Need help - Family based PR for Parents

[JohnnyCash]

The problem that I had with my Birth Certificate when I filed I-485 for myself several years ago was, my name was left blank in the BC. Only my mother's first name (which was mis-spelt), my father's first name, my Date of Birth and gender was mentioned in the BC - but at least it was all in English That was the reason, I think the affidavits were obtained from my parents when I filed I-485 back then.

Did you submit your birth certificate also along with affidavits from your parents at the time of filing for green card in the past?

I don't think affidavit from your parents was necessary when you filed for I-485 because your birth certificate that you have had, wherein your name is left blank, could have been completely okay. Because people don't name a child's name right away when a child is born. Almost every birth certificate in India is same when a woman gives a birth in hospital. So long it contains the name of your mother, date of birth, and your gender then it is more than enough. Having your mother's name mis-spelt over there is/was not a problem. It happens more often.

 

[JohnnyCash]

I just called my Dad and he said he can actually get a Birth Certificate for me with my name written on it, and my Parents' full name properly spelt this time from the Municipality. This BC will show a recent "Issued On xxx Date" but all other information should be correct. Can I use this when I file for them this time? Or is INS going to start suspecting its validity/ genuinity, because I didn't submit this when I filed I -485 for myself?

If your father can get a Birth Certificate for you especially from Municipality, then that is all you need. Your father or anyone else is allowed to file petition with court or municipality over there on your behalf to register your birth. So, I'm sure your father can obtain a birth certificate for you.

The date of its issuance is irrelevant because it means nothing. Like I said before, people can register their birth anytime, even after 50 yrs later or more. Besides, if a document is issued only now then obviously it will contain today's date of its issuance. Don't be confused with the issuance date of document with the date of your birth. INS (or anyone else) only cares about the date of when you were born, and not the date of when the document was issued. Let me give you an example. If your current US passport expires, you would get a new one, right? New passport would contain the date of it's issuance when it will be issued to you. But that doesn't mean-you would be considered to be a US citizen only when new passport issues to you.

Yes, you can use this birth certificate now, and should be. Believe me, INS is not going to suspect its validity at all. All they would care is matching the name sof your parents that you have provided to them on I-485. That is all.

I know so many people who submitted affidavit as an alternate of a birth certificate with their I-485, but later on they were able to have their birth certificate and they all were able to sponsor their parents. So, don't worry about it.

 

[JohnnyCash]

I don't mind going with the affidavits option from some other relatives, instead of my BC, but the problem is where is INS going to find the connection/relationship between myself and my Parents if I filed such an affidavit? Because my affidavit from let's say my Uncle and Aunt will only state that they know that I was born on xxx date and xxx place. Can you please clarify?

As I said earlier that if your dad can obtain a birth certificate for you, then that is all you need to sponsor your parents. But if he cannot or if you want to submit affidavits from relatives or someone else about your relationship with your parents, then you should get an affidavit from these people saying-when your were born, where you were born, who were your parents and how they know such information about their birth. It would do the trick.

 

[JohnnyCash]

Are there any advantages / disadvantages this way or that between bringing parents here on I-485 and starting the petitioning process;
Or doing Consular processing in India?

Which one's less expensive
Which one's faster?

The advantage of adjusting status (I-485) over here in the US is-your parents could stay with you while their application would be processing. Second and the biggest advantage is-INS officers over here are VERY easy going. They don't review a case as carefully as an officer in abroad does. I'm telling you this based upon my observation. Here, officers have so many cases to handle, which makes them to overlook a material fact sometimes.

Other than that, they are both pretty same except Consular processing could take a longer time than I-485. They both cost the same amount of money as far as govt. fees go. Of course, you might end up paying some extra money in abroad to arrange some documents like Police Report and good medical report. Because in many countries, some police men take bribery for even a little thing.

In NJ, adjudication on I-485 is taking 7-12 months at most. While in India in Chennai, processing of immigrant visa could take 7-10 months at most.

 

[JohnnyCash]

Currently my parents' do not have their BC - they were born in the '40s and '50s in India. But my Dad says he can try to get their Birth certificates issued by the respective Municipality now. The "issued Date" on this will be very recent. Is this okay/ legitimate with U.S. immigration?

If your father can obtain Birth Certificates for them (your father and mother), then it would be the BEST.

