Immigrate with family while staying in the U.S.

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nonamodnar

Registered Users (C)
Hi everyone,

I'm here to seek your advice and experience. I'll be brief.
I'm an International student on F-1 Visa, I-94 DS, currently on U.S. soil and studying in a U.S. college. I am a derivative of the principal applicant and I am to "follow" them if they can get the GC.
My family applied for immigration on family based (Family-sponsored preference 4) and will have their interview appointment soon. Their PD is current.

My questions are:
1. Will I have to return to my home country to interview?
2. If not, what can I do to remain in U.S. while my family goes through the interview process?
3. Would it be different if I were an international student not in the U.S. but in another country?
4. Would it be different if I become 21 on or before the interview day? (Even though I was certainly not 21 when the NVC opened the case)

Thank you very much for reading my concerns.

P/S: I also posted the same message in the Non-immigrant F-1 Visa subforum, as the nature of my inquiry requires both your and their helps.
 
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Seems like your USC uncle or aunt have sponsored one of your parents, if that is the case and you are under 21 on the day of the interview and their PD has become current then the easiest way is for you to join your parents at the interview as you are a derivative.
 
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Your other alternative is to wait for the principal parent to arrive in the U.S. then file for adjustment as a "follow to join" case. See I-485 instructions "Who m ay file...?" #2
 
nonamodnar said:
My family applied for immigration on family based (Family-sponsored preference 4) and will have their interview appointment soon.
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Your sibling petitioned for you directly, or your aunt or uncle petitioned your parent and then you want to join them as a derivative? Your options depend on which of those scenarios matches your situation.

In either case you don't need to leave the US to complete the GC process; it's just that the timing and procedures will be a bit different depending on which scenario you have.
 
Thank you, namecheckvictim, BigJoe5 and Jackolantern.
I forgot to mention that I am a derivative of the principal applicant and their PD is current.
So I understand that there is a high possibility that I don't have to leave the U.S. to complete the GC process.

Would it be different then, if I become 21 on or before the interview day? (I wasn't 21 when the NVC opened the case though)
 
When did their PD first become current, and when will you turn 21?

You'll probably be OK even if you turn 21 before the interview, but let us know the above information so we can confirm.

If you want to stay in the US to complete the green card process, what you'll need to do is wait until the primary beneficiary is approved at the consulate and enters the US with their immigrant visa. Then you'll file the I-485 to initiate adjustment of status, along with related forms and documents (including a copy of your parent's [the primary] I-551 stamp or green card).

Start preparing from now, including setting up the appointment for the I-693 medical, so you'll complete the 2 appointments and get the sealed envelope with the results before your parent arrives (you can do the medical up to 12 months before submitting the I-485). So if you have everything ready when they arrive, you'll be able to send in the papers the same day or next day.

From this point forward, don't leave the US unless you have Advance Parole or the green card itself. You probably won't be allowed to return with your F1 visa.
 
Thank you, Jackolantern.
Their PD became current in November 2010 and I will turn 21 in March 2011.
In my understanding, the best course of action for me right now is to schedule an appointment with a civil surgeon and complete the I-693 while remaining in the U.S. and waiting for the approval of my family case. Upon the approval, I will need to send the I-485 to the USCIS along with other required documents.

Is it mandatory that I have to wait until my family's arrival, in order to send in the papers? Can I initiate the process as soon as they have their I-551?

So far, thanks to you, that I can have a clear vision of what I need to do.
 
nonamodnar said:
Their PD became current in November 2010 and I will turn 21 in March 2011.
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Then if you file your I-485 before November 2011, you'll definitely be OK as far as age is concerned.

Is it mandatory that I have to wait until my family's arrival, in order to send in the papers? Can I initiate the process as soon as they have their I-551?
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If you were also pursuing your GC process thru the consulate, you could file the immigrant visa paperwork at the same time with them. Or if the primary was inside the US and filing I-485, you could file your I-485 at the same time.

But because you are a derivative beneficiary who is pursuing a different final route than your parent, you must wait until your parent arrives in the US with the immigrant visa. You don't need to wait for both of them; you only need to wait for whichever parent is the primary. Your other parent who is a derivative has to enter the US after the primary, or at the same time.

Make sure they don't pay the visa fee for you, since you're staying in the US for the I-485 process which will have its own separate fees for you. They should let the NVC and consulate know that you are inside the US and will be pursuing AOS.
 
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Thanks, Jackolantern. That eases my mind a bit.

The problem we have right now is that the NVC has transferred the case to the Consulate and the Consulate is not really engaged in advising us which courses of actions we should take. Our case is quite singularly peculiar, and I hope I can seek further guidance from you.

