6 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

Good luck getting an appointment without special intervention. 

My wife got her passport same day at the Dallas Passport Agency without any problems in January. She simply called up, said she had travel within 14 days, and got an appointment. Took all of 5 minutes.

7 minutes ago, zamardii12 said:

So after your 18 month extension period expired after the i751 did you do anything or did you just continue to wait until you got word that you need to go for your next interview? 

 

We didn't do anything to move along the case as processing times for our service center crawled up to like 24-30 months, so I wasn't able to request an update from USCIS since we were still within "normal processing times."

As far as the extension goes, once our 18 month extension letter expired we began to request I-551 passport stamps as we needed to travel outside of the US frequently. The stamp is required for international travel once your letter expires as USCIS won't issue more extension letters and airlines won't let you board without proof of status. If you don't plan to travel then the I-551 stamp isn't required as you remain in status. If you do plan on traveling then you should call USCIS, say "infopass", and request an appointment for the passport stamp. Note that it takes 30-40 days to get an appointment so you shouldn't leave it to the last minute.

This thread hasn't had a post since March 2022, which makes me think we were one of the last June 2020 N400s to be approved. Here's our timeline

Jun 2019 - Submitted I751, got 18 month extension letter
Aug 2019 - Biometrics
Sep 2019 - Status changed to "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview"
Jun 2020 - Submitted N400
Jan 2021 - Got biometrics reuse notice for N400
Mar 2021 - 18 month extension letter expired
Mar 2021 - present - Got total of four I-551 passport stamps as we travel internationally frequently by calling and saying "infopass"
Oct 2022 - N400 interview scheduled
Nov 2022 - Combo interview

Dec 2022 - Oath ceremony

I haven't kept up with this thread in a long time, but we finally had our I751 (and N400), approved. We might be one of the last June 2019 filers to get approved. Here's our timeline:

Jun 2019 - Submitted I751, got 18 month extension letter
Aug 2019 - Biometrics
Sep 2019 - Status changed to "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview"
Jun 2020 - Submitted N400
Jan 2021 - Got biometrics reuse notice for N400
Mar 2021 - 18 month extension letter expired
Mar 2021 - present - Got total of four I-551 passport stamps as we travel internationally frequently by calling and saying "infopass"
Oct 2022 - N400 interview scheduled
Nov 2022 - Combo interview

Dec 2022 - Oath ceremony

19 hours ago, David Holmes said:

5/30/2021 to 5/30/2023

Just to add to what others have said, your wife won't be eligible to apply for citizenship until 03-01-2024 at the earliest (90 days before her three year anniversary of becoming a permanent resident/"resident since" date on her card). This is assuming she remains married to you.

6 hours ago, Mobius1 said:

 

 

Looking forward to that flip after being done with them once and for all....

 

Hopefully Dallas oath allows. Would be nice to have loved ones join along in such a milestone...

The Dallas field office is not currently allowing visitors. My wife has her oath in a few days and this is what it says:

Who should come with you? - You may be limited in who may attend your appointment with you in person.

• If you do not speak English fluently and are eligible to take the appointment in a language other than English, you should arrange to have an interpreter come with you to the appointment or be available via phone. If you need a Sign Language Interpreter or Certified Deaf Interpreter, call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 as soon as possible.
• Your attorney or authorized representative may come with you to the appointment or be available via phone.
• If you have a disability and have an individual who assists you, that individual may come with you.

No mention of anyone else being able to attend.

On 12/13/2022 at 11:17 AM, d3domino said:

Thank you very much! I just sent them an email. I thought I had read online that Mexico City processed spouse visas for DCF but perhaps I was incorrect or perhaps that has now changed. Either way, Mexico City or Cuidad Juarez, makes no difference to me. 

Mexico City used to process DCF, as did Monterrey (and maybe another one I'm forgetting), but it seems that changed during the added DCF restrictions in 2020.

Others have chimed in to say that DCF can't be done on a tourist visa, but I did just that in 2017. This, too, was before DCF became more restrictive so things might have changed now. I'll note that I had been living in Mexico for 7 years on tourist visas by doing visa runs (leaving and re-entering every 6 months) so I was able to provide evidence of my living there (lease, bank statements, passport entry stamps). Back then I was able to call the embassy and the person on the phone seemed to indicate that it didn't matter, and that they would consider my case as long as I could prove I had been in the country for 3 months. Again, things might be different now.

I'll also add that I did get apply for and get my mexican resident card just in case, bit I ended up not needing it as our case was approved before I received the card. The process to get residency was simple. I hired a lawyer and paid a total of around $600. Total process took about 6 weeks. If the embassy is unwilling to accept your case then you might consider just applying for Mexican residency, though that may not work with the timeline for your new job.