And as I already cleared that the date of its issuance doesn't matter. It will be completely legitimate with INS.

I think your parents and you should try to get a birth certificate first than you having worrying about filing for them so quickly to get them a green card fast. It's better to do thing right way than having a complication in the middle of the ball game.

 

[JohnnyCash]

If not B.C, from how many people should they get their affidavits - 1 or 2? Is there a specification as to how many years these people should be older than my parents? The problem is that - for my Dad most of his relatives that are older than him are not alive.

Also in case of affidavits, is the Non-availability Certificate from Municipality a "have-to" requirement? or the affidvaits alone are good enough? Thanks for you input.

Affidavit is required from at least two people to attest the fact about their birth.

Of course, only those people could attest a fact about their birth who are older than your parents. Although there is no any age limit, but a common sense needs to be used here. When your parents were born, if a person was 15 yrs old than them then s/he could attest such a fact about your parent's birth.

It would be unfortunate if your parents would not be able to find two people who are much older than them as a result of their death. It is their (and your) problem how you guys would find two older people to attest the fact about your parent's birth. It is not INS problem or anyone else's problem. People could only suggest you what could work in your parents' situation, but people cannot serve/cook the food for them (or to you) to eat. Rather your parents (or you) would need to cook the food by your own. Sorry.

Yes, it is a requirement to get 'non-availability' letter from municipality if someone has no birth certifcate to present to INS. This 'Non-availability' letter from municipality MUST be submitted together with affidavits; otherwise INS MAY disregard affidavits.

 

[JohnnyCash]

Does everyone who's petitioned by a relative, have to go for an interview before they get approved for GC? Is this like CZ interview? Will they be asked questions? For my mom, if she's called for an interview (anyway, that will take a long time) since she doesn't speak English very well, will I be allowed to go to the Interview with her? Is this when they get the GC? I don't remember what happened when I got my GC, it was a long time ago and also it was not family based. So, I'm not clear.

I saw that AP was approved for you, quite soon in the process. Does this also mean that AOS was approved - or only Advance Parole was approved?

INS normally doesn't interview in a family based case except spousal case. That said, your mother's case will be approved without any interview. Plus, INS has been approving these kinds of cases lately (for the last 6 weeks) so quickly and without any interview. Your mother might not deal with District office in NJ at all. Because it is very highly possible that once you will file a case for your mom in Chicago, it will be diverted to CA service center for processing. As INS has lately opened a new unit in CA to adjudicate cases which look clearly approvable. This is the new thing that INS has implemented lately to clear up the backlog and reducing the timeframe of a case. That said, your mother will be approved without any interview for sure, and she might get approval from CA in the mail very shortly after filing the whole paperwork.

However, you are allowed to go with your mother to the interview if she were ever call for interview as she doesn't speak English. And a green card interview is very easy and simple in this situation because this is not a case of spousal green card wherein INS needs to grill both parties to weed out immigration fraud or sham marriage.

Approving of AP doesn't mean AOS is approved. If AOS is approved then obviously AP is out of question anyway. AP is granted to those who have a pending I-485 and a need to travel outside the US. But if someone has accumulated illegal stay, then they should not leave the US even if AP is approved to him/her.

 

[JohnnyCash]

If my mother's AP gets approved a few months down the line, then I think she can travel abroad to visit my father. Is there any restriction on how many months she can stay outside the U.S on AP? If she stays abroad for a longer period in AP, is there any downside to it?

There is no any restriction on how long a person could stay outside the US on AP so long s/he would return back before its expiration. If your mother would stay for a longer period than what would be mentioned on AP, then she won't be able to return to US. Thus, her pending I-485 would be denied then. Also, don't forget that she must need to be here when INS will schedule her to have biometrics taken. Otherwise, she could stay outside the US even one full year on AP.

However, I must tell you that if an alien stays more than 2 months outside the US, then at the time of adjudication of I-485, adjudication officers might question the the bona fide intent of obtaining green card by such alien. Because they will question why such alien stayed so long outside the US if s/he is intended to be a permanent resident of US. However, if someone was ill for a long time or was involved in a court battle in abroad, then INS will not question his/her stay more than 2 months in abroad on AP.

