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Posted

I am a US Citizen working as an English teacher in South Korea. I met my now husband here in Korea and want to file for the green card to go back to the states together. My husband is Egyptian, which is why I am wanting clarity on if the DCF filing is eligible since he is not Korean. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Russia
Timeline
Posted

It's a good question for sure. I checked the official USCIS field office site, it is pretty vague. Here's what it says: 

 

Quote

 

Who May File or Receive Service:

U.S. citizens residing in South Korea filing on behalf of their spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21 or parent (if the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older).

 

U.S. citizens residing in this field office’s jurisdiction but outside of South Korea may file with the Department of State only if the USCIS Seoul field office director determines that there are exceptional circumstances.

 

Active duty U.S. Military:  Active duty U.S. military service members stationed permanently at a military base in Japan may file this form directly with the Department of State without needing to establish exceptional circumstances.

Then it mentions:

 

Quote

 

Filing and Other Special Instructions:

If you are filing with this field office, you must submit the petition and supporting evidence in person.

Evidence of residency must be submitted with the petition. The evidence you submit must support a determination that you are a resident in South Korea.

Please Note: Certain pieces of evidence may more strongly support a finding of residency than others. For petitions filed at this field office, you must submit one or more of the following:

  • Passport entry stamp(s) and visa reflecting that you are residing in South Korea and not just visiting South Korea
  • Residency permit or card
  • Work authorization document
  • Military or government orders assigning you to reside in South Korea

In addition, other evidence of residency may include, but is not limited to:

  • Utility bills
  • Housing lease
  • Work contract or other employment documents
  • Proof of local registration
  • Local bank statements
  • Proof of school enrollment
  • Vehicle registration
  • Local driver’s license
  • Tax documents listing a South Korean address
  • Foreign property deeds or registration (although proof of property ownership in itself, may be insufficient if there is no evidence that the petitioner resides at that property)

Is your husband also residing in Korea with a residence permit/long stay visa..? It seems like he should be eligible but it might be worth calling the USCIS field office there directly to find out. When I did DCF in Moscow, a lot of the DCF threads here were old so I called up USCIS in Moscow and asked directly, they answered pretty quickly and gave me all the answers I needed.

 

🇷🇺 CR-1 via DCF (Dec 2016-Jun 2017) & I-751 ROC (Apr 2019-Oct 2019)🌹

Spoiler

Info about my DCF Moscow* experience here and here

26-Jul-2016: Married abroad in Russia 👩‍❤️‍👨 See guide here
21-Dec-2016: I-130 filed at Moscow USCIS field office*
29-Dec-2016: I-130 approved! Yay! 🎊 

17-Jan-2017: Case number received

21-Mar-2017: Medical Exam completed

24-Mar-2017: Interview at Embassy - approved! 🎉

29-Mar-2017: CR-1 Visa received (via mail)

02-Apr-2017: USCIS Immigrant (GC) Fee paid

28-Jun-2017: Port of Entry @ PDX 🛩️

21-Jul-2017: No SSN after three weeks; applied in person at the SSA

22-Jul-2017: GC arrived in the mail 📬

31-Jul-2017: SSN arrived via mail, hurrah!

 

*NOTE: The USCIS Field Office in Moscow is now CLOSED as of February 28th, 2019.

 

Removal of Conditions - MSC Service Center

 28-Jun-2019: Conditional GC expires

30-Mar-2019: Eligible to apply for ROC

01-Apr-2019: ROC in the mail to Phoenix AZ lockbox! 📫

03-Apr-2019: ROC packet delivered to lockbox

09-Apr-2019: USCIS cashed check

09-Apr-2019: Case number received via text - MSC 📲

12-Apr-2019: Extension letter arrives via mail

19-Apr-2019: Biometrics letter arrives via mail

30-Apr-2019: Biometrics appointment at local office

26-Jun-2019: Case ready to be scheduled for interview 

04-Sep-2019: Interview was scheduled - letter to arrive in mail

09-Sep-2019: Interview letter arrived in the mail! ✉️

17-Oct-2019: Interview scheduled @ local USCIS  

18-Oct-2019: Interview cancelled & notice ordered*

18-Oct-2019: Case was approved! 🎉

22-Oct-2019: Card was mailed to me 📨

23-Oct-2019: Card was picked by USPS 

25-Oct-2019: 10 year GC Card received in mail 📬

 

*I don't understand this status because we DID have an interview!

 

🇺🇸 N-400 Application for Naturalization (Apr 2020-Jun 2021) 🛂

Spoiler

Filed during Covid-19 & moved states 1 month after filing

30-Mar-2020: N-400 early filing window opens!

