mppellegrini

This discussion seems a bit old, but maybe you all are still following this. If so, we are in a similar situation.

I am a US citizen and my fiance is Brazilian. We have been living together in Mexico and Costa Rica, but decided to move back to Brazil where I am currently working.

We plan to get married in the next six months and apply for some Visa for the US. Is the DCF the best option? We may move to the US but are not sure. We would love a visa that gives us that flexibility.

What was the final result of everyone's DCF experience? Any tips a year later?

If we do decide to move back to the US would it be better to do the K1 visa and get married there? Or the married here?

Thanks,

If you are for sure moving the US: DCF!!!!!!!!!!!! It's quicker!!!! It only took us 53 days! And you can work in the US, leave the US, etc... w/o AP, WP, etc...

With the K1 you have to enter into the US within some specific time and get married within 90 days.

Hi,

I am the italian husband and my wife is the US citizen. We have money in our bank account (joint, Italian), about 60000 usd. Do we need 3 times or 5 times the 125% poverty line limit to sponsor me on the I864?

thanks!

We used Argentinian Pesos and Brazilian Reais and that was OK. We had more than 60.000 usd though. Good luck!

Hello....

I have a question.. so I went to Frankfurt on Monday and filed the Petiton I-130. I ve received a Case Number but there are no Letters in Front..just 10 Numbers.... ! How long will it take until I can see the Case Status online ? or can I not check this because I filed DCF ????

I know there should be WAC, LIN, EAC, or SRC in front of the number...

maybe someone can help me out.. that filed through Frankfurt as well..

thanks ...

Katja

Hi Katja,

The first 3 characters indicate the consulate, for example for Rio De Janeiro is RDJ, so I guess it would be something like FRK or so on. You only can check the status online if the consulate has a web site for that. Otherwise, you can't.

You can send an email to the consulate to ask your cas number.

You will get that in your package 3.

Good luck!!!

Mariela

Hi!!!

Basically, I am a UKC and my wife is a USC from puerto rico. We married in puerto rico in 2008 and she was granted a Spouse Visa to move to the UK where we are both now living and working. She has been here in London for one year. I think I understand that the DCF process with the I-130 is the fastest and best way in our situation, and the users on this site have been more than helpful so far..

My mother in law who is puerto rico is suffering medically, nothing life changing or threatening but my wife would at least like to be closer if anything to her family. So we have decided, not just for this reason, that we want to move to the U.S. Maybe initially to puerto rico but then later to Florida to settle. We don't think we have any major obstacles but ONE!

I'm aware that a very vital point in being successful in an application is convincing the Embassy that we wont be a financial burden on society.

We have no children, have no convictions etc etc, but we fear that one of the major concerns is neither of us will walk immediately into employment. Obviously our intentions will be to gain employment at the earliest opportunity. We have no outstanding debts and have a reasonable amount of money saved to assist us in the short term should we be successful. However would we be wasting our time and money in applying? We are just very sceptical about the fact we will be SEEKING employment as opposed to it already being something set up to walk into? I'm aware of a form my wife as a sponsor will need to complete to show she will be able to support me financially, but in our scenario what do we do!?!?

Many thanks in advance for any advice!

Hi, I got my CR-1 visa with ONLY assets in the US Consulate in Rio de Janeiro. The I-864 instructions say that if the income is not enough you can use your assets. For most DCF cases is understood you DONT have a job in the US, that is why you are able to DCF in the first place. So, write a letter explaining that you dont have a job in the US but you will look for one as soon as you can, and use your assets. For wife you need 3x the poverty line, so its over 54 k USD. If you have more than that, you shouldnt worry. You can ask for a co-sponsor as well and keep his/her I-864 there as a back up is the consul says assets are not enough, but it's hard, since the instructions are very clear...

How Can I Use Assets to Qualify? Page 3/19

Assets may supplement income if the consular or immigrationofficer is convinced that the monetary value of the asset couldreasonably be made available to support the sponsoredimmigrant and converted to cash within one year withoutundue harm to the sponsor or his or her family members. Youmay not include an automobile unless you show that you ownat least one working automobile that you have not included.

Part 7. Use of Assets to Supplement Income. Page 8/19 and 9/19

However,if you are a U.S. citizen and you are sponsoring your spouseor minor child, the total value of your assets must only beequal to at least three times the difference.

Anyway, good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!! It seems harder than it really is.

Thanks for the help!

Hi there,

Have you checked out the DCF? It may apply to your case and it's so much quicker!!!! It took me only 53 days for the WHOLE thing.

cheers, Marie

Interesting. Same for Denmark. The docs could be in English or Danish. I would think the embassy only required translation if it was something other than English or the native language.

