Sister Status changed from F2A to F2B - Please help me

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ekeko

Registered Users (C)
Background:

My family is from Bolivia and I have two siblings, a sister and a brother, living there.

My sister (DOB Mar 1986) I-130 was approved on Feb 25 '08. She is waiting for a visa to become available and her priority date is "Feb 22 2007"

On Feb 10 2010 due to "The Child Status Protection Act" my sister's category changed from F2A (unmarried children of permanent resident under 21) to F2B (unmmarried children of permanent resident over 21). Per Dept. State Cutoff date announcement (phone 202-663-1541) this change pushes her visa availability date from estimate Dec 2010 to Dec 2014 (+4 years).

My brother (DOB Dec 1988) I-130 was approved on Feb 25 '08. He is waiting for a visa to become available and his priority date is "Feb 22 2007" His status remains F2A for the time being and we expect that he will get this Visa number soon. If this happens, I would like to travel to Bolivia and beg with the consulate to give my sister a tourist visa. I am not sure what to do other than that.

I would like to know your thoughts and advise? May be there are other options to try?

Thanks in advance for any information you might be able to provide.

_A
 
I very highly doubt she will be given a B-2 visa. If she is qualified, she can attempt an H-1B visa.

ekeko said:
If this happens, I would like to travel to Bolivia and beg with the consulate to give my sister a tourist visa. I am not sure what to do other than that.
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2/22/07 is current in F2A category as of 6/1/2010. You need to calculate your sister's age on 6/1/2010 and then subtract the days her I-130 was pending (Approval date minus PD) from her age on 6/1/10. If the calculated age is less than 21, she qualifies under CSPA to receive immigrant visa in F2A category.
 
Thank you VisaNutz... my question is ... Immigration already changed her status from F2A to F2B, how can I request for them to change it back to F2A. I will run the formula.
 
Well, rough estimate - on 6/1/2010, your sister's age is 24 years 3 month
I-130 pending time - 1 year 3 days.

CSPA age is still over 21, so she will have to get her visa in F2B category, unless the petitioner becomes a USC, and that will speed things up quite a bit.

Also, the category change from F2A to F2B is not due to CSPA, it's because after March 2007, she was over 21.
 
Btw, your borther has also technically "aged out" of the F2A category, since he is over 21 now - however, his CSPA age 20 year 6 months (approx). So he can still get his immigrant visa in F2A, but things need to move fast quickly. Start gathering his documents so you don't waste any time.
 
Thank you VisaNutz... something I do not understand is why did my sister status change and why my brother's did not. I understand the formula, and I agree with that she is over 21 when this formula was applied, but does immigration just selects random cases and says... aha... you are my next "victim." :)
 
Thank you Triple Citizen. I will look into the H-1B visa. We are 8 siblings and 6 of them are in the US. My parents also live here. We are thinking to travel to Bolivia, my Mom, my oldest brother and I and take letters to the US Embassy in Bolivia and show them that we are professionals, we pay our taxes and we would like her to come and visit... it is really stressful for the family. I am not sure if they would care. Sorry... I am getting emotional....
 
Actually, when the "status" or the category changes is of no importance since at the embassy, they won't issue visa unless the real or CSPA age is under 21 anyway. So, even if you didn't get a notification about your sister's F2A to F2B category change - she still won't get the visa.

Btw, is your brother in the US or in Bolivia? If he is in Bolivia, the petitioner should call NVC and let them know about the CSPA eligibility on his case.
 
My brother is in Bolivia. the petitioners, my father and mother, live with me. We filed two petitions for each sibling in the event something happens to either parent. I will call NVC with them.. Thank you again for your help!
 
ekeko said:
My brother (DOB Dec 1988) I-130 was approved on Feb 25 '08. He is waiting for a visa to become available and his priority date is "Feb 22 2007" His status remains F2A for the time being and we expect that he will get this Visa number soon. If this happens, I would like to travel to Bolivia and beg with the consulate to give my sister a tourist visa. I am not sure what to do other than that.
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Don't do that, as your presence would worsen the chances of getting the tourist visa. The closer the visa applicant appears to be to tied to the US relative, the more it looks like they will overstay to be with that relative. The only hint of your existence should be the part on the form where the applicant is required to list close relatives who live in the US.
 
