Please advise! Time running out for minor son to get here!

T

tkbbw

Registered Users (C)
Hi all...I hope someone can advise me as I read so much conflicting information and time is running out to get my minor son here before he turns 18 in April.
After a long wait and struggle I have just been sworn in as a USC! Problem is in order to get my son naturalized under the child protection laws, I need to have him physically here before April. I understand I cant bring him here on a travel visa, and although I read that immigration for him should be immediate, I dont know how to pursue this. I can hire an attorney but if the lawyer screws it up this wont happen for my son.
I am hoping someone out there can tell me if there is a way to get him here quickly and process all this? My home country is the Republic of Georgia.
Please anyone with any ideas, please post! Thank you!
 
Not true.
On the day of your Naturalization your son must be a US legal permanent resident in your legal and physical custody to derive Citizenship. Since he was NOT a LPR of US on the day you got naturalized he DOES NOT qualify. So getting him before he turns 18 will NOT accomplish anything.
You can however apply for his GC and since he is under 21 he will be classified as a Immediate Relative of a USC and get his GC.
 
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Hi and thank you for your reply.
Could you please tell me where you saw this information? This would mean that I would have had to file for his GC while I was here on my GC and couldnt get my citizenship until his GC was issued?
From what I researched, this is what i found :A U.S. citizen may petition for:

A child (unmarried and under 21 years of age)
An unmarried son or daughter ( 21 years of age and older)
A married son or daughter of any age

A U.S. citizen's unmarried, minor child is considered an immediate relative, does not need a visa number, and is eligible to receive an immigrant visa immediately. Otherwise, sons and daughters of U.S. citizens will be eligible for a visa when their priority date is listed on the Department of State's Visa Bulletin .

Let me know if you could where u saw this.
Thanks!
 
tkbbw said:
A U.S. citizen's unmarried, minor child is considered an immediate relative, does not need a visa number, and is eligible to receive an immigrant visa immediately. Otherwise, sons and daughters of U.S. citizens will be eligible for a visa when their priority date is listed on the Department of State's Visa Bulletin .
Click to expand...

That's correct. What is your confusion?

You petition for his GC. If he's over 18 when he enters the US, he waits the 5 years to become a citizen.
 
tkbbw said:
Hi and thank you for your reply.
Could you please tell me where you saw this information? This would mean that I would have had to file for his GC while I was here on my GC and couldnt get my citizenship until his GC was issued?
Click to expand...

No. For him to obtain citizenship derived through you, he has to be in the US with you and have a green card before he turns 18. So if you brought him here tomorrow with a tourist visa, he still wouldn't become a citizen.

Read about the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

He's definitely not going to get a green card by April if you're just filing for him now. If you had filed for him years ago when you had a GC, he might have been able to get his green card and move to the US before age 18. Or if you are married to a US citizen, his citizen stepparent could have filed for him early last year and he probably would have had a green card by now.

How did you obtain your own green card? How come he didn't obtain a green card at the same time as you? And why didn't you file for him years ago?
 
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TheRealCanadian said:
You petition for his GC. If he's over 18 when he enters the US as a permanent resident, he waits the 5 years to become a citizen.
Click to expand...

Just added the part in red to clarify for the OP, who apparently is under the impression that merely having the son present in the US before age 18 (even with a tourist visa) would result in him deriving citizenship.
 
You are correct and the blame falls on me. I spoke very little English( much less read it), conflicting advice, afraid of the system( as I didnt know the law)...my wife is a USC and she quite honestly is not interested in my son coming here. (yes we are still married). Of course that could be why the bad advice, who knows? When my English skills improved and I began to befriend Americans, they advised me otherwise. At that time, 2007, I applied for my citizenship but was turned down as I was out of state working. Had to wait to get more money to reapply. Even the lawyerI hired told me the GC process would go faster if I was a USC to wait. I applied early in 2010 and passed but needed proof of child support, which I had but had to retrieve money grams, etc. Waited and waited for answer as the clock ticked.
Now I know it is next to impossible but I was hoping there was some way to get him here and process the paperwork when he got here. I had seen there was no visa number and immediate immigration for minors of USC and had a little hope. So thats my situation.
Longshot but I thought I would ask.
Thank you
 
Hi
I checked in to that and that is not an option...that is a non immigrant visa and you cant status adjust that. I was hoping that as a USC and if the l130 is filed, he could wait the processing time out here in the US due to his age. I dont think that is going to happen. :(
 
They do allow adjustment of status after entering with a tourist visa. The caveat is that if they believe you will attempt to adjust status, they will deny the visa in the first place. So a teenager with a US citizen parent living in the US is going to find it nearly impossible to obtain that kind of visa, given the high probability of him wanting to apply for adjustment of status.

