lukehansen83

We had a similar situation...signing up for informed delivery is super important, but in our case, it may not have made that much of a difference, as our GC was resent with a signature required, and they left a sticky note on our door. We booked it to the local post office and LUCKILY they had it sitting in the back of their office. This situation is super frustrating. I feel ya. And it feels so great when you finally get that card! We had to wait over 6 months to finally get my wife's card.

Has anyone had any experience contracting immigration attorneys to assist in pushing the process of re-mailing a green card along a bit? My wife has been in the country for 7 months, and I updated our address at the time I paid for the immigrant fee (days after she entered the country)...they printed the card and mailed it before they updated the address in their system, and it's been over half a year of waiting ever since. Every time I/we contract USCIS they tell us what we already know (we sent the card, it came back to us), and we tell them what we already know (you've sent it to the wrong place, we've updated the address, please resend it!). We've gone back and forth 3 times over the last 4 months this way, each time they promise to put it back in the mail, and they never do.

Does this resonate with anyone? It is very frustrating, and up to this point I/we've done everything ourselves, without the help of an attorney, but I'm at my wit's end. I'm thinking of lawyering up.

Just reading this thread makes me feel a bit better about my and my wife's current situation. In our case, I paid the fee, changed my address on their website, then expected the card to be sent to the new address...wrong! The process is apparently NOT automated, and an agent actually has to somehow approve or digitally translate the address change from one system to another, so they sent out the PR card to the old address before the new address took effect. That was at the end of January (it is now July)...and it's been hell ever since. We call, speak to an agent, verify that we've put in a request to resend the card, are told to wait 30 or 60 or 90 days, depending on the caprices of the agent with whom we speak, then hand up. Wait the requested period of time, call again, and the cycle repeats. 

I am at the point of contacting an immigration attorney, but I'm not really sure that there's anything that they could really do. This really is a horribly frustrating limbo in which to find oneself. My wife does have her visa with the i551 stamp on/next to it, but, in typically Californian style, the DMV will ONLY issue DLs to LPR card-holder - they DON'T accept the visa/stamp. 

SO: Does contacting a lawyer/congressperson work?

EDIT: I didn't make clear that the card WAS sent out, then returned as undeliverable by USPS.

Thanks to both of you...so...it will be alright to file both i-130s in the same package? One giant manila envelope? Two payments and two i-130s and two sets of all the accompanying documentation? would it be better to mail them separately?

CR-1 for my wife and CR-2 for the little one. Sounds good. We've been married less than 2 years, so no IR visas. K-type visas for spouses get messed with by USCIS, sometimes cancelled, and the processing times for CRs are getting better, so the whole benefit of being able to reside with me in the States during the processing of the CR visa becomes a moot point...getting warmer?

Anything else obvious that I'm missing? I really appreciate your input on this!

One last question: I currently have an Arizona DL, but I'm planning on living in the near future in California (my state of birth) and that would be the address that I'm planning on putting on the i-130s...but my current tax address/mailing address/everything else is in Az. Problems? How #######-retentive are folks on this. Yes, it's their job. I get it. Just asking, jeez.

Hi Aaron, thanks for your prompt response! This is a real bummer. I was hoping that my stepdaughter would be covered in the main i-130 package and issued a visa when my wife is issued hers...but oh well..more $ and more paperwork...I'd expect nothing less when dealing with US Immigration

So to sum up: my wife is an "immediate relative," which is good, because a visa is guaranteed, as opposed to waiting years. There's a difference between a "LPR" filing an i-130 and a USC filing an i-130...which, once again, is to my benefit in regards to time...but the downside is that my stepdaughter needs her own i-130 packet filed at the same time (and with another $420 filing fee, one assumes) to be able to come to the States with my wife. Would that be a K4 visa given as a dependent to my wife's K3 visa?

Have I got it right?

Thanks again!