As others have mentioned, waiting 2+ years for I751 is common. We waited 3.5 years for ours. We also filed N400 as soon as we could, but it didn't seem to speed things up in our case. Here's our timeline in case it might help you:

Jun 2019 - Submitted I751, got 18 month extension letter
Aug 2019 - Biometrics
Sep 2019 - Status changed to "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview"
Jun 2020 - Submitted N400
Jan 2021 - Got biometrics reuse notice for N400
Mar 2021 - 18 month extension letter expired
Mar 2021 - present - Got total of four I-551 passport stamps as we travel internationally frequently by calling and saying "infopass"
Oct 2022 - N400 interview scheduled
Nov 2022 - Combo interview

Dec 2022 - Oath ceremony

USCIS rescheduled our interview (not the day of, that sucks), and we didn't receive the letter for the new interview until about 5-6 weeks later. From what I've seen, 1-2 months is common when waiting for a new interview date, but it depends on how busy your field office is.

I share your frustration with all the delays. Similarly we filed our I751 first and then N400 a year later, but had to wait much longer. Our I751 was filed in June 2019, N400 in June 2020, and we literally heard nothing until Sept 2022. We finally did our interview (I751 + N400) a few weeks ago, 3.5 years after filing the I751 and 2.5 years after the N400.

10 hours ago, lalaland said:

yes but then i couldnt apply for dcf because i would be domiciled in the US and i cant 

 just un-domicile from where i am and then come back again and domicile.

 

 

thanks for the input though

You can still apply for DCF. You need to be there at the moment of filing the initial I130, after that you're free to move to the US. This is what many couples did when DCF was more common: apply for 130, US citizen moves back to the US to start job/establish domicile/get a head start on moving/etc, US citizen returns to foreign country to attend the interview if the embassy requires/allows it. Not all embassy's require the US citizen attend, and some (ex: Juarez, Mexico), explicitly prohibit anyone but the beneficiary from attending.

As always, double check with your embassy but that this was very common.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents here. You're getting multiple potentially non concrete answers due to DCF rules historically being consulate dependent and also the recent changes that essentially shut down DCF in most cases. Ultimately the best thing you can do is talk to someone in the Moscow/Frankfurt/Montreal embassies and ask your questions.

I'll also add that your EU residency option may work for filing in Frankfurt, but in my experience they care more about the spirit of the rule than the letter. When I applied for DCF in Mexico in 2017 I had been living in Mexico for 7 years, but was not an actual resident as I only ever got tourist visas. The embassy didn't care about that detail, they just wanted me to prove that I had been living in Mexico for at least 6 months. I sent them apartment leases, bills, etc and they accepted. While you may be able to become a legal resident of the EU in 1-2 days, that may not be enough to convince them that you meet the spirit of the rule, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

Everyone is using terms like priority dates and visa bulletin, which while accurate, may be unfamiliar to @CSG046186 and may be going over their head. So maybe using simpler terms will help.

You seem to be familiar with AOS and know that it's a common way for immigrants already in the US (even on tourist visas) to get their green card. What you may be missing is that the category of eligible immigrants is limited. Most of the people you read about adjusting status are the spouses of US citizens, and as mentioned by others, someone like your son (21+) is not eligible for AOS. You are free to file all necessary forms, but the current wait time for your son's category is at least 6 years (11 years if from the Philippines, 23 years if from Mexico). He cannot spend this time in the US on a tourist visa, as his overstay will not be forgiven as it would be for a spouse.

On 10/16/2019 at 7:31 AM, MexicoExpat said:

Because someone on VJ with direct experience submitting their I-130 quoted only a money order/cashier's check or Giro Bancario being an option when they did it. And that they ended up needing to FedEx a money order down to Mexico. 

 

My lawyer also advised that a money order is the best way. 

 

After waiting several days for an email response, I coincidentally heard back from USCIS just minutes after posting this thread. 

 

So I should be OK with my credit card as I was originally planning to do. I never saw any such info on the USCIS website. 

 

FYI, this is the VJ page I was referring to, which maybe should be updated with this new info: 

 

 

 

FYI I'm the one who wrote this guide 2+ years ago. Back then you had to submit your application via mail, but not too long ago they changed it so you had to file it in person. When submitting by mail you weren't allowed to pay via credit card, but now that you have to file in person it's possible.

14 minutes ago, Crissgut said:

You going to see a msg saying the interview was scheduled,  if doesn't said that its not ready yet 

 

Thanks!

On 10/12/2019 at 8:13 AM, seablock said:

My I-751 package:

 

Mailed 6/26

Received in Dallas 6/28

Check cashed 7/5

Notice Date 7/3

Received I-797 7/6

Received Bio notice 7/12

Bio appt 7/26

Case Ready to be scheduled for an interview 9/25

 

Hi! I see that you filed in Dallas also. Have you received your interview notice yet?

