Follow to join benefits, child over 21

[barney85]

Hi,

i really hope someone can help me. My mother will receive her greencard in the next few months and we are wondering whether me and my sister are eligiable for the follow to join benefit. My mother is the sister of a U.S. citizen. My sister (23) and me (25) would love to join her when she immigrates to the U.S.; is this possible without waiting for a Visa? I really hope you guys can help me... I am very sorry for my bad english!

Thanks... David

edit: we live in Germany

 

[BigJoe5]

Please see:

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Mem...anda/Archives 1998-2008/2008/cspa_30apr08.pdf

The above tells you how to figure out if either of you could still be included in mom's F4 petition by her sibling.

You need to know the petition's priority date and when a visa first became available, both of your exact ages on those dates (broken down to the day). It is a complex issue but a possibility is there. However, only you have the required information needed to figure it out.

Good Luck,

 

[barney85]

thanks for your fast reply...

but your link doesnt work: 404 - Requested Page Not Found on Site

both dates are on 1st of january 2001

 

[Jackolantern]

Look up the Child Status Protection Act.

To simplify and summarize how it works:

1. Calculate the length of time it took for the I-130 or I-140 to get approved (i.e. approval date minus filing date).
2. Subtract the result from your actual age. This is your CSPA-adjusted age.
3. If your CSPA-adjusted age is under 21 when the priority date is current, you would qualify to immigrate as a derivative beneficiary (if the particular immigration category allows derivative beneficiaries and you are unmarried and otherwise admissible to the US).

However, your case technically would not be classified as "follow to join"; you can get a GC at the same time as your mother, if you file the relevant paperwork along with her and go for the consular interview at about the same time as she does. Follow to Join is referring to a situation where the primary individual has already completed the process and been admitted as a permanent resident, and then their child and/or spouse are added as derivatives and complete the process months (or years!) later.

 

[barney85]

edit:

hey... thanks for your answer. i looked at USCIS.gov for CSPA:

Eligibility Criteria

* Must be the beneficiary of a pending or approved visa petition on or after August 6, 2002.
* The beneficiary must not have had a final decision on an application for adjustment of status or an immigrant visa before August 6, 2002.

what does pending mean when we talk about this visa? i think i have translation problems... pls help me

i asked my mother: she said that her sister filled form I-130 on 8 of january 2002. She is in preference category 4. In the next few months one visa for her comes available... my sister is 23 and I am 25 now... So the time between my aunt filled form I-130 and the time for her visa was available is about 9 years... Does this mean we are according to CSPA childs under the age of 21 and can get the Greencard at the same time that my mother gets it??

could someone explain to me pending visa?

 

[Jackolantern]

A pending petition means the I-130 was still in progress.

So the time between my aunt filled form I-130 and the time for her visa was available is about 9 years... Does this mean we are according to CSPA childs under the age of 21 and can get the Greencard at the same time that gets it??

That's not how it works.

These are the steps:
1. Calculate the time between I-130 filing and the I-130 approval date. Write down the answer in years and months*.
2. Then write down your age in years and months when the visa number becomes available (probably January or February 2011).
3. Then take that age and subtract the years and months you just calculated in part 1.

If you provide the I-130 approval date, and your and your sister's ages in years and months, we can figure out if you'd still be eligible in Jan/Feb 2011.


*technically the calculation is to be done in days, but the exact days only matter if your adjusted age is calculated to be very close to 21, so to keep it simple let's stick to years and months for now since the days probably won't be necessary.

 

[barney85]

thank you so much!!!

my parents received the approval notice on .. july 2009... my sisters bithday was on .. of july 1987 and my birthday was on ..th of february 1985

 

[Jackolantern]

The actual approval date is July 2009? Or is that just when they received the notice, after it was approved long before that?

Anyway, assuming July 2009 is the actual approval date, that's about 7 years and 6 months from I-130 filing until approval.

Subtract 7 years 6 months from each of your ages, and both of you are clearly eligible if the visa number becomes available anytime next year or 2012. You don't age out until August 2013; your sister ages out in January 2016.

Be aware that when the visa number is available (or about to become available) and the consulate contacts your parents about setting up the interview and related formalities, they probably will exclude both of you from the notice. That's because they often don't do the CSPA calculation; they just see that you're over 21 and exclude you. Then you'll have to assert that you are still eligible according to the CSPA, and file a DS-230 for you and your sister along with your parents' paperwork.

 

[barney85]

I will ask my dad as soon as possible if this is just the date they received the approval notice... can you tell me how to find out the approval date? i googled but couldnt find an good answer... thanks

 

[BigJoe5]

That link has been corrected, see first reply in chain. It's the guidance memo for CSPA that USCIS uses.

 

[barney85]

ok guys... I think I found out that the date of approval is on this notice from uscis! this means that I can get the Greencard at the same time that my mother receives it... I dont know how I can thank you for your help! I am so grateful! God bless you...