Parents of US Citizen - Question on Process

[stringged 1]

Hi everyone. Any input appreciated.

My wife is a US citizen now, and she'd like to petition both her biological parents to come and reside in the US permanently.

Her mother is currently on a tourist visa, with valid entry/exit stamps in the last 4 years.

Two questions:
1. Can we begin the i-130 proceedings even if her mother happens to find herself in the US at the time? She is here periodically, and goes back home to Bolivia when the time is up.
2. Once we apply and i-130 is approved, what happens? I know her parents would go to the consulate in the home country. Is this the consular processing I read about? Do they get green cards right there and then? Or do they get a visa for entry and then once in the US they have to adjust status (which means $1200+ more money, each!). This is the part that confuses and scares us at the same time.

 

Thank you Visa Journey fam.

 

-JR

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

They get a visa there but it is an immigrant visa, so they do not have to adjust status once they arrive - they become green card holders immediately on entry.

 

[Cathi 5,610]

13 minutes ago, stringged said:

Hi everyone. Any input appreciated.

My wife is a US citizen now, and she'd like to petition both her biological parents to come and reside in the US permanently.

Her mother is currently on a tourist visa, with valid entry/exit stamps in the last 4 years.

Two questions:
1. Can we begin the i-130 proceedings even if her mother happens to find herself in the US at the time? She is here periodically, and goes back home to Bolivia when the time is up.
2. Once we apply and i-130 is approved, what happens? I know her parents would go to the consulate in the home country. Is this the consular processing I read about? Do they get green cards right there and then? Or do they get a visa for entry and then once in the US they have to adjust status (which means $1200+ more money, each!). This is the part that confuses and scares us at the same time.

 

Thank you Visa Journey fam.

 

-JR

1. Entering the US with a tourist visa with the intent to stay and adjust status is a big no no, it's visa fraud.

2. Follow the guides at the top of the page for consular processing. They would not be adjusting status.

[Mike E 11,723]

34 minutes ago, stringged said:

Hi everyone. Any input appreciated.

My wife is a US citizen now, and she'd like to petition both her biological parents to come and reside in the US permanently.

Her mother is currently on a tourist visa, with valid entry/exit stamps in the last 4 years.

Two questions:
1. Can we begin the i-130 proceedings even if her mother happens to find herself in the US at the time? She is here periodically, and goes back home to Bolivia when the time is up.
2. Once we apply and i-130 is approved, what happens? I know her parents would go to the consulate in the home country. Is this the consular processing I read about? Do they get