IR-1 Can wife & son arrive at different times?

[JoshK 0]

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help with a question we have.

We're going through the IR-1 process for my Australian wife & 20 yo step-son, both filed and being processed simultaneously.

I'm just wondering, once the visas are issued, is it possible for them to arrive in America at different times (ie. 6 months apart); or because I filed both together do they need to arrive at the port of entry together? My son just has some things he'd like to wrap up rather than coming over when we anticipate my wife would be able to.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Cheers

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

They can come at separate times but as mentioned, the visa is usually only valid for 6 months from the date of the medical, so if the wife and step son do the medical and interview together, he will likely need to travel within 4-5 months. The other option is to delay his interview....

[aleful 1,905]

hi

I assume you married his mom before he was 18, right? if not, then you can't even file for him and you wasted your money

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

Did you marry mom before your stepson's 18th birthday?

Did you file separate I-130 petitions for them?

Edited July 23, 2016 by aaron2020

[Unlockable 7,306]

From the timeline in his siggy it looks like he married in 2006. If the son is 20 now he would have been 10 then.

Of course, it would be good for the OP to confirm.

[JoshK 0]

Hi, thanks so much to everyone for all the replies.

Yes, we've been married for 10 years this December, so no dramas there. :-)

From memory, we filed two separate I-130s (I don't think you can put two people on one?), but where it asks if anyone else is immigrating with the beneficiary, I would've put my stepson on my wife's application and vice versa for the other.

I've already paid the fees for the Visas and Affidavit of Support for each of them, but have not submitted the paperwork for these two yet (waiting for my US taxes to be finished so I can be up-to-date and file the AOS). I think 6 months would likely be enough time for my stepson to get things together and come over...so it sounds like perhaps we just need to book in interviews/medicals (when the time comes) for my wife and keep my son's application pending for a few months.

Does that sound right? I guess I'm just concerned it might flag some issues with my wife's application if all of a sudden my son's is not processing at the same time/speed. That'd be great if we could do that, though.

[aaron2020 11,651]

You've got it. Just delay your stepson's case by holding on to to the paperwork and submit them about 4-5 months before he wants to immigrate. It will take about a month for the NVC to schedule an interview.