DCF (Direct Consular Filing) in Ukraine Process

[Admin]

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THANKS! Goes to DanM for this useful information.

I thought I should pass on our immigrant visa experience so that other people making this journey might benefit from our experience. It's a frustrating, confusing process to say the least, but all in all it seems easier than what others have experienced (fiance visas, etc.).

My Ukrainian wife and I submitted our I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, at the Kiev Embassy on July 1st, 2003. We had to submit all the supporting documentation (marriage certificate, proof of my U.S. citizenship and residency, G-325A Biographic Data forms for both of us, a photograph of her, and in our case the divorce decree from her first marriage). We also paid $130 in US Dollars.

Note: all these Ukrainian forms can be translated by you or your spouse if you are bilingual. Notification is not necessary. We had our translations done at this stage by a translation agency, and they did a good job, but it wasn't necessary.

Here's what you must write, if you're doing the translation yourself, and accompany with each document:

"I, name, do hereby certify that I am proficient in both English and Ukrainian, and accordingly I am competent to perform translations, and that I have translated the foregoing/attached document accurately and to the best of my knowledge and ability.

----------------------- (Signature)

Name:
Address:
Date:

(It might be easier, if you want to go to the US right away, to file a K-3 visa with your wife or husband. For this you do the I-129F form, but I am not going to get into that, because we didn't do it this way. With a K-3 you can do your interview in Kiev, rather than Warsaw, since it is treated like a fiance visa even though you are married.)

Next, we received email and print mail confirmation that Warsaw had received our immigration visa application, and they asked us to email them the DS-230 part A, the OF-169 checklist in Russian to them. You can email it to them by scanning these documents as JPG files at an internet caf? (better if you have your own scanner at work or home) and send them 4 separate files (front and back of each form). I didn't know whether we must use Russian or English forms, because you can get the English forms online and they make more sense frankly, and when we asked the US Embassy they said it doesn't matter. You can Russian forms they give you or English, but I thought English was better. I think you should give all your answers in English though.

Before you send the checklist, make sure you get all your documents: Ministry of Internal Affairs Certificate (available from tourist agency "New Logic" - 80 Hrv. For 4 day service or 50 Hrv. For 1 week - near Maidan Square, or the central police station near St. Michael's Square in Kiev), and the Medical Examination ($100 at the American Medical Center, $65 at the Oil Ministry Clinic), and your birth certificate (it can be a USSR one - that doesn't matter). Certified translations are necessary again of the birth and police certificates, but it isn't necessary to have them notarized. Also, you have to have the Affidavit of Financial Support (I-864), filled out by the 'sponsor' of the I-130. This form doesn't have to be notarized in advance if he/she is also going to the interview. They will let you sign it in front of a consular official for free in Warsaw. And two more photographs with names on the back (Signed or printed). You must also submit a copy of your I-130 and all the original documents with translations you submitted in Kiev. They already should have those translations, but bring them just in case. You should bring copies of EVERYTHING in case any mistake is made. They aren't responsible if they accidentally lost something.

Then, Warsaw will send you your interview time and date. It will be between 8 and 10 in the morning, which is fine because the train from Kiev arrives in Warsaw early in the morning, at about 6 am. You can expect to spend 2 hours waiting with lots of other people. First, you submit your forms, then pay your $335, then have a mini-interview and sign your DS-230 part B, and have your husband/wife sign their I-864, and then they'll tell you to come back at 3 pm to pick up your visa. The actual visa is a form with your photo on it (form number I-155b) stapled to a big packet of forms (all that you submitted probably) in a sealed envelope. The visa is good for 6 months.

Our interview was on November 3, 2003. That was only 4 months after we submitted our I-130 in Kiev.

That's all there is to it. Don't stress. Everything will be OK! Kiev will start processing spousal visas in February of 2005. If you can't wait that long, go to Warsaw or do the K-3. Or if you haven't gotten married, I might suggest doing a K-1 visa (fiance visa) and then getting married in the U.S. since marriage is kind of a hassle in Ukraine.

Here's my story about getting married in Ukraine, if you are going down that route as well. It's also complicated.  One thing we still don't know about is the dreaded "PMZ" or Exit Visa, and whether we need it. It seems like there's no certainty among people on these bulletin boards.

Getting hitched in Ukraine can be the ultimate cross-cultural experience. It is the equivalent of a lifetime of those oft-advertised home-stays for exchange students or volunteers, a dozen or so 'Green Card' and 'French Kiss' induced deja vu experiences, and one or two misunderstandings about the difference between American and Ukrainian forms of engagement

The most apparent aspect of getting married in Ukraine, besides simply being in love with someone, are the papers that must be stamped and signed, and the offices that must be visited.

