Jorge V

23 hours ago, jcon91 said:

In the end though, we never received a letter from the CDJ.

I just realized you mentioned this. Keep in mind that the letter is required for both the medical and interview. We saw several people turned away at the medical for not having a copy of the letter.

Fortunately you can get the letter printed at the Juarez embassy's information window (right next to the main entrance). If you don't receive the letter before your interview be sure to get it printed there before your medical.

So the official instructions say "Indicate the country where you maintain your principal residence and where you plan to reside for the foreseeable future." Keep in mind that you won't have to turn this in until your interview. If at that time you have established the US as your principal residence then you can go ahead and put US. If you have not established US domicile by the interview date you'll have to attach evidence that you plan to do so by the date of your wife's entry into the US as an immigrant.

Personally, I had everything setup for US domicile (driver's license, voter registration, bank accounts, a place to stay, etc), but was still in Mexico waiting out the DCF process. By the time of the interview we didn't even have a place to live in Mexico other than family members' spare bedrooms and hotels. I selected US as my country of domicile and it was accepted. Looking back on it I can imagine a scenario where the interviewer may question this, but I had plenty of evidence of my intent to reestablish domicile anyway, so it doesn't worry me.

My recommendation is that if you have already done everything to reestablish domicile (especially finding a place to live), then go ahead and put US. Otherwise, write in Mexico and attach as much evidence as you can of your intent to move with your wife.

Also, don't worry about asking questions, that's what this forum is here for. I like helping others because when I started this process I was lost and almost wound up paying a lawyer $4,500 and he didn't even know about DCF. Thanks to this place I was able to save money and tons of time. I'm just paying it forward. You should pay it forward as well if you're so inclined 

9 hours ago, OliverBa said:

Yeah, that might be the case actually. I guess I'm confused about the NOA2 and Packet 3...I know the NOA1 just states that they received my application, but what is the NOA2 and Packet 3? 

NOA2 notifies you when your I130 has been approved or denied by USCIS. Once your I130 is approved your petition will be transferred from the local USCIS field office to the embassy's IV (immigrant visa) unit. For DCFers both of these entities are in the same building, but the transfer of responsibility still occurs. Once the IV unit receives your petition they'll enter it into their system and send you Packet 3. This packet includes your case number and instructions on how to fill out the DS260, schedule your interview, and schedule the medical.

If you attached form G1145 with your packet you'll receive NOA2 by email and possibly regular mail. I received the email notification the day after it was approved and the snail mail version several weeks later. I received packet 3 five days after the embassy received my petition.

This actually happened to us and it was such a pain to get it figured out even though it ended up being something simple. We would get that same error message when trying to use CEAC. We called the embassy and several other places to no avail. I eventually found this form ( https://mx.usembassy.gov/public-inquiry-form-immigrant-visas-residents/ ) and submitted an inquiry. A few days later they responded saying that someone at the embassy had likely entered my wife's birthday incorrectly. They included the incorrect birthdate and we were able to use that to login. We filled out everything as normal and simply told someone at the embassy (during the interview) about the mixup and they fixed it.

Not sure what country you're filing in but I recommend checking if your embassy has a similar inquiry form or some way to contact them. I also recommend trying different birthdates in hope of guessing the correct one. I had actually started doing this but gave up before finding the right one. I should've just kept going.

14 hours ago, quibily said:

Ohh, really?  Wow, I assumed GC holders had some other number that wasn't a SSID.  That question seems unnecessary.  Who would say no to that?

Maybe those who already have an SSN from a previous stay in the US? There might be others, too.

Keep in mind that you might not receive a SS card even if you answer yes to that question. Many of us (myself included) fall through the cracks and just never get anything. The SSA recommends going into an office and requesting an SSN if you have not received it within 3 weeks, though some prefer to do it sooner. We waited 3 weeks, went to the SSA, were told that there was no record of our request from the DS260, filled out a form, and had it mailed to us within a week.

