In a hurry (but aren't we all...)

[UncleBeer 244]

My job here in the Netherlands has been cut by 50% due to government cuts, but I've got a great opportunity in the States lined up starting in August that I really can't pass up. I'm American, and I plan to take my NL-passport wife (of 6 years) her son, and our son along. I've recently filed the I-130 and received notice it's been sent to the Nebraska center. From reading here though, I see there's not any type of credible chance their green cards would be approved by August. Two questions:

- Is it likely that an immigration lawyer would be able to speed things up? I assume they'd be going through exactly the same procedures described in great detail here at VJ. A shame to waste money on a lawyer if it's to no real benefit. And

- What in the hell is going on in the US that an expat should have to wait for (from what I read here) 12-18 months for permission to move his family back to the US? That's whack.

Thanks for any help re: possible advantage of a lawyer.

[kzielu 1,149]

Lawyer will not help at all - assuming you file all the forms correctly.

[Collie 122]

A lawyer has no control over the speed of your process. Save yourself some money and just file yourself.

[DutchmansLady 216]

Hi...may I ask how you were able to file DCF? Did Amsterdam allow DCF or did you do it some other way.We wanted to file DCF and was told that Amsterdam doesnt allow it and that Frankfurt Germany requires that you are resident there for 6 months or more.

Hope it all goes smoothly for you :-)

You timeline states you filed DCF

Edited February 24, 2014 by AmeriDutch

[BOS_LHR 829]

I agree with the above posters and would like to add that in some cases a lawyer may slow you down -- classic middleman scenario. If you can file the forms accurately yourself, there's absolutely nothing a lawyer can do for you to make it go faster.

[UncleBeer 244]

You timeline states you filed DCF

As far as I see, my timeline says the paperwork's currently at the Nebraska center, but also reflects that the Consulate in Amsterdam will also be involved at some point. Nothing special here...

So: I guess my only option is to bring the wife and stepchild over for 3 month visits 'til the US gubmint deigns to grant permission for us to be together permanently?

[BOS_LHR 829]

So: I guess my only option is to bring the wife and stepchild over for 3 month visits 'til the US gubmint deigns to grant permission for us to be together permanently?

You can definitely bring them over for visits, but it's up to the discretion of the customs officer when they arrive whether to let them in the country. Your wife will need to have proof of ties to home to demonstrate she's planning to leave and won't overstay her allowed visit. A series of 3 months visits back to back will be a red flag, as it would be interpreted as your family improperly using tourist visas to live in the US, so you'd need to space those visits out. There's also a cap on the amount of time that can be spent in the US on a tourist visa during a 365 day period, I believe it's 180 days.

[UncleBeer 244]

And from what I read here, the K3 & K4 visas may take longer than the I-130 to get approved. Far easier to just swim the Rio Grande . . .

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

We are all in a hurry with the exception of the USCIS and NVC apparently.

If you have a simple case (no criminal record involved etc) no point in hiring a lawyer to help as it's just throwing money away.

[gabeRao 43]

We are all in a hurry with the exception of the USCIS and NVC apparently.

The NVC is not in a hurry.. and.. afraid of snow apparently.

In frigging New Hampshire

*the more you know*

[lost_at_sea 995]

As far as I see, my timeline says the paperwork's currently at the Nebraska center, but also reflects that the Consulate in Amsterdam will also be involved at some point. Nothing special here...

I think you've confused folks because you've selected DCF on your timeline. DCF means that you've filed the I-130 direct with the local consulate. You haven't. DCF is only available in a very tiny number of locations (NL not being one of them).

Everyone filing I-130 abroad, whether it goes to the USA or your local consulate, eventually deals with their local consulate post I-130 approval. You should set it as regular IR/CR-1 timeline (without the DCF) to have your data entered into the correct section (leaving it in the wrong section will skew the results for other people). It's the timeline data that allows VJ to make predictions and estimations on when folks can anticipate getting their petition approval.

Does that make sense?

Edited February 24, 2014 by lost_at_sea

[UncleBeer 244]

I think you've confused folks because you've selected DCF on your timeline.

FYI: the sequence of letters "DCF" appears nowhere on the timeline entry page. If it appears I've entered it that way, it's because the admins have created some sort of shortcut. Here's a screenshot of what's available and pertinent on the timeline entry page:

[BOS_LHR 829]

FYI: the sequence of letters "DCF" appears nowhere on the timeline entry page. If it appears I've entered it that way, it's because the admins have created some sort of shortcut. Here's a screenshot of what's available and pertinent on the timeline entry page:

VJ.jpg

Under "your information" above that section there's a drop down for visa type, you'll want that to say CR1/IR1 rather than DCF. Maybe it defaulted there due to alphabetical ordering or something.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Under "your information" above that section there's a drop down for visa type, you'll want that to say CR1/IR1 rather than DCF. Maybe it defaulted there due to alphabetical ordering or something.

No. It's because the OP has made the wrong selection in the "IR-1/CR-1 Visa Filed by US Citizen Petitioner Living Abroad?" part. It's poorly worded. That should say "Are you filing DCF?" and then "Yes" or "No".

The OP just needs to set that field to be blank in the drop-down instead of IR/CR-1 filed abroad.

I'll go post to ask this to be changed in the site bug section (http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/482415-ir-1cr-1-visa-filed-by-us-citizen-petitioner-living-abroad/).

Edited February 24, 2014 by lost_at_sea

[nightingalejules 678]

FYI: the sequence of letters "DCF" appears nowhere on the timeline entry page. If it appears I've entered it that way, it's because the admins have created some sort of shortcut. Here's a screenshot of what's available and pertinent on the timeline entry page:

VJ.jpg

Yes, I know. The reason people are seeing it come up as DCF is because you selected "filing from abroad" - which I know is true. I guess it used to be that any time anyone filed from another country, the embassy would do Direct Consular Filing (DCF). It took MUCH less time. But now, almost none of the embassies allow it. Probably funding cutbacks.

VisaJourney's timeline data gathering hasn't caught up to those changes to USCIS processing.

Even though it's true you filed from abroad, you'll get the appropriate data showing up on your timeline if you deselect "filing from abroad" from your timeline.

Also, even though I filed both the I-130 (chasing a CR1/IR1 immigrant visa) and the I-129f (chasing the K3 non-immigrant spousal visa) I selected just the CR1/IR1 path for my timeline, since that's the one that's most likely to be approved.

Good luck with your journey. I hope you don't have to be apart for too long.