Visa madness part 1: the I-130 (Direct Consular Filing in Peru)

Ok, so the title is a bit of a misnomer. I couldn't have been happier with how our process turned out. Nobody applies for a US visa thinking it'll be a quick and painless process, but I was quite pleasantly surprised by how smooth our Direct Consular Filing process was from start to finish - only three months! Compared to the year-long wait times for the National Visa Center in the US, filing directly with the embassy is a huge advantage. Why wouldn't everybody do it this way? Well, because not everybody is eligible.

To be eligible for Direct Consular Filing in Peru, you must:

• be legally married (the US does not recognize common-law marriages).
• have lived in Peru for at least 6 months and currently reside in Peru (for the US citizen petitioner).

If you are not married, or if the US citizen/permanent resident doesn't live in Peru, you can't apply for an immigrant visa through the embassy and you must apply through the National Visa Center in the US. You should probably find a more reliable source of information than this blog, and/or contact a lawyer.

There are two steps to the application: the I-130 petition by the US citizen or resident (processed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services), and the immigrant visa application once the I-130 has been approved (processed by the Department of State). I'm only going to talk about the I-130 in this post.

They will be looking at two things in this step: A) is the petitioner eligible to submit the petition on behalf of his/her spouse? and B) is the marriage legitimate? For the first point, this means the petitioner must be a US citizen, and for DCF through the Lima embassy you have to demonstrate that you reside in Peru and have for at least 6 months. (Under normal circumstances it's possible to submit a petition if you are a permanent resident; however, living in Peru for over 6 months means you have lost your US residency.) I'll talk about how to prove the legitimacy of the relationship below.

Required documents:

-Copy* of original marriage certificate.
-Copy* of divorce decree or death certificate in case of previous marriages.
-Copy* of the petitioner's US birth certificate, passport biodata page, or naturalization certificate (to prove citizenship).
-Copy* of the beneficiary's passport biodata page.
-Copy* of the beneficiary's birth certificate.
-Form G-325A for the petitioner (the US citizen) and the beneficiary (the spouse).
-One passport photo of both the petitioner and the beneficiary. Here is a link to passport photo guidelines.
-Form I-130, completed and signed.
-Evidence of Peruvian domicile (see below)
-Evidence of a bona fide relationship (see below)

*USCIS only requires photocopies, but you may be asked to show the original so you should bring it when you submit the I-130 packet. It's better to be safe than sorry!

A note about translations: According to USCIS, all documents not in English need to be translated. I found that if the documents were in Spanish they did not ask for a translation, but again it's better to be safe than sorry. But don't run out and hire an official translator yet. You or a friend can translate the documents if you know Spanish.  You simply need to attach an affidavit for each translation stating that you are fluent in both languages and that it is a true and accurate translation, with your signature and the date.

Evidence of Peruvian domicile

According to the USCIS document, there are a few ways to show you have Peruvian domicile. However, when I showed up with a good number of these pieces of evidence they did not accept my petition and told me to go to Migraciones in Breña and get the Movimiento Migratorio (your entry/exit record in Peru). It's great to include other proof, but that seems to be the golden ticket; in fact, they did not even accept the photocopy of my carnet. They told me it was because you can have a carnet, lease, work contract etc and still be out of the country for long periods of time; the Movimiento Migratorio is the only solid proof that you have been physically present in Peru for at least 6 months. So, here is the list of what you need to fulfill this requirement.

Required:
-Movimiento Migratorio: can be obtained very quickly at Migraciones in Breña. No appointment is needed, and you do not need to go yourself - anyone can request this without a carta de poder. Pay at the Banco de la Nación inside - it was around S/. 20-30. I think they only had hours in the morning to do this, but I don't remember exactly so it's better to call if you're not sure.
-Copy of carnet de extranjería if you have it, just in case. (I believe it's possible to apply without having a carnet, but I'm not certain.)

Optional but helpful:
-Work contract/job letter
-Cell phone or utility bills
-Lease
-Insurace policies
-Bank statements from Peruvian bank account

Evidence of bona fide relationship

This is one of those times where it's better to err on the side of too many pictures and too many documents rather than too few. Keep in mind that they will judge the veracity of your relationship based solely on the evidence you provide. Your friends know you are a sweet and committed couple, but these people are strangers who don't know you and whose job it is to assume your relationship is fraudulent until you prove them wrong.

