txladykat

cool, thanks!!!

We have our appointment May 1 in Copenhagen to file our I-130. We are planning to go to the US in April to take back possession of our house (it was leased until the end of March) and work on finding employment. My question is, do you think we should take our email from the embassy notifying us of our appointment to file on May 1 as proof of intention to return to Denmark? Or should we just state we both live here in Denmark and are just in the states visiting family (which is also true, as we are going to see my parents and grandmother)? I just dont want to raise any red flags by saying we are filing...but then again I think an appointment at the embassy in Copenhagen is pretty good proof of no intention to immigrate illegally during our trip.

If you can get her residency in the Bahamas, its best she stay there with you and file DCF. How long do you plan to be in the Bahamas? Once the visa is issued, it must be used within 6 months. After you marry in the US, she can leave. The AP is for those who have filed to adjust status after marrying (and remaining) in the US. For example, if she was in the US visiting and you got married on a whim and she decided to stay, you file to adjust her status to a legal resident. If you do this, then you cannot travel without the AP. Now, some will tell you "this is illegal"....not really, it is illegal if you came to the US with the intent to marry then adjust status, it is not illegal if you made the decision to marry AFTER you entered the country.

How long are you going to be living in the Bahamas? This will determine how and when you file for her visa.

As far as purchasing a home, his bankruptcy only affects the credit rating if you include him in the application. You can purchase a home with only your credit, but you won't be able to use his income to qualify for the loan. It has usually been the rule of thumb that credit is easy to obtain shortly after filing bankruptcy...and that used to be true, but with the economy and tighter credit lending, it will be much harder to do, but not impossible. You will of course pay a higher interest rate to offset the lower credit rating.

Joint bank accounts....its not mandatory, only a suggesion for proving bona fide marriges.

The embassy should have given you instructions on all this, strange that they didn't. The medical, you need to check with the embassy as each one is different. Some embassies have you bring it, others receive it by mail directly from the doctor. Your embassy should have informed you of which route they use.

Yes, fill in as much as you can on the DS-230, and take the Affidavit of Support with you to the interview.

Didn't they give you a checklist telling you what to complete and what to bring??

Damn. And I had to marry a Dane

Just kidding.....I LOVE MY DANE!!

90 days? Am I missing something? I thought all countries required 6 month residency for DCF.....

I would contact the embassy where you would be filing. Different embassies are willing to accept different documentation. For example, in Denmark, on their website it says you should provide a copy of your residence permit and a printout you get from the government showing everywhere you have resided (they keep tabs on you here, LOL). But, as I am still waiting for my residency permit since immigration in Denmark is backlogged, the embassy accepted other documentation (lease agreement, utility bills, flight showing entrance into Denmark) as proof of continued residency.

DCF is almost always faster. The K-3 can take up to a year from what I understand. DCF can be measured in a matter of months, sometimes only 1 or 2, depending on locale.

Docs from the US you will need that are good to get in advance are certified copies of any divorce decrees and tax transcrips for three previous years for the USC and anyone else who will be filing an Affidavit of Support as co-sponsor.

that is what I meant...the immigrant spouse's country of residence, not necessarily their country of citizenship

You must reside in the immigrant spouse's country for a minimum of 6 months to file DCF. If you can live there for 6 months, the process is definately faster than filing in the US.

I would go based on what the consulate has told you. To the poster that says you should have maintained a residence, this simply is not true. You only need to show that you have taken steps that re-establish a domicile in the US. More times than not, something like bank statements, driver license -showing an address in the US is sufficient, along with a letter explaining your intent to re-establish a domicile in the US.

Even if my "current" address is abroad? You have to reside abroad to fie DCF. So, I am concerned about what to put.

So, I am not sure what to put on these fields:

10. Permanent Address where you intend to live and person living there now.

We have a permanent address, which is a house I own in Texas. However, it is vacant waiting for us to go to the US, so no one is living there now. Should I list myself (the USC) as a person who currently lives there?

14. Address of spouse

If I list my address as my house in Texas, what would I put here since I am currently still in Demark and filing via DCF?? Do I list my address in Denmark or my home in Texas?

Definately DCF!! Much easier and faster. Just contact the nearest American embassy to you. They will require you to show proof of residing in Canada for the previous 6 months. Once you have done that, they will give you the process for filing your petition. Each country is different, some require you to file in person at the embassy, others require you to mail it in.

Did you have to provide tax returns for the co-sponsor? my mother is using assets only as a co-sponsor, and I don't want to use her tax returns unless we have to.

You should be fine using the TX address. You won't get any mail there before the visa is activated anyways. Just use that address, and once you get to the US immediately change your address with immigration so they know where to send the green card. You can also not choose the option to automatically have the SSN issued, just in case you don't get the change of address submitted in time.

I am not sure what you are talking about The fee for an immigrant visa is $355 worldwide. Location is irrelevant.

just provide proof she has resided there for 6 months.....lease agreement, utility bills, bank statements, etc.

It's not as simple as that. If you read the link I posted above it clearly states that in order to qualify for DCF the US citizen "must provide a valid Moroccan residency permit issued by the Moroccan authorities. A valid Moroccan Resident Card is the only document considered proof of residency in Morocco."

I understand what you posted, and I have experience with this exact situation. I am in Denmark, and the website, as well as written documentation from the embassy in Denmark says the same thing. HOWEVER, if you have applied but not yet received your permit, they will look at what documentation you have to prove you have continously resided here. I applied for my residency permit in December, I am still waiting, yet the American Embassy in Denmark stated I was eligible April 28th to file DCF based on the exact documentation I mentioned above. I gave them a copy of my lease agreement, utility bills, and airline ticket showing my arrival date, and they began calculating the 6 months from the date I arrived in Denmark and began "residing" here.

Many other people have reported the same thing from other embassies as well.

just provide proof she has resided there for 6 months.....lease agreement, utility bills, bank statements, etc. Yes, if she has no income from the US when she files her affidavit, she will need a co-sponsor. The co-sponsor can be a family member residing in the US. They must have adequate income that is 125% above the poverty guidelines. The amount they must make should be the number that corresponds to their household number, plus the immigrant, i.e. if your co-sponsor has a household size of 2, then their income must be 125% of the poverty level for 3 people.

Read this length for detailed information on the support affidavit: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

Here are the poverty guidelins for 2009: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf

Well, if you filed for K-3, you can certainly file DCF for IR1/CRI at the same time and have them run concurrently. You just can't have two peititions for the same visa running concurrently. Alot of people in the US file for both, then they abandon the one that takes the longest time. File for the DCF, and if it proves to be faster, then ytake the steps to abandon the K-3. I do not know the actual steps for abandoning, maybe someone else can tell you.

filing DCF you are filing for the CR1 visa, not the K-3. BUT, once your spouse's visa is issued it is only good for 6 months. They must enter the US within 6 months of receiving the visa. Therefore, you should NOT file for the visa now. I would wait until its closer to the time you want to come to the

US permanently. Maybe about 6 months before you plan on coming to the US to live, then look into filing DCF.

I would contact the American Embassy and ask them directly. Each embassy has different rules for meeting the requirement. I arrived in Denmark in October to live with my husband (we married in September). I didn't apply for residency until December. The embassy began counting my timeline from when I entered, not when I applied for residency or obtained (which I am still waiting for). Also, I would be careful, leaving for three months could be construed as abandoning your residency in the country. I was told by the embassy that brief trips back to the US were allowed while counting my timeline, but they wouldn't give me a specific length of time.

Its best to contact the American Embassy in Germany. There may be an exception due to military service. I say "may", as I don't know, so I would check directly with the embassy.