mexicoAmigo

Hi Silove, you have to be a permanent resident for at least 6 months before being eligible to file abroad. So once you have been a resident for 6 months (from date of Mexican FM aka green card), then you can file. Still need all bills etc showing home address.

It is not true that you receive NOA on the spot in Mexico City. It takes a few weeks and you will receive by mail, even if you file in person.

On 10/26/2017 at 3:33 AM, TheDeaks17 said:

So it's nearly November and I've still gotten nowhere. 

 

The embassy got back to me roughly two weeks after I submitted the form as suggested, (around the 4th, just to tell me that's the wrong form and that I needed to provide more information. 

 

Ive done that and it's been nearly two weeks since. I believe I'm well out of the estimated processing window now. 

 

Curious, How did you go about calling? The only number I can find is that of the Embassy and I either get stuck in an automated loop, or when I do get to a human they basically just say "You have to contact through the online web form, the embassy does not take calls from the public regarding visa status" in about 10 different ways with no actual help 😩

Oh no... I'm really sorry to hear that. Well in my case, it was the US Consulate in Mexico, so I'm not sure how to get the actual number for the UK... what does NVC say?

Just reiterating what Jorge said on both accounts - there's no explicit permission you need to seek, just submitting the I130 is enough.

Definitely go with the email. Like Jorge my approval took about a month to come by regular mail but it was approved same day at the embassy and I received the email one day later. Same goes with receiving a case number - that letter also comes by mail but I got it about a month after the case number was actually assigned. Actually, thanks to Jorge's advice, I started calling to pester every other day just to see if the number was available. I also sent an email using the online form on the website and that's how I got notification that the case number was ready.

Here's the link to make an appointment at the embassy:

https://my.uscis.gov/appointment

"General Information" has appointments as early as Thursday. I130 submission has availability the 17th.

Be really grateful you qualify for DCF!!!  We are lucky.

Also we used a lawyer and for proof of our relationship they asked us to include about 20 photos of just us and another 15-20 with friends in the photos. I printed screenshots directly from facebook so the timestamp and comments were visible. I also included a couple pieces of mail having joint domicile and my wife's bank statement showing we have the same address but I didn't have too much in that area. We only married in May so that part was a little lacking but it didn't seem to be an issue,

Agree with Jorge - although I'm re-domiciling, it was much more about proving residency in Mexico. Actually I had a conversation with the USCIS officer in CDMX and he told me the same thing. I saw people getting rejected for that very reason here in mexico city.

Hey Ramirez, 

I did the same as Jorge (US citizen residing in Mexico) and I have a photocopy of the sheet USCIS gave me when I went in to the office of the requirements you'll need for DCF.

It's attached here-

Also, since you live here, you can just make a walk in appointment to the embassy on Reforma and ask them all your questions. They are super nice and helpful. I wish I had done it at the very very beginning because I wasted a lot of time trying to read the minds of what they might want from me.

And Jorge's guide is awesome!

I130 Mex Required Docs.pdf

Definitely just keep calling and submit through the online form. I got the actual letter for approval in the mail about one month after it was actually approved. But (through tips from people on this forum!) I was really incessant about calling every day until the case number was ready, then I was able to go ahead and make an interview appointment online.

About the residency piece, it's not a bad idea to try for residency in a DCF country. I imagine all countries are different but the proof of residency doesn't necessarily need to be super official. I've heard of house rental contracts and bill statements being good enough for the residency piece. When we were filing I saw some other folks trying to file and they were turned away because they had literally NOTHING showing they were actually living in Mexico and it was obvious they were wanting to see if they could apply for DCF.

You could just call the consulates in whatever country you want to become a resident in and ask what qualifies as a residency requirement. I did that here in Mexico prior to starting the process and it wasn't that obvious from the website, I just walked into the embassy one day and asked and they gave me a sheet of paper with all the requirements for DCF and what constituted residency.

Hi pyridine,

This is exactly what I did. I'm a US citizen living in Mexico and my company was transferring me back although I had no official start date. I wanted to start the process because I wasn't sure how long the whole thing would take and wanted to be ahead of the curve for when they relocated me. I got a letter from my company saying that at some point I'd be transferred back (though with no date), and to please expedite the case so my wife and I would be apart for as little time as possible. We just added the letter to the top of the stack of all the documents, and filed together in person in Mexico City.

