Kuneesa

Hey, That notification is regarding the processing of Immigrant Visas in Delhi Embassy. The Immigrant Visas are still processing, just in Mumbai embassy. That means the actual visa interview will be in Mumbai. Before that, one could've done the interview in Delhi too. To file I-130 which is the first part of the process, you have to file it at USCIS Delhi field office which is a separate office, although it is inside the Delhi Embassy. Yes, you have to make an Infopass appointment from here (https://my.uscis.gov/en/appointment/intl) and select "I-130 Petition". They are still giving out appointments for that so it means the DCF process is still running. For the interview in London, honestly, only USCIS can clarify on that. Yes if the interview is approved, the beneficiary gets a CR-1/IR-1 visa and as soon as the beneficiary enters the US, the green card is mailed to their US address and it usually takes a couple of weeks to get the green card. Hope this helps!

Hey! 1.) The marriage certificate should be OK. Also, you have an OCI card so you won't need the FRRO registration. 2.) Given your residency proof here (Tax returns, pay stubs, work letter etc.), you should be able to file DCF I-130 petition at USCIS Delhi office. You have to provide the proof of US domicile and the affidavit of support I-864 (to be filled by petitioner & joint sponsor) at the interview stage for DCF after the I-130 petition is approved and the interview has been scheduled. You will physically have to take all those documents to the interview and the officer will decide if the US petitioner has enough evidence for domicile requirement. Having a joint sponsor WILL NOT cancel the need to prove domicile for the petitioner. Ideally, the US petitioner should at least have their most recent 3-year tax transcripts, W-2 forms (both required regardless for filling I-864), A voting record in the United States, records of paying U.S. taxes, having property in the United States, maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, having a permanent mailing address in the United States, other proof such as evidence that the sponsor is a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay, having maintained a vehicle/insurance in the United States while residing outside etc. You can check the requirements on the I-864 filing instructions page 5&6 (https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-864instr.pdf) What you CAN do if you don't have enough proof for domicile is move back to the US AFTER you file your I-130 here. You DON'T need to be in India for the whole process. Just for the petition filing. 3.) It is a good practice to file US taxes no matter what if you are a citizen/LPR and residing outside the US. Even if you are claiming the foreign earned income exclusion ($103,900 for the tax year 2018) and your income for tax purposes is ZERO, you still have to file the return. More info here (https://www.irs.gov/publications/p54#en_US_2018_publink100047594). You can late file now and submit those transcripts when you fill the I-864 form. Or you will have to give a written statement about why you did not file your US taxes. I strongly suggest you file the previous taxes because that will help you in domicile proof requirement too. 4.) The only thing extra your husband would need apart from the documents I have mentioned in the previous posts on this thread is a PCC (Police Clearance Certificate) from London as he is working there. PCC is good for 1 year and takes time to procure so I suggest your husband should apply for it as soon as you file your I-130. 5.) My suggestion is to front-load the I-130 application with as much evidence you can. (Check other threads on this forum where people have put in lists of documents they submitted with their petition.) Only other advice I'd give is to file your I-130 as soon as you can. There are talks of USCIS closing all their international offices in upcoming months. And if that happens, DCF process will not be available anymore. Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any more answers

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage! If you're marrying in India under the Special Marriage Act, they ask for a NOC certificate from the US Embassy in India. You will have to make a trip to the embassy for this. Check here https://in.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/marriage/ You have to schedule a notary appointment from the link above. Then enter the embassy with your US passport and they will make a notary document which will look something like the image below. The charges for it are $50 IIRC and you can pay via credit card (at least for USCIS/Embassy office in Delhi) Goodluck!

