Direct Consular filing
Direct Consular filing - 2 weeks from first contact to Visa issuance.
In short, I filed Direct Consular Filing, and the visa was printed in the passport 2 weeks from first contact with the embassy.
This is the brief timeline including time and money spent at each step.
December 8 - I asked embassy to consider my application
December 9 - Consular officer agreed to adjudicate
December 12 - Appointment to submit I-130- 2 hours total, $675
December 16 - Received CEAC log in and completed DS 260
December 18 - Medical appointment 3.5 hours, $375 for exam, vaccines and an X Ray
Spousal interview 2 hours, $325 *Intend to approve pending medical results*
December 23 - Visa status updated to “issued” and shipped
December 30 - Visa delivered Paid $15 to courier, paid USCIS Immigrant Fee online $235
January 17- Entered USA, gave packet to CBP and started our lives here!
$1,625 and 2 weeks (3 weeks with shipping) later, and we are free to enter the USA!
I want to highlight the incredible efficiency and some good news!
The whole story is quite a bit longer. I really benefited from the sum of everyone’s experiences here. I found that not knowing what to expect was almost as difficult as the actual bureaucracy and waiting. I was humbled many times during this process by what I have come to accept as my own hubris and ignorance. In case it helps anyone, here’s my experience in as much detail as I think might help.
For context: I’m a remarried American citizen living in Romania with 3 dual citizen children from my first marriage and a dual citizen child born in Romania with my current Romanian husband.
Initially, we applied via Consular Processing in September of 2023. We were denied the first week of December 2024 due to an incorrect signature. As luck would have it, the day before I got the denial, I got a job offer with training starting the first week of February.
Original timeline–
September 30 2023- PD for i130 consular processing
January 8 2024 PD for K3
January 2024 - Denied Expedite request
November 29 2024 NOID for deficient Signature
December 6- Denial for deficient signature
I made a stupid, clearly avoidable mistake, I made a post about it. It’s over. However, it also began our DCF journey. Which was much less journey than sprint.
On December 5th. I received a job offer in the USA with training starting February 1st 2025
And so it began!
I applied for Direct Consular Filing with the embassy in Bucharest.
I greatly benefited from this person’s experience. I used their basic email template and had a similar experience.
.
A more detailed look at each step-
December 8 ( a Sunday ) I used the google form to determine my eligibility and get the right email address and subject line. I sent the email and was open about the fact that I had a recently denied i-130 and why.
( notably https://www.ustraveldocs.com and https://ro.usembassy.gov/visas-navigator/ provided different subject lines to use for exceptional circumstances.
December 9 Only a few hours into the first working day after I sent the request, I received a response that they would accept my filing. They laid out all of the details for both interviews, what I needed and when. I responded that I was in possession of all the documents and available at their earliest convenience. Within a few hours I had an appointment booked for later in the week.
They informed me:
“”At the appointment for the first interview with the consular officer, you must present the following documents:
- Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filled out and signed by you,
- Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for a Spouse Beneficiary, filled out and signed by your spouse,
- Two photos for each of you, as in the attached sample,
- Your U.S. passport,
- Your spouse’s passport,
- The marriage certificate,
- Your spouse’s birth certificate,
- Proof that all your and your spouse’s prior marriages were terminated,
- Proof of relationship with your spouse,
- The fee of U.S. dollars 675.00 which is payable only at the cashier located in the Consular Section, in cash in U.S. or Romanian currency, or by credit card.””
**They did not ask for or keep our copies. The consular officers make their own copies and then they have to stamp and sign that the copies are conform to the original.
December 12 We had the first interview. Everyone was kind ( maybe because we had a baby?) .We submitted the application and showed them all of our documents. We dealt with 2 different staffers, one Romanian ( apparently the one who had been emailing me) and an American consular officer. The consular officer remembered us from when we filed the CRBA for our child together. She asked us a couple questions, and acknowledged it wasn’t something they did very often. She was very carefully flipping through pages and said, “ We’re kind of doing the job of two agencies here, so I want to make sure we don’t miss anything”. The Romanian staffer was equally cautious, asking follow up questions, making sure I had included absolutely everything ( all previous names, if I was sure in which countries we had/hadn’t lived in other countries a year or more, etc. )
We paid $675 at the payment window. They told us to expect to hear from them in about a week with the NVC log in info to submit DS-260.
They saw us promptly, but there were a few different periods of talking to an officer then sitting and waiting. We were in the embassy about 1 hour and 45 minutes total.