Hello Everyone, I have a silly question: when filling out the i-130 (which I've almost got ready to go...thick envelope!) I'm lead to believe that I don't have to file anything additional for my wife's 9-year-old daughter (my step-daughter) to get a derivative visa...first of all...is that right? just ONE i-130 package covers my wife and the little one?

at the top of the form (section 1, actually) it asks who you're filing for...spouse, brother, kid, etc...you can select more than one option there...should I check spouse AND check child? Or just Spouse, then just add the personal info about the kid in section 17 of the form? Thanks in advance, and I hope that I've put this question in the right part of the forums...

Once again, thanks for all of the advice. I see where you're all coming from, and I tend to agree. It is a clear conflict of interest with the two types of visa, but we're just looking for a way to see each other every few months or so during the paperwork process. I stand behind my "#######" comments though. There are a number of COs who work in Quito, and a few of them are friendly, outgoing, and occasionally smile and ask how you're doing, then there are the others who are really, genuinely unfriendly - read: #######. It's not just "boo-hoo, the bad man said no to my wife - he's a meanie..." It's that he was genuinely rude. The ironic thing, in my opinion, is that my wife was completely truthful in her answers to all of his questions, and she was denied, and we personally know people here in Ecuador who've lied and gotten visas. I think that's where the bitterness comes from - people who tell the truth are supposed to be rewarded, right? lol.

So then, completely hopeless situation? Apply for the tourist visa for shits and giggles and cross our fingers? Just wait for the CR-1 to come through? That's what the consensus appears to be.

Thanks for the info. I always err on the side of caution when talking about times, especially when discussing these things with my wife...which is why I keep saying 2 years. A good friend of mine recently married his longtime Ecuadorian girlfriend and began the same process I'm about to start on and he's told me that it varies a bit depending on where you live in the states (which "lockbox" you wind up being processed through?), but that it can take a year and a half easy from start to finish. I certainly that you're right, aleful!!! The sooner the better!

As far as proving strong ties, that is where it pays to be rich in a country where not many people are. "Proving ties," in my opinion just means "do you have a house/car/loads of money in your Ecuadorian bank account." The first time she went and tried to get a tourist visa (to come and meet my family, now her in-laws) she alerted the immigration officer at the Quito embassy that she would be, if granted the visa, leaving her 9 year old daughter in Ecuador for the duration of her trip to the States, and that wasn't enough. Now that seems pretty strong to me...leaving your kid as collateral.

But on the other hand, I know that tons and tons and tons and tons of people commit immigration fraud ALL OF THE TIME down here, so I also sympathize a bit with how suspicious the officers are. But that doesn't give them license to be rude dicks, which they definitely were to my wife. Oh well. I guess that all we can do is try again. Dot the i's and cross the t's.

Hey guys, thanks for the input. So to summarize, some of you think there would be no difference at all (although I've heard firsthand experiences of people who've dealt with both Embassys ...in Quito and in Guayaquil, and the stories corroborate each other...there's just a different attitude on the coast as opposed to the mountains), and some of you think that filing the I-130 first would make it even more impossible? I understand the apparent conflict here...the tourist visa indicates that she just wants to visit the States, and the CR-1 as the spouse of a USC indicates that she wants to permanently relocate and cut ties with Ecuador, but surely the kind folks at the US Embassy/Consulate in Guayaquil would understand that she just wants to visit her husband whilst waiting for paperwork, and that 2 years (being realistic) is a long time to be separated?

Hello Everyone, I've got a quick question that someone might have an answer to: my wife (Ecuadorian) and I (US Citizen) just got married last month, and we're starting to gather all of the required paperwork to put together our i-130 to get the ball rolling on living together in the States. I'm currently living and working (well, "volunteering," technically) down here in Ecuador, but I'm getting ready to head back to the States to get a "real" job and get things ready back home. She applied once for a tourist visa at the Embassy in Quito (they are complete dicks there...supposedly much cooler in Guayaquil) and was turned down when she told the truth (that I was heading back to the States when my last contract was up here in Ecuador)...oops? Anyways, fast forward a year or two, and we've gotten hitched, but we're not looking forward to being apart for upwards of 2 years whilst waiting for paperwork, so we'd like to to try again for a tourist visa so that at least she can visit me during the wait for her CR-1.