The validity of AP is for one year, and it would be good for mulitple entry. She can file for AP at the same time when whole I-485 will be mailed out.

Anyone, who has a pending I-485, could obtain AP easily without interview, unlike before (more than a year ago) as those time INS needed to interview the applicant for AP and a valid and emergent reason to travel outside the US.

 

[jparikh1]

I-130 for parents

Hello all,

I have a similar type of question -

Need help in filing I-130 for my parents. I'm US Citizen. I want to file for GreenCard petetion my parents.

Question - My birth certificate have my dad's name as Ashwinbhai and my dad's passport has Ashwin only. Also, my dad and mom's marriage certificate has my dad's name as "Ashwin"...As its just a suffix - will there be any name issue in filing ??
Because, I will have to send my birth certificate and my parents marriage certificate to file for both of them.

Do I need any affidavit of my father to state that both name holders are the same person ?

Thanks a lot in advance..

 

[ari4u]

If your father can get a Birth Certificate for you especially from Municipality, then that is all you need. Your father or anyone else is allowed to file petition with court or municipality over there on your behalf to register your birth. So, I'm sure your father can obtain a birth certificate for you.

The date of its issuance is irrelevant because it means nothing. Like I said before, people can register their birth anytime, even after 50 yrs later or more. Besides, if a document is issued only now then obviously it will contain today's date of its issuance. Don't be confused with the issuance date of document with the date of your birth. INS (or anyone else) only cares about the date of when you were born, and not the date of when the document was issued. Let me give you an example. If your current US passport expires, you would get a new one, right? New passport would contain the date of it's issuance when it will be issued to you. But that doesn't mean-you would be considered to be a US citizen only when new passport issues to you.

Yes, you can use this birth certificate now, and should be. Believe me, INS is not going to suspect its validity at all. All they would care is matching the name sof your parents that you have provided to them on I-485. That is all.

I know so many people who submitted affidavit as an alternate of a birth certificate with their I-485, but later on they were able to have their birth certificate and they all were able to sponsor their parents. So, don't worry about it.

JohnnyCash, Good advice... My 2 cents here...

--Birth can only be registered late if the authorities can determine if birth was previously never registered. There is a cut off limit though, some states/counties do not allow birth registration 10 years after birth (like how it happened in my case) while some may allow 20.

--In order to get birth registered, a Non-Availablility Birth Certificate (NABC) from competent authorities and court order from magistrate is needed. A search is made in the birth and death records from 1969 (thats when the law for establishing birth and death records was passed for india) and if there is no record of birth registered, only then a NABC would be issued. (If a birth was registered and records found, a NABC will NOT be issued.) This NABC should be submitted to a magistrate with the proper application + fees and the magistrate would then issue an order to register birth.

--If birth is registered late, the birth certificate would have a recent date on it. In this case, a copy of the non-availability certificate should be submitted with the late-registered birth certificate (to prove that birth was never registered before and hence the recent date on the birth certificate) else USCIS would definitely issue an RFE. USCIS "does" care when birth was registered. I have read of a lot of cases here on this forum where applicants submited birth certificates that were registered late but still got RFE because USCIS asked for the NABC as proof. I cannot find the links to support this, ill look some more and post them.

I been through this whole birth certifcate thingie, got an RFE, had to deal with corrupt bureaucrats to get a NABC and satisfy USCIS; its really frustrating that one document can make such a difference.

 

[JohnnyCash]

JohnnyCash, Good advice... My 2 cents here...

--Birth can only be registered late if the authorities can determine if birth was previously never registered. There is a cut off limit though, some states/counties do not allow birth registration 10 years after birth (like how it happened in my case) while some may allow 20.

--In order to get birth registered, a Non-Availablility Birth Certificate (NABC) from competent authorities and court order from magistrate is needed. A search is made in the birth and death records from 1969 (thats when the law for establishing birth and death records was passed for india) and if there is no record of birth registered, only then a NABC would be issued. (If a birth was registered and records found, a NABC will NOT be issued.) This NABC should be submitted to a magistrate with the proper application + fees and the magistrate would then issue an order to register birth.

