DCF filing in Seoul, South Korea.

[DeliO2774 0]

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?

[millefleur 5,038]

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:

 

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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.

 

[Jorge V 195]

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.

[Just Paul 4,591]

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

[Mr Genuis 91]

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