Our case went to "Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview" on Sept 19 but we haven't received either notice via mail. As I understand it you receive two notices, one telling you about the change in status and another one with your actual interview date.

We've had some problems receiving mail in the past. Does anyone know if there's a number we can call to see if we've failed to receive these notices?

First time posting in this thread, but our case was recently updated to "Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview" as of September 19th.

- USCIS received our case July 2nd (though we mailed it in June).

- Biometrics appointment was completed July 24th.

- Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview on Sept 19th.

From looking at the spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Id1duRRByZHJmhEzl9N25GqwzcnUyLCR4e4N9W6zGLg/edit#gid=0) it looks like most people receive the interview notification 1-2 months after their case is updated to "Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview" and the interview occurs about 1 month later. This is good for us as we're currently traveling and won't be back home for another two weeks. I'm guessing no one's heard of anyone who received their interview within two weeks of their case being updated to "Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview"?

13 hours ago, payxibka said:

Some people travel same day 

Yea many applicants at the Juarez embassy, which is only a few miles from the US border, enter the US the same day.

On 5/1/2019 at 10:27 AM, George & Richelle said:

Genuine question. Don't most countries require something similar for any sort of extended stay? (More than six months) 

Depends. Some countries allow tourist visas to be renewed indefinitely, usually by exiting and immediately reentering the country. This process is typically called a "visa run". Mexico is one such country, and I lived there continually for 4 years (and on/off for 3 years before that) by doing exactly this, without ever having anything more than the tourist visa you get on arrival.

4 hours ago, payxibka said:

Even if you were present in a DCF eligible location, 6 mos.  as a tourist does not fulfill the residence requirement 

As @geowrian mentioned, it is possible to qualify for DCF as a tourist. I did this in Mexico 2 years ago. I had been living in Mexico for 4 years as a tourist (Mexico allows visa runs, so I just kept renewing my tourist visa every 6 months). When I initially inquired about DCF, the local USCIS field office in Mexico City told me they would possibly accept my case as a tourist even if I had only only been residing there for 3 months, and definitely would for 6 months. They didn't seem to care too much about the type of visa I had.

2 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

It will not work.

 

For the K-1, you will need to have a US domicile.  For DCF, you must be living abroad.  You can't have it both ways.  

Does the K1 require US domicile, or is it like the CR1 that only requires intent to reestablish domicile at a date no later than the immigrants entry date? If it only requires intent, then they should be able to get a K1.

After that, it seems like his plan is actually to move back to China after the wedding, thus reestablishing residence there. It seems that most DCF countries only look for 3 months of residence, so they could apply after only 3 months and then get approved 3 months later. Total processing time would be 6 months vs 18+ for AoS. It's a stretch but it could work.

1 hour ago, Talking_Potato said:

I just got news from Frankfurt about our petition, that we as Dutch residents are not eligible to file there as we are not German residents. 

Which is odd as previous posters and Dutch residents on this forum had no issues to go DCF there. Dont know if anything has changed since last year, but it is no longer available. So Chicago Lockbox it is..

The way DCF works is that only residents of the country where the USCIS field office is located, Germany in this case, are eligible.

That said, residents of countries without a USCIS field office who live in Frankfurt's jurisdiction (listed at top of this page, the Netherlands included), are eligible to file in Frankfurt but only if they meet the exceptional circumstances requirement. Examples include, but are not limited to, a short notice US job offer for the petitioner and medical emergencies.

I'm not sure that your comment regarding Dutch residents had previously had no issues is 100% accurate. I imagine those posters went the exceptional circumstances route. Without exceptional circumstances then any Dutch applicant will be rejected 100% of the time.

I don't have a link for someone from the Netherlands going the exceptional circumstances route, though I have seen previous posts, but I did find someone from Sweden doing it here

18 hours ago, dreid71 said:

Hi Boiler, thanks for response.

what evidence I'll need to submit as well for proof of this? that I'm actively seeking a job or job offers? because my present employers I won't be working for them once I move back o the states 

If you won't be working for your same employers then your income won't be continuing from the same source. Sounds like you'll need a cosponsor.

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.

1 hour ago, SonofBaraka said:

My understanding is that no credit card company will issue a joint or second credit card without the spouse's SSN.

 

Chase will allow you to add an authorized user with just a name and nothing else. Many years before we got married and moved to the US, I added my non US citizen wife as an authorized user on my Chase Sapphire. It really helped for travel, especially in the US.

This had the added benefit of Chase later matching up her previous credit history with her new SSN once we moved. She's only had an SSN for 1.5 years, but she has 6 years of credit history and an 750+ credit score.