--If birth is registered late, the birth certificate would have a recent date on it. In this case, a copy of the non-availability certificate should be submitted with the late-registered birth certificate (to prove that birth was never registered before and hence the recent date on the birth certificate) else USCIS would definitely issue an RFE. USCIS "does" care when birth was registered. I have read of a lot of cases here on this forum where applicants submited birth certificates that were registered late but still got RFE because USCIS asked for the NABC as proof. I cannot find the links to support this, ill look some more and post them.

I been through this whole birth certifcate thingie, got an RFE, had to deal with corrupt bureaucrats to get a NABC and satisfy USCIS; its really frustrating that one document can make such a difference.

In my earlier postings over this thread, I did not discuss in detail about birth certificate; rather I discussed only the relevant/basic information about it in context to immigration petition/application. I did not feel a need of giving a lot more detail on it.

However, you are right on many things on it. In order to register a birth late with municiplity in India, people need to have a Court Order (from Magistrate), which is every easy to get anyway. A person can file an affidavit/case with a court. As a result, Judge will order the local Police to verify the details given on the affidavit/case. Once local police verifies the details, they will submit the report to the court. Then Judge will order the Municiplity to register a birth late and issue a birth certificate to a person. All this takes a time in India as India is a corrupted country wherein you cannot make your case to move on without bribe someone.

You don't need a Non-Availablility Birth Certificate (NABC) from any authority; instead ONLY a Court Order is required to register a birth late. Because you will attest all the facts on the affidavit to Court that you never registered your birth with any authority and also you will requiest the Court that you like to register it now. So obviously, Judge will take your word on face value. I've done all this by myself for numerous times for many people in New Delhi, India. So I'm pretty much aware of all the procedures associated with registering a birth late.

I don't know about other country, but in India you can register your birth late even 50 yrs later, but it could only be done by Court Order. I've done all this for people who were born even 50 yrs ago. So obviously, somebody has given you wrong information that you can register your birth only in the range of 10-20 yrs late if you are talking about Indian laws on this birth Certificate issue.

It could be possible that you were told so by people who work for municiplity, but I've done all this by myself. Thus, it is very hard for me to believe all this. In India, there is no separate state laws for each state; rather they have central laws, which apply to every state same. That said, when I was able to register a birth late for people who were born even 50 yrs ago, then how you were unable to do it if you are talking about India. Anyway, it doesn't matter as I'm just explaining here what I know about this birth certificate matter by my experience in India.

You said if a birth record is found with the authority then Non availability of Birth Certificate won't be issued, then I think it is a common sense that it obviously won't be issued if there is a record. Why would someone need NABC when birth record is already there? People don't need a court order or NABC if record is already existed about the birth. When people don't have any record of their birth with authority, then municipality authority needs a court order to register a birth late. Nobody needs NABC. NABC is required ONLY by INS when someone cannot obtain birth certificate and when s/he is submitting an affidavit in lieu of a birth certificate.

I've handled at least thousand of cases wherein applicants had submitted a birth certifciate which was obtained by registering a birth late, none of these people ever received RFE and they all got approved. So obviously, none of these people ever submitted NABC with their late birth Certificate to INS. But that doesn't mean I'm saying that you and others are lying about getting RFE on this issue. I don't know why you people got RFE.

 

[Mimmi]

INS normally doesn't interview in a family based case except spousal case. That said, your mother's case will be approved without any interview. Plus, INS has been approving these kinds of cases lately (for the last 6 weeks) so quickly and without any interview. Your mother might not deal with District office in NJ at all. Because it is very highly possible that once you will file a case for your mom in Chicago, it will be diverted to CA service center for processing. As INS has lately opened a new unit in CA to adjudicate cases which look clearly approvable. This is the new thing that INS has implemented lately to clear up the backlog and reducing the timeframe of a case. That said, your mother will be approved without any interview for sure, and she might get approval from CA in the mail very shortly after filing the whole paperwork.

Johnny,

Is this true for any state or just New Jersey? I'm asking because when I spoke with a lawyer, they mentioned that in family based cases, even when parents of USCs are involved, the interview is almost always required.
Also, if a parent of USC applies for AOS after 2 months of entering the country on a visitor visa, will this be interpreted as a preconcived intent to stay? This was not the case at all and I think it would be fairly easy to explain, but I'm wondering if this fact could raise a red flag? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[JohnnyCash]

Johnny,

Is this true for any state or just New Jersey? I'm asking because when I spoke with a lawyer, they mentioned that in family based cases, even when parents of USCs are involved, the interview is almost always required.