That is correct. I just needed to transalate from Spanish to English but I didnt translate from Portugues to English and the Consulate accepted the documents. So, it is a fact. You DONT have to translate from Portugues to English in Brazil.

Hi everyone,

we did direct consular filing from El Salvador and my husband and I entered the US on a CR1 visa in February. His Visa expired, but he wants to go home for the holidays. He has a green card and we wonder if that and the stamp I 551 will be enough for re entry.

What will he need to re enter the US? I am concerned that he will have problems coming back. Thanks for your help.

Hi there,

I think the information in this link can help you.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1333.html

Regards,

Mariela

Hello...

Back again! I looked up lots of info about this ages ago, and now that it's time to do it I've forgotten some of the details!

Del and I are getting married here in São Paulo on October 10th and I think we want to apply DCF around Dec.

Here the thing: we want to leave Brazil/enter the US at the beginning of July 2010. So we figure if we apply in December then that's enough time to get the visa, but not too long before we plan to leave in case we get the visa in a matter of weeks. What do you think? How long is Brazil taking nowadays for DCF cases? I know a couple people applied back in March, but I haven't heard from them since? Did you get the visa?

Anyway, so..

question 1: how long is Brazil taking on DCF now?

My US husband sent an email to the consulate asking for an appointment and the first day available was the next day. So, once you send the email, expect getting an appointment as soon as they can. We werent in Rio at the time they suggested so we asked for an appointment 2 weeks later and they said ok.

question 2: When does Brazil want police certificates? The consulate website doesn't mention it at all, so I assume they request it after the initial interview when filing the I-130, is this right? How long is the initial filing of the I-130 from the actual visa interview, usually?

The police certificates are needed just for the second interview, after having sent the package 4. You can get the Federal Police online certificate, that does work.

Our I-130 was approved on the same day of the appointment, on July 27. We got the package 3 on August 4, delivered it in person on August 7 and received the package 4 on August 18 with the interview set for September 18. We tried to re-schedule the interview for the last week but they said they were too busy.

question 3: Can you do the initial I-130 filing in São Paulo or do you have to do that through Rio too?

I think you can but Im note sure since we live in Rio. We asked lots of wuestions to the consulate and they answered within 2 days, so I think you should ask that via email.

question 4: Translations. Do we have to get the translations done by a certified translator? The US consulate has a list of them on their website, do we have to use one of those? If not, how can we prove that I have translated them correctly?

We translated my birth certificate since Im from Argentina, our marriage certificate since we got married in Argentina and my Argentine Federal Police criminal records. It has to be done by a sworn traslator NO exceptions and then certified by a tabelião. We asked that. We used one sworn traslator that was not on the consulate web site and they were perfectly ok with that.

I think that's all for now!

Thanks!

Hi Marina!

I filed DCF in Rio de Janeiro just thank to your advice and we saved lot of time and money.

Hi,

I have a B1/B2 visa.

My US fiance and I are currently living in Rio on a temporary residency type V (permission to work).

We are checking if he can apply DCF.

We are waiting for the consul response.

If not, we will apply for a K1 visa.

In the meanwhile, we wanted to check if I can enter the US to visit my husband while waiting for a CR visa?

Thank you.

Regards,

Mariela

How soon do you want to move back to the US? DCF is generally a lot quicker than filing through USCIS/NVC (which is how the K-1 process goes)

He can go move back to the US anytime. I will wait until 12/31/2009. I prefer getting tue visa as quick as possible.

The only concerns are the proof of residency for him. He left the Brazil for more than one months on the temporary V visa and came back in February. So, you may have to wait until August to apply. In the meanwhile you can get married here.

Thanks,

regards,

mariela

Now just make sure you let us know how it went and add YOUR review for those of us coming up behind you!!

B)

YES, I WILL ADD MY REVIEW.

So, how was the interview and the proccess?

We are about to follow your steps.

Thanks!

Regards,

mariela

Thanks a lot, I will be bombarding the consulate in Rio on monday with questions. Fingers crossed

Hi, Randyman

I'm trying to do the same you did. So, what the consulate said about the 6 months?

How is your process going?

Thank you so much!

Regards,

mariela

I called the Embassy in Beijing today and they informed me that our I-130 had been approved on May 21st and they mailed some paperwork to us by next day EMS.

I informed him that we never received anything and asked what address and phone number did they use. He wasn't able to provide that information but said he could fax over copies of the paperwork but he will need to call me back after he finds copies of our paperwork

What paperwork should we have received?

Also, what is the next step after the I-130 is approved?

Thanks everyone in advance.

Everything is explained here.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=dcf

Good luck!

