At NVC for Chinese wife's CR-1 Visa, Petitioner (me) just got a job back in China...What do we do now?

[brent&emi 0]

hi everyone!

i've got a complicated issue that I hope someone can help me with...

Long story short: I'm an academic and have spent the better part of four years running study abroad programs in China. Came back to the States last August for a teaching position at an American college. Wife and I started the CR-1 immigration visa process. No luck finding tenure-track, stable employment in the US. Recently got our notice that the NVC has our file. Just got offered a great job back in China, starting July 1. I'm taking the job and my wife and I are planning our move to Beijing.

BUT...what do we do about the visa? I don't think we can continue with the immigrant CR-1 visa process, since I (the beneficiary) won't be living in the states for at least one more year. But I hope that we can still get her visa so that she can come visit my family in the US over the winter holiday at the end of this year.

"Too Long; Don't Read"(TL;DR): A new career opportunity will take beneficiary back to my wife's home country, just after NVC has application for successful I-130. What do we do now?

Is there any way we can adjust our visa application so that we don't waste the last 10 months processing the CR-1 visa at the USCIS???

I am desperate for any advice on how to proceed...Thanks so much!

Our CR-1 immigration short story (up on the timeline)...

Petitioner and Beneficiary met in China on September 12, 2011

Married in China on July 22, 2013

Petitioner back in the US for teaching position (around Aug 1, 2013)

Submitted I-130 on August 16, 2013

Received NOA-1 on August 22, 2013

Petitioner's (failed) tenure-track, academic job applications through the fall 2013 and early spring 2014

I-130/CR-1 application transferred to California Service Center on February 19, 2014

I-130 approved (!) on April 9, 2014

NVC case number, invoice ID, and beneficiary ID received on May 20, 2014

Petitioner offered a job running organization in Beijing on May 23, 2014

[Boiler 47,625]

Will you likely be looking to move to the US anytime soon?

There are things you can do to delay the process, keep the GC in the short term.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Boiler

[brent&emi 0]

Thanks for the reply, Boiler.

My new job is a one-year, annually renewable contract. So we'll definitely be in Beijing for the year from 7/2014 to 7/2015. After that, I can't say for sure. The goal is to come back to the US, but the academic job market is so tight right now it's hard to guarantee that I can get a job for the 2015/2016 academic year.

So, yes we plan on moving to the States, but the original plan was for us to move this year (assuming that I got a job that could support us).

[pushbrk 13,667]

You can drag your feet up to a year at NVC but that won't solve the "home for Christmas" issue. If you take about a year to respond to NVC, then take slow steps, you could drag out the time to interview well over a year, then the visa is good for six months. She would need to enter the USA within six months. If she left again, for up to a year, then returned to the USA to live and maintain permanent resident status, you could have at least another two years to find acceptable employment in the USA, before she would have any worries of abandoning her resident status.

If you press forward to have the visa before Christmas, then you would likely need to return to US residency by next summer.

[Boiler 47,625]

Slow thins down.

When she gets her IV then she has 6 months to activate it.

Domicile may be an issue.

[Ryan H 3,912]

If the file is at the NVC, you can stall it there. The NVC keeps files active for one year from the date of any contact.

You can keep contacting the NVC at various times to keep pushing the 1 year click back until you are ready to proceed.

[brent&emi 0]

thanks ryan h, pushbrk, and boiler (again),

Sounds like slowing down our current visa process is the best way to go.

"Domicile" is a potential issue, but a family member has offered to sign a house over to me to keep a home in the US. I'm hoping that owning a car in the US, paying taxes, and (if necessary) having a home in my name would help.

I might also be able to fit into the category of "(temporarily) working abroad for a US institution," since my employer is a major US university and I'll be paid in US dollars into my US bank account.

[brent&emi 0]

Would it be possible to apply separately for a short-term, tourist visa for my wife (while dragging our feet on the NVC), so that she could finally come to america and meet her in-laws? I would be able to present a lease, residence registration, and employment for my job in Beijing (hopefully proving that we would both be back in China after the visit to America)?

Thanks for the help, VJ community! I had a pretty solid grasp on the whole CR-1 process, but this job opportunity back in Beijing has really thrown us for a loop...

[Ryan H 3,912]

It is possible for your wife to apply for a tourist visa; however, the odds of her being granted one are next to nil.

[Boiler 47,625]

I would put the odds higher. If you do try they are nil.

[pushbrk 13,667]

In most cases, I would agree that the odds of success for a Chinese spouse of a USC to get a visitor's visa are quite slim. However, in this particular circumstance, I think it might be a try, if you can show both that you are proceeding through NVC, that you, the USC along with your wife, are tied to China by your job, and that you simply want to visit family for the holidays. Don't just say it though. Show evidence of your joint ties to China and your communications with NVC.

If you do that well, I would maybe put the odds at 50/50.