DCF in Greece: part 1
Aug 14th 2002, 11:47 am
#1
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 35,082
DCF in Greece: part 1
Actual Facts From The Field! This Just In!
I am a USC, temporarily resident in Greece
My husband is a UKC, resident in Greece
We married here on May 2, 2002
We filed I-130 in Athens on Aug. 7, 2002; received a verbal RFE
Put RFE info in their hands on Aug 12, 2002
This is information about the DCF process using the US Embassy/Consulate/INS in Athens, Greece.
We went to Athens Consulate on Aug. 7 to file my I-130. The INS employee there did NOT want them tabbed, nor was she interested in the cover letter or my vast amounts of organization (it really was impressive
). She asked for each paper as she wanted it, one page at a time. She stamped copies as "original seen" once she'd seen them.
Documents requested:
Form I-130, My birth certificate, My passport, Form G325A for me, ADIT photo of me, Form G325A for my husband
ADIT photo of my husband, Divorce Decree/husband's first marriage, Death Certificate/husband's second wife, Marriage Certificate (ours), Translation of our marriage certificate
Photos were in small envelopes stapled to individual, labeled pages; she took the photos out of the envelopes and stapled them (gasp!) to the G325As, handing back the sheet of paper to me. Noted: she stapled all the way through the photo and the 4 sheets, indicating to me that those other 3 sheets aren't going anywhere seperate. Photos had our name and DOB penciled in on the the back. Greek marriage certificate and translation was requested but she had no interest in the Apostille.
The I-130 should have the USCs US address on it. We weren't clear on that and had both with us.
When I asked her about it being sent to Rome, of which Athens INS is a suboffice, she said that WAS NOT the case. They process the I-130 in Athens in 2-3 days and pass it to the consular staff. There had been some confusion on my part about this.
She never asked for my, or my husband's Greek ID/residence cards. She did not examine my passport stamp (for date of entry) or take a photcopy of that page.
We had an error on our Greek marriage certificate which she said we must have corrected before she could proceed. We asked if we could fax the correction and translation to her and courier the hard copies as we were so far from the Embassy. She said that would be fine, and we were able to make the corrections and translations within 2 days and had the courier package in her hand on Aug. 12. I have not been able to reach her as yet to confirm that all is on track, as this is a holiday week in Greece.
The staffer is nice enough, but familiar *only* with her versions of forms (the new i-130 for example, is different in a couple of questions). She was unable to answer any "out of the ordinary" questions, but we persisted.
Importantly, we were able to persuade the Consular staff to notarize our I-864+A and to accept Pete's DS-230 PartI as a "prospective CR-1". This is unusual, but we feel it's saved 5 weeks at least (not that we're on much of a time deadline, but I like to streamline things). It allows the CO to *call us* as soon as she received the I-130 approval and set our interview appointment. Since we have declared that we have all documents necessary for the interview, we will also be able to schedule our medical after this phone call. She recommends that we phone the Doctor and discuss Pete's medical history to determine which vaccines he'll need and we can obtain them on Rhodes, where we live, prior to the medical appointment. The CO also asked us to remind her in this phone call that we already have Packet 4, saving more mailing time (a real issue here in Greece).
FYI, it still holds true that Athens will accept I-130s as long as one of the 2 parties is legally resident in Greece. There is no clarification as to what they request for "legally resident" and Americans get a "free" 3 month entry into Greece. Presumably, that can be a legally resident period of time. I was told by the Visa processing staffer that they do *many* I-130s for Americans (mostly women) who come to Greece and meet the person of their dreams. Greece MAY be a good alternative for 3rd country people to come to for DCF. Getting married here takes a LOOONG time, however.
If you want further information, like how to get a Greek police clearance or other necessary docs, please let me know and I'll fill in what I can. I also had my I-864 reviewed since our financial situation is "unusual". You can read details of that in my Post "I-864 Questions Answered".
meauxna
WOOHOO! Just got through to the Embassy - our i-130 is approved and Pete's particulars are going through "checking". The Visa Processing staffer didn't know if that was IBIS or what, but said she'd call us in a couple of days to set the appointment.
I am a USC, temporarily resident in Greece
My husband is a UKC, resident in Greece
We married here on May 2, 2002
We filed I-130 in Athens on Aug. 7, 2002; received a verbal RFE
Put RFE info in their hands on Aug 12, 2002
This is information about the DCF process using the US Embassy/Consulate/INS in Athens, Greece.
