ironporer

I understand that you are torn as to which way to go...cancel the K-3 or go to file DCF. I know nothing of the situation in Turkey, but as you are well aware, there are several BIG advantages to the DCF...almost immediate (conditional) permenent resident status and green card, no hassles getting SSN or Driver's License, no AOS.... All need to be considered when deciding what to do.

SidAngelika

Thanks Kari for giving us a clear answer...
that's what we thought after all our internet researches, too....even though it sounded like it was a possibility when Sid called Frankfurt consulate while he was here last year in Nov. Back then the lady answering the ph was concerned about the pending petition causing a delay. She did not tell us a perm residency was necessary...even though we were specific about my husband only visiting.

kariml

Nov. 2003? Well, hey maybe they've changed their policies since we checked (which would not be unheard of). We called the consulate last Feb. or March so it has been almost a year now that I think about it. That would great for you if they have changed it! Good luck!

tmushen

Thanks for the reply. I wish I knew about the DCF when we first filed but that's one of the reasons I am angry because my lawyer told me nothing about this option. My wife already has a SSN because she used to have a green card. I guess we have to decide soon what to do.

Mrraveltay

SidAngelika wrote:

    >
    > Since Sid will be here this weekend we had made plans about just going
    > down to Frankfurt embassy and ask if DCF was possible. There is
    > contradicting info about Germany's requirement of US citizen residing in
    > Germany in order to do DCF.


One correction. The Embassy is in Berlin

Immigrant visas are processed at the Consulate in Frankfurt, but this
doesn't change the location of the Embassy.

kariml

Do you know anything about the timeframes in Turkey for DCF?

ironporer

Ditto- I pulled out of the K-1 process after 120 or so days at TSC, although I can't blame it on a lawyer. By the time I found out about it in June, Spain was ceasing to accept it from non-residents the next month. Luckily, we beat the deadline by only a few days.
For us, from our initial filing to Cathy's arrival here only took 6 weeks. Wish I had known many months before, and never even thought about TSC/K-1.
Good Luck whichever way you go!

SidAngelika

Well,
hard to give you advice but maybe consider this?
Go over to Turkey with all paper work you will need for the I-130. Go to the consulate, explain your situation and ask if and how they will process. If necessary you can withdraw then and rely on a consulate officer's statement if there will be any hold-ups from their side.

As I said before....k3 filers from Germany tell us there is no DCF without permanent residency...a ph answering lady doesn't seem to see a problem, but can we rely on her statement?
we have made our decision to continue the k3 route....we had to make up our minds in order to go on. May it be wrong or right...

Not sure if that helped...maybe you got extended time to spend in turkey and talk to the consulate face-to-face...

tmushen

The Embassy said about one month from beginning to end because they grant the interview as soon as they receive the documents as long as everything that is required is sent in.

elviswasmydad

If it were me, I would not withdraw and file in Turkey. I would wait it out.

SidAngelika

Thanks for correcting me....since I am obsessed with my k3 I was just using embassy as a synonym for consulate.
One track mind....lol

SidAngelika

Put yourself and your wife on the safe side before making any decisions...and if by chance do it locally in Turkey.

Matthew Udall

Than you went to the wrong attorney! None of us were born with immigration knowledge and DCF is something not all attorneys know about. I believe I was one of the first to ever mention this option (DCF) on this news group (as I had read about it in one of my AILA publications and actually did one way back then), and since that time more and more people have been looking into it (in other words, there was a time when even the participants on this very group had not heard of DCF before).

Over the past couple of days, I’ve been spending some time with a brand new attorney and AILA member in helping him with his very first paying client. This new attorney is actually my senior by about 10 to 15 years, and retired from JPL laboratories a few years ago, and is now opening up his practice (his office is only a couple of blocks away from mine). I originally met him a little over a year ago (he’s been tooling up [studying, I think mostly in the employment area] since then before getting his practice started) while eating lunch in the CSC’s cafeteria (I had to hand it to him, to take the initiative to actually go to Laguna Niguel to attend the liaison meeting and take his first tour of the facility). I took an instant liking to him, as I remember how it was when “I� first got started, and the friendly AILA member who sort of took me under her wing at the very beginning of my career.

Anyway, he called about his first case, and it turns out to be a marriage based case. US citizen is currently living and going to University in Germany, and he’s married to a 3rd country national who is also currently living in Germany.

He had many questions about the I-130 filing at the CSC, and perhaps the K-3 case that could be also filed, but until I told him about DCF he had no idea that was even an option. I told him what I’ve read [in AILA publications] about the residency requirement for a U.S. citizen (in Germany) to be able to DCF, but also told him that he needs to confirm that this is still current policy. Since I first told him about it, he’s gotten his hands on an AILA visa processing guide and actually e-mailed the author yesterday (another AILA member) who wrote the chapter for Frankfurt. Apparently the guy who wrote the chapter wrote him back immediately (yesterday) saying he was in Germany and will be flying back to the U.S. today (“his� office is in Washington, DC) and invited my guy to call him later today or tomorrow. My guy will be calling him, and he’ll report to me what this guy says about today’s policy at Frankfurt (I actually told him to call Frankfurt to confirm, but he decided to try the AILA author first).

So even though my guy’s very first client chose an attorney who didn’t know squat about DCF, his client chose an attorney who took the time to do a little homework before spelling out the client’s options. I’m sure my guy (new AILA friend) will do a fine job, and I’m going to be there to help him every step along the way to help him through his first case (no charge, of course).

SidAngelika

Matthew, would you mind sharing what has been found out about DCF policy in Frankfurt/Germany?

Leslie

How do the Condor security checks fit into that time frame?