Visa madness part 2: CR-1/IR-1 and I-864 (Direct Consular Filing in Peru)

In part 1 I talked about my experience submitting the I-130 directly through USCIS at the US embassy in Lima. After waiting a nail-biting 6 weeks for the response, we received an email that our petition had been approved and had been sent to the Consular Section (the Department of State) for processing. Hoorah! One hurdle down. In this post, I'll talk about the second and final step of the immigrant visa process through Direct Consular Filing in Lima.

Here is an overview of what this step entails:

1. A medical exam of the intending immigrant: this is a required step, and I guess it's to ensure that the person does not have any communicable diseases that could be considered a public health threat, like tuberculosis. More on this below.

2. CR-1 / IR-1 application: this is the form and the accompanying documents for the intending immigrant.

3. I-864 affidavit of support: this is the form that the US petitioner submits, showing sufficient income to ensure that the immigrant doesn't become a burden on public assistance. It also establishes the petitioner's domicile, which typically means that you live in the US. Since everyone applying for DCF lives in Peru, this is a bit trickier but nothing to worry about! I'll cover this in detail below.

4. The consular interview. This is the final step, and I think it deserves its own post so I'm going to write about it separately.

After you get the confirmation email from USCIS, you wait. Supposedly, you will receive a packet in the mail from the Department of State here in Lima with instructions for how to proceed. Do not, under any circumstances, sit on your hands until you get this packet! Ours arrived a scant three days before our interview, and thankfully we had already been in contact with the embassy beforehand so we were prepared. I recommend contacting them about three weeks after hearing from USCIS.

You should ask: A) whether an interview date has been scheduled yet, B) whether you can go ahead with the medical exam, C) whether your spouse has been assigned a case number yet (it's a code that should start with LMA followed by a bunch of numbers), and D) how to proceed. In the title of your email, you should write "IV inquiry: (spouse's last name), case number unknown" (until they provide the case number). The first paragraph must contain your full name and your spouse's (the applicant's) full name, the type of visa (IR-1 or CR-1), and your contact information. They say they should reply in about 5 business days, but sometimes they might take longer. Don't be afraid to re-send the email if you haven't heard from them in 6-7 days.

Consular section email: limaiv@state.gov

The Immigrant Visa unit from the embassy will send you instructions about the medical exam and documentation to gather for the interview. DO NOT schedule a medical exam until they tell you that you can, because you need your case number for the appointment.

The medical exam

The embassy will send you information with the doctors who have authorization to perform the medical exam (currently, there are three, all in Miraflores). You should call and schedule an appointment, and you will receive an email with instructions about what to bring. For adults, the exam costs S/.650 and this needs to be paid ahead of time at a bank and then you bring the receipt on the day of your appointment. Hold on to the receipt like your life depends on it, because when I asked at the bank they said that if anything happens they can't issue another receipt. You will need to bring your spouse's passport and interview letter on the day of the exam. (We did not have our interview letter yet, but brought the email showing my husband's case number and the instruction to schedule the exam.)

The doctor will take your medical history and do a general exam. He or she will recommend any vaccines that you are missing. If you want to get that out of the way the same day, bring cash to pay for the vaccines. My husband had to get four vaccines, and they came out to around S/.450 altogether so bring enough cash (they don't accept credit cards).

After the general exam, you have a blood test and a chest x-ray. This is at the AngloAmericana clinic, even if your appointment is at a different clinic (like ours was), so I recommend scheduling the appointment with a doctor at AngloAmericana to avoid the hassle of going to two different places. 

About a week after the exam, you can pick up the results. It's important that you do not open the packet, but bring it to the interview still sealed.

A note: it's important to be honest about any medical conditions, because lying in a visa process is considered fraud and if the government finds out, you won't be getting the visa and you might be banned from applying in the future. However, remember that the US is extremely intolerant of drug use so I urge you to consider your answer very carefully when you answer that part of the questionnaire.

Immigrant visa application (CR-1 / IR-1)

What do those letters mean and how do you know which one applies to you? CR stands for "conditional residency" and if you have been married to your spouse for less than two years, you are applying for a conditional residency visa. If your visa is approved, you will get a two-year green card, after which you will have to apply to have conditions removed. IR means "immediate relative" and applies if you have been married for more than two years. Upon approval you will be granted residency for ten years, after which you can renew your green card.

These are the documents the applicant (your foreign spouse) needs:

-original birth certificate (not a copy), legalized by RENIEC
-original marriage certificate, legalized by RENIEC
-original divorce or death decree if your spouse was married before, legalized by RENIEC
-police records (antecedentes policiales) for Peru and any other country your spouse has lived in for more than one year
-court records (antecedentes judiciales a nivel nacional)
-prison records (antecedentes penales)
-military records, if your spouse served in the military (antecedentes militares)
-2 passport photos
-online form DS-260. You can only fill this out after you have received your LMA case number. Print the confirmation code and bring this on the day of your interview. I did not print this, assuming that they should have access since it was an online form. While everything worked out in the end, we had some very tense moments - not what you want the day of your interview!