It worked! They expedited our case and it was less than three months turnaround from filing to visa approval. In speaking with some officers there, they actually said the hardest part is not to show proof of expedition or bona fide marriage, but that the US citizen truly lives abroad (longer than six months) and therefore qualifies for DCF and "skipping the line". This was easy for me as I have a temporary resident Mexico ID card plus all my job pay stubs here in Mexico.

That being said, through this forum I found other people in my situation who didn't need expedition but just simply qualified for DCF because they were bona fide US citizens abroad. They filed DCF and had similar timelines as mine, about three months, without any justification for expedition.

Hope this helps. 

Hi Jenny, who's the US citizen? Do you qualify for direct consular filing? This could skip the process ahead many months but the US citizen needs to be a foreign resident for at least 6 months.

On 7/20/2017 at 1:45 PM, MXcompadre said:

This' a 'HEADS UP' query, and looking for official US DHS policy change clarification if there's been any since 20 Jan 2017.  My spouse's CR-1 Immigration Visa was approved at his July 7th interview at the US Consulate Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.  Upon receipt of the VISA, which has a processing issuance date of Friday, July 14, 2017, the printed expiration date is Saturday, August 19, 2017. All of the VJ site information that we've researched, read and gleaned previously indicated that the CR-1/PR-1 Immigration Visas were valid for 6 months from the date of issuance.  My GOOGLE search has yielded no official US DHS policy change information.  What have other recently approved and issued CR-1/PR-1 Immigration Visa recipients experienced with the valid date on their visas. Fortunately we have scheduled our POE for Friday, August 18, 2017 at SFO.  We're curious and perplexed as to input from others who've had their Immigration Visas issued since January 20, 2017 experienced.    

Hey compa, did you figure out your situation?? Appreciate the heads up as we start this long process...

13 hours ago, Jorge Valdivia said:

Hey @mexicoAmigo just checking if you have heard any news on your case number yet.

 

I wanted to share that I finally found a solution to our technical glitch. Someone in Juarez entered my wife's birthdate wrong. I was able to get the incorrect birthdate by filling out this form, https://mx.usembassy.gov/public-inquiry-form-immigrant-visas-residents/  . I still need to call to get it fixed but I can login to the CEAC website now. I wanted to give you an update on this in case it happened to you, too. Calling didn't really help but filling out the form got me an answer in only a few hours.

 

Another piece of advice: When I first scheduled my interview the first available date was September 21, more than two months away. The person who scheduled my interview on the phone said that I should check available dates often as other interviewees cancel their appointments from time to time. I've been checking the site multiple times per day. This morning a new opening appeared for September 11, ten days earlier! This afternoon a new opening appeared for August 16! Over a month before my original date! Once you get your appointment keep checking for earlier availability. You may just get lucky and find an earlier date.

 

Hey Jorge,

That's amazing you were able to resolve your glitch so quickly, and thanks for the tip in case it happens to us. We still have no word on our case but I also realized I posted the wrong date here - our approval was July 7 so given your timeline, we have a little waiting left to do. I did call NVC and they had no case number yet (as of Friday) but I'll keep calling. However, good news - we DID get the approval notice by mail (the same one we had gotten by email), postmarked a week earlier so I do feel confident we'll get the case number letter by mail as well.

Also - that's unbelievable you were able to find an advance date. Such a great tip and thanks so much - I'll be sure to check incessantly as well.

I'll definitely update as we get more news. Should be in touch prior to your interview date, but we'll definitely be looking forward to your interview to hear how it goes. I kind of stopped reading the forums on here because there seem to be a mix of horror stories and really good experiences so I assume the ones in the middle just don't post anything, haha..

stay in touch!!

22 hours ago, MXcompadre said:

Hola mexicoAmigo! Be very careful if after filing your I-130 petition and you decide that your wife wants to visit on her USA tourist visa. Search here on VJ for recent posts where I-130 filers were denied/not allowed entry either when checking in for their flight at their departure airport due to fact since the new DJT administration in January, the DHS has changed and restricted travel into the USA by all Immigration Visa petitioners.  Have your attorney double check the validity of what he initially told you so that you avoid any disappointments.  Buen suerte.

 

 

 

 

Hey compa.... Oh man, thanks a lot for the heads up. We don't have trips planned but I wasn't aware (but am not surprised...) that policy changed in January. I'll definitely look into it more, as well as keep feverishly checking the mail....