Thank you! I was thinking of including them because once we move, I'm planning to transfer my assets to a US bank account anyways. I really appreciate your help

Hey! We have an interview scheduled for 25th of March at Mumbai Consulate. We are prepping all our documents and have (almost) everything. I have a couple of questions and was wondering if someone can point us in the right direction. 1) My wife (US Petitioner) has been working in India from past 4 years. We were able to file DCF in Delhi, India because of this. She makes less than the foreign earned income exclusion ($103,900 for the tax year 2018) limit and this we had to put $0 as her Currant Annual Household Income (Part 6, Item No. 20) 2.) We have her parents as joint sponsors. They have filled i864 & i864a and we have the IRS transcripts & W2s from last 3 years ready. 3.) For my wife's (US Petitioner) i864, she has included her assets (which are less than $60k). I want to know if we can include my (beneficiary's) assets as assets of intending immigrant (Part 7, Item Numbers 6. - 9.) in her i864? Has anyone done this before or would it be something that is not required if we have joint sponsors already? Thank you!

Yes, it should. She can also mail potential employers/schools and inquire about jobs or study to make a case for going back. Same with enquiring & trying to get a lease in the US. Having a current drivers license and active credit card etc will also help. Basically, include as much evidence as you can. Good luck!

You're good on the marriage proof then. For tax stuff, I'd suggest you try for an accountant based in the US who specializes in taxes for people living abroad. The USCIS Delhi does reply very diligently (at least in our case) if you mail them on the address I gave above. I'll keep this thread updated with our interview experience!

You have to provide the proof of US domicile and the affidavit of support I-864 (to be filled by petitioner & joint sponsor) at the interview stage for DCF after the I-130 petition is approved and the interview has been scheduled. You will physically have to take all those documents to the interview and the officer will decide if the US petitioner has enough evidence for domicile requirement. Having a joint sponsor WILL NOT cancel the need to prove domicile for the petitioner. Ideally, the US petitioner should at least have their most recent 3-year tax transcripts, W-2 forms (both required regardless for filling I-864), A voting record in the United States, records of paying U.S. taxes, having property in the United States, maintaining bank or investment accounts in the United States, having a permanent mailing address in the United States, other proof such as evidence that the sponsor is a student studying abroad or that a foreign government has authorized a temporary stay, having maintained a vehicle/insurance in the United States while residing outside etc. You can check the requirements on the I-864 filing instructions page 5&6 (https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-864instr.pdf)

My pleasure I'd suggest you get the new visa registered at local FRRO. That'll be helpful in proving and meeting the residency requirement. The marriage is perfectly fine as long as you have a legal marriage certificate. I believe you got the marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act? Ours was the same (although it was just our choice not to do any traditional/religious ceremonies, not because of the family) and the marriage certificate was accepted at USCIS Delhi. Pictures are good proof and I suggest you compile an album with pictures of you two in different places, with different people etc in a timeline. We did this too and had around 50-60 selected pictures detailing our relationship from the start. In regards to DD, I would suggest you keep an eye out on http://ustraveldocs.com/in/ and check the date for which the current rate is valid through. Right now for eg., the rate is Rs. 74 to $1 and is valid through 12th March, so if you plan to submit before 12th March, get the DD made. Otherwise, wait till the date and check the new date on the website. They don't change the rate daily. I believe it is done once a week or once a month. You HAVE TO file US taxes no matter what if you are a citizen/LPR and residing outside the US. Even if you are claiming the foreign earned income exclusion ($103,900 for the tax year 2018) and your income for tax purposes is ZERO, you still have to file the return. More info here (https://www.irs.gov/publications/p54#en_US_2018_publink100047594) You have to have a US phone number registered with the same name as on the return to download the transcript online from the IRS website. There's no way around it other than requesting it via mail.

