B2 Visa to permanent resident status

19Rick85

New Member
Hello to everyone here,

My aunt is a permanent resident and actually is about a month away from swearing in to become a citizen of the US. Her daughter and two grand daughters aged 20 and 2 came to visit her on B2 visas last year. Her daughter went back early to take care of some stuff at home, however, she was in an abusive relationship where the guy had threatened to kill her and actually came after her a bunch of times with a knife. My aunt worries about her so much so that the stress landed her in the hospital a few months back.

The 20 year old found out she was pregnant soon after coming here. No, the father is not a US resident, nor is he in the picture.

The daughter came back to the states in January on a 6 month visa. Basically, they'd like to stay, but the two year old's stay is up on Feb 5th. The 20 yr old..well, I just found out her stay is up today, January 26th as she was not able to travel due to her pregnancy. I think it's too late to file for an extension, but the family would like the best options for staying together permanently AND LEGALLY here in the states. I told them they should apply for permanent resident status, but I'm not sure exactly what procedure they would have to follow without getting in trouble. I'm only here seeking advice and information. Thanks in advance!
 
You said the daughter entered in January and her stay is up on January 26? So they only gave her less than a month of stay? That's unusual.

When the mother becomes a citizen, will the daughter still be under 21? The daughter is also unmarried, right? If so, the daughters can file for Adjustment of Status (I-130 and I-485) once the mother becomes a citizen. An under-21 child of a citizen is in the Immediate Relative category, and do not need to be in status at the time of filing for Adjustment of Status. It doesn't matter if the daughter turns 21 after they file, as her age is "frozen" at the time of filing. There are a lot of forms and documents so they should start filling them early and so they can file when the mother becomes a citizen.

There is also the issue that people entering on B2 cannot have preconceived intent to stay here and do Adjustment of Status when they enter. (But if they didn't have intent when entering, and later changed their mind, that is okay.) So there is the question of did she lie about her intent when entering, especially if Adjustment of Status is filed soon after entering. She should have a good explanation of how and when she decided to stay and immigrate.
 
The daughter is over 21. She was on a b-2 visa. I believe she is also estranged from her husband. I'm not sure of the exact current marriage status, but I know she's trying to get away from him. She came stateside in summer of last year, and went back not long after, (a couple weeks or so) not sure. She went back to work as she was only here for vacation. She came back up again in January to get her 2 year old (who's stay expires feb 5th), however, her soon to be 19 year old (i thought she was 20), is pregnant and didn't know until a few months ago. She also wasn't aware that she could get an extension, so they genuinely had no intention of staying. They turned to me to ask for help, so I did some research and found that she could get an extension.
 
The aunt can petition the daughter, but it will be in the F1 category (if the daughter is unmarried) or F3 category (if the daughter is married). The wait for those are 7.5 and 11 years respectively for most countries; longer for Mexico and the Philippines. As it is not the Immediate Relative category, the daughter must be in status to do Adjustment of Status; otherwise she must do it through Consular Processing in her home country. She can't stay in the U.S. during this time because if she accrues too much unlawful presence and then leaves she will have a ban. It's possible to waive a ban through hardship to the aunt, but it's risky. Also, the 20-year old granddaughter will have aged out by then. I don't know what to suggest.
 
Thank you for your replies, I sincerely appreciate it. I decided to at least do a request for an extension for the 18 year old. She had no idea that she could receive an extension by applying.
 
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