B and G

Alright so final update on our case : September 20 : visa appointment (I-864, marriage certificate, birth certificate, police report, passport, and passport style photos submitted to embassy in person). Originally the appointment was scheduled automatically for October 18, but we emailed the embassy and asked for the next available appointment, as we had all the supporting documents ready. Despite the medical appointment being done on September 15, the embassy had not yet received the results and therefore the visa was refused. We were informed that when the medical results were received, the visa would be issued and the passport returned. We called the doctor's office and they said they had sent the results, but sometimes the embassy has trouble accessing them. September 26 : checked ceac status - visa status still says 'denied'. Email sent to embassy asking if medical results were received or not, embassy replies acknowledging the receipt of the medical results September 27 : ceac status changed to 'approved' October 05 : passport with visa and original documents delivered! Woohoo!

Hello everyone! Long story short, I am an american citizen who has been living in France for the past 2.5 years on a long stay student visa, working as an apprentice in a French company. I met a french man, fell in love, and now I have received an official job offer starting in the fall back in the states (4 - 5 months away). After spending a lot of time researching our options, my conjoint and I have decided to get married and request DCF with exceptional circumstances (short notice job relocation) while I am still a legal resident of France and before I move back. My fiancé and I have recently submitted our marriage file to the city hall here in France, with our marriage date set for mid-august. I plan on emailing the embassy in Paris shortly after the wedding with the attached documents (sponsor's proof of US citizenship and titre de séjour in France, my fiancé's birth certificate and passport, our marriage certificate, and my job offer in the US) to request DCF. I guess my question is, is DCF still possible with a long stay student visa, given that I have a current work contract in France? My visa does not expire until March 2024, and I will be moving back to the US long before that (fall 2023), and I definitely have proof of living in France legally for over 6 months. I understand that only the embassy has the authority to make the decision on whether they accept the request to file directly or not, but maybe it would help calm my stress if I knew there were other people who have been through similar circumstances. Another question : what forms of payment are accepted at the french embassy? Cash (in dollars), credit card, and/or money orders from an american bank? We are already in the process of gathering all the required documentation and filling out the i-130 and i-130a. As I am very stressed about this process, I am adamant about having all our ducks in a row before the marriage to help expedite the process if we are accepted (hopefully). Thank you in advance for your responses and advice, this community has already provided so much information and hope.