How to bring my wife and my baby girl here to New York from the Dominican republic?

Question

Now I'm a Citizen and got married in March of 2008 in the dominican republic and she is carrying my baby and shes due november of 2008 and i already downloaded the I-130 form and im going to try and do it myself because i dont wanna pay the 1000 dollars fee the lawyer is asking i have the letter from the doctor indicating that she is healthy and is pregnant with a girl due november and i have the marriage certificate and her birth certificate and my birth certificate and the passport photos and i do have income and i have a american citizen passport so what else will i need for documentation and how long will it take if everything goes smooth and does it take 1 year or 5 years like some people say i dont want to miss 5 years of my daugthers life and this is are first time marriage no prior marriages never been arrested no diseases and we've been dating for 7 years and now got married what else will i need.

Any information would be gladly appreciated.

Answer 1

She must remain in the DR while you apply for a spousal visa for her.  You need to prove a valid long-term relationship with the intention of permanency (how you met, how long you've been together where & when, etc).  And you must prove you have sufficient income and assets to support her and the baby and guarantee a $30,000 bond.  Even without an attorney, you are looking at several thousands of dollars in fees for the various applications, etc.  You'll have to prove you can afford all that.  She will be interviewed in DR.  It is currently taking 2 to 2-1/2 years to obtain a spousal visa.  

If you had gotten the fiance visa first, it would have taken about a year, and she could probably have remained in the US while the spousal visa was processed.  You "jumped the gun" in more ways than one.

Answer 2

You say you are a US Citizen - have you been living in the Dominican Republic, legally, for more than 6 months?  You could qualify for direct consular filing, which is often faster than the normal route.  This way, you wait in the Dominican with your family while the application is being processed, and then move as a family to the US, once your wife's green card has been approved.  

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.... is the link.

Otherwise, it usually takes 6 months to a year to get the K3 spousal visa approved.  http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index....

Answer 3

Congratulations for your new comer!  Fill out and mail the I-130.  She is not here.  No problem.  Just fill out exactly where she is now.  After I130 approval, you can apply the K visa.  Then start from there.  I-130 approval waiting is around 6 mths to 1yr.  K visa is 1 to 2 years.  Once she receives the K visa, she will have an interview in DR embassy.  Then she can fly with your baby to US and then you can file the AOS - Adjustment of Status in here.  It will take her like 4 months to get the finger print, work permit, advance parole, done.  Then you need to wait for interview.  

Go to www.immigrationportal.com.  There are many people like you.  You can ask many questions even how to fill out the form.  During this period, you may be very stressful.  People are very nice and will support you.  

Good luck.

P.S.  You don't need to worry of your unborn child not on I-130.  Once you receive your I-130 approval, you'll file I-129F.  Then you can put her name down in there.  You wife can bring any under 21 years old sons or daughters with her to here.

Do not hang around in here.  Go to any immigration forum to discuss with some other people before you hire an attorney.  May be it can save you 2 to 3 thousand.  You have an unborn child.  Try to save as much as you can.  Hiring lawyer is one thing.  Sometimes they don't follow through the whole process.  The only guarantee is you to learn the whole process and if you have spare money, then hire an attorney.  Your attorney is not charging that much.  But you have to be sure who is license attorney.  I got screwed and heard many people got screwed by an unlicensed one.  

Bottom line.  Call up USCIS to ask how you should file for your wife who has an unborn child.  Try to fill out the form this weekend.  Go to those website to discuss this matter.  Don't hang in here.  People in yahoo. immigration know not much about immigration.  They come here just condemning new immigrants only.

Just get an updated.  I-130 waiting time is 1 year.  K3 is for your wife.  K4 is for your daughter.  Waiting is 8 months.  

This is the link for Vermont Processing Time.  You live in New York.  You file to Vermont.

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/Process...

Answer 4

You can either apply for a K3 or immigrant visa with the I-130. Check out some articles at http://www.myfianceevisa.com for more info. K3 might be faster than I-130.