At any rate, my parents are not to pay the VISA interview fee for me since I will pursue a different route to my GC. That's what I understand from your response.

As such, I suppose that the interview fees will be based on the number of interviewees at the time of the interview. Is that correct?

I also have some other questions regarding my brother and sister, as derivative beneficiaries.
- My brother (under 18) is studying in a different country and do not wish to follow my parents to the U.S. within 1 or 2 years. What options are there for him, to obtain, and possibly maintain the GC?
- My sister (under 18) wasn't born when the case was filed; and thus, she wasn't included when the case was reopened in November 2010. We tried to contact the Consulate and haven't received any response. If you have knowledge in such situations, please enlighten me.

P/S: Please forgive my nagging nature as I'm completely green in these matters.
 
nonamodnar said:
As such, I suppose that the interview fees will be based on the number of interviewees at the time of the interview. Is that correct?
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The visa fees are based on the number of visas. Since you will not be getting a visa at the consulate, you do not pay the fee.

My brother (under 18) is studying in a different country and do not wish to follow my parents to the U.S. within 1 or 2 years. What options are there for him, to obtain, and possibly maintain the GC?
Click to expand...

He can do follow to join so long as he is under 21, your parent's PD remains current and they do not become citizens. Note that if he waits more than a year since the PD became current, he is NOT eligible for CSPA protection.

My sister (under 18) wasn't born when the case was filed; and thus, she wasn't included when the case was reopened in November 2010. We tried to contact the Consulate and haven't received any response. If you have knowledge in such situations, please enlighten me.
Click to expand...

Just add her on the DS-230 and pay the visa fee.
 
TheRealCanadian said:
He can do follow to join so long as he is under 21, your parent's PD remains current and they do not become citizens.
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I suggest that he takes the safer route of getting the visa along with this parents. Upon visa approval he'll have 6 months to enter the US, so that's one element of delay he can use to avoid disrupting his studies (e.g. wait until the summer break).

Then after entering the US, he just has to stay long enough to complete the application process for the reentry permit (initial submission of the form, followed by fingerprinting 3-6 weeks later), then he can leave to resume his studies. The permit will allow him to stay outside the US for 2 years, which should be enough to complete the 1 or 2 years of studies that he wants to do.
 
Hello everyone,

In light of current events, I come here to seek your guidance again. I turned 21 last March and our priority day becomes "not current" as they retrogress to Jan 2000. Optimistically, our case won't become current again until 2013. As it stands right now, I understand that I can no longer obtain a GC as a derivative of my parent. Could anyone please confirm this? If that's the case, could someone devise the best course of action I should undertake, with the premise that I'm going for my BS in Nursing?
 
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Even if you have to wait until 2013, there may be some hope depending on the CSPA adjustment. How long did the I-130 take to be approved? Have your parents done their consular interview yet?

I turned 21 last March and our priority day becomes "not current" as they retrogress to Jan 2001.
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When is your priority date? Are you sure you're in 4th preference? I don't see anything showing January 2001 for 4th preference in April's or May's visa bulletin.
 
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Hi Jackolantern,

I'm sorry for that mistake. That's Jan 2000, and for April 2011 it's Feb 2000. My PD is Sep 2001 and I'm confident that we're in the 4th preference family based (as confirmed in one of the emails sent from the consulate). We sent all our applications and required document to our consulate in Feb 2011 (before the visa bulletin retrogressed) and we were told that the consulate had filed our case and would review it when our PD became current again.
 
I apologize if this sounds ignorant as it actually is, but is I-130 the form that my USC relative used to petition for my parent? If that's the case, the time is September 2001.
 
You said your PD is Sep 2001, which is also the filing date of the I-130. But when was the I-130 approved? The time difference from Sep. 2001 until the I-130 approval date is the main factor in the determination of your CSPA eligibility after you turn 21.
 
I think the I-130 was approved in November 2010 as that was the time they started to contact us and we sent them the Choice of Agent form.
 
nonamodnar said:
I think the I-130 was approved in November 2010 as that was the time they started to contact us and we sent them the Choice of Agent form.
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No, after I-130 approval for a 4th preference case, the I-130 usually sits idle for years, until the priority date is current or almost current. It probably was approved years before they contacted your family about the consular paperwork.

You'll need to look at the I-130 approval notice (or ask your parents) and see the approval date.
 
Jackolantern said:
No, after I-130 approval for a 4th preference case, the I-130 usually sits idle for years, until the priority date is current or almost current. It probably was approved years before they contacted your family about the consular paperwork.

You'll need to look at the I-130 approval notice (or ask your parents) and see the approval date.
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I will inquire about the I-130 approval notice and get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you, for all the hard work you've done for me and my family.
 
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