That's awesome. Don't freak out if you don't get an NOA1, it seems that DCFers in many countries never get it (I didn't get an official one). This seems to be especially the case when delivering the I130 in person, seeing as how you know that your packet has been received because you physically dropped it off there.

33 minutes ago, jcon91 said:

Hello Everyone,

 

I was able to get in to get my wife's code that begins with CDJ. I was also originally scheduled for an interview not until April. The same day, by constantly checking the website, I was able to push her appointment up to December 3rd. This is fantastic! 

 

In the end though, we never received a letter from the CDJ. We have an appointment for bio-metrics and interview, but do not have an appointment for medical. I assume the instructions for medical were in the letter we were supposed to receive. Since we have no yet received this letter, we are unaware of how to schedule a medical.  Does anyone know the procedure of scheduling a medical in CDJ? I know that Jorge mentions one in his guide. Is this still up to date? 

 

Thank you. 

Here's the direct link to the medical instructions btw, https://mx.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2017/06/CDJ_Mexwide-202-CDJ-439-JUN2017-ENG-.pdf

33 minutes ago, jcon91 said:

Hello Everyone,

 

I was able to get in to get my wife's code that begins with CDJ. I was also originally scheduled for an interview not until April. The same day, by constantly checking the website, I was able to push her appointment up to December 3rd. This is fantastic! 

 

In the end though, we never received a letter from the CDJ. We have an appointment for bio-metrics and interview, but do not have an appointment for medical. I assume the instructions for medical were in the letter we were supposed to receive. Since we have no yet received this letter, we are unaware of how to schedule a medical.  Does anyone know the procedure of scheduling a medical in CDJ? I know that Jorge mentions one in his guide. Is this still up to date? 

 

Thank you. 

Awesome. You should be able to schedule the medical by simply calling one of the two clinics in Juarez (or the one in Mexico City if you live in CDMX or Mexico state) and requesting an appointment for at least a day before your interview. The letter itself has a few basic instructions, but nothing major. Here's a link to our own letter with our details blocked out, https://i.imgur.com/oEAec0x.png

Paying for DCF often causes headaches for those in certain countries. The field office will lay out requirements that local banks don't always offer. What many of us (myself included) end up doing is having a family member in the US get a cashier's check and mail it to us. I personally had my mom do this and it worked out great.

If your case is still at NVC then it's very unlikely you'll get an interview for December or January. According to these two threads  (https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/670262-appoint-wait-time-in-cdj-mexico/ , https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/664140-ciudad-juarez-taking-forever-to-assign-interviews/?page=2 ) on this same forum, Juarez is taking around 5-6 months to assign interviews. March/April might be more realistic.

2 hours ago, sluchie88 said:

I have an update on our situation. We got our approval notice from USCIS today, and my petition was approved. They did not request any additional information. Does this mean we do not need the Affidavit of Support?

The process for DCF varies somewhat by country, but the Affidavit of Support is generally requested during the interview.

This is an often quoted official source supporting the statements above that an affidavit of support is not necessary or even looked at:

Quote

Note: Visa applicants must qualify on the basis of the applicant's residence and ties abroad, rather than assurances from U.S. family and friends. A letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support is not needed to apply for a visitor visa. If you choose to bring a letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support to your interview, please remember it is not one of the factors used in determining whether to issue or deny the visa.

Source: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html

1 hour ago, moeandlu said:

we stupidly had a photocopy of our certified copy of the marriage certificate. They asked us to courier the original, we only have the certified copy with embossed stamp from the county clerk. This will suffice (certified copy is listed as acceptable on the website under required documents for UK us embassy required documents) - right?

Yes. No one ever gets the true original certificate as that stays at whatever government office stores documents in your country. By original they mean the actual document you get from the clerk, not a photocopy. What you have should suffice.

