Tike

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's the American that has to prove residency in Thailand for 6 months to apply for DCF, not the beneficiary.

I agree, that's what it says in all the guides and on the embassy website (US embassy in Helsinki). I double checked with the US embassy in Helsinki via email, they were very friendly and helpful. From the information I have gotten I can submit the I-130 in Helsinki, the next step and visa interview should take place in the country where the wedding took place. In our case it is easy since that too took place in Finland but you might want to double check this with the embassy in Bangkok since your situation is different.

Best of luck!

This is what I asked the consulate in Helsinki:

"During this visa processing time, is my husband allowed to visit me in

the US as a tourist? This would mean that he could come and visit me

during the time we wait for his visa to become available and would

make to situation a bit more bearable."

This is their reply:

"He may use the visa waiver program via ESTA approval for max 90 day stay.

Best, US consulate."

So as far as I understand it seems to be fine. During my last visits to the US I have entered the US as a Finnish citizen with an EU passport (my US passport had expired), no one has ever asked me anything about where i am staying and why. Last time I think the guy asked me "Business or pleasure?", I said pleasure and welcomed me to the US. I don't know anyone from Finland who has ever had any problems going through immigration. But bringing documents along is always a good idea.

The reason I asked about where you will marry is consular filing is apparently much easier and faster. But if your fiance is in the US it's not possible to do that. I don't know what procedure is best for you since I have not looked into K-1's since my husband and I have been married for a few years here in Finland so we don't have that option. However, when looking at the prices I think the CR-1 is cheaper (could be wrong) and you get work permits and all immediately. If you choose this route I think you can apply for the visa in Denmark and have the medical there etc. I am pretty sure that it is faster and easier to do in Denmark than in the US, it is definitely faster and easier doing these things in Finland and I imagine the same goes for the other Nordic countries. If you marry in October and you plan to study in Denmark until June next year I would guess that the odds are very good you will get your visa by then. I would start collecting the necessary paper work that is needed for the I-130 (your birth certificate etc.).

Lycka till, som man säger på svenska!

If I-129F gets approved first and gets the NVS first, then what happens? is it still K3? or it becomes IR1/CR1?

As far as I understand it the I-129F will be processed if it gets approved before the I-130. In our case, both my husband and I are outside the US and can therefore file everything, apart from the I-130, at the consulate in Helsinki. Filing at a consulate should be faster than doing it in the US and I suppose that might have been a reason that the consulate told me not to file for a K-3.

HI FRIENDS

NVC SEND K3 VISA TO EMBASSY FOR PROCESSING IT IN 25 AUGUST

IN THE DAY OF INTERVIEW I NEED BRING WITH ME ORIGINAL PAPER OF MARRIAGE AND POLICE CERTIFICATE ... OR NO PROBLEM COPY

I SAID THIS bcs IN 7 september NVC start processing alsoo our I130 VISA and shur we need send original document to NVC

NVC MAKE 2 CASE IN SAME TIME K3 IN EMBASSY

AND ANOTHER CASE NUMBER FOR I130

I don't know if I understood everything correctly but I was wondering why you are filing for a K-3 if you are married and could apply for IR1 visa?

I asked about the K3 from the consulate in Helsinki and got the following reply:

"Although the K-3 visa still exist the USCIS has stopped to process

the I-129F petition but will process only the I-130 for an immigrant

visa"

Basically they told me that applying for an IR1 visa saves time and money and that there was no point in applying for a K-3.

As soon as the I-130 is approved the need for a K-3 ends and your spouse will be instructed on how to help you get an IR1 visa.

From travel.state.gov:

Important Notice: Effective February 1st, 2010, when both petitions have been approved by USCIS and sent to the NVC or when USCIS approves the I-130 before the I-129F, the availability of, as well as the need for, a nonimmigrant K-3 visa ends. If the NVC receives both an approved I-130 petition and an approved I-129F petition:

* The nonimmigrant K-3 visa case will be administratively closed.

* The application process explained below will not be available to the foreign-citizen spouse and cannot be used.

* The NVC will contact the U.S. citizen sponsor and foreign-citizen spouse, with instructions for processing the IR-1 (or CR-1) immigrant visa.

If the NVC receives the approved I-129F petition before it receives the I-130 petition, the NVC will process the I-129F petition. NVC will then send the I-129F petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the country where the marriage took place. If the marriage took place in the United States, the NVC will send the petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate that issues visas in the foreign-citizen spouse’s country of nationality.

Well, good luck in any case!