First of all, you will hardly find a consistency in each attorney's advice.

Secondly, I disagree with the attorney who told you that a interview is ALWAYS required in a case of parents of a USC. What is the purpose of having interview when relationship is already proven unlike a marriage case wherein INS would need to weed out sham marriages. A case of parents of a US citizen is not about sham marriage, so obviously there is no need to have any interview. However, INS will interview a person if this person's case have a some issues, which might cause a case to be denied, like if someone has a criminal background, pre-intent to migrate here, etc. Otherwise, interview is not necessary in this kinds of cases.

Thirdly, I think this attorney is not aware of the new procedures and steps that INS has recently taken to adjudicate a case quicker. Because if he would have known about it, he would have told you the right information.

Fourth, for the last 6 weeks all the newly filed cases, casese of parents of USCs, are being diverting to CA Service Center from Chicago officer for a quicker processing, regardless where you live in the country. CA service center is approving all the cases and sending approval notice in the mail.

Fifth, if INS would decide to take an interview, they will forward the case to local office for an interview. INS does retain the right to interview, but they are lately taking interview only on those cases wherein some issues are seemed to be seen.

Don't listen to everything what other attorneys are talking about.

 

[JohnnyCash]

Also, if a parent of USC applies for AOS after 2 months of entering the country on a visitor visa, will this be interpreted as a preconcived intent to stay? This was not the case at all and I think it would be fairly easy to explain, but I'm wondering if this fact could raise a red flag? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Applying for AOS within 3 months of arrival into US on a nonimmigrant visa is an automatic presumption on INS part that alien had pre-intent to migrate here. No explaination or justification in the world will save against this presumption. Of course, every alien would try to give all the tales to justify themselves, but govt. is not fool. They know everything. Besides, even an idiot can know that how someone all of sudden has decided to immigrate here after coming here on nonimmigrant visa. Coming here on a nonimmigrant visa for immigrant intent is against the laws and it is violation of immigration law. If a person doesn't want to have any trouble with INS, never try to adjust status prior to 90 days after arriving here on nonimmigrant visa. Some people might have succeeded in obtaining green card in this situation, but that doesn't mean that everyone will be able to succeed. Always remember-not every officer is same, nor you can determine the outcome of your case based upon other people's outcome.

 

[jenimmi]

ari4u - Thanks to you too for giving the breakdown on the facts concerning BC and NABC. The situation that you had to face, was it in India as well? I thought in India, every Certificate is possible to obtain at any time regardless of what rules they have! I didn't think for a minute that Courts/Magistrate would be involved. My Dad was giving me an idea that this is something that happens at the Municipality registrar level and if you pay the clerks the right amount of money, things will get done for you. Since my parents were born before 1969 and their births were not registered, I'm planning to do this. JohnnyCash, ari4u or anybody else reading this, please advise.

They will get 2 affidavits each from people older than them attesting their birth date, birth time and place and their relationship to whoever they are attesting.
Get a "No record of Birth available as it was not registered prior to the 1969 Act" from their respective Municipality.
No need to get Birth certificate for them, just the above 2 will satisfy USCIS.
Is this good?

In my case, I was born well after 1969. I'm actually looking at my BC. It is issued by the Municipality of the town I was born at. It reads "certificate of birth issued under section 12 of Registration of Birth and Deaths Act 1969 issued under Section 17". Things to note:
1. In the Date of Regn field it shows a date, 6 days after I was born - which means my parents or the Hospital that I was born at, registered my birth only 6 days after I was born. For example, if I was born on 1st Jan xxxx the Date of Birth field shows:1st Jan xxxx, and in the Date of Regn filed it shows: 7th Jan xxxx. I hope this 6 days delay in Registration is okay with USCIS. Will it be?
2. Still at that time, even 6 days after my birth, I didn't have a name and so the Name field has a ---- drawn next to it.
3. My father says they had to get this certificate when I changed schools when I was 10 years old, as the new school required this certificate. So, the date of issue shows a date 10 years from my birth. It is still from many years ago and the BC itself looks quite credible because it looks old and colored with age. Is the issue date being 10 years after my birth ok with USCIS?

