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T_Kuilderd

Filing I-130 with consulate with special circumstances

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Hi everyone,

I hope i am doing the right thing here and hope someone can give me advice.

I am a US citizen. I have been in Holland for almost 3 years in a relationship. Last month we were married. We need to relocate to the US in order to help my family. My father was diagnosed with Lung cancer last year but the surgery to remove it was unsuccessful. After treatment the cancer is stable and has not spread or grown (thats the good news). My father finds he can no longer run his business without being worn out. He has asked my husband to come and help him.

I looked online and saw the wait time for a VISA is 5 months. For me that is too long, im not sure how long the cancer will remain the same and how long he will be able to teach my husband what he needs to know. So, in my research i have found there are special circumstances where you can file through the consulate, im not sure if its faster but im thinking it is.

I sent them an e-mail last month about my circumstances and they called me the same day. they need more information on everything. OK after a month of waiting i get a letter from the doctor that my dad has cancer and i get a letter from my dad saying he needs help with his business. That i e-mailed yesterday to the consulate.(There is no USCIS office in the Netherlands)

I guess my question is: was that the best route? Is there a faster way to do everything? Does anyone know how long it takes for this? I have spoken to an attorney but he says if i file direct with the consulate they cannot help me with it so i know im on my own here. I guess im getting a little nervous that i wont do it right and have to wait longer.

Any advice is helpful

T Kuilderd

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Poland
Timeline

1. You can't file through consulate since there is no USCIS field office in Netherlands, however spousal visa filing from USCIS residing abroad had apparently been treated with priority. What you need to start with is file I-130 through Chicago lockbox - sooner you do it, sooner you'll get the visa. Don't wait for a response from consulate. Wait for visa is more like 10 months - 5 months is waiting just for petition to be approved (but it may be shorter in your case) at the USCIS - then it goes to NVC and then to embassy.

2. You may try to request expedite on medical grounds but it's probably unlikely you will be granted - you are free to leave to join your father in US at anytime. Teaching husband how to run business has very low chance to be accepted as a reason to expedite.

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1. You can't file through consulate since there is no USCIS field office in Netherlands, however spousal visa filing from USCIS residing abroad had apparently been treated with priority. What you need to start with is file I-130 through Chicago lockbox - sooner you do it, sooner you'll get the visa. Don't wait for a response from consulate. Wait for visa is more like 10 months - 5 months is waiting just for petition to be approved (but it may be shorter in your case) at the USCIS - then it goes to NVC and then to embassy.

2. You may try to request expedite on medical grounds but it's probably unlikely you will be granted - you are free to leave to join your father in US at anytime. Teaching husband how to run business has very low chance to be accepted as a reason to expedite.

I first e-mailed the consulate here a month ago, they forwarded the e-mail to USCIS in the US. They have requested more information before telling me if i can file with the embassy here in Amsterdam. I am hoping this goes forward. I am hoping someone else has experience with this since the rules have changed for filing directly with the embassy.

I do know since they have asked for more information that they are considering my circumstances and whether or not to allow me to file in Amsterdam.

Thanks for any advice!

T Kuilderd

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Ireland
Timeline

It is extremely unlikely they will allow it- I have not seen it allowed other than in special circumstances involving members of US military. And, frankly, you are loosing time. You could be half way through the process now if you'd just filed via the Chicago lockbox.

Bye: Penguin

Me: Irish/ Swiss citizen, and now naturalised US citizen. Husband: USC; twin babies born Feb 08 in Ireland and a daughter in Feb 2010 in Arkansas who are all joint Irish/ USC. Did DCF (IR1) in 6 weeks via the Dublin, Ireland embassy and now living in Arkansas.

mod penguin.jpg

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Filed: Timeline

Have just posted a similar question, however not with the medical urgency. When I contacted the Brussels consulate, they said that their experience of how quickly this (ex-pat) type of approval took place was from 3-5 months. I was a bit surprised, which is why I've asked the same question for others that have gone through this process - via the Chicago lockbox for foreigners.

Am interested in seeing responses to your thread. Sorry to hear about your father's condition, it's always tough being far away from family during difficult times.

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Yesterday i sent the e-mail with the documents they requested. Today i called the USCIS and they said for me to call the embassy tomorrow and see what they say. At this point i am playing wait and see with this but i will try to keep posting with information on this process no matter which way the decision goes. In future maybe someone will be able to learn something useful from it.

process thus far:

20/8/2012- e-mailed embassy for special circumstances filing

20/8/2012- recieved e-mail from embassy to call them:

In this call i was informed my e-mail will be forwarded to USCIS in the US for consideration.

21/8/2012- recieved e-mail requesting additional documents concerning my request but nothing specific; called embassy and was told the person i need to talk to is in a meeting but he would call me back; also sent an e-mail to embassy requesting verification of what sort of documents they need.

22/8/2012- had recieved no response from the embassy so i tried to call again 3- 4 times, cant get through

23/8/2012- tried to call embassy again with no response

24/8/2012- called the US and gave my family a list of what to send, just guessing since i had no response from the embassy.

17/9/2012- finally got a letter from the doctor outlining my fathers illness.

18/9/2012- sent all information to the embassy to be forwarded to USCIS

19/9/2012- tried to call the embassy since i have not recieved a e-mail confirmation of reciept and called USCIS to see what i can learn from them. They told me to try the embassy again tomorrow.

This is where i am with this and hopefully i will learn more tomorrow.

T Kuilderd

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I called the embassy today, finally got through. They have my e-mail and have forwarded it to the Department of Homeland Security? This is new. I will keep you posted on this.

T Kuilderd

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Called the embassy again today and the lady was very understanding and said that the e-mail is in Frankfurt for final decision. Frankfurt i believe is the closest field office to us here in The Netherlands. She said that she would talk to the person who was working on it and see what she could find out and send me an e-mail. Keeping our fingers crossed now.

T Kuilderd

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