Jjackson123

It has been over 3 weeks since we filled the I-130. The consular said it would take 2-3 weeks for it to be processed. I emailed the embassy for a follow up and they responded stating they could not give me a timeframe on when it will be processed. 

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

DCF is quick but that would be outstanding, Cyprus may be unusual 

 

The London case had nothing to do with Ukraine 

Yea it would be. Cyprus told me 2-3 weeks for the approval and 1-2 for the visa process. It is just very strange about the administrative processing with the USCIS. 

5 minutes ago, Boiler said:

There was somebody doing DCF London who reported something similar, seems they have added another loop into the process

We were going to do it in Frankfurt. The estimated time was 1-2 weeks for the I-130 and 2-3 weeks for the visa process. 

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

There was somebody doing DCF London who reported something similar, seems they have added another loop into the process

That is interesting. You would think with the war going on they would make the process easier. We are stuck here until they approve her. 

15 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Hm. I'm not sure about the CBP stopping you and how that plays into all this. I don't know for sure but I think it's not a problem even if the USC has a criminal record or is even incarcerated or has done jail time, they can still file I-130's and bring spouses over? A bit outside my area of knowledge so I'm not 100% sure. If you paid the fine in Ukraine and it was all taken care of there, I don't think that factors in at all. There is some kind of background check that is run on the USC but it's nothing like the AP for the visa holder.

 

Even if you have a house in the States, I would still at least submit other evidence like bank statements, driver's license (assuming it's not expired) just to be on the safe side. They will mention it to you after I-130 approval and will probably provide a list of evidence they expect.

 

Our whole DCF process took a couple months from start to finish but the I-130 itself was actually approved in around 6 days. We got our case number about 3 weeks later. We were not in any rush so I specifically scheduled the interview later to give us more time, but we probably could've done it sooner, I just had to spend a bunch of time completing the I-864, domicile and gathering evidence for that, so I opted to postpone the visa interview until we had everything.

 

However, we had a really intense interview at the USCIS Moscow office, back in those days you actually got 2 interviews: the I-130 and then the final visa interview. I was grilled more than my husband, although we were both interviewed together in the same room. We had some red flags. I was aware of that so I brought a mountain of evidence in to submit with the I-130 and I think that is what got us such a quick approval. Anything you think might be a red flag, just be prepared that it can come up.

I have never been arrested or to jail thankfully.  I have my bank statements, investments accounts, and 2021 taxes prepared.  We had an interview when we filed the  I-130 and it went very smooth the consular was very nice asked us simple questions. He said everything looked good and I could come if i wanted to the final interview but, I would not be asked any questions. He would just take biometrics and ask her  few simple questions. 

36 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Not a red flag at all. It's very common for people to get rejected for a B visa and then apply for a spousal/fiance visa after that. Same thing happened in our case. We also did DCF.

 

Sounds like you have more than enough evidence and strong case to get approved quickly. Only thing is, if you've been living abroad, you might want to start thinking about "intent to reestablish domicile" as you will need to submit proof of that once your I-130 is approved.

How long did it take you start to finish for the DCF? 

20 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Not a red flag at all. It's very common for people to get rejected for a B visa and then apply for a spousal/fiance visa after that. Same thing happened in our case. We also did DCF.

 

Sounds like you have more than enough evidence and strong case to get approved quickly. Only thing is, if you've been living abroad, you might want to start thinking about "intent to reestablish domicile" as you will need to submit proof of that once your I-130 is approved.

Yea, I have a home in America. I only leave the country for 1-2 months then return to America. I did unknowingly commit a small crime in Ukraine and had to pay 1700 UAH ($60) but I got to renew and keep my Ukrainian residency. Both the lawyers I consulted with told me it was legal to send collectable AK47 magazines to myself in the USA from Ukraine but they were wrong.  CBP scanned those documents when I was in secondary in Houston after spending 9 months in Ukraine and asked me a few questions. I was stopped because I had 12 bottles of champagne and 6 bottles of vodka.

11 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I wouldn't worry about getting the I-130 petition approved, unless you have some glaring red flag there shouldn't be a problem. There will be another "administrative processing" after she has the interview, but again, it's really typical and for the vast majority of people it takes days to maybe weeks max. Unless your wife has some background that would trigger a longer AP (government/military ties, STEM job, etc) then it should not be a problem.

I appreciate your help. I wont worry about it then. She applied for a B-2 visa on March 8 and got denied. We were going to visit first America for a month before meeting her family in Slovakia and getting married down the road but plans change.  So I am not sure if that would be a red flag. We have been together for 3 years and I lived in Ukraine. We also traveled to 10 different countries together. So our marriage is definitely bona fide and are ready to start a life in America. 

1 minute ago, millefleur said:

To be honest, I've never heard of "administrative processing" with USCIS. That's usually a Dept of State thing that happens after the interview and is related to the visa not the petition, so maybe they just called it that but what it actually means is they are just processing the petition. If they told you 2-3 weeks, follow up with them if you still haven't heard anything by then.

That is what I am hoping. Today was the 2 week mark and that response is what i received about the administrative processing with the USCIS. They did not tell us we were approved but, the consular at the interview said he was happy to meet us gave us documents for the next step and said he was looking forward to see us again in a few weeks. So it sounded promising. 

Yea it seems fast to me as well. I am nervous after seeing administrative processing with USCIS. I read it could last for years.

Why is it under administrative processing with the USCIS  since we DCF locally in Cyprus? I thought a  DCF circumvented the USCIS. 

We are both in Cyprus and filed the I-130 at the embassy in Nicosia. 

I filed a I-130 locally for my wife on March 24, 2022. We were told it would take 2-3 weeks until we received the next steeps. I emailed the embassy to to ask for an update. I was told the I-130 petition is currently under administrative processing with the USCIS. Once the processing is complete the will contact me. 

Is this normal for a DCF?  Has anyone else had this experience?