The catch is I DON'T remember whether I sent a copy of this BC with my I-485 several years ago. or if I sent the affidavits from my parents attesting my birth? Unless I get USCIS' help to look into my actual file, I would never be able to find out which one of these, I sent to them.

In any case, is it a problem if I send the BC now with I-130, especially will this work with no name on it? Both my parents names- only first names are mentioned in my BC. My Father's name is alright, but in my Mom's first name 2 letters are mis-spelt. But when you try to read it, it phonetically sounds the same as her actual name. Because my parents' are the beneficiary I can get my uncle and aunt to attest my BC stating that this BC is mine (b'cos it has no name). Is this ok? I don't and probably CAN'T get a NABC.

For some of my above questions, JohnnyCash has answered. I still wanted to give details on the situation and some consensus on how I should proceed for myself and my parents? I want to do it correctly so as to make sure that I'm nott delayed by a RFE.

Ari4u, Johnny - if my parents' marriage is registered only now and certificate issued only now, is this ok with USCIS. Or should I get affidavits for this one as well?
Thanks in advance.

 

[patel1229]

need help

am US citizen, applying for my mother. My mother is currently in US on visitor visa, so I am filing I-130, I-485, I-131 concurrently.
1. On I-485 part 2 which box should I check? since I am filing concurrently and she is already in US but her I-130 is not approved.
2. Can I pay the fee by personal check?

 

[ari4u]

JohnnyCash. Thanks for the elaborate explanation. You definitely have the patience to explain in so much detail. Appreciate that.

Jenimmi, i replied to your PM.

patel1229, please dont multiple post

 

[Mimmi]

Applying for AOS within 3 months of arrival into US on a nonimmigrant visa is an automatic presumption on INS part that alien had pre-intent to migrate here. No explaination or justification in the world will save against this presumption. Of course, every alien would try to give all the tales to justify themselves, but govt. is not fool. They know everything. Besides, even an idiot can know that how someone all of sudden has decided to immigrate here after coming here on nonimmigrant visa. Coming here on a nonimmigrant visa for immigrant intent is against the laws and it is violation of immigration law. If a person doesn't want to have any trouble with INS, never try to adjust status prior to 90 days after arriving here on nonimmigrant visa. Some people might have succeeded in obtaining green card in this situation, but that doesn't mean that everyone will be able to succeed. Always remember-not every officer is same, nor you can determine the outcome of your case based upon other people's outcome.

JohnnyCash,

Thanks for your thoughts. With all this in mind, sounds like one would be better off overstaying the forgivable 180 days if they have less than three months on their I-94, then applying withing 90 days of entry. Seems like there is more risk involved with doing things honestly if the imm. officers are stuck on this 90-day rule. It's a true shame that a lot of immigration rules encourage honest people to be dishonest in order to have their story sound more credible.

 

[IAmTiredOfThis]

preconceived intent to stay

Good job all those who participated in this discussion. This thread is almost a primer for anyone sponsoring his/her parent.

Interesting point brought about by Johnny and Mimmi about the "preconcived intent to stay". I scrolled through much of the forum to find any other reference to it and I couldn't. This is definitely a very good piece of information.

On the same subject: my mom has been spending about half her time for the past 5 years in US - legally, ofcourse, she stays till the date on I-94 and returns to India for a few months. Now, when the time comes for me to apply for her citizenship, would the fact that she stayed for something like 3 years out of the last 7 in US on a non-immigrant visa be held against her? Will it raise a red flag?

Also, regarding the affidavit from your parents instead of a birth certificate I had used such an affidavit for my own GC processing back in 2001. Can I use the same affidavit 5 years later? Can I use it even if one of the two person who signed the affidavit (my father) has passed away since?

 

[jenimmi]

Employment letter question

At my work, they said they will issue an employment letter only when I tell them specifically, who it should be addressed to and not for "To whom it may concern". For my Mom, I have to file I-864 along with I-485, as she is in the U.S.

Should I ask them at work to address it to just -
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

does it have to show any address?

My Dad's will be CP. So, should I get the empoyment letter, only when the Consulate asks me to, somewhere in the middle of the process a few months down the line - so that the employment letter will show a more recent issued date at that time?

As I'm typing these, I know these questions sound silly, but I'm just being overly careful so as not to end up with an RFE of some sort.
Thanks for your response.