I think you have more than enough I only sent our marriage certificate, 2 affidavits, statement from insurance company that we have a mutual policy, and a statement from the bank showing co-mingling of financial resources. I don't think you'll need pictures and email correspondence until the interview. My husband and I have been married for 4 years and together for 10 years so I didn't see the point in including additional evidence since it wasn't asked for. However, your situation is probably different and I guess extra evidence won't hurt since you already have everything.

I sent my I-130 to the Chicago Lockbox via express mail from Finland, I recommend that route since it is cheap, safe and you get a tracking number. I didn't see the point in paying a lot of money for FedEx which would only have saved me 2 days. But I am sure FedEx is cheaper when mailing within the US...

The best of luck to you, I sent my I-130 2 weeks ago and got the Notice of Acceptance today

We sent the I-130 to Chicago during last days of August and got the acceptance notification today! Now we just have to wait for the rest. If I had gotten all the paper-work done two weeks earlier we could have filed at the consulate in Helsinki and saved many, many months of waiting

As far as I can tell from all the CR-1 information I've been chewing thruogh lately, I (the beneficiary) don't actually have to turn in my passport before the final interview. Is that correct?

So I am wondering, is it possible for me to enter the US during any of the previous steps of the Visa processing? My American fiancé and I are contemplating getting married and filing 1-130 in October, but I already have a ticket to visit him in Wisconsin for Christmas - something I would hate to miss.

Also, can someone here tell me about their experience with the medical exam in Denmark? What does it entail? How much does it cost?

My husband and I have been wondering the same. We are both living in Finland at the moment but my job in the US will begin as of March 1 2012, hopefully the visa will be granted by then. However, I did ask the embassy about his traveling rights during the visa processing time and they said that my husband is allowed to visit me in the US as a tourist, through the ESTA program, for 90 days at a time during this visa process. As far as I know they will not need my husbands passport until the final interview. The medical exam in Finland costs 480 € (!!!!!) and can be only be performed by an authorized physician. I found this info on the US Helsinki embassy website some time ago. I just found this website regarding Denmark: http://travel.state.gov/pdf/medical/CPN-MED-ENGL-0001-1106.pdf

This webpage is pretty good: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3739.html

It seems like it has been around 2000 DK which is below 300 € if I am not mistaken so much cheaper than here. Denmark also seems to have 4 authorized doctors, Finland has one!!

We started the I-130 this summer and I suggest you start compiling the needed documents asap so everything is ready as soon as you're married. I guess you husband will have to do most of the work Will you be married in Denmark or the US?

GOOD LUCK!!!

My wife has her medical exam scheduled for this week. What can be expected and what exactly do they do besides xrays? They told her it would take about an hour. Im just trying to get my mind around the 480€ they charge for this exam.

My husband will have to go through the same medical exam. What did they do and how can it cost 480€??

I had the same problem some weeks ago when I found out I could no longer file in Helsinki. I had been in contact with the embassy over the summer but I wasn't aware of the fact that they planned to change the procedure (they didn't mention it at any time). I contacted the embassy on Aug 18 when I had all the necessary papers only to find out that I was 3 days late...Argh! Luckily my bank in Finland still writes checks in US dollars (the only one still doing that), however, all the check requirements listed on the USCIS website cannot be fulfilled (e.g. having my name and address printed on the check). I got a check and a statement from the bank explaining the situation so I hope it will be enough. I also contacted the embassy in Helsinki explaining the problem. They forwarded the info the the USCIS in London so hopefully they will be able to figure out some new method of payment in the future so that it will be easier for other people to pay their visa fees.

In my I-130 application I included the check and wrote that I have done everything according to the instructions given by the embassy in Helsinki. I got the NOA1 today via email so now I am just keeping my fingers crossed that everything will work out. How did you manage to solve this?

Recently on the 15th of August 2011 the method of filing an I-130 for a DCF changed. You can no longer file it in person at US consulate in your country (e.g. the one in Auckland here in NZ). It has to be sent to the Chicago Lockbox to be adjudicated and then sent to the US consulate in the relevant country..

We're planning on starting the DCF process in the next few weeks, so have been going over everything we need to do etc, and came across this issue of how to pay the fee?

The I-130 instructions state:

"The check (cheque to the rest of us ) or money order must be drawn on a bank or other financial institution located in the United States.."

Paying by US check would be the simple way, but the checkbook got left in the US as was no need to bring that at the time.. It's not clear if I can just goto the post office here in NZ and get a western union money order for example as it states the funds must be drawn from a US financial institution.

I have searched the forums, what some people have done is go the long way round and get friends/family in the US to send them money orders from USPS, only to send it all the way back... Seems silly!

L