All advice and information is greatly appreciated. Let me start by outlining how I reached this precarious predicament….
Arrived in the U.S. back in 1996 on a tourist Visa (I was over 21 at the time), visiting my parents in Florida. In the next year my parents split up and my mother was left to take care of my 2 younger brothers. So to help her out I got a 6 month visa extension and when that expired I made the difficult choice to stay on, partially based on some bad advice from a so called ‘immigration expert’. If there was a legal option to stay with the people I loved most I certainly would have chosen that route. We moved to Georgia and in 1998 my mother and brothers received their Green Cards and she immediately filed an I-130 petition for me, the unmarried child, 21 or over, of a permanent resident. Again I received bad advice and was told at the time that I would be legalized within 18months and would only need to pay a $1000 fine.
Well in 2001 I received a notice that the I-130 had been approved. The notice had a receipt date of Jan. 1999, a priority date of Dec. 1998, and a notice date of June 2001. I soon learned that it would take many years until the priority date would become current so I accepted this grim reality and decided to stay in the U.S. My priorities were with my mother and brothers and I had fallen in love with the U.S. so I decided that I would stay under the radar and just pray for a favorable outcome.
Fast forward to 2007, I recently realized that the current visa bulletin is not too far off my priority date. The current August Visa Bulletin has the date listed for second priority (2B) preferences as 08APR98. So I thought I would read up as much as possible about the correct manner for someone in my position to proceed. Unfortunately, this just lead to more confusion. Btw My mother had applied for her citizenship in 2006, she had gone to the interview, passed the exam, but her application is stuck in background check status. And from what I have read about this form of purgatory it might take years to be resolved. It feels as though the immigration gods have a grudge against us but I’m sure many of you feel that way.
So again I have accepted my lot (with a bucket of salt). I had heard that it would be much easier and quicker for me to adjust my status if my mother was a citizen – well maybe this might happen soon but I’m not counting on it. So here are the questions I’m hoping to resolve….
I had initially read that since I had overstayed my visa by more than a year I would be subject to a 10yr ban if I ever tried to adjust my status. But I recently learned that I might be eligible for provision 245(i) that would allow me to adjust my status without leaving the country. I would only need to pay a fine (so that ‘immigration expert’ might have told a partial truth). So can someone please let me know if I am indeed eligible for this provision and what are the chances such a provision would be approved?
Does anyone have a rough idea how long it will take to reach my priority date of Dec 1998? Also when this date is reached what is the subsequent process…would I need to file a 485 form with a 245(i)? How long does it take to get approved for a Green Card once my priority date is current?
In the event that my mother soon becomes a citizen I assume I would immediately vault into the first preference category that has a priority date of Aug 2001. But how would this affect my current I-130 petition?
Thanks for all advice!
Arrived in the U.S. back in 1996 on a tourist Visa (I was over 21 at the time), visiting my parents in Florida. In the next year my parents split up and my mother was left to take care of my 2 younger brothers. So to help her out I got a 6 month visa extension and when that expired I made the difficult choice to stay on, partially based on some bad advice from a so called ‘immigration expert’. If there was a legal option to stay with the people I loved most I certainly would have chosen that route. We moved to Georgia and in 1998 my mother and brothers received their Green Cards and she immediately filed an I-130 petition for me, the unmarried child, 21 or over, of a permanent resident. Again I received bad advice and was told at the time that I would be legalized within 18months and would only need to pay a $1000 fine.
Well in 2001 I received a notice that the I-130 had been approved. The notice had a receipt date of Jan. 1999, a priority date of Dec. 1998, and a notice date of June 2001. I soon learned that it would take many years until the priority date would become current so I accepted this grim reality and decided to stay in the U.S. My priorities were with my mother and brothers and I had fallen in love with the U.S. so I decided that I would stay under the radar and just pray for a favorable outcome.
Fast forward to 2007, I recently realized that the current visa bulletin is not too far off my priority date. The current August Visa Bulletin has the date listed for second priority (2B) preferences as 08APR98. So I thought I would read up as much as possible about the correct manner for someone in my position to proceed. Unfortunately, this just lead to more confusion. Btw My mother had applied for her citizenship in 2006, she had gone to the interview, passed the exam, but her application is stuck in background check status. And from what I have read about this form of purgatory it might take years to be resolved. It feels as though the immigration gods have a grudge against us but I’m sure many of you feel that way.
So again I have accepted my lot (with a bucket of salt). I had heard that it would be much easier and quicker for me to adjust my status if my mother was a citizen – well maybe this might happen soon but I’m not counting on it. So here are the questions I’m hoping to resolve….
I had initially read that since I had overstayed my visa by more than a year I would be subject to a 10yr ban if I ever tried to adjust my status. But I recently learned that I might be eligible for provision 245(i) that would allow me to adjust my status without leaving the country. I would only need to pay a fine (so that ‘immigration expert’ might have told a partial truth). So can someone please let me know if I am indeed eligible for this provision and what are the chances such a provision would be approved?
Does anyone have a rough idea how long it will take to reach my priority date of Dec 1998? Also when this date is reached what is the subsequent process…would I need to file a 485 form with a 245(i)? How long does it take to get approved for a Green Card once my priority date is current?
In the event that my mother soon becomes a citizen I assume I would immediately vault into the first preference category that has a priority date of Aug 2001. But how would this affect my current I-130 petition?
Thanks for all advice!
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sorry for bad assumption...