Help for applying GC for spouse

H

Hawk74

Registered Users (C)
Hi there,
I got my 485 approved on mar 17th while my spouse's passport was at chennai consulate for H4 visa. And my spouse came to US on april 7th. I did get my passport stamped and i did not get the actual GC in hand.
Now
Can i apply for adjustment of status for my spouse in US itself?
or
Is there any way i can apply for adjustment of status for spouse while spouse is in US other than going for Follow to join?


Thanks in advance
Hawk74
 
Hawk74,

Once you got your case approved, you can no longer file a follow-to-join I-485 for your spouse. You have to file a I-130 (petition for alien relative) for your spouse and once approved, you have to wait for the priority date to become current (04/15/98 as this month for 2A catagory) in order to file I-485 for your spouse. During I-130 stage, your spouse has to keep her independent non-immigration visa status or apply a "V" visa from US consulate overseas. The whole process may take several years. Please check BCIS web-site for more information.

http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/services/residency/family.htm

---Compaqdb
 
Hawk,
Sorry I don't have answer to your question. But Compaq, it seems that the marriage in this case occured before the GC approval, so the follow to join should not take that long as mentioned in your reply..
 
check with your lawyer

most probably you should be able to apply for your wifes GC without a long wait as the marriage happened before the GC aproval.
 
You can file follow to join

Compaq's answer is wrong...
You can file after approval provided marriage happened before approval - I am not sure on forms but take help of lawyer (probalbly same lawyer you have) - lawyer typically charges 500$ + BCIS fees in this type of cases.
 
Hi,

I (my lawyer) filed I-485 after my spouse received GC approval. He received it in September 2001 (after the marriage) and I filed mine in November - I just got the approval notice for I-485 on May 16, 2003.

I think that as long as the marraige happens before the approval date, you should be able to file the I-485 directly without any problems and your spouse will have the regular I-485 timeframe.

Hope this helps ~ Good luck!
 
gcrdnd

Hi,

What kind of documents did you send when you applied for your 485 after the Primary applicants approval and was there any RFE or anything like that Please post that as that might be helpfull.

Mainly what kind of documents did you send?

Thanks
 
Hi gcrdnd,

Thanks for your comforting info.
Could you tell me if you were on H4 when u applied for your 485? And also if its ok with you, could you also let me know if i can contact your lawyer for more information? If yes, please give me the details mail me to athhawk74@yahoo.com.

Thank you very much for your help.
Hawk74
 
I was on a H-1B visa when I applied for I-485 - I did not receive any RFE's. I dont know right away, but I will find out the details of the lawyer (my husband's work based lawyer) and let you know.
 
from immigration.gov link in previous post.
"If you were married before you became a lawful permanent resident, and your spouse did not physically accompany you to the U.S., your spouse may be eligible for following-to-join benefits."

what does "your spouse did not physically accompany you to the U.S." mean?If I married with my wife in the states and she is in the states with other Visa status currently, should she be eligible for following-to-join benefits?
 
Hawk74

You can apply for a follow-to-join petition for your spouse since your statements imply that your marriage date precedes the approval date.
HOWEVER, the most important thing you need to do now is to check to make sure your wife is on legal status here. I'll tell you why: You mentioned that your wife got her H4 visa stamped at Chennai consulate recently and arrived in the US subsequently. Although the BCIS officer at her port of entry should have validated her claim to be your non-immigrant dependant and informed her right away that you are no longer on H1 -- some room for doubt whether the H1 becomes void upon 485 approval itself or only after your stamping is complete -- it is not surprising that she got through there. BUT, now that you have done the stamping ritual, if she is still here on the H4 dependant visa, she maybe in limbo as your H1 status became void immediately upon your becoming a lawful permanent resident. So contact an attorney and do the needful immediately.
 
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