DCF in Lima, Peru for I-130 Petition

[amymariko 13]

My (Peruvian) husband and I went to Lima and successfully filed our I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on June 27, 2019 . When we consulted at the embassy earlier in the week they gave us this list of requirements to file for the I-130 specifically at the Lima embassy. I am attaching an image of it below.

 

On August 2nd, 2019 I received an email from UCSIS saying: 

"We are pleased to inform you that the USCIS Lima Field Office approved the I-130 Petition that you filed on June 27, 2019. Attached you will find the Notice of Approval. The U.S. Consulate General in Lima, Peru has been notified of this decision and they will be sending further instructions to your home address."

 

On September 4th, 2019 we received a mailed letter from the embassy to our address in Pucallpa (the one you put as your current address on the I-130 form) with the physical letter form of the email from UCSIS and the letter from the consulate saying we have our code to make our visa appointment! That's the second photo I attached below.

Feel free to ask me any questions. We currently live in Pucallpa, Peru—so I can provide information on getting certain documents in Pucallpa ;).

Hope this helps someone!

[Eugenia2017 28]

On 9/20/2019 at 10:40 PM, amymariko said:

My (Peruvian) husband and I went to Lima and successfully filed our I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on June 27, 2019 . When we consulted at the embassy earlier in the week they gave us this list of requirements to file for the I-130 specifically at the Lima embassy. I am attaching an image of it below.

 

On August 2nd, 2019 I received an email from UCSIS saying: 

"We are pleased to inform you that the USCIS Lima Field Office approved the I-130 Petition that you filed on June 27, 2019. Attached you will find the Notice of Approval. The U.S. Consulate General in Lima, Peru has been notified of this decision and they will be sending further instructions to your home address."

 

On September 4th, 2019 we received a mailed letter from the embassy to our address in Pucallpa (the one you put as your current address on the I-130 form) with the physical letter form of the email from UCSIS and the letter from the consulate saying we have our code to make our visa appointment! That's the second photo I attached below.

Feel free to ask me any questions. We currently live in Pucallpa, Peru—so I can provide information on getting certain documents in Pucallpa ;).

Hope this helps someone!

How fast is your process going! 

[amymariko 13]

Hi Eugenia, 

It's actually gone pretty fast because we did a DCF (Direct Consular Filing) at the embassy in Lima. Right now we're just gathering the paperwork we need to go to the visa interview in Lima!

[Eugenia2017 28]

I see . Good luck !

[Andresr 47]

Hi, why did they approve filing in the Peru ambassy instead of send i130 tu Chicago?.thamk you

[Just Paul 4,591]

2 hours ago, Andresr said:

Hi, why did they approve filing in the Peru ambassy instead of send i130 tu Chicago?.thamk you

It is called Direct Consular Filing.  If the USCIS has an international field office in the country AND the petitioner has legal residency in that country, then USCIS will accept the I-130 petition there.   it saves months and months.

 

Unfortunately USCIS is closing most of the international field offices.in the next year.

[amymariko 13]

9 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

Unfortunately USCIS is closing most of the international field offices.in the next year.

I didn't know that! 

 

Separate question for you. What is the State ID Card and the Global Entry? Are those necessary for citizenship application later on?

[Just Paul 4,591]

1 hour ago, amymariko said:

What is the State ID Card and the Global Entry? Are those necessary for citizenship application later on?

State ID is an official ID like a driver's license with your photo on it.  Helps getting a job, opening bank accounts etc.  Global Entry is prescreened travel ID that speeds you the immigration at the airport / land border. We travel a lot so she can come thru the fast way.

 

Neither are necessary but they do show you are establishing ties to the US.  

 

Eventually she got a drivers license and that replaced the state ID. At one point she had 3 valid drivers licenses!  One for Philippines, Mexico and Arizona.

[amymariko 13]

10 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

State ID is an official ID like a driver's license with your photo on it.  Helps getting a job, opening bank accounts etc.  Global Entry is prescreened travel ID that speeds you the immigration at the airport / land border. We travel a lot so she can come thru the fast way.

 

Neither are necessary but they do show you are establishing ties to the US.  

 

Eventually she got a drivers license and that replaced the state ID. At one point she had 3 valid drivers licenses!  One for Philippines, Mexico and Arizona.

Thanks so much for your reply! Goodness, she's so official and legal ;). 

[vaalp90 0]

On 9/20/2019 at 10:40 PM, amymariko said:

My (Peruvian) husband and I went to Lima and successfully filed our I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on June 27, 2019 . When we consulted at the embassy earlier in the week they gave us this list of requirements to file for the I-130 specifically at the Lima embassy. I am attaching an image of it below.