Well, at least someone's looking into it. Sending good vibes! Will update when we hear as well.

45 minutes ago, Jorge Valdivia said:

@mexicoAmigo Glad I was able to be of some help! I hope you get a case number soon. Could you possibly do me a favor in hopes of getting my technical glitch resolved? I've been doing some reading and I think a lot of people have this same problem. It seems that most of the time the problem is resolved on its own especially if it's DCF, but not always. When you get your case number could you let me know if you can sign up for the DS-260? The letter you get from the consulate will tell you to sign in here, https://ceac.state.gov/IV . I can complete the first step, but it keeps telling me that the case number/birthdate is incorrect after filling out the second step. If you could let me know if you are able/unable to complete the signup that'll tell me if the problem is normal or just specific to my case. Thanks in advance!

Hey Jorge, yes absolutely! I checked with our US lawyer yesterday and he hadn't received anything but confirmed that as the attorney of record, he will be getting the confirmation. And I'll keep bugging too.

so you were still able to make the appointment despite not being able to fill the Ds260? That's some comfort at least, you have some time to resolve it.

what did the CDJ line say when you called to ask about it?

2 hours ago, Jorge Valdivia said:

@mexicoAmigo I was able to get through by calling this number actually, +52 656 344 3003 . I've gotten a person every time, though I don't remember the exact options but I think that it was 1, 2, 3 and then the option to talk to an agent. Unfortunately I'm not sure if they'll be able to help you as I think they focus more on support after you've received your case number, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

I was able to get through to someone by choosing the DS260 option! Thanks so much... so we don't have a case number yet, but at least I know who to keep pestering until we get.

I hope you figure out your glitch soon. thanks!

31 minutes ago, Jorge Valdivia said:

@mexicoAmigo You are correct in that the case number allows you to log into the system. It's used for filling out the DS-260 which is a form you need to take to the interview. We're actually experiencing a technical glitch with the system that doesn't allow us to login to the DS-260. I posted about it here on VJ. Fortunately we were still able to make an appointment by calling the AIS phone number for Juarez (+1 703 249 4628) and giving them our case number. The earliest interview date they had was Sept 21, so we took it.

 

I would check with your lawyer about the mail issue. As I mentioned, we were expecting the case number to be mailed to us in Mexico, not the US, so it may be a similar problem for you.

Ahhh okay got it... this is my exact problem though, I can never get to an actual person at that number and I have tried what seems like every possible combination of numbers... what options did you go through at that number to get to a real human??

That's bizarre about a technical glitch...after all that, haha. I hope it gets resolved fast.

34 minutes ago, Jorge Valdivia said:

Just to give you another data point: we submitted our i130 to the embassy in Mexico City on June 24, received NOA1 via email on June 27, and received NOA2 (approval) on July 6. We haven't receive either of these notifications via snail mail. On July 17 we received the snail mail letter from the consulate with our case number (no email this time). The letter stated that the case number had been assigned on July 12.

 

One thing that may help is to check the mailing address you listed. I am a US citizen living in Mexico, petitioning my wife. I used our physical address for both her mailing and physical address, but I used my US address for my mailing address out of habit. NOA2 said that they would mail the embassy letter to the petitioner's address but they ended up mailing it to my mailing address in the States. Did you by chance specify a different address?

Hey Jorge,

This is really helpful, thank you... So the July 17 snail mail letter with the case number came to your USA address? And then with that case number, were you able to log into the system to already make the visa appointment or you're just able to check your status with it?

The only notice to our email was that the I130 had been approved and sent to Ciudad Juarez, that's the last we've heard. I'm not sure if that's NOA1 or NOA2 or both rolled into one.

Unfortunately the physical address is just our Mexico one. We have a US-based attorney as co-filer so I was thinking to check with him if he'd received anything via snail mail that might have the case number.

What stage of the process are you in? I guess I'm also confused as to what the purpose of the case number actually is. Just to keep checking your status and waiting?

Thanks so much!

On 7/15/2017 at 8:50 PM, David Enriquez said:

ok thats good to know! cuz i plan on going to visit Chicago in September and i wanted to file the I-130 , but i dont wan to raise any red flags like you said, so we´ll just do it after we come back from out trip. 

We are filing with the help of lawyers and they said my wife is still eligible to enter the US after submission of the I130 on her tourist visa, but who knows...

