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DV lottery interview - chargeability: parents temporary residents at time of birth

makeithappen said:
I sincerley hope you are correct .The main reason for our worry is that on the blue administrative processing sheet 221g the consular just ticked additional administrative processing required not giving the option for my hubby to provide additional documents to strengthen our case. He said they will be in touch and returned our passports but kept our other documents. We have perceived it as a negative sign that our passports have been returned.If we are given the opportunity to provide documentation for his mother I would be very optimistic, time will tell.

Thank you so much for your opinion.
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Tell us more about the story. Why is it more or less clear she was a temporary resident? What about his father?
Where was your husband born?
Where were his parents born?
Where were you born?
What was the country of permenent residence for his mother?
For his father?
What were they doing in the country of your husband's birth when he was born?
When did she decide to move permanently?
 
raevsky said:
Tell us more about the story. Why is it more or less clear she was a temporary resident? What about his father?
Where was your husband born?
Where were his parents born?
Where were you born?
What was the country of permanent residence for his mother?
For his father?
What were they doing in the country of your husband's birth when he was born?
When did she decide to move permanently?
Click to expand...

Both my husband and I were born in the UK. My husband was born in Spring 1970. He applied for DV under foreign chargeability to my mother-in-law's country.

My father-in-law is a bit of an enigma. He was a refugee who left Hungary to escape the communist regime and drifted the globe before finally seeking asylum in the UK in the late 60s. He was naturalised in 1992.

My mother-in-law was born in Portugal. She left Portugal in Summer 1966 to escape the repressive Salazar regime. However as Salazar controlled borders so tightly, she could only achieve this by registering for a government programme to work in the UK temporarily. The Portuguese government signed a contract with her employer essentially protecting her Portuguese rights and residency.

My mother-in-law was issued with a 1-year work permit in the Summer of 1966. She was restricted to working as a nanny for the contracted family and was not allowed to seek work with anyone else. She had to report to a police station every week and renew the permit each year. She briefly returned to Portugal in 1968 before returning to the UK under a renewed permit. According to UK rules at the time she would not be considered for permanent residency for a minimum of 4 years. As she was granted the first of her work permits in the Summer of 1966, she qualified for permanent residency in the Summer of 1970 (2 months after my husband's birth). She was never naturalised, is still a Portuguese citizen, and retains an address in Portugal to this day.

After explaining this, the interviewing officer stated that he was satisfied that my mother-in-law was a temporary resident at the time of my husband's birth. The question mark for him was that she didn't return to her native country for a cooling off period before becoming a permanent resident in the UK. Consequently the embassy need to check with their lawyers whether my husband's case complies with US Immigration law and he is still eligible for a visa under foreign chargeability.

The frustrating thing is my husband was not invited to submit proofs and amazingly my mother-in-law still has them. Furthermore the embassy has given no indication of how long it will taken them to reach a decision.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Your mother in law was stationed in UK under order of her Portugese employer, and the nature of employment was completely foreign to UK. It seems to me the officer has no doubt about that. Cooling period is not required.

www.state.gov/documents/organization/87526.pdf

9 FAM 42.12 N5 APPLICANT’S PLACE OF BIRTH
IS NOT PARENTS' COUNTRY OF BIRTH OR
RESIDENCE
(CT:VISA-1007; 09-05-2008)
a. If the consular officer has determined that, at the time of the child’s birth, the
parent or parents were stationed in such country under orders or instructions of
an employer, principal or superior authority whose business or profession was
foreign to that foreign state, the applicant may be charged to the foreign state
of either parent.
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Many thanks ravesky. It appears from your response that the critical factor is that my mother-in-law was employed under the Portuguese government programme. My husband is unsure how well he explained this at interview and fears that the embassy may process the case on the assumption that my mother-in-law worked privately in the UK (albeit as a temporary resident under work permit). Now that we have obtained documentation from my mother-in-law do you think it's worth writing to the embassy to clarify the position and submit proofs or should we wait for the embassy to contact us?
 
I would contact the consulate on my own to provide complete explanation and your vision of the law
 
Ok I'll ask my husband to do this.
Would you recommend a letter or email or both?
Is it our local embassy that processes the case or is it forwarded to another department?
If the consulate declines the visa, can my husband appeal?
 
Start with email. If there is no answer within a week, repeat by email, snail mail and fax
It is mostly the consulate, but sometimes they ask for asvisory opinion from Visa Office in DC.
He could appeal to the same consulate, up to consul general. That is it.
 
raevsky said:
I would contact the consulate on my own to provide complete explanation and your vision of the law
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Just wanted to say thank you for your advice Ravesky.My husband wrote to the embassy and included the information you quoted above.He then submited the proofs and our visa status has now changed to issued after 111 days of AP.

For anyone claiming foreign chargeability of a parent, take the proofs to your interview.
 
makeithappen said:
Just wanted to say thank you for your advice Ravesky.My husband wrote to the embassy and included the information you quoted above.He then submited the proofs and our visa status has now changed to issued after 111 days of AP.

For anyone claiming foreign chargeability of a parent, take the proofs to your interview.
Click to expand...

Glad to read that - well done to you and well done to Raevsky for the accurate advice!
 
Raevsky: my husband has asked me to pass on his thanks for your advice. He wrote a letter clearly stating his case and quoting US immigration law. He received a call within a day of writing. It was evident that the embassy had done nothing in the months that had passed since the interview and his correspondence had prompted a review.

In an nutshell the consulate officer would only approve his application if he could supply proof of his mother's temporary status in the UK at the time of his birth. No proof, no visa. Thankfully his mother retained her passport which contained visa stamps clearly indicating temporary status in the UK. His case was approved within hours of the embassy receiving copies of this proof.

The good news is we have received our visas. The (slightly) bad news is they expire within weeks because our medical examinations were conducted in April. We will travel to the US within the next month to initiate final processing and prepare for our permanent move.

Word to advice to all others in the same boat. Regardless of what the consulate tell you about admin processing, do not wait for them to contact you. Take the initiative and write to them. Furthermore, book the medical examination as close to the interview as reasonably practical (allowing sufficient time for the results to reach the embassy) as visa expiry dates will be set to when the medicals expire. If you can, take evidence of foreign chargeability to the interview.
 
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