It began for Natasha and I with a visit to the friendly neighborhood U.S. consulate, pleasantly located off Artema Street near Lukianovska Metro. We immediately felt very important there, because we went to the start of the line ahead of the many Ukrainians waiting at the gatehouse to file their visa applications or whatnot. I felt guilty too. I wanted to take all these people inside with me. "They're all with me," I'd explain.

The guard was not going to let in my cassette tapes of Eminem or my Sony Walkman, nor was he going to let me take in my water bottle. I don't know what the reason was, but maybe he thought it might contain vodka. After he made sure that I could not possibly be concealing any weapon in my overalls, we passed through another guarded doorway in our entrance to the building.

Inside, there's one side for Ukrainians, and one side for Americans. The side for Americans has chairs, toys for children, and a water cooler. The side for non-citizens has, guess what? Nothing of the sort! They just have to stand there without water or toys. How nice!

We were there first that afternoon, with the mission of getting a 'letter of non-impediment to marriage' notarized by a consular official. After I paid my $35 at the bursar's window, a sudden rush of people came in with all kinds of requests and problems. I was suddenly stuck at the end of a long, unruly line. Someone had lost his passport. Another man from Iran was inquiring about getting a visa to the US. My heart sank as I heard the consular officials flatly tell him to go back to Iran and apply there. Hah, not likely!

But finally I swore an oath with my hand held high in front of a nice vice-consul that I was not, and had not ever been married. Natasha thought that was pretty funny I think, because Ukrainians don't usually have to swear an oath for anything. And then we were on our way!

Not so fast, dear readers. Marriage is still more than a hop, skip, and a jump away.

The rules state that this letter of non-impediment to marriage (can I say, LONITM?) must be authenticated at the Foreign Ministry of all places. No problem, I thought. I'll go there myself. It's not so easy though, and nobody who only speaks English should try this alone.

The Foreign Ministry is a picturesque building on a bluff above the Dnieper River. I rode Kiev's funicular trolley to get there, and went to the entrance in the back of the building. There were tons of people there already, sitting outside on benches.

At 9 a.m., just as I showed up, there was a rush to go inside. I went with the flow into a large hall and stood there feeling very helpless until a very nice lady suggested I go take a number. I was number 78, of 78 people. I started filling out a form in Russian, using my pocket dictionary. I was determined to get this done.

Two and a half grueling hours later, I finally made it to the window, and turned in my documents. The lady gave me a receipt to take to the cashiers, and I somehow managed to make the 25 hryvnia payment without understanding hardly a word of what I wrote or what the cashier was saying. There are instructions on the wall, and I just copied everything down letter for Cyrillic letter.

Documents are returned on a next-day basis, after 4 in the afternoon. There is only a 45-minute time window on Fridays, and we were back at number 83 in this line. Natasha came with me this day to share in the fun. Why we were 83 is beyond me, because we were one of the first 20 or 30 people there in line. I was on the verge of having a brain anuerism from stress, and Natasha was sure we would have to come back another day. Nonetheless, our turn finally came with only a few minutes to spare.

However, as luck would have it, they couldn't find my documents. They looked and looked, and just about gave up. A supervisor joined the search as we were holding up the line of fifty of more people also anxiously waiting for their documents. You could feel the desperation in the air. And just when we thought all hope was lost, the stamped and doubly notarized Letter of Non-Impediment to Marriage appeared under a stack of nameless forms.

The next step, according to US Embassy instructions, is to hop along to the 1st Notary Public Office on Mykhailo Kotsubinski St. and get the LONITM as well as my passport translated and notarized. So, in other words, the LONITM must be notarized twice, and authenticated once. The Notary Office has strange hours and looked like another long wait, so Natasha and I decided to take up a private firm's offer to have this service done for a fee. It turned out to be 90 hryvnia, but they had it done in a day without any hassle.

Our final step, or so we thought, was to go to the central ZAGS, or Wedding Palace, on Prospekt Peremogy. It turned out that we had almost everything we needed; except for my little 'immigration card' Ukrainian customs gave to me at the border, and a photocopy of my Ukrainian visa. The cost of the marriage would be about 90 hryvnnia, and we can set the date in a month's time.

So we're within inches of signing those final papers, before Natasha and I actually seal the deal. Then the big questions of where we're going to live, and how we're going to live as a Ukrainian-American couple in a not quite Unionized, but still European Ukraine. We'll let you know what happens!

Important Addresses:

April Translations Bureau 35 B. Khemelnitskogo St. Suite 5

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1 Mykhailivska Ploscha

1st Notary Public Office 12 Mykhailo Kotsubinski St.

[Michelangelo]

So how long does it take to get married in the Ukraine? Or would it be better to get married in a nuetral place, like the Dominican Republic?

Once you are married, can you wife come to the US with you via a US visa?  Or is it better to just wait and get a bride's visa?

