Receiving visa but not being able to travel? Help.

[eritrocita 8]

Hi!

So, we are on the NVC stage now. Gathering the papers we need to send.  But, something happened with me (the beneficiary) related to school and I won't be able to travel next year and stay.  I could travel after my visa is issued and before it expires but only stay for like 2 days and then I have to come back.

 

 What do I do in this case? I am afraid they will take away my green card for not staying and living in the US.  

 

Thank you!

[geowrian 22,335]

It may be best to hold off on getting the visa until you're ready to live in the US. As long as you keep the I-130 alive by contacting them at least once a year, you can pickup at another time. The validity of the visa is 6 months from the medical or the interview (whichever comes sooner), so you can plan appropriately.

 

Being in the US for only a couple days followed by an extended stay abroad may appear to be abandoning permanent residency. Getting a re-entry permit requires filing from within the US, and then doing the biometrics in the US, so I'm assuming that won't work for you (and is costly).

[NikLR 13,220]

You can hold off submitting things to the NVC until you're closer to being ready to move. 

[eritrocita 8]

Thank you both! Do you know if there is a required time to stay after the first entrance before leaving the country? 

[NikLR 13,220]

1 minute ago, eritrocita said:

Thank you both! Do you know if there is a required time to stay after the first entrance before leaving the country? 

no there isn't but it doesn't make sense to move when you're unable to stay. 

[Boiler 43,438]

When are you looking to make the big move?

[eritrocita 8]

On 13/10/2017 at 7:34 PM, Boiler said:

When are you looking to make the big move?

I am not sure yet. It all depends on school and one exam I have to do in December 😩  So, holding off could be risky if things don't work out with school or continuing with the process could be too if school goes well.  It's complicated. 

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

So you won;t be able to move till after December 2017 or 2018?

If 2017, no problem- your interview may not be till after anyways, and even if the interview is soon, you have 6 months to use the visa.  If 2018, I agree with the others, delay now, at NVC stage. While you could get the visa and travel for a day to the USA, if you stay out another year after, loss of the greencard is a very real concern.

[NikLR 13,220]

It's never risky to hold off and slow the process down.  

 

[Boiler 43,438]

4 hours ago, eritrocita said:

I am not sure yet. It all depends on school and one exam I have to do in December 😩  So, holding off could be risky if things don't work out with school or continuing with the process could be too if school goes well.  It's complicated. 

So if it does not go well what happens?

[eritrocita 8]

7 hours ago, Boiler said:

So if it does not go well what happens?

If it does not go well, that means I could go to the US for the whole 2018 thanks to the visa of course. And I would have to leave before the year finishes.  But if this happens, I could get the re-entry permit another user suggested. 

[Boiler 43,438]

Sounds the way to go.

[eritrocita 8]

On 15/10/2017 at 4:39 AM, Penguin_ie said:

So you won;t be able to move till after December 2017 or 2018?

If 2017, no problem- your interview may not be till after anyways, and even if the interview is soon, you have 6 months to use the visa.  If 2018, I agree with the others, delay now, at NVC stage. While you could get the visa and travel for a day to the USA, if you stay out another year after, loss of the greencard is a very real concern.

 

On 15/10/2017 at 8:11 AM, NikLR said:

It's never risky to hold off and slow the process down.  

 

about delaying the process, the last email we received says this:

 

"U.S. law requires immigrant visa applicants to apply for a visa within one year of availability. Section
203(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires the U.S. Department of State to terminate
the visa application of anyone who fails to apply for an immigrant visa within one year after notification
that a visa number is available. Therefore, if you do not respond to notices from the National Visa
Center within one year you risk termination of your petition under this law and could lose the benefits of
that petition, such as your priority date. To avoid termination of your visa application, make sure you
contact NVC at least once a year."

 

what does it mean with the "visa number" available?  is it the NVC case number?

 

Thank you everyone for your answers!!

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 1:05 AM, eritrocita said:

If it does not go well, that means I could go to the US for the whole 2018 thanks to the visa of course. And I would have to leave before the year finishes.  But if this happens, I could get the re-entry permit another user suggested. 

Balancing a green card is very, very tricky.  It's done, and can be done, but you have at the most a couple of years of back and forth grace before they flag you.

 

IF:  You can stay in the US about a month after your green card arrives it will give you time to apply for a travel document which will buy you two worry-free years.  The reason it takes a month (well, about a month) is you have to go take fingerprints after which you can leave and have the travel document delivered to the embassy/consulate in your home country.

 

What's your worst case timeline related to school, etc?  We had a lot of luck balancing the green card from overseas over the last few years but got hung up with an expired travel document so we had to re-interview (medical, police certificate, visa app, affidavit) again to return. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

15 minutes ago, eritrocita said:

 

about delaying the process, the last email we received says this:

 

"U.S. law requires immigrant visa applicants to apply for a visa within one year of availability. Section
203(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) requires the U.S. Department of State to terminate
the visa application of anyone who fails to apply for an immigrant visa within one year after notification
that a visa number is available. Therefore, if you do not respond to notices from the National Visa
Center within one year you risk termination of your petition under this law and could lose the benefits of
that petition, such as your priority date. To avoid termination of your visa application, make sure you
contact NVC at least once a year."

 

what does it mean with the "visa number" available?  is it the NVC case number?

 

Thank you everyone for your answers!!

The visa number ultimately becomes your A-number on your green card I believe.  You are assigned a case number and you get a list of documents that you have to gather.  You have up to a year to gather them and put your visa application in, which will set you up for interview.  The clock for US entry does not start ticking until you get a medical, and you have 6 months from the date of the medical to enter the US.  So theoretically you can delay ENTRY for about 14-15 months if you push entry beyond the issue of the actual visa to close to expiration of the medical.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Nitas_man