Thank you Jackolantern. Do you think letting my sister apply for the tourist visa on her own could work? Another member in the forum suggested to go after a H-1B Visa. I am not sure if I should go after the Tourist Visa or the H-1B Visa?
 
Jackolantern said:
Don't do that, as your presence would worsen the chances of getting the tourist visa. The closer the visa applicant appears to be to tied to the US relative, the more it looks like they will overstay to be with that relative. The only hint of your existence should be the part on the form where the applicant is required to list close relatives who live in the US.
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BTW - I am not sure how we can avoid calling attention to the fact that the rest of the family lives in the US. We are 8 siblings, 6 of which live in the US. My parents live in the US as well. I was going to ask for an interview with the US Consulate to present all my and my siblings income tax returns and letters from each on our siblings explaining that we are all professionals and we would like for my sister to visit. My family has not been together in 17 years. Perhaps this is not the best way to approach this issue it seems. _A
 
ekeko said:
BTW - I am not sure how we can avoid calling attention to the fact that the rest of the family lives in the US. We are 8 siblings, 6 of which live in the US. My parents live in the US as well. I was going to ask for an interview with the US Consulate to present all my and my siblings income tax returns and letters from each on our siblings explaining that we are all professionals and we would like for my sister to visit.
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Yes, she has to disclose your existence on the form, but you showing up with her would just highlight how close she is to you, and the closer she is to you is the more likely (in their eyes) that she will overstay to live with you or close to you.

Bringing up your family's finances and occupations also makes it worse, as the more it looks like she can or might depend on her US-based family for support, the more likely she will overstay in order to benefit from that support.

Ties to US-based relatives should be minimized, ties to relatives in her home country are the ones to be emphasized. She should simply list the US-based family members as required on the form, and not say a word about them unless she has to.
 
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VisaNutz said:
Btw, is your brother in the US or in Bolivia? If he is in Bolivia, the petitioner should call NVC and let them know about the CSPA eligibility on his case.
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Hi VisaNutz... I called the NVC yesterday with my Mom and they told me that they cannot talk about the Visa Bulletin for June 2010, which shows that F2A visas through Jan 2008 have been processed, since the date of the call is May 13. They cannot talk to me until we enter the month of June. They did tell me that on May 11, 2010, they sent a letter to my brother and to the address in the US, mine, asking for 70 dollars and with further instructions. I just wondered what those instructions are. The lady on the phone seemed in such a rush and I was afraid to ask more questions. Sometimes they are so curt and straight forward. Do you know what those instructions could be?
 
I apologize - I should have been clearer - yes, you need to call after June 1, 2010.
Yes, that would be the AOS (Affidavit of Support) fee. I think the letter that was sent to him is the DS-3032, and the AOS fee bill was sent to the US address. It looks like they have started the process already.
What I would do at this point is, have the petitioner call NVC and add both the petitioner and your beneficiary (your brother) email addresses in file. You don't need to wait till June 1 to do that. Also, take a note of the NVC case number.
 
VisaNutz said:
What I would do at this point is, have the petitioner call NVC and add both the petitioner and your beneficiary (your brother) email addresses in file. You don't need to wait till June 1 to do that. Also, take a note of the NVC case number.
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Yes. I did make that change yesterday. From now one Immigration will only email me. I will no longer receive notifications via regular mail. Apparently they can only do one or the other but not email AND mail. I was able to add 3 email addresses, which I think is good in the event I miss the email. I added my email address, my brother's and husband's. Thank you again for your help! _A
 
Great. Once your brother gets the DS-3032 form, he can just email NVC the completed "choice of agent" form.
 
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