Notes:
Regarding proof of relationship: I included our CRBA, his paternity leave to care for our child, joint revolut accounts, rental agreement and some photos.
Regarding document validity: For this step, we had official documents from 4 different countries. Anything in English or Romanian ( even if originating in another European country) was fine as is. No apostille was needed for US or EU documents.
December 16 We received the email with the CEAC log in info and completed form DS-260. We scheduled with the panel physician and second interview for the 18th.
For our second interview, They told us we needed:
“”At the time of the visa application appointment your spouse must present the following documents:
- His valid passport,
- All previous passports with U.S. visas,
- Two photos as in the attached sample,
- His birth certificate in original not laminated,
- His marriage certificate in original not laminated,
- The police certificates from Romania in original,
- If your spouse resided in other countries besides Romania and the United States for one year or more, he is required to obtain and present at the interview a police certificate from those countries.
- The medical examination conducted with the Embassy’s panel physician.
- A Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, filled out and signed by you on behalf of your spouse.
- A complete copy of your individual Federal Income Tax Return for 2023 (Form 1040 and W-2),
- The fee of U.S. dollars 325.00, payable only at the Consular cashier on the appointment date in U.S. or Romanian currency in cash or by credit card.””
Notes:
Regarding affidavit of support: I’m an independent contractor, so he took last year’s 1099 ( instead of w2) and my transaction record so far this year. Last year I made enough to support him and our family before we had another baby. If I had needed to include this year’s income, I would have needed to earn a few thousand more dollars. We didn’t want to risk anything or have questions, so we included his assets to cover any shortfall. He was never asked about it, so I don’t know if they looked at last years, this year’s, etc. I was a little concerned his being unemployed ( on paternity leave) would be an issue - it apparently was not.
Regarding police certificates: We had all of the documents together already because I believed we had a good case to expedite early in 2024. It turns out that potentially life threatening pregnancy complications are not a reason to expedite, but it did mean that I had all my docs in hand when the time came. We needed 4 total police certificates. Some were instant online ( Romania), and others took more than a month ( UK), so plan accordingly. They also varied in cost from free to more than $100 with shipping.
Regarding proof of domicile: They didn’t ask for proof of domicile, but as I had prepared it already, I sent it with my husband. I included my voter’s registration, the fact I still insure my car there, my kids being registered with online public school, my bank statements with my address, etc.
Regarding the medical exam: Typically, a couple should finish everything INCLUDING receiving the medical report back BEFORE scheduling the second interview. However, we live 7 hours from the panel physician, so she said it would be ok to schedule the Dr’s appointment for the same trip back into town.
December 18
Beneficiary spouse attended medical and interview alone.
The medical exam took 3.5 hours between waiting and traveling to different offices/buildings for different parts of it. (This was a little stressful since we had the interview scheduled 4 hours after the medical appointment.)
The interview itself was relatively brief. He was only asked a few questions and was told that the officer intended to approve the visa, pending medical results. The officer was very kind and wanted to make sure my husband understood that the refusal under 221(g) was not a refusal per se, but a logistical placeholder until the medical results came in.
Notes:
We knew that we would be waiting for the medical results before the visa could be adjudicated. The panel physician said she expected the results to be available by the weekend and could be to the embassy as early as the 23rd, but in theory the results can take 10 working days. So we prepared ourselves to hear back on or after January 13th. ( there were 8(!) weekday holidays just after we had the visit) The medical exam in Romania can only be done with one doctor. It cost 840 RON( about $175 when we paid). We didn’t have any vaccine records from his childhood, so he had to repeat the vaccines with the panel physician at cost. We were able to do all the required vaccines ( with the exception of the Covid vaccine) with the panel physician. We paid about $200 more for the vaccines and x ray. https://www.reginamaria.ro/articole-medicale/servicii-medicale-pentru-obtinerea-vizei-sua-adulti-si-copii [The Covid vaccine is not available anywhere in Romania at this time. He was not able to get it. The doctor noted this and it was not a problem]
December 20 The doctor called in the evening to let us know the results were ok, and she would input them into the system.
December 23 The CEAC website updated to “issued” and the visa packet was given to the courier company. At this point someone local to Bucharest could have picked it up.
December 30 Visa packet was delivered. We paid $15 to courier. With the info inside the packet, we were able to pay the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee online.
January 17 We flew to the USA and gave our packet to the customs officer. We were all ( 2 adults, 4 kids and a dog) taken to an office where they stamped some papers and told us, “Welcome”.
I hope some of this info can help anyone who is considering DCF and what steps they might take. Good luck!