 

On August 2nd, 2019 I received an email from UCSIS saying: 

"We are pleased to inform you that the USCIS Lima Field Office approved the I-130 Petition that you filed on June 27, 2019. Attached you will find the Notice of Approval. The U.S. Consulate General in Lima, Peru has been notified of this decision and they will be sending further instructions to your home address."

 

On September 4th, 2019 we received a mailed letter from the embassy to our address in Pucallpa (the one you put as your current address on the I-130 form) with the physical letter form of the email from UCSIS and the letter from the consulate saying we have our code to make our visa appointment! That's the second photo I attached below.

Feel free to ask me any questions. We currently live in Pucallpa, Peru—so I can provide information on getting certain documents in Pucallpa ;).

Hope this helps someone!

Hi amymariko what kind of mailing service did they use to mail your case number? 2nd question is the case number necessary to get the med examination? My case was approved on august 9th but in still waiting for packet 2 instructions .i currently reside in lima and regular postal service is not very efficient. Thanks

[amymariko 13]

On 10/28/2019 at 10:03 AM, vaalp90 said:

Hi amymariko what kind of mailing service did they use to mail your case number? 2nd question is the case number necessary to get the med examination? My case was approved on august 9th but in still waiting for packet 2 instructions .i currently reside in lima and regular postal service is not very efficient. Thanks

Hey! Well we received a manila folder in the mailbox of our address so I'm not sure what mailing service they used? I don't believe the case number is necessary—but we haven't done that yet so not sure! I'm sorry I can't be more helpful!

[vaalp90 0]

On 10/31/2019 at 11:33 AM, amymariko said:

Hey! Well we received a manila folder in the mailbox of our address so I'm not sure what mailing service they used? I don't believe the case number is necessary—but we haven't done that yet so not sure! I'm sorry I can't be more helpful!

Hey one more question is there an Invoice number to pay the Visa fee? 

[amymariko 13]

46 minutes ago, vaalp90 said:

Hey one more question is there an Invoice number to pay the Visa fee? 

I've been looking for the answer to that question too, but as far as I can tell, when you go for your interview you will have to pay a fee. Trying to see if I can pay online like the non-immigrant visa fee! Sorry that's not more helpful.

 

Going back to your question about if the case number is necessary for the medical exam, I booked the exam for my husband last week and they said you need to bring a copy of your interview letter to your medical exam.

[vaalp90 0]

1 minute ago, amymariko said:

I've been looking for the answer to that question too, but as far as I can tell, when you go for your interview you will have to pay a fee. Trying to see if I can pay online like the non-immigrant visa fee! Sorry that's not more helpful.

 

Going back to your question about if the case number is necessary for the medical exam, I booked the exam for my husband last week and they said you need to bring a copy of your interview letter to your medical exam.

Okay so what steps did you follow? I was approved on september but I have not receive  package 2 so I requested my case number which the consulate emailed to me. I went ahead and completed ds260 but never completed ds 261. Did you complete ds261 to pay the Visa fee? And also did you have to pay the fee first in order to schedule your interview? Sorry yo throw all this questions at you but I dont see anyone else going through dcf at the Lima consulate. thanks in advance

[amymariko 13]

48 minutes ago, vaalp90 said:

Okay so what steps did you follow? I was approved on september but I have not receive  package 2 so I requested my case number which the consulate emailed to me. I went ahead and completed ds260 but never completed ds 261. Did you complete ds261 to pay the Visa fee? And also did you have to pay the fee first in order to schedule your interview? Sorry yo throw all this questions at you but I dont see anyone else going through dcf at the Lima consulate. thanks in advance

No problem at all! It's all very confusing! And hard to find threads that are current ;).

 

Yes we did DCF at the Lima consulate. Here's our timeline so far:
I-130 DCF in Lima, Peru : Jun 27, 2019
I-130 Approved : Jul 30, 2019 (via email)
Received Instruction and Interview appointment letter : Sep 4, 2019 (physical letter delivered to Peru home address)

 

So we have not done the DS-261 and I'm still trying to figure out if I need to pay the visa fee before the interview day. You do not have to pay the visa fee to schedule the interview. My advice is to schedule the interview a month in advance if you can because they don't have a lot of available dates. Last time I checked there were a couple dates in Jan. To schedule your interview date all you need is your 1) Case number and 2) the DS-260 confirmation number. Then after you schedule that you should call the Anglo Americana Clinic and book the medical exam like 10-12 days BEFORE your interview. The clinic takes 8 business days to get the results back.

 

Also by the way I speak Spanish fluently if that's easier