Anyway, if you file for him now he probably will be approved before the end of this year to enter the US as a permanent resident.
 
Yes I understand that...unfortunately! Is it worth a shot to file for a travel visa for him and see if it flies or not before I file I130? What about school visa? My son is gold medal in our home country and the oddest thing is although he won many awards, they wouldnt let him attend a special training school for the gifted as his father is in the US on a GC. ( finished highest in Math in the country) So I guess they figure he will be going to US eventually so let another student have the slot. He is fluent in English as well...
Thanks, you are really a BIG help...I just want to try to exhaust every avenue..I cant change the mistakes I made, just trying to somehow salvage what I can.
 
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So even if he is here on US soil as a visitor and his parent is a USC, I cant status adjust?
Click to expand...

There are two somewhat contradicting aspects of the issue.

(1) They proactively try to prevent adjustment of status before the fact, by denying visas (or denying entry at the border) to tourist visa applicants with strong family ties to the US.
(2) But after the fact (after entering the US with the visa) it is different. They will allow the adjustment of status for parents, spouses, and under-21 children of US citizens without giving much of a hassle.

If he's already in the US in visitor status, they'll let him adjust status, because of point(2). The problem is that they almost surely won't let him enter the US as a visitor in the first place, because of point(1).

So he'll need to enter the US with something other than a tourist visa -- either an immigrant visa that lets him enter the US as a permanent resident, or a work visa that allows "dual intent" (at his age, I presume he doesn't have the education/experience to qualify for that, so the immigrant visa route is what you need to pursue and I won't get into the details of work visas).

By the time he gets an immigrant visa interview at the embassy/consulate late this year or early next year, he'll be 18 so custody won't be an issue unless Georgia is one of the countries where the age of majority is higher than 18.
 
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Very disappointing that the lawyer whom filed my 485 and was aware of my son, didnt advise me to file the I 130 first...wish I had found this board then.
Ok so now let me ask this...I have been offered an out of state job for significantly more money than I'm making now. As a USC, do I have to be a resident of the state for 3 months before I file the I 130? Is this a problem filing through a new office? Or should I file in my home state and then make my move? Do I have to notify of the addess change? Should I use a lawyer to file? Just want to do it right and not waste any more time. Sorry for the questions, but you have been more informative than the lawyer I used! (yes he was an immigration lawyer)
Thanks in advance
 
My son is gold medal in our home country and the oddest thing is although he won many awards, they wouldnt let him attend a special training school for the gifted as his father is in the US on a GC. ( finished highest in Math in the country) So I guess they figure he will be going to US eventually so let another student have the slot.
Click to expand...

If they gave him a student visa to attend that school, they know he would try to stay and do adjustment of status. That's why they didn't give him the visa, as I explained in point(1) of my post above. They don't want people using student visas or tourist visas as a conduit to stay and immigrate.

As a USC, do I have to be a resident of the state for 3 months before I file the I 130? Is this a problem filing through a new office? Or should I file in my home state and then make my move? Do I have to notify of the addess change?
Click to expand...

How soon is your move? USCIS is often slow and sloppy to process address changes in the middle of an immigration process, which could result in them continuing to send mail to your old address for a while. So if your move is very soon it's better to move now and then file from the new location so you'll have a stable address. But there is no particular requirement for you to wait 3 months.

Your case is very straightforward and simple ... USC filing for under-21 son who is years away from turning 21. No need for a lawyer, but be prepared to again show evidence of child support, including new evidence of payments made from the time you naturalized until he turns 18 in April.
 
