Any Irish IR/CR1 cases?

[manda 1]

Is there any Irish IR/CR1 applicants here. Need some help about the process at the embassy in Dublin. The day of the interview, if you pass, do you get green card straight away? Or do you get a package do bring to the US? Or does the green card get posted out?

Our case is complete already but set to have interview in Canada. Im thinking of changing it to Ireland so we don't have to wait so long. Wondering about timeframe from the the NVC completes the case to interview

[J&D 0]

Hi Manda,

I have a CR1 visa which was issued thru the Dublin Embassy in May 2006. You won't receive the actual greencard straight away but will get a stamp in your (or your spouses if you are the US Citizen) passport as well as the brown envelope to give to the border patrol at your point of entry to the US. The actual greencard is posted out within a few weeks.

There have been several reviews posted on this site about the Dublin Embassy and you can find those at Reviews: Embassy (link on top of page). I completed a review of my interview at the Dublin Embassy and rather than looking for that elsewhere on this site, I have pasted it below so you can have a read to see if it helps:

"Here is a summary of my interview experience following application for a CR-1 visa directly via DCF thru the US Embassy in Dublin, Ireland.

Rule number 1 is to double/triple check your documentation. The Dublin Embassy will be ####### about it. I was number 3 in line and watched the 2 people ahead of me being told they did not have the correct documentation, one had a baptismal cert not a birth cert as was required and another did not have their spouses 2005 taxes filed and even though they said they had requested an extension with the IRS, they had no proof of the extension. But the staff were nice and explained exactly which documents were missing and told the people ahead of me to contact the Embassy again for another interview when they had the missing documents ready. Although the officer did get annoyed at having to make copies of docs such as Marriage certs that people wanted back but did not bring copies with them, so make sure you bring copies!

When it was my turn the officer asked my date of birth (I guess to make sure it is listed correctly in the system and not confused by American/Irish date formats), then she asked for the documenation which I had ready in the order I had noticed that she had asked the others for it, which was Birth Cert + Copy (I did thankfully have copies of everything!); Marriage Cert + Copy; Police Cert(s); any court orders, deportation or military papers (none of which applied to me); affidavit of support from my wife plus her 2005 1040 (she had a Form 2555 to show exemption from US taxes and no W2 since all her income was made in Ireland in 2005 both of which were fine); affidavit of support from the co-sponsor (since Irish income for my wife and I did not count) plus the co-sponsors 1040 and W2 for 2005, a copy of the co-sponsors permanent resident card and a recent pay stub; Medical exam results; and finally DS-230 Part II.

The officer went thru it all as I stood at the window, then she asked me to pay my $380, took my fingerprints, asked me to raise my right hand and swear that all the info in the docs was true to the best of my knowledge and said that my visa would take a little while and to sit down and wait some more. After being approved I could have waited a week! :-)

Eventually I was called up yet again, given my passport back with a I-551 permanent resident visa and I also received the mysterious brown envelope.

I was in the Embassy for 3 hours, but only spent about 15 minutes in total at any of the windows (doc collection, interview with consular officer, cashier, passport/visa collection). All in all, a little nerve-wracking, especially watching other people being told they did not have everything they needed, but other than that pretty painless. Besides your double and triple checked documentation and copies of everything, just bring water, a sandwich, a good book and plenty of patience (you'll be sitting & waiting 95% of the time)!"

Edited September 18, 2007 by J&D

[rebeccajo 14]

It's noteworthy to mention that it makes no difference which consulate one processes through, the greencard is not issued until after you arrive in the US. All CR1/IR1 visa holders enter the US with a packet that is presented upon entry, and the greencard is mailed to them shortly thereafter.

[manda 1]

Ok

Thanks for the info. I'm staying in Canada at the moment with my wife. We hired a lawyer to start the CR1 visa process and I'm now being told I cannot be processed in Canada even though the visa center has approved our case. This is one year from the starting process by the way. I now have to fire my lawyer, and change my interview to Ireland.