Hey! According to your info, you might be eligible for DCF filing in Delhi. Is your wife registered with FRRO and has that registration document? Check the USCIS webpage here (https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/india-uscis-new-delhi-field-office) and click on Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative tab. This is what it says regarding evidence of residency: Evidence of residency must be submitted with the petition. The evidence you submit must support a determination that you are a resident in India. Please Note: Certain pieces of evidence may more strongly support a finding of residency than others. For petitions filed at this field office, you must submit one or more of the following: Passport entry stamp(s) and visa reflecting that you are residing in USCIS New Delhi and not just visiting New Delhi Residency permit or card Work authorization document Military or government orders assigning you to reside in New Delhi In addition, other evidence of residency may include, but is not limited to: Utility bills Housing Lease Work contract or other employment documents Proof of local registration Local bank statements Proof of school enrollment Vehicle registration Local driver’s license Tax documents listing a New Delhi address Foreign property deeds or registration (although proof of property ownership in itself, may be insufficient if there is no evidence that the petitioner resides at that property) What we essentially did was to frontload the application with as much evidence as we had. Adhaar card should be a good proof of residency along with local bank account imho. It won't hurt to get her added on the lease too, although if she's registered with FRRO, that document should have an address on it. The demand draft is addressed to American Embassy, New Delhi and is for $535 converted to INR according to exchange rate mentioned on http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/. PLEASE CHECK THE RATE BEFORE MAKING THE DD. We ran into a problem where the exchange rate changed to a different amount the day we went to submit the application. They rejected our DD (even though it was for more amount than required) and we had to go back to the bank, cancel it and make a fresh DD and come back the next day to apply. Here's the letter they gave us with the relevant info. Any other mode of payment is not accepted. You both will physically have to go to the USCIS section in US Embassy Delhi the day you apply. I would also suggest to just write an email to USCIS Delhi at CIS.NDI@uscis.dhs.gov or schedule an Infopass appointment here at https://my.uscis.gov/en/appointment/intl (only for US Citizen) to go there physically and ask if you meet the residential requirements. Good luck with your filing. Do let me know if you need more help!

***UPDATE*** Got the case number from Bombay consulate today and scheduled the visa appointment. Pkt IV/Case number: March 6 OFC/VAC appointment: March 12 Visa interview : April 8 Keeping our fingers crossed for the interview now. Good luck to all the filers

***UPDATE*** After not receiving our case number for almost 3 weeks, we emailed ustraveldocs with our petition approval notice from USCIS Delhi. They escalated it to the Post (Counalate/Embassy) and we got a reply today (6th March, almost a month after the case was approved) which included our case number and instructions to download Packet 4 and schedule a medical exam, OFC/VAC appointment & interview appointment. We filled out our DS-260 form on CEAC website using our case number (starts with BMB) and using the DS-260 confirmation number, we filled out the information on ustraveldocs website to book our OFC/VAC & Interview appointments. For anyone that is reading this from India, even though your IV Interview location would be Bombay (as of March 2019) you can schedule your medical exam & OFC/VAC appointment in other cities around India too. The list for medical exam location is available here . And for OFC/VAC appointment selection, you'll select from a dropdown menu at ustraveldocs website for which city you want your appointment in. For medical appointments, you will have to call the clinic and schedule the appointment that way. They will tell you what all to bring for the medical exam. Current Status: Medical Exam (Delhi): 9 March 2019 OFC/VAC (Delhi) : 12 March 2019 Visa Interview:(Mumbai) : 08 April 2019 I hope this is helpful to anyone going through DCF process in India. You can reply here if you have any other questions. I'll be more than happy to help!

Congrats! This is crazy fast! We applied for I-130 DCF in Delhi, India on 8th January got approved on 8th February. Our notice of approval reached on 19th Feb. Still no case number, but keeping our fingers crossed. Good luck with the interview!

We filed the petition in person. The officer at the window was very helpful (an Indian lady) and she asked my wife (USC petitioner) a few questions regarding how long she has been here in the country and how we met and all. I was standing there but she didn't ask me anything directly. It didn't feel like an interview tbh. She just went through our huge bundle of papers and made small talk based on that. Is that normal or is there an official interview usually at other field offices?

Thank you!!! 😁 Your experience thread helped us a lot while collecting our evidence