We went to Athens Consulate on Aug. 7 to file my I-130. The INS employee there did NOT want them tabbed, nor was she interested in the cover letter or my vast amounts of organization (it really was impressive
). She asked for each paper as she wanted it, one page at a time. She stamped copies as "original seen" once she'd seen them. Documents requested:
Form I-130, My birth certificate, My passport, Form G325A for me, ADIT photo of me, Form G325A for my husband
ADIT photo of my husband, Divorce Decree/husband's first marriage, Death Certificate/husband's second wife, Marriage Certificate (ours), Translation of our marriage certificate
Photos were in small envelopes stapled to individual, labeled pages; she took the photos out of the envelopes and stapled them (gasp!) to the G325As, handing back the sheet of paper to me. Noted: she stapled all the way through the photo and the 4 sheets, indicating to me that those other 3 sheets aren't going anywhere seperate. Photos had our name and DOB penciled in on the the back. Greek marriage certificate and translation was requested but she had no interest in the Apostille.
The I-130 should have the USCs US address on it. We weren't clear on that and had both with us.
When I asked her about it being sent to Rome, of which Athens INS is a suboffice, she said that WAS NOT the case. They process the I-130 in Athens in 2-3 days and pass it to the consular staff. There had been some confusion on my part about this.
She never asked for my, or my husband's Greek ID/residence cards. She did not examine my passport stamp (for date of entry) or take a photcopy of that page.
We had an error on our Greek marriage certificate which she said we must have corrected before she could proceed. We asked if we could fax the correction and translation to her and courier the hard copies as we were so far from the Embassy. She said that would be fine, and we were able to make the corrections and translations within 2 days and had the courier package in her hand on Aug. 12. I have not been able to reach her as yet to confirm that all is on track, as this is a holiday week in Greece.
The staffer is nice enough, but familiar *only* with her versions of forms (the new i-130 for example, is different in a couple of questions). She was unable to answer any "out of the ordinary" questions, but we persisted.
Importantly, we were able to persuade the Consular staff to notarize our I-864+A and to accept Pete's DS-230 PartI as a "prospective CR-1". This is unusual, but we feel it's saved 5 weeks at least (not that we're on much of a time deadline, but I like to streamline things). It allows the CO to *call us* as soon as she received the I-130 approval and set our interview appointment. Since we have declared that we have all documents necessary for the interview, we will also be able to schedule our medical after this phone call. She recommends that we phone the Doctor and discuss Pete's medical history to determine which vaccines he'll need and we can obtain them on Rhodes, where we live, prior to the medical appointment. The CO also asked us to remind her in this phone call that we already have Packet 4, saving more mailing time (a real issue here in Greece).
FYI, it still holds true that Athens will accept I-130s as long as one of the 2 parties is legally resident in Greece. There is no clarification as to what they request for "legally resident" and Americans get a "free" 3 month entry into Greece. Presumably, that can be a legally resident period of time. I was told by the Visa processing staffer that they do *many* I-130s for Americans (mostly women) who come to Greece and meet the person of their dreams. Greece MAY be a good alternative for 3rd country people to come to for DCF. Getting married here takes a LOOONG time, however.
If you want further information, like how to get a Greek police clearance or other necessary docs, please let me know and I'll fill in what I can. I also had my I-864 reviewed since our financial situation is "unusual". You can read details of that in my Post "I-864 Questions Answered".
meauxna
WOOHOO! Just got through to the Embassy - our i-130 is approved and Pete's particulars are going through "checking". The Visa Processing staffer didn't know if that was IBIS or what, but said she'd call us in a couple of days to set the appointment.
Last edited by meauxna; Aug 14th 2002 at 12:23 pm.
Aug 14th 2002, 5:57 pm
#2
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2002
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 132
Re: DCF in Greece: part 1
Ahhh yes. I was wondering what was up with you. You gave me some feedback on our South African DCF awhile back that I really appreciated. (She has her visa and we're just waiting out the end of her work contract...Oct 4 will not get here soon enough...oy..) Sounds like things are going well, hope the rest goes as smoothly..Good Luck, Jerry and Paula
Aug 15th 2002, 10:04 am
#3
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 35,082
Re: DCF in Greece: part 1
Originally posted by jcsutton:
Ahhh yes. I was wondering what was up with you. You gave me some feedback on our South African DCF awhile back that I really appreciated. (She has her visa and we're just waiting out the end of her work contract...Oct 4 will not get here soon enough...oy..) Sounds like things are going well, hope the rest goes as smoothly..Good Luck, Jerry and Paula
Ahhh yes. I was wondering what was up with you. You gave me some feedback on our South African DCF awhile back that I really appreciated. (She has her visa and we're just waiting out the end of her work contract...Oct 4 will not get here soon enough...oy..) Sounds like things are going well, hope the rest goes as smoothly..Good Luck, Jerry and Paula
We're hanging loose here until the end of the season (October) too, but hey, there's worse places to be "stuck" than a Greek island
Thanks for the good wishes. I swing between confidant days and the "other" kind. It's mostly going great and I'm glad you two were quickly reunited. Big plans for your return to the States?