Does Dublin handle all the paperwork (affidavit of support etc.) for a CR1 visas or is that the NVC. For Canada the NVC handles all that, they then give all of that info to whichever consulate is doing the interview. The NVC has all my original docs so I presume they will forward it all to Dublin when I change it?? I think, any comments/suggestions

[J&D 0]

It might be worth making sure thru an infopass appointment or phone call to be on the safe side and not assume anything but I would think that should you change the interview to the Dublin Embassy then both the NVC and the Dublin Embassy would ensure the Dublin Embassy had everything they needed.

The Dublin Embassy themselves make sure every t is crossed and every i is dotted from applicants so I would think (hope) they follow that practise themselves and make sure they were just as prepared for the interview and they want you to be.

Edited September 19, 2007 by J&D

[manda 1]

Thanks J&D

Just got an email from the NVC today, they have confirmed that I cannot have the interview in Canada and they will be sending my package to Dublin to have it there. They also said they will let me know when the interview is.

I thought with Dublin you have to call the expensive phone number to say your ready for an interview? Also, do you know where I can get a list of approved doctors for my medical. Both of us will be coming to Ireland and don't wanna stay too long, so wondering also how long it takes to get the results back from the Doctors so we know how soon before the interview we have to go

[J&D 0]

The process I went thru might differ slightly to yours given that your case is complete already and you just need to go thru the interview but I didn't need to call the expensive number, I sent in a form when I had all the necessary docs to state I was ready and then received a letter from the embassy with an interview date, which I was not happy with so called the embassy (the cheap number!) and managed to get it changed to a date much much sooner.

In the interview letter I received from the embassy with the original date, there was a list of approved doctors. I have the list filed away but it would take about a month to find it as it's in one of about 100 boxes stored away with unpacked stuff we do not need in the immediate future from the move from Ireland to the US so your best bet is to call the embassy direct, ask for the immigrant visa section and ask them about approved doctors and their phone numbers in Dublin, then make an appointment for a little more than a week before your interview date as it takes about a week to get the results.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

I didn't need to call the expensive number, I sent in a form when I had all the necessary docs to state I was ready

J&D- where did you get the docs and the form stating you are ready? I was also under the impression we'd have to ring the premium number, just to get them to send the forms (I-130 etc) to us so we could fill them out and send them back....

[J&D 0]

J&D- where did you get the docs and the form stating you are ready? I was also under the impression we'd have to ring the premium number, just to get them to send the forms (I-130 etc) to us so we could fill them out and send them back....

I downloaded the I-130 (link below), filled it out, got any other docs together that were required, sent it all into the Dublin Embassy. They gave me a call and I had to go in with my wife for an initial interview with the Consular Officer where he asked some basic questions and we proved my (USC) wife lived in Ireland for at least 6 months, after which he approved the petition.

We were given two forms at the Embassy, one showing what the next procedures were and one that we sent to the Embassy once we had everything so we downloaded the necessary docs from the USCIS website, I did the medical and organized Garda certs and so on and so forth, and once we had everything I filled out the form stating I was now ready for the interview and received a letter about a week or so later with an interview date.

Since my wife and I lived in Ireland and our Irish income was not counted, we needed a co-sponsor in the US so the longest time during the whole process was waiting for our co-sponsor in the US to fill out a form which took him a few weeks to do since he was on a business trip and had little time but even counting that waiting time, the time from the day our I-130 was approved to getting the CR1 visa was only 79 days which I think was reasonably fast.

More info you might want to look at about the filing the I-130 tru the Dublin Embassy:

About filing the I-130 thru the Dublin Embassy:

http://dublin.usembassy.gov/filing_the_i130.html

Instructions for filling out the I-130:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf

The actual I-130 form:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130.pdf

What to include with the I-130 and what to do once it is ready to send to the Embassy:

http://dublin.usembassy.gov/root/pdf/check...ien-spouse2.pdf

[manda 1]

I got the NVC to transfer my case to Dublin, Ireland. I need to call some doctors to check up on medical procedures. We want to fly over from Canada, do the medical and the interview, and fly directly into the US in as short a time as possible. Does anybody have a list of certified doctors in Dublin?