The affidavit of support (I-864)

This form is filled out by the US citizen spouse, and it fulfills two purposes. The first is to demonstrate sufficient income to support your spouse. If you don't meet the income requirements (I didn't), you can use a joint sponsor and this will in no way be counted against you. You just need to follow the instructions on the form and attach your tax return for the most recent year. The second purpose is to demonstrate that you maintain a US domicile, i.e. that you live in the US. However, for US citizens living abroad you may show 'an intent to re-establish domicile'.
 
Establishing domicile

There are many ways to show domicile. I used a mix of factors showing that I had maintained my US domicile, and that I intended to re-establish domicile. Obviously, if you are applying to live in the US it should be fairly obvious that you do intend to live there, so I wouldn't worry too much about this. Here is the official list of requirements that they will be looking at:

9 FAM 40.41 N7.1-2 Establishing the Existence of a U.S. Domicile (CT:VISA-1995; 06-06-2013) 

a. A petitioner living abroad not meeting the criteria in 9 FAM 40.41 N7.1-1 who wishes to qualify as a sponsor must satisfy you: 

(1) That he or she has taken steps to establish a domicile in the United States; 

(2) That he or she has either already taken up physical residence in the United States or will do so concurrently with the applicant;

(3) The sponsor does not have to precede the applicant to the United States but, if he or she does not do so, he or she must at least arrive in the United States concurrently with the applicant; 

(4) The sponsor must establish an address (a house, an apartment, or arrangements for accommodations with family or friend) and either must have already taken up physical residence in the United States; or 

(5) Must at a minimum to satisfy you that he or she intends to take up residence there no later than the time of the applicant’s immigration to the United States. b. Although there is no time frame for the resident to establish residence, you must be satisfied that the sponsor has, in fact, taken up principal residence in the United States. 

Evidence that the sponsor has established a domicile in the United States and is either physically residing there or intends to do so before or concurrently with the applicant may include the following: 

(1) Opening a bank account; 

(2) Transferring funds to the United States; 

(3) Making investments in the United States; 

(4) Seeking employment in the United States; 

(5) Registering children in U.S. schools; 

(6) Applying for a Social Security number; and 

(7) Voting in local, State, or Federal elections. 

c. If a petitioner cannot satisfy the domicile requirement, the petitioner fails to qualify as a “sponsor” for the purposes of submitting Form I-864, and a joint sponsor cannot be accepted and the applicant must be refused pursuant to INA 212(a)(4). Without a properly executed I-864, signed by a sponsor (the petitioner) who is “domiciled” in the United States, in visa cases which require an I-864, then an immigrant visa cannot be approved.

Here's what I submitted:

Evidence that I have maintained domicile in the US:

-current driver's license

-voting registration card

-bank statements

-retirement account statements

Evidence of steps taken to take up residence in the US:

-LLC creation documents (I registered a company in the US, but you can show 'attempts to seek employment': job applications, emails to potential employers, interview records, etc)

-lease agreement: I signed a 'contract' with my parents stating that we were going to live there (even though I don't actually intend to live there). It's required to show living arrangements, as stated in the official text above, but nobody says you have to actually live there.

Basically, show them that you are serious about establishing yourself in the US: a place to live, a job (or at least evidence that you're looking), a US bank account, and any other ways you can think of to demonstrate how you are going to settle in to your new life.

I also submitted a cover letter / affidavit which you can find below:

Claire Ryan
Social security no: xxx-xx-xxxx
FORM I-864
No. 15 Country of Domicile

I, Claire Ryan, am currently residing in Peru with my spouse, JV. Below you will find a list of attached documents to show that my principle residence is in the US and the steps that I have taken to return to the US with my family.

Steps I have taken to maintain US Domicile:
• Maintained my XX voter registration
• Maintained my bank account at XX Bank
• Maintained my XX drivers license
• Maintained my US retirement fund through XX
• Maintained my US investment account with XX

Supporting Documents for the above steps I have taken:
• Voter registration card showing permanent US address
• Bank statement showing permanent US address
• XX drivers license showing permanent US address
• Retirement fund statement showing permanent US address
• Mutual fund statement showing permanent US address
 
Steps I have taken to return to the US to take up residence:
• Made arrangements for us to have a house to live in

• Set up an LLC with the intention of doing business in the US

Supporting documents for the above steps I have taken:

• Lease agreement for our house
• LLC creation documents

• Invoice from lawyer for creation of LLC

I declare that I intend in good faith to re-establish my domicile in the United States no later than the date of spouse's admission into the US.

I certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States that the statements in this letter and all accompanying evidence are true and correct.

Signature: ____________________________________________________

Date: ______________________
NAME

Now that all the documentation is taken care of, all that's left is the interview itself.