What happens after final approval?

[binaryboy 0]

Hello,

I'm a US citizen married to a non-US citizen and we currently live together in a third country (where neither of us are from). There is no DCF available in the country where we live, so I am going to just file a I-130 for my spouse. We don't have any current plans to move to the US, but I'd like to have the ability to move there if we wanted to one day. We've been married > 5 years at this point, and got married outside of the US.

I guess I have two questions:

1. Is filing the I-130 the right first step? Or is there something else I should be doing?

2. After going through all the steps and getting the final approval that we my wife can go to the US, what is the deadline for actually moving there? I'm applying because I want to have the option available, but if she gets approved, perhaps it would be another few years before we even decided to move to the US. So I'm wondering is there a deadline, say 6 months or something, that after final approval you have to move to the US? Or after final approval, is it possible to move to the US, say 5 years later, without any issues?

Thanks!

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

You have 6 months after the visa is issued to move, or you need to start again.

The process from filing to interview takes about a year, and you can delay it some by taking your time returnign paperwork at various stages, but 5 years is unrealistic.

[Stressed Out 81]

I wouldn't bother filing for her until you both have some solid plans to move to the US. Penguin just summed it up for you...you can delay the process by, I'd say, maximum an extra year if you write them regarding the priority date that you wish to hold off for a while, but if you don't plan on moving in the next couple years then it's very likely that your money and efforts could all go down the drain.

[NikLR 13,227]

You can delay the process by 2 maybe 3 years at most, but 5 is unrealistic, I agree.

[binaryboy 0]

Thank you very much for all the responses! I'm not quite sure why, if circumstances didn't change (ie, we were still married and living together), once the visa it issued it would void after some time, but I guess that's the way it is. Fair enough.

Is the only downside in getting the visa approved/issued and then not moving to the US, and then applying a few years later only a financial one -- ie we lose the money and effort that we spent on the first application? Or is it considered a 'negative' on future applications that we applied, got approved, and then didn't move to the US? Thanks!

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

There are many reasons why visas have expiry dates; your medical would need to be redone as your health may change; police reports may change, your family circumstances and financials may change and so on.

In a situation like yours, there is no negative other than money to apply again a few years later; at the second interview, they would likely ask why you did not go through with it, but it should not cause major issues.