7 hours ago, perks said:

hello everyone, i intend to file in November 2018. i have provided most of the documents but have difficulty in two basic documents. your advice would help:

 

I am currently working as an English teacher here in South Koea. in the case of jint bank account, koreans  do not have that law, meaning they do not accept a joint banck account for couples. so i fine it difficult to eplace that document

secondly, my house is provided to me by the school where i teach. i dont have any document to show as a house leas since the school has as contracts with the landlored on housing for all its teachers. how can i replace the document 'house leasing in this situation' to prove i live together with my partner?

 

Neither document is required so no need to worry there. I'm assuming you would want to use a joint bank account for evidence of the relationship. There are many other things you can use instead. Use the search on here to find evidence others have used. 

I'm assuming you want the lease for evidence of residency. Do you have anything else you can use? If you a valid work or residency permit that alone should be enough. 

1 hour ago, David & Zoila said:

Just a thought.  Another interesting idea may be to divorce your adoptive parents.  I have heard of this happening with famous actors and I bet it costs a fortune.  If you divorce your adoptive parents do your biological parents, by default, regain "ownership" of you?  Not really sure.  Sounds like it's time for a very expensive attorney.

I think you're referring to becoming an emancipated minor. That wouldn't really factor in here though. Emancipated minors are granted the right to essentially be an adult and not be in the custody of their parents. They're guardianship (or parentship?) isn't transferred to anyone else though.

10 minutes ago, Simcha said:

Right so My question is, does a short visit to the US remove my residency status

A short visit doesn't remove your South African residency status. The requirement isn't that you be present in the country for every day for 6 months, it's merely that you are a resident of that country. If you're only visiting the US shortly then you'll be fine.

If you'd like a data point I DCF'd in Mexico last year and frequently had to travel to the US for both work and family reasons. Mexico was still my primary residence so that didn't change my eligibility. 

52 minutes ago, Jane_mj said:

Hello, I am with same page with u guys. I just have a question did u send any documents ( step.4-5) to nvc via mail or email. Because I already have appointment for visa interview this coming October 2,2018 and I am done with medical but I didnot send any documents to the nvc  aside the ds-260.  Do I need to cancel my interview and send documents to nvc wait for the reply?

Did you file directly with the embassy in Manilla? Going by your timeline and the fact that you're posting in the DCF forum, then I'm assuming that answer is yes. DCF filers do not deal with NVC, only with the local embassy. Documents normally submitted to the NVC are instead submitted in person at the interview for DCFers.

Even if you didn't file via DCF, NVC would not have scheduled your appointment without receiving and verifying all required docs.

Just want to agree with everything that @geowrian has said and give you some extra info.

You can find extra information on applying via DCF in Manilla on their official site: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/philippines-uscis-manila-field-office . If you expand the "Form I130..." section you'll see what their residency requirements are and how to file. You'll also find their contact info, which you can use to potentially receive more specific instructions.

You should also check out the DCF forum on here, https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/82-direct-consular-filing-dcf-general-discussion/ where you'll find many discussions for DCFing in Manilla. Here's a recent one: https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/675839-dcf-manila-march-june-2018-recap/ . That user in particular is somewhat responsive to Manilla specific questions. He filed in mid March and was approved in June, so a total of 3 months.

I had a similar experience as you with lawyers and DCF. I paid for 2 consultations and neither lawyer mentioned DCF. They were aware I was residing in Mexico and everything. There have been similar stories in the DCF forum. I just don't think many lawyers are aware of DCF.

13 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

I  mean the NOA2 date. In a DCF NOA2 means it is being sent to the Consulate not to NVC.  Also in a DCF the NOA1 and NOA2 are usually very close in. Ours was three days, two of which were a weekend.

 

When we called the consulate they were very nice.  If you stay on top of it you can move it along.  We just got approved today.  Our original interview date was 12/27.  Once you have the internet account setup and ds260 done you can check for new openings.  Do that a few times during the day.  After two weeks I had it moved up 3 months to September 25th.