DCF is only for married couples, if you want to do DCF there you will have to get married first

hi Kaffy,

we are deciding what is better, to get married here an apply DCF or the wait and get married in the US and apply fo visa k1.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

regards

mariela

How long has your American fiance been living with you in Rio???

If he has been there for at least 6 months than you two MIGHT qualify for DCF in Rio (which would mean you get married like tomorrow, and file at the American Embassy in Rio as soon as possible (before he goes home)). That would mean you'd get your visa to go to the US in about 4 months (and you have 6 months to use it). I'm not sure how it works since you are not Brazilian either, but I do know it is possible for people to do DCF in countries where neither of them is a citizen...as long as they meet the requirements.

So first question: how long has your fiance been living with you in Rio?

Secondly, you can change the embassy at any stage, if you need to. So, as you said, I would go ahead and put Rio down, but if you need to change it later, it is not a problem. It would probably slow down your case a little though as changes like that always do, but it's not a problem in the long run.

Marina-Del, hi!

I've been living in Rio de Janeiro since 05/05/08. I'm from argentina but I moved here for work. I work for Petrobras. I live with my American fiance here. We both have a temporary residence visa V. He's my dependent so he doesn't work here.

I read in the Rio Embassy web site that even if the beneficiary of the US visa is not a Brazilian native, she can apply if she can proof the residency for more than 6 months. So, the residency won't be an issue and the fact that I'm from Argentina won't be an issue either.

I'm a little bit concerned about the affidavit of support. Can we use my salary and our asstes? Can you use a co-sponsor?

For the second interview, it is neccessary for my fiance to be here in Rio or only I have to go?

We are sending an e-mail with all the specific questions to the Rio Embassy, but if you know something about, I will appreciate anything you can tell me.

Can I leave the US after entering with the visa? or I have to stay or ask for an re-entry permit or advance parole or something?

Thank you so much for you help and good luck!!!!!!

(I can't figure out how to quote, and am a bit too lazy to try, so I apologize for the mess here.)

dandkam: The approval for the I-130 is not instant. What happens instantly is that the Consulate will accept the filing (or approve the filing). Once they accept/approve the filing of the petition, that data goes to the US for further inspection. But, as Kaffy said, it is quick. We did our run to the Consualte on March 2nd, and we got an email this morning that the petition was approved, and the packet was sent to our home address. I wasn't expecting this until maybe June or so. Two weeks just blows my mind. I am hoping that scheduling the next interview will be as easy.

kaffy: Thanks! I appreciate your good wishes!

Tricia599, hi!

I've been living in Rio de Janeiro since 05/05/08. I'm from argentina but I moved here for work. I work for Petrobras. I live with my American fiance here. We both have a temporary residence visa V. He's my dependent so he doesn't work here.

I read in the Rio Embassy web site that even if the beneficiary of the US visa is not a Brazilian native, she can apply if she can proof the residency for more than 6 months. So, the residency won't be an issue and the fact that I'm from Argentina won't be an issue either.

I'm a little bit concerned about the affidavit of support. Can we use my salary and our asstes? Can you use a co-sponsor?

For the second interview, it is neccessary for my fiance to be here in Rio or only I have to go?

We are sending an e-mail with all the specific questions to the Rio Embassy, but if you know something about, I will appreciate anything you can tell me.

Can I leave the US after entering with the visa? or I have to stay or ask for an re-entry permit or advance parole or something?

Thank you so much for you help and congratulations!!!!!!

Thank you!

I think we will inform the Brazilian embassy since my current residence is in Rio de Janeiro.

We will update our timeline and let you know what happens!

regards,

mariela

Hi,

I'm Mariela from Argentina, currently living in Rio de Janeiro for work. My international assignment is up to 12/31/2009. Stefan, my fiance and I are about to send the I-129F. He lives in Rio with me but he will move to the US in 07/23/2009.

The questions are: should we inform the embassy in Rio de Janeiro or in Buenos Aires?

What are the chances of not having the interview before 12/31/2008?

Based on the statistics, it seems that it takes more than 200 days from the I-129F is sent to the interview to take place.

Does somebody know how easy it is to change the embassy before the interview?

Thank you so much.

Regards

Mariela

Hi,

I'm Mariela from Argentina, currently living in Rio de Janeiro for work. My international assignment is up to 12/31/2009. Stefan, my fiance and I are about to send the I-129F. He lives in Rio with me but he will move to the US in 07/23/2009.

The questions are: should we inform the embassy in Rio de Janeiro or in Buenos Aires?

What are the chances of not having the interview before 12/31/2008?

Based on the statistics, it seems that it takes more than 200 days from the I-129F is sent to the interview to take place.

Does somebody know how easy it is to change the embassy before the interview?

Thank you so much.

Regards

Mariela