[Bruno]

Hello Michael,

i have some info about the procedure for US citizen who marry in Ukraine... but they are from begin December and all change always fast...

The first step is for you to prepare your documents. If you were married before, you must obtain a certified copy of your divorce decree(s) from the county clerk where the divorce was finalized. Then this certified copy must be "apostilled" by the Secretary of State of the state where the court is located. The apostille gives the document the right to be recognized in countries which have adopted the appropriate international treaty such as Ukraine. Every state has a different procedure for obtaining the apostille. While you are at it, make several copies of the divorce decree. You will need one copy for your I-130 filing.

No matter where you will be married in Ukraine, you must begin at the US Embassy in Ukraine, located in Kiev at 6 Mykoly Pymonenka St. You have to fill out a 'non-impediment to marriage letter" and have it notarized by a consular officer for a fee of $30. To complete this letter you will need to know the full name of your fiancee (first name, patronymic and surname) in Ukrainian. Alternatively, some county clerks will provide a letter stating that there is no record of your being married in the county in which you live. Some persons have reported success with such a document if it has been apostilled as well. Note that the last Friday of the month the American Citizens services are closed at the Kiev consulate. The web site for the consulate is http://www.usemb.kiev.ua

Here is a quote from the consulate website. Authenticate the "Letter" at the Legalization Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, located in Kyiv at 2 Velyka Zhytomyrska, tel: 238-1815, 253-1266, 212-8392, 238-1669, any working day of the week except Thursday from 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (accepting documents) and 4:00 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. (returning documents). Please keep in mind the difference in working hours between the Ministry and the Embassy when you make your travel plans. The application fee is 8 Hryvnas for each document. The legalization fee is 8.50 Hryvnas (about $1.5) for Ukrainian citizens, 17 Hrivnas (about $3) for foreign citizens and 85 Hrivnas (about $16) for legal entities per document for next-day service. For one-day expediting service one has to pay a double fee. The fee must be paid to account 141924 of the National Bank of Ukraine in any neighborhood (They are called: Oshchadna Kasa).

[Note: we have been informed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now has a cashier where you can pay and so you do not need to pay at the Oshchadna Kasa. We recommend that your fiancée accompany you on this process to help you complete forms in Ukrainian.]

Obtain a certified translation of the data page of your passport, any annulment decrees, divorce decrees or death certificates of your former spouse(s) (if you were previously married), and the letter of non-impediment to marriage.

To arrange for your marriage, take all the documents, including your original passport (with a translation), the authenticated original death or divorce decree (if any) (with translation), and the authenticated Letter of Non-Impediment to Marriage, with translation to ZAGS - loosely translated as the civil registrar's office in the hometown of your fiancé(e)*. The Central ZAGS in Kyiv is located at 11 Prospekt Peremogy, tel: 236-0071. The person who deals with marriages to foreigners can be reached at 236-0243 or 236-0147

Your fiancee must also present certain documents to ZAGS. There is a 30 day waiting period from the time the documents are filed with ZAGs until the marriage, although sometimes this period can be waived for various reasons, such as a letter from a physician to the effect the bride is pregnant, limited vacation days of the groom, or other factors best discussed in person with ZAGS. Some ZAGS offices only accept filings certain days of the week.

Once the marriage takes place you must complete and personally file Form I-130 with the US Embassy Kiev. You must get an official copy of your marriage certificate and other documents such as her divorce paperwork, if any, translated into English. The embassy will return the original to you when you file, to verify it's a true copy. Note also that now the photos required are not the ADIT ¾ view, but passport style photos. The embassy will review the application while you wait and if all is in order, forward it to the US Embassy in Warsaw for processing. You can expedite matters by prepaying a DHL airbill to the Warsaw embassy. Warsaw will review the package and schedule an interview. The I-130 process has recently been taking about 6 to 8 weeks.

See http://warsaw.usembassy.gov/poland/filing_I130.html for information on the I-130 filing requirements.

http://warsaw.usembassy.gov/poland/filing_I130.html provides information about the documents necessary for the interview. The medical exam can be performed in Kiev at either of two locations, and can be completed up to one year before the interview.  

Upon completion of the interview your wife will receive her green card.

[AkMike]

Just a quick update;

As of March 3, 05 you no longer have to go to Warsaw to have the interview. It's all done at the Kiev Embassy. We filed on the 15th. :D:D:D.

[Michelangelo]

That is wonderful!  I send congrats and best wishes to you!

[AkMike]

Thank you!

[swampwiz]

Can a non-resident do a DCF at the Kiev embassy?  According to the embassy website, and an immigration assistance website, the DCF cannot be done for a non-resident of Ukraine.

[Michelangelo]

I think Dan, our moderator, did this.  You might email him and ask...