The Question: should I file the i-130 packet, THEN have her apply for a tourist visa again, or vice-versa - have her go to Guayaquil and apply (as a woman married to an American guy) for a tourist visa BEFORE I send in the i-130 packet?

Has anyone dealt with this situation? What have you done?

Thanks in advance, guys!

Hello Everyone, USC about to get married in Ecuador to my Ecuadorian Citizen wife. I have been living and working here for the past 3 years, and I (obviously) am not anxious to leave my soon-to-be wife here in Ecuador and return to the States without her. The conundrum - How to file all of the paperwork needed (i-130, ir1-cr1, etc...) from abroad. I have read of some people here on VJ sending packets of paperwork to relatives in the States to be forwarded on from within the States...but that seems a bit underhanded, perhaps? I am extremely paranoid about crossing my Ts and dotting my Is...I don't want to give anyone in my beloved gov't an opportunity to say "ah-HA!"

What to do? is there anything explicit about NON-DCF (which doesn't appear to be an option in Ecuador?) for situations where both beneficiary and USC are living abroad?

Thanks, ya'll!

gotcha...so I guess Ecuador is served by the USCIS office in Lima...I checked out their webpage, but couldn't find anything directly about DCF...do you think it would be a waste of time to pursue this further with them?

So, a thousand pardons if my question has already been asked/answered here in this thread...I waded through a good number of pages, but not all 20+...

Me: USC

Soon-to-be-wife: Ecuadorian Citizen

after we get married here in Ecuador and start the spouse visa process can she/we reapply for a tourist visa for her so that she can come visit periodically whilst the ~18 month IR1 process, uh, processes?

Would this be "fraud," as an earlier poster insinuated? Would this jeopardize the whole thing? We just want her to be able to come visit and get to know my family, etc. She applied about a year ago before we got engaged for a tourist visa and was denied...that was her first attempt...the guy at the Embassy in Quito was quite a douche.

Anyways, any input? Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Oh, and I would assume that it goes without saying that Ecuador isn't on the VWP list...

Hello Everyone, I'm a gringo living and working here in Ecuador. My fiancee and I are getting married next month, and I'm trying to make sure that I understand the process that I'm about to get involved in. I'm curious to know if anyone knows anything about Direct Consular Filing here in Ecuador. I have a type 12 visa (it's a bit strange, but that's how it works...I work at a public University as a "volunteer" English Teacher) and have been down here off and on since 2012 (when I met my Fiancee). I've had a look at the website for the Embassy in Guayaquil, but I couldn't find anything directly related to Consular Filing. Anyone know anything? Thanks a million,

~Luke

And I guess that I should clarify - I am a US Citizen...I've held 3 of these type-12 visas over the last three years. I am registered in the tax system here, but I am probably still considered a "resident" in the States...I think.

Hey! Thanks, everybody...Tbone, thanks for the advice...we've been archiving photos for the last 3 years, we've got lots of people to write letters vouching for our bona fide relationship...I know how important this step is! Do you recommend anything in particular? we've been living together for the last two years, but I haven't gotten any official paperwork from the landlord yet...working on it...we're trying to get a bank account opened, or at least add her to mine or vice versa, but the banking system here is pretty difficult to work with.

Hi VJ community - I joined this forum at the suggestion of a nice woman I met on the plane during my last trip back from the States down here to Ecuador. My fiancee and I are about to get married down here, and our end goal is to get her a spouse visa and head back to the States. I have a vague-to-semi-solid understanding of the process, but I am excited to get to know this community of immigration/visa experts to help everything along! Thanks in advance for the input, knowledge, experience, and support!

~L