 2 months or so. Filing with USCIS takes 8-12 months for most people start to finish.

Your husband being a PR in Canada, he should have no problem being accepted for DCF at your local Consulate.

If I was you, I'd do DCF. It's quicker, sounds like you have the right to do it, and although it has its hoops too, it's generally more straightforward than filing with USCIS.

Actually, for Canada, it has become evident that this is not the case, for reasons that have not been satisfactorily addressed. DCF is taking as long and sometimes longer than people filing with USCIS/NVC.

Edited July 29, 2010 by birdnerd

[Stephen&Kim 1]

Can we file the other way? Meaning submit through the USCIS for where we are going?

Actually, for Canada, it has become evident that this is not the case, for reasons that have not been satisfactorily addressed. DCF is taking as long and sometimes longer than people filing with USCIS/NVC.

[birdnerd 5]

Can we file the other way? Meaning submit through the USCIS for where we are going?

If you have been living in Canada legally (work visa, permanent resident, etc.) for 6 months, you have the option of filing DCF at your local consulate, or with the Chicago Lockbox. I really can't suggest one over the other. USCIS/NVC is certainly a more transparent process, however you at least know that NVC will schedule your interview eventually (usually around the 90th day), but with DCF we are waiting for the Montreal consulate to schedule us, which doesn't seem to be happening.

Edited August 1, 2010 by birdnerd

[Stephen&Kim 1]

When you say NVC schedules the interview around the "90th day" do you mean they schedule the interview with Montreal around this time? Not necessarily that the interview takes place around the 90th day? If they are scheduling interviews in that time frame and the USCIS site says their processing times are 5 months, it seems to me like that may be the quicker way?

quote name='birdnerd' timestamp='1280677244' post='4102503']

If you have been living in Canada legally (work visa, permanent resident, etc.) for 6 months, you have the option of filing DCF at your local consulate, or with the Chicago Lockbox. I really can't suggest one over the other. USCIS/NVC is certainly a more transparent process, however you at least know that NVC will schedule your interview eventually (usually around the 90th day), but with DCF we are waiting for the Montreal consulate to schedule us, which doesn't seem to be happening.

[birdnerd 5]

When you say NVC schedules the interview around the "90th day" do you mean they schedule the interview with Montreal around this time? Not necessarily that the interview takes place around the 90th day? If they are scheduling interviews in that time frame and the USCIS site says their processing times are 5 months, it seems to me like that may be the quicker way?

If you have been living in Canada legally (work visa, permanent resident, etc.) for 6 months, you have the option of filing DCF at your local consulate, or with the Chicago Lockbox. I really can't suggest one over the other. USCIS/NVC is certainly a more transparent process, however you at least know that NVC will schedule your interview eventually (usually around the 90th day), but with DCF we are waiting for the Montreal consulate to schedule us, which doesn't seem to be happening.

It's quite hard to tell. There are several stages in the process which can take variable amounts of time.

I-130 goes to USCIS, their 'max' wait time is around 5 months (although most are approved more quickly)

Approved petition gets sent to NVC, to whom you send all your original documents, I-864, etc. This can take as little as a few weeks, or up to a few months.

Lastly the application is forwarded to Montreal, and NVC gives Montreal their interview schedule. Right now, this scheduling seems to be happening around the 90th day after 'case complete at NVC', but the interviews are usually scheduled for two months later.

I suggest you weigh your options, have a look at our DCF thread, and the Canadian IR-1 interview thread, and then decide.