N-400 filed in July, seeking answers about other stuff!

[PEARLJAM]

Folks,

I'm logging in and posting to this place after a really long time. If anyone can respond and provide feedback to the points below, that will be much appreciated!

1. I filed N-400 (Application for Naturalization) in July (RD: July 5th, 2007). I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I get citizenship within the magical "6 months" period as advertised by USCIS websites as some of my friends got theirs within such a timeframe. What are average wait times you all have experienced? I filed from NJ.

2. I intend on moving my parents permanently here to live with me so that I can give back to them what they gave me while they were raising me. Once I get citizenship, should I file I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) while they are in New Delhi, India or do it once they are in the US via some other visa like a visitor visa (mother has a 10 year visitor visa but father will have to apply for one again as his current one has expired)? What is better and are there any issues that could occur?

3. My younger sister is planning on pursuing an MBA in the US so she will eventually be getting an F1 student visa if the "consulate gods" are in a good mood! She will be a graduate commuter student who will live with me. Once I get citizenship, I plan on filing an I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) for her while she is in the US on the F1 visa. Since the I-130 wait times for siblings are significantly long, I wonder if she can stay here in the US during this time (i.e. if the F1 expires can she stay here via the pending I-130 indicating immigrant intent)?

4. Once an I-130 is approved, what are the next steps to be followed?

Quick feedback will be highly appreciated!

Thanks!

Pearl Jam

 

[CrossHairs]

Petitioning for a green card for lil' sis while on F1 may be a bit risky - since travel out of country and back in may be an issue?

(I'm not a lawyer, and u've been on the board before to know the standard disclaimers )

 

[kagemusha]

1. I filed N-400 (Application for Naturalization) in July (RD: July 5th, 2007). I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that I get citizenship within the magical "6 months" period as advertised by USCIS websites as some of my friends got theirs within such a timeframe. What are average wait times you all have experienced? I filed from NJ.

The processing times vary from DO to DO and so you should check the thread pertaining to your DO. 6-7 months for the whole process is about the average if you don't get stuck in name check but some DOs are particularly slow compared to the rest (and some are quite fast too).

2. I intend on moving my parents permanently here to live with me so that I can give back to them what they gave me while they were raising me. Once I get citizenship, should I file I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) while they are in New Delhi, India or do it once they are in the US via some other visa like a visitor visa (mother has a 10 year visitor visa but father will have to apply for one again as his current one has expired)? What is better and are there any issues that could occur?

A lot of people do this with parents (apply for adjustment of status after parents enter the US on a visitor visa) but there are some risks. The visitor visa does not allow immigrant intent and so you are essentially violating one of the conditions under which the visa was issued. You may want to check other threads to see people's experiences in this regard. It is something I was also considering but I am not so sure now.

3. My younger sister is planning on pursuing an MBA in the US so she will eventually be getting an F1 student visa if the "consulate gods" are in a good mood! She will be a graduate commuter student who will live with me. Once I get citizenship, I plan on filing an I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) for her while she is in the US on the F1 visa. Since the I-130 wait times for siblings are significantly long, I wonder if she can stay here in the US during this time (i.e. if the F1 expires can she stay here via the pending I-130 indicating immigrant intent)?

Hope your sister has the best of luck. My brother came here recently on a F1 (I was on a green card then and we have another brother who is on a H1). However filing a I-130 for her is definitely not recommended. If she is able to come here on her own she may be able to get a green card through employment faster than through you. As you probably know the backlog for the sibling category exceeds 10 years. She would again be violating the conditions of her F1 visa (she may have trouble re-entering the US after you have filed the I-130) and filing now would not allow her to remain in the US indefinitely (she won't be eligible for an EAD or any form of legal status for that matter until her priority date becomes current).

4. Once an I-130 is approved, what are the next steps to be followed?

For your parents since visa numbers are available immediately you either file for adjustment of status (I-485) after the I-130 is approved (that is if they are already here) or have them go through consular processing in India.

Good luck !

-KM

 

[boatbod]

She would again be violating the conditions of her F1 visa (she may have trouble re-entering the US after you have filed the I-130) and filing now would not allow her to remain in the US indefinitely (she won't be eligible for an EAD or any form of legal status for that matter until her priority date becomes current).

She can only remain in the US once an I-485 has been filed on her behalf, but that cannot be done until her PD become current, which of course won't happen for 10yrs or more.

For your parents since visa numbers are available immediately you either file for adjustment of status (I-485) after the I-130 is approved (that is if they are already here) or have them go through consular processing in India.

Actually, you would file I-130 & I-1485 together if your parents were already in the US (but you better research the 30-60-90 rule if you go that route), otherwise the procedure is I-130, then Consular Processing if they remain out of the country.

 

[PEARLJAM]

Thanks guys!

1. I'll check out other resources and experiences of people to see if it makes sense to file I-130 when my parents are in the US via visitor visas or while they are still in New Delhi, India. Chances are it'll be back in India so I'll just fly back there to ease the consular experience for them. Anyways, I haven't had my N-400 cleared yet! What is the "30-60-90" rule?

2. I won't file an I-130 for my sister if and when she comes to the US to do her MBA. I certainly don't want to complicate things for her. Chances are she'll get employment on her own and she'll be able to deal with her issues independently.

