We noticed the lack of experience here with locations w/o USCIS presence. So we thought we'd share our experience here if it helps with anyone.
I'm a USC; and my partner is a Canadian citizen. We both live in Hong Kong at the time of filing.
A bit more background:
We decided to move back to the States for better career growth. It seemed easier and faster to file for K-1 visa, so we sent out I-129F, with receipt date of Dec 22, 2018.
In Feb, I got a job offer with my old company back in California. We realized that may qualify us for DCF.
I emailed HK Consulate explaining our situation and asking for permission to file locally at the Consulate, along with our passports, IDs and job offer letter. At the same time, we made reservations to have a small ceremony at the SF City Hall and booked our flights. A day or two later, they asked us for proof of marriage.
I informed them that we'd be getting married on the same week and will send a copy of Marriage Certificate the following day. To my surprise, they actually approved our request to file after receiving this email but prior to our wedding.
Here's our timeline:
Feb 26 - Filed I-130 locally at the Consulate. We were informed on the spot that the petition would be approved, pending background check.
Mar 1 - Received email from the petition is officially approved.
Mar 4 - Packet 3 received in mail.
Mar 5 - We notified the Consulate that we've got all required documents.
Mar 7 - Packet 4 received in mail, interview scheduled Mar 18
Mar 18 - Interview. Approved but the required Hong Kong Police Certificate was pending, so my partner received 221(g) pending documents. We knew this could happen since Packet 3 was received so close to interview date.
Mar 20 - Visa status changed to Issued
Mar 22 - Visa and packet in hand.
All in all, we had 25 days from filing I-130 to visa in hand.
If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to give my best answer! I think the key point is really to prepare everything in advance. We had all documents requested or ready for all stages before we filed I-130.
Sharing DCF Experience in Hong Kong
in Direct Consular Filing (DCF) General Discussion
Posted
Hi All,
We noticed the lack of experience here with locations w/o USCIS presence. So we thought we'd share our experience here if it helps with anyone.
I'm a USC; and my partner is a Canadian citizen. We both live in Hong Kong at the time of filing.
A bit more background:
We decided to move back to the States for better career growth. It seemed easier and faster to file for K-1 visa, so we sent out I-129F, with receipt date of Dec 22, 2018.
In Feb, I got a job offer with my old company back in California. We realized that may qualify us for DCF.
I emailed HK Consulate explaining our situation and asking for permission to file locally at the Consulate, along with our passports, IDs and job offer letter. At the same time, we made reservations to have a small ceremony at the SF City Hall and booked our flights. A day or two later, they asked us for proof of marriage.
I informed them that we'd be getting married on the same week and will send a copy of Marriage Certificate the following day. To my surprise, they actually approved our request to file after receiving this email but prior to our wedding.
Here's our timeline:
Feb 26 - Filed I-130 locally at the Consulate. We were informed on the spot that the petition would be approved, pending background check.
Mar 1 - Received email from the petition is officially approved.
Mar 4 - Packet 3 received in mail.
Mar 5 - We notified the Consulate that we've got all required documents.
Mar 7 - Packet 4 received in mail, interview scheduled Mar 18
Mar 18 - Interview. Approved but the required Hong Kong Police Certificate was pending, so my partner received 221(g) pending documents. We knew this could happen since Packet 3 was received so close to interview date.
Mar 20 - Visa status changed to Issued
Mar 22 - Visa and packet in hand.
All in all, we had 25 days from filing I-130 to visa in hand.
If anyone has any questions, I'm happy to give my best answer! I think the key point is really to prepare everything in advance. We had all documents requested or ready for all stages before we filed I-130.