The importance of this cannot be overstated. Filing DCF allows you to make and reschedule your own appointment (not sure if others can), potentially saving you months. My original appointment was for Sept 21 (last year), after checking the calendar every day and finding several cancellations, I was able to get it to August 15th, which was less than a month after receiving packet 3. 

4 hours ago, TeachersJ&L said:

For what it's worth, the closest hotel is the City Express -- across the street via footbridge from the Consulate.  The Microtel by Wyndham and the Holiday Inn Express (where we stayed for our appointment two months ago) are also a very easy walk from the Consulate -- 4 or 5 minutes along the major thoroughfare (i.e., well-trafficked and felt very safe).  Considering that the rate includes breakfast buffet and free shuttle to (but not from) the CDJ airport and/or to the US border, we found the (very clean, comfortable, and efficient) Holiday Inn Express to be a good deal.   

 

Best of luck to one and all!   We can say that once our 14-month wait was over and my wife had the appointment, everything happened very quickly from then on....  Appointment was on a Monday.  Visa was sent via DHL on Thursday and arrived CDMX Friday.  She flew to the US on Sunday.  Social Security card arrived two weeks after she entered.  Green card arrived in the mail a week after that.   Sending the best to you all.

We also stayed at the Holiday Inn about a year ago and had a good experience. It wasn't an amazing hotel, but it's more than good enough for a night or two in Juarez. To be fair the hotels around the embassy all seemed to have similar rates and quality. It seems hard to go wrong.

You posted this in the DCF forum so I'm assuming you're filing via DCF. DCF filers do not (and cannot) assign agents. It's a step you can skip.

Also check out the consulate reviews on here. That's where most people post their interview experiences. Here's the link for Ghana: http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.php?cnty=Ghana&cty=&dfilter=5

16 hours ago, MXcompadre said:

Since you live in Quintana Roo you will file/mail your 1-130  with the USCIS Field Office  located within the US Embassy in CDMX (Mexico City).

According to recent comments by jcon91 in this thread, the CDMX field office is no longer accepting mailed petitions. This change seems to be very recent and their website does not reflect this new change. It's unclear if this applies to the other two field offices in Mexico. I'll update the DCF Mexico guide.

2 hours ago, OliverBa said:

OMG Thank you so much! this was EXACTLY what I needed, and yes I did mean the DS-260 haha. As far as the affidavit of support, as a primary sponsor, I will fill the I-1864, and my sister should also provide the I-864, is that correct?

Then I should provide my last year's tax transcript along with my 1099, and my sister provides her last year's tax transcript along with her W-2?

 

 

That is correct. You can find the full instructions for the I864 here. 

9 hours ago, OliverBa said:

Hi Everyone,

So I have everything ready to submit the I-130 petition, and I was readying the VJ guide that said if we have the other documents ready at the time we submit the first petition, they may accept it which would expedite the process. I'm trying to get a checklist of what those documents are when we are asked to submit the D-230. Especially since my husband is not Chinese, some of the documents I believe he will need to get from his own country or have his siblings send it to him. I've heard that each office/embassy may require different documents, so I'm wondering if anyone has gone through DCF in Guangzhou and could tell me what documents they required. 

 

Also as far as the affidavit of support, my sister will be doing the affidavit of support, since I have yet to reestablish residency in the states, and we will be using her address for everything. Do I still need to fill out the affidavit of support to sponsor my husband, or just have her fill it out? I'm a little confused about that part.

Do you mean the DS-260 and not the D230? It looks like the DS-230 is meant for Diversity Visa and Cuban Family Reunification Parole applications.

Anyway, here's some information from the Guangzhou embassy: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/GUZ_Guangzhou.html . They have an interview checklist which should list everything you need (though you'll likely receive a more complete list once your I130 has been approved) here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/GUZ_Guangzhou.html#pre_interview_checklist .

Your husband will likely have to get a police certificate from each country where he has lived for more than 6 months after the age of 16.

As far as the I-864, yes, you're required to be your husband's primary sponsor, even if you have no US income. Both you and your sister will have to file I864s.