The move would be in a few weeks. I own a home here in my home state with my wife, she will remain here and I will visit once a month.
The job could be a few months, or a few years...unsure. The reason I ask about the three months is that my first naturalization application was denied as I was working out of state and filed from my home state. I returned to my home state, and refiled, this time getting my USC.
My concern is I dont want a problem when I get to the affadavit of support if I am working out of state.
I could return to my old job in my home state just before filing the affadavit of support if I need to. ( when is that submitted?)
If I file from where I am working, USCIS may say, "file from your home state"
If I file from where I am working, and put my home state as residence doesnt this put up a red flag and perhaps trigger a problem?
All so confusing to me.
 
tkbbw said:
The move would be in a few weeks. I own a home here in my home state with my wife, she will remain here and I will visit once a month.
The job could be a few months, or a few years...unsure. The reason I ask about the three months is that my first naturalization application was denied as I was working out of state and filed from my home state. I returned to my home state, and refiled, this time getting my USC.
My concern is I dont want a problem when I get to the affadavit of support if I am working out of state.
I could return to my old job in my home state just before filing the affadavit of support if I need to. ( when is that submitted?)
If I file from where I am working, USCIS may say, "file from your home state"
If I file from where I am working, and put my home state as residence doesnt this put up a red flag and perhaps trigger a problem?
All so confusing to me.
Click to expand...

An N-400 is quite different than an I-130. No such requirement exists for an I-130. Your son is going to process through a Consulate. All you are doing is proving the relationship. Be more concerned with getting all the I-130 evidence together.
 
Hi Big Joe,
Let me try to understand this...I thought on the I-130 they want to know where u r living, working, etc. ( much like the N400)
If the AOS shows I am working out of state and I have listed my home state address (where I own a home), arent they going to question that?
Wont they question why I listed the home state address when I am renting out of state temporarily and where will my son actually be living?
Or now that I am a USC it doesnt matter as long as I make enough money to support everyone?

Thanks
 
tkbbw said:
Hi Big Joe,
Let me try to understand this...I thought on the I-130 they want to know where u r living, working, etc. ( much like the N400)
If the AOS shows I am working out of state and I have listed my home state address (where I own a home), arent they going to question that?
Wont they question why I listed the home state address when I am renting out of state temporarily and where will my son actually be living?
Or now that I am a USC it doesnt matter as long as I make enough money to support everyone?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You are a USC now, they don't care where you live UNTIL you have to file the I-864 affidavit of support on behalf of your son. At this point in the process you could be living in your car and using a PO Box.

When your son is called for his Immighrant Visa processing, THEN, you will have to demonstrate 2 things for the I-864:
1.) a U.S. domicile and
2.) sufficient income for the household size. [see: I-864P]

At the I-130 stage, you merely establish the relationship and set his place in line for processing. In preference categories, filing date equals priority date, but for Immediate Relatives of a USC (spouse, parent and unmarried child under 21) there is no "priority date" just the processing delay.
 
Sounds good! Can anyone clarify this...
1. I have worked here for 10 years and have paid taxes, qualify for SS, can I use a 864W for the AOS? (for minor child)
This new job will be on a 1099 misc, so I can't really show my income until that is issued to me in Jan, thus posing a problem if they want the AOS before then.
Is there a time frame to provide it once requested?
2. How long once his GC is issued does he have to come to the US? Is there a time frame?
Since I cant get him here now, I know he will want to finish his first year of college there if he can. However, I DO NOT want to delay the filing of application. So if it is issued in December, what time frame does he have to join me?
3. Once the I-130 is filed, even though he is abroad, the date freezes his age, is that correct?
Just wanted to know in case something gets screwed up which seems to be my luck!

Thanks again!
 
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1. No. Under his circumstances (not living with you in the US as a minor), he won't be able to inherit any Social Security credits from you.
2. Once his passport is stamped for approval after the consular interview, he will have 6 months to enter the US.
3. For under-21 children of US citizens, his age will be frozen for the purpose of green card eligibility, but not for citizenship eligibility.

You mentioned having a home in one state while working in another state. Do you plan to keep the same home when you move to the new state, or will you sell it or rent it out?

For your job, you will be filing taxes quarterly on your own. Keep copies of your paychecks and quarterly tax filings.
 
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