3. If an employer offers a job to my sister while she is on an F1, can she get converted to an H1 from an F1 eventhough she hasn't completed her MBA? What if she and some guy decide to tie the knot? Just wondering?

4. Is there any specific reason why her F1 visa may get rejected by the "consular gods"?

PEARL JAM

 

[kagemusha]

1. I'll check out other resources and experiences of people to see if it makes sense to file I-130 when my parents are in the US via visitor visas or while they are still in New Delhi, India. Chances are it'll be back in India so I'll just fly back there to ease the consular experience for them. Anyways, I haven't had my N-400 cleared yet! What is the "30-60-90" rule?

If they enter the US on a visitor visa they are doing so under the condition that they have no intention to immigrate to the US. Filing a I-130 on their behalf when they are here contradicts that and if this were to happen within 30 days (just a rough guideline) that will definitely get them into trouble for violating the conditions of the visa. And so you have to wait for what would be a reasonable period of time for them to have a change of intent when they are here. The general wisdom is that 60 days may still arouse some suspicion and 90 days is a safer bet. If you go the adjustment of status route you may want to wait as long as possible within the 6-month period of their visit to file I-130 and I-485 simultaneously. Once the I-485 is filed they can remain in the US until it is approved and they get their green cards.

2. I won't file an I-130 for my sister if and when she comes to the US to do her MBA. I certainly don't want to complicate things for her. Chances are she'll get employment on her own and she'll be able to deal with her issues independently.

Yes, filing I-130 for your sister will only jeopardize her F1 status without offering any immediate benefits. Given the backlog for the sibling category she will definitely be better off trying to get a green card independently.

3. If an employer offers a job to my sister while she is on an F1, can she get converted to an H1 from an F1 eventhough she hasn't completed her MBA? What if she and some guy decide to tie the knot? Just wondering?

If the job doesn't require the MBA I don't see a problem with that. She could convert her status to H1. Similarly if she were to marry someone who is already here on a H1 she could convert her status to a H4.

4. Is there any specific reason why her F1 visa may get rejected by the "consular gods"?

"Intent to immigrate" is the most common reason for rejection of F1. If she cannot demonstrate strong ties to India and an intention to return after completing her MBA that may make her vulnerable for rejection. For instance if you are already a US citizen and have filed I-130s for your parents there may be a strong suspicion that your sister will also want to immigrate eventually. But then again it also depends on luck and the mood of the "consular gods". Like I said my brother got his F1 approved with no problems even with both his brothers already in the US.

-KM

 

[PEARLJAM]

Cool

Folks,

Thanks for the info yet again!

1. I am going to definitely file I-130s for my parents via the consular processing track as it seems to be the most safest, logical, and legal bet! As and when I do this, I will post my experiences on this forum for others.

2. I will post my sister's F1 visa approval/ rejection experience on this forum for others. I just hope she gets it. I won't file any I-130 for my parents unless and until my sister gets an F1 visa.

3. I guess the presence of my retired parents in India, our 17 year old property, her 5+ years of experience in India, in addition to various bank accounts should be more than enough for her F1 visa to get approved. With the Indian economy doing so well, I guess the "consular gods" will accept her potential reasons of coming back to India for improving the business climate at companies in India via the best education in the US.

4. What all documentation should my sister take with her to the US consulate for a sure-shot approval of the F1 visa?

5. I have added my N-400 timeline progress data below for everyone. My fingerprint will be done in Philadelphia.

PEARLJAM
N-400 Receipt Date: July 5th, 2007
N-400 Notice Date: July 26th, 2007
N-400 FingerPrint Date (Philadelphia office): August 18th, 2007
N-400 Interview Date: N/A

 

[PEARLJAM]

Prashan,

There was nothing dishonest in my posts. She wants to study here for a better career and, chances are, like every other person who comes here on a "non-immigrant student visa" that she will end up working here. So, I as her brother, was just trying to see if there is anything I could do to aid her IF and WHEN such a situation occurs. Will such a situation occur? Who knows.

I don't promote any dishonest approaches nor do I follow any, if that was the gist of your reply.

Thanks for the response though.

PEARLJAM

 

[kagemusha]

The poster is saying basically that he wants his sister here permanently and is asking questions - if she marries here, applying for her I-485 and so on. The intent of her getting a F-1 visa is not to study here per see but to stay here permanetly, If I am reading correctly between the lines here.

Isn't this kind of dishonest?

I think that would apply to most people on this forum. I am willing to bet that a majority of people here who have a green card or citizenship (including myself) came here initially on a non-immigrant visa that doesn't allow immigrant intent. So in a cynical way you can say that we got the F1 student visa just to get a foothold in the US. That may be true but were we being dishonest ? Let's face it. There are no easy ways to come to the US on a permanent basis (directly on a green card) and so most people have to come here on a non-immigrant status first and work their way from there.

I think coming here on an F1 with the ultimate goal of settling down here is not a problem as long as you go through the normal legal route of completing your studies, getting a job after that, getting a green card through your employer and so on. However using the F1 just to be able to enter the US so that someone can then file an immigrant petition for you is what is bound to provoke suspicion about your intent.

-KM

 

[PEARLJAM]

I agree with KM. Well said!