01-Apr-2020: Filed N-400 online 💻 

02-Apr-2020: NOA 1 - Receipt No. received online 📃

07-Apr-2020: NOA 1 - Receipt No. received via mail

05-May-2020: Moved to another state, filed AR-11 online

05-May-2020: Application transferred to another USCIS field office for review ➡️

15-May-2020: AR-11 request to change address completed

16-Jul-2020: Filed non-receipt inquiry due to never getting confirmation that case was transferred to new field office

15-Oct-2020: Received generic response to non-receipt inquiry, see full response here

10-Feb-2021: Contacted senator's office for help with USCIS

12-Feb-2021: Received canned response from senator's office that case is within processing time 😡

16-Feb-2021: Contacted other senator's office for help with USCIS - still no biometrics

19-Feb-2021: Biometrics reuse notice - canned response from other senator's office 🌐

23-Feb-2021: Interview scheduled - notice to come in the mail

25-Feb-2021: Biometrics reuse notice arrives via mail

01-Mar-2021: Interview notice letter arrives via mail  ✉️ 

29-Mar-2021: Passed interview at local office! Oath Ceremony to be scheduled

13-Apr-2021: Oath Ceremony notice was mailed

04-May-2021: Oath Ceremony scheduled 🎆 Unable to attend due to illness

04-May-2021: Mailed request to reschedule Oath to local office

05-May-2021: "You did not attend your Oath Ceremony" - notice to come in the mail

06-May-2021: Oath Ceremony will be scheduled, date TBA

12-May-2021: Oath Ceremony re-scheduled for June 3rd, then de-scheduled same day 😡 

25-May-2021: New Oath Ceremony notice was mailed

16-Jun-2021: Oath Ceremony scheduled 🎆 - DONE!!

17-Jun-2021: Certificate of Naturalization issued

 

🎆 Members new and old: don't forget to fill in your VJ timeline! 🎇 https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/

Posted

Always best to double check with the local USCIS field office (their webpage along with contact info can be found here), but you should be able to DCF in Korea even if neither of you are Korean. There's a user on here (pinging @Paul & Mary, profile here) who DCF in Mexico even though neither were Mexican citizens (but both were residents). 

 

There are also a few posts on here detailing the DCF process in Korea if you have any general questions about the process.

DCF Mexico

06/04/2017: Married

06/24/2017: Mailed I-130

06/27/2017: NOA1 (technically a RFE as we were missing beneficiary ID)

07/06/2017: NOA2

07/12/2017: Case assigned by Juarez embassy

07/17/2017: Packet 3 received

08/15/2017: Interview/Approval!

08/22/2017: Visa received via DHL

09/03/2017: POE

09/16/2017: Permanent Resident Card received

 

Total days from NOA1 to approval: 49

 

I wrote a DCF Mexico guide! http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php?title=DCF_Mexico

Posted

As long as both of you hold some sort of residency In Korea you can DCF there.  In Mexico I have permanent residency and upon marriage my wife got hers too.  We had to wait until her Mexican Green Card arrived to file for DCF.  But then things moved real fast. Not as fast as @Jorge V but we were in the US in about 102 days after our NOA1/2.

 

It looks like the requirements are pretty simple. Sample documents are:

  • Passport entry stamp(s) and visa reflecting that you are residing in South Korea and not just visiting South Korea
  • Residency permit or card
  • Work authorization document
  • Military or government orders assigning you to reside in South Korea

Full details here: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/south-korea-uscis-seoul-field-office

March 2, 2018  Married In Hong Kong

April 30, 2018  Mary moves from the Philippines to Mexico, Husband has MX Permanent Residency

June 13, 2018 Mary receives Mexican Residency Card

June 15, 2018  I-130 DCF Appointment in Juarez  -  June 18, 2018  Approval E-Mail

August 2, 2018 Case Complete At Consulate

September 25, 2018 Interview in CDJ and Approved!

October 7, 2018 In the USA

October 27, 2018 Green Card received 

October 29, 2018 Applied for Social Security Card - November 5, 2018 Social Security Card received

November 6th, 2018 State ID Card Received, Applied for Global Entry - Feb 8,2019 Approved.

July 14, 2020 Removal of Conditions submitted by mail  July 12, 2021 Biometrics Completed

August 6, 2021 N-400 submitted by mail

September 7, 2021 I-751 Interview, Sept 8 Approved and Card Being Produced

October 21, 2021 N-400 Biometrics Completed  

November 30,2021  Interview, Approval and Oath

December 10, 2021 US Passport Issued

August 12, 2022 PHL Dual Nationality Re-established & Passport Approved 

April 6,2023 Legally Separated - Oh well

Posted
On 1/29/2019 at 3:32 PM, DeliO2774 said:

I am a US Citizen working as an English teacher in South Korea. I met my now husband here in Korea and want to file for the green card to go back to the states together. My husband is Egyptian, which is why I am wanting clarity on if the DCF filing is eligible since he is not Korean. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Yes very possible. We filed here in korea. I am not a korean but we git approved within 35 days 

 
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