On 7/15/2017 at 9:59 PM, MXcompadre said:

To file DCF through the USCIS Field Office at the CDMX US Enbassy your spouse has to already have his MX residente permanente visa. I'm assuming you live reside in CDMX?  If he does not have his MX Residente Permante he'll need to apply for it at your local INM office. For the process to move forward without any glitches, it's important that you have each "i" dotted, an every "t" crossed in assembling all of the items required in filing for either your IR-1 or CR-1 US Immigration Visa.  If you've been married for less than two calendar years it will be a CR-1, otherwise the IR-1. In filing our I-130 petition we front loaded it with my USCIS form I-864 Affidavit of Support with IRS tax returns for the last three calander years, and every required checklist item required by the DHS and or USCIS during the administrative processing for the Immigration Visa. Let me know if you'd like me to sahre that information with each of you via the PM [private message] option here on VJ. It could mean a shorter expedited time between your filing date and notification to select and schedule your interview date at the Consulate in CDJ.       

Hey compadre, congratulations on the fast processing! what a relief. I saw in another post you mentioned about calling to get your case number. We haven't received the snail mail notice of our approval yet, though we received it the same day (June 29) via email. How did the process work for you guys? When did you go from A0000000000.... to a case number?

gracias,

amigo

Just now, mexicoAmigo said:

Hey compadre, congratulations on the fast processing! what a relief. I saw in another post you mentioned about calling to get your case number. We haven't received the snail mail notice of our approval yet, though we received it the same day (June 29) via email. How did the process work for you guys? When did you go from A0000000000.... to a case number?

 

gracias,

amigo

On 7/15/2017 at 9:59 PM, MXcompadre said:

To file DCF through the USCIS Field Office at the CDMX US Enbassy your spouse has to already have his MX residente permanente visa. I'm assuming you live reside in CDMX?  If he does not have his MX Residente Permante he'll need to apply for it at your local INM office. For the process to move forward without any glitches, it's important that you have each "i" dotted, an every "t" crossed in assembling all of the items required in filing for either your IR-1 or CR-1 US Immigration Visa.  If you've been married for less than two calendar years it will be a CR-1, otherwise the IR-1. In filing our I-130 petition we front loaded it with my USCIS form I-864 Affidavit of Support with IRS tax returns for the last three calander years, and every required checklist item required by the DHS and or USCIS during the administrative processing for the Immigration Visa. Let me know if you'd like me to sahre that information with each of you via the PM [private message] option here on VJ. It could mean a shorter expedited time between your filing date and notification to select and schedule your interview date at the Consulate in CDJ.       

On 7/15/2017 at 9:00 PM, David Enriquez said:

also...i forgot to ask when filing the I-130, we just mail all the docs to the Embassy address on Reforma in Mexico City?  because we live here, we were wondering if we can just drop the papers off or everything has to be done by mail(DHL)?   thanks! 

Hi Enrique,

As for the translations, we ended up using a court-certified translator who added her "sello" to the translated pages. It was inexpensive and as MXcompadre says, better to cross t's and dot i's now and not have any problems down the road. 

Re: filing, I STRONGLY recommend you go in person, particularly since you live here. I went about a month before filing to be sure about all the required documents and they told me what "extra" docs would be helpful for submission that I made sure to include. For example, they said proving the petitioner's residency is actually more of a roadblock then proving the marriage. They asked in addition to my "residente temporal" card, to bring bank statements, bills, and pay stubs going back three months. I made sure to bring all those documents. I also had some random extra papers on me, such as a wife's grocery membership card showing our joint address, that they ended up including. Also, this way you can be sure the package is complete.

Make sure you schedule with anticipation, it took about a month to get an available appointment. We were approved the same day and our submission package is now sitting in the black hole of ciudad juarez.

When we were there, we saw a woman unable to file because she wasn't able to prove her residency. It was pretty sad!!

good luck to you,

your amigo

Hi everyone, new on here and have some questions... I recently submitted my I130 for my wife (I'm a US Citizen and resident of mexico, she's Mexican) and we were approved in Mexico City on June 29, including a request for expedition due to job transfer.

We received the I130 submission notice through email but have yet to receive it via snail mail... after reading all these forums, it seems like the best thing to do is call the Visa processing center in Ciudad Juarez until we receive a case number. HOWEVER, no one picks up any phones! I must have tried ten different numbers, trying all the dial pad options, but it's always automated or an operator transfers me to a dead line.

Anyone in the same position?? This process is so stressful...