As stated on the I-130, these are the types of evidence that demonstrate a bona fide marriage:

-Proof of joint ownership of property
-A lease showing you live together
-Proof of co-mingling of financial resources (i.e., a joint bank account or filing taxes jointly)
-Birth certificates for any children you and your spouse have together
-Affidavits by friends, family, or acquaintances (see the I-130 for more information on this.) This is probably the weakest of all evidence, so it's not usually necessary unless you are really thin on other evidence.
-Any other relevant documents to show an ongoing marital relationship. This means lots and lots of photos, trip receipts, Skype or email conversations, cards from friends and family addressed to both of you, etcetera.

Here is what I submitted in my petition:

-Marriage certificate.
-Photos from our wedding, including shots of family members/guests posing with us.
-Copy of our wedding invitation.
-Congratulations card from friends, addressed to both of us.
-Photos from prior trips and events in our relationship (best to include a variety, and include photos with friends/family. I've heard that photos with 'gringos' in them are preferred although I can't verify the veracity of this statement).
-Bank statements from our joint bank account, opened five months before the petition date.
-Lease showing both our names, signed a year and a half before the petition date.
-Health insurance policy showing both our names, opened a year before the petition date.

Some notes:

-We brought at least 40-50 photos, and the woman looked through them and chose six to make a copy of. I got to keep all the originals but I wouldn't count on that.

-We had been married only a few weeks before submitting the petition, so we had to submit evidence of our ongoing relationship before that. Whether you've been married a long time or short time, be sure to submit evidence of an ongoing relationship (trips, birthday/holiday celebrations, leases etc showing your life together for the duration of the relationship).

-If you live together, you probably don't need to submit Skype or email conversations. If you spent a long time apart either before or during your marriage, it might be a good idea.

Dropping off the petition at USCIS

You can drop off the petition at USCIS in the US Embassy on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-11. Obviously, you have to bring your original passport to show at the gate or they won't let you in. Despite what some misinformed security guards might tell you, you do NOT need an appointment to drop off the I-130 petition. You should get in the shorter line on the right-hand side of the embassy (the very long line on the left is for visa appointments - you'll have that fun experience in the next step).

Although USCIS hours begin at 9, they will let you enter before 9 o'clock, and believe me, you want to be there early. Plan to be in line outside the embassy by at least 8:30. The first time, I went about ten minutes to nine and I was number 17. I waited for two hours on extremely uncomfortable benches. The second time I made sure to get there early, and I was number 2. I was walking out of the embassy by 9:30.

After you go through security at the door (important: be sure to read my note on that below!), go to the USCIS area of the embassy, which should be clearly marked. There, you should take a blue card with a number on it, then wait for your number to be called.

IMPORTANT: New security policy at US embassy in Lima

As of April 2015, the embassy has implemented a new and extremely draconian security policy. You can see full details on the embassy website. There are some obvious items like sharp objects or flammable liquids, but here are the new restrictions below.

Newly prohibited items:

-cell phones
-any device with a battery
-electronic devices such as flash drives (USB drives) and electronic car keys, cameras, laptops, etc
-ANY purse or bag larger than a small clutch or travel wallet. See the website for exact dimensions, but it is quite small.

The embassy used to store these items at the security desk, but they don't do this anymore. Obviously, this has annoyed and inconvenienced many. Many of the copy places across the street from the embassy now offer 'lockers' to store your things, but the one I went to tied up my purse in a plastic bag, wrote my name on it, and placed it behind a chair. So, use at your own risk and don't bring anything of value.

Payment

When you go to the window to drop off your forms, the person helping you will sort through your documents and keep the ones that are relevant for the petition (don't freak out if they reject some documents - they know what they need and what they don't). Then they will give you a form to take to the other side of the embassy to pay the $420 filing fee. This is the building in front of the big American flag - when you go in, go through the door on the left-hand side or ask the security guard.

In the USCIS document, it says this must be paid in cash; however, they do accept Visa cards. Go to the payment window to pay, and they will give you a receipt for your records and an official receipt to bring back to the USCIS window. You do not need to take another number, just lurk around until the person who is being helped is finished, then go up to the window and drop off your receipt. You should be all set!

After dropping off your petition

 The person helping you will take your email address and tell you that you will receive an email from USCIS in a certain number of days. The USCIS document says 5-10 business days, but they told me 15 business days (3 weeks). That would have been really swell, but it actually took twice as long - about a month and a half. When you receive the email, you can have a celebratory drink, relax a little bit... and prepare for more waiting. More on that in Part 2!

I hope this information was helpful. Please remember that this is based only on my personal experience, and none of this is qualified legal advice. For any questions, I recommend contacting USCIS in Lima directly and/or an immigration lawyer.

USCIS email contact: peru.uscis@uscis.dhs.gov

Here is the contact information for the lawyer I used. He lives in Lima, and I found being able to meet face-to-face extremely helpful.

Matthew Anderson - email: matt@andersonvisa.com