i-130 > Adjustment of Status > i-485

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Jacqi

Registered Users (C)
Hi everyone,

First to give you a bit of background on my issue:
I hold a green card and married a foreigner in June 2010. Unfortunately, we waited for a year before we started the petition and submitted an I-130.

Recently we received the AOS (Affidavit of Support) proceeding fee as well as the Choice of Address and Agent documents.
On the AOS it is stated that "If the applicant intends to adjust status with the USCIS, please contact the NVC before making any payments or taking further action."

We contacted the NVC who's response was that "[they] received notification of the principal applicant's intent to adjust
to permanent resident status in the United States with the USCIS. [They] will hold the petition at the NVC until [they] are notified by USCIS to return the petition to them. Please contact USCIS at 1-800-375-5283, or visit www.uscis.gov for further information."

According to the information on the USCIS website I am now supposed to wait for a visa number to clear up for me before I can proceed and submit the I-485 document.

We are at a loss. It sounds hard to believe that now we must just wait for a year before we can continue the procedure.
Has anyone faced a similar situation and can share some insights?


Thank you.
 
The dates in the visa bulletin will control when the I-485 can be filed. See http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5779.html

Being married to a green card holder, your spouse would be in the F2A category which is at July 2010. You filed the I-130 in June 2011, so you'll have about a year to wait before they reach your priority date.

Be glad that F2A is down to a 2-year wait. It used to be 4 years.

Also note that your spouse must be inside the US legally to be eligible to file I-485 in the F2A category. Has your spouse been maintaining legal status, and do you expect that status to continue for another year?
 
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Thank you for your reply Jackolantern.

My husband is actually finishing his BA and is in the US under a F1 visa. He should be able to stay an extra year after he graduates this coming this December — if he manages to find a job/internship.

Once a visa # is available, do you know how long it takes to complete the procedure (getting the green card). The window to stay legally in the states should be pretty small by then... :/
 
Once the visa number becomes available and the I-485 is filed, the green card can reasonably be expected in another 3-6 months.
 
One last question and I stop bothering you :p
What kind of status will my husband hold once the visa number becomes available and the I-485 is filed?

As I said earlier he is on a F1 visa and will remain on it until the end of his one year of work/internship of post-graduation. Once his status is adjusted is he allowed to stay legally until he receive his greencard (the 3 to 6 month you were talking about)?

Thanks again Jackolantern
 
Jacqi said:
One last question and I stop bothering you :p
What kind of status will my husband hold once the visa number becomes available and the I-485 is filed?
Click to expand...
There isn't a particular name for the status of somebody who has a pending I-485, but the pending I-485 will allow him to stay legally until it is decided.

As I said earlier he is on a F1 visa and will remain on it until the end of his one year of work/internship of post-graduation.
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But if he doesn't get a job soon enough after graduation, he would have to leave the US and wait abroad in order to avoid going out of status. You would then have to file I-824 to transfer the case to a consulate in the country where he lives.

Once his status is adjusted is he allowed to stay legally until he receive his greencard (the 3 to 6 month you were talking about)?
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Once he applies for adjustment of status, he would be allowed to stay legally while the case is pending. Actually adjusting status would mean his green card is approved.

When are you eligible for US citizenship? Becoming a citizen would remove the need to depend on the visa bulletin movements.
 
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Jackolantern said:
When are you eligible for US citizenship? Becoming a citizen would remove the need to depend on the visa bulletin movements.
Click to expand...

I am already eligible, but I come from a country that doesn't allow dual citizenship. I'm not ready to give up on my native citizenship yet :o

Also, I just remembered, on the documents sent by the NVC was stated that "if the NVC does not receive communication from any representative of an immigrant visa case for a period of one year the termination process begins. All documents and fees then expire and must be resubmitted to resume the immigration process."
Do we have to warn them that we are adjusting my husband's status and that it may take over a year?
 
Jacqi said:
I am already eligible, but I come from a country that doesn't allow dual citizenship. I'm not ready to give up on my native citizenship yet :o

Also, I just remembered, on the documents sent by the NVC was stated that "if the NVC does not receive communication from any representative of an immigrant visa case for a period of one year the termination process begins. All documents and fees then expire and must be resubmitted to resume the immigration process."
Do we have to warn them that we are adjusting my husband's status and that it may take over a year?
Click to expand...

All that means is that within a year after a visa number becomes available, he needs to apply for adjustment of status in the US, or apply for an immigrant visa at a consulate if he's outside the US, or hire a lawyer for preparation of either. Surely he's not going to wait as much as a year after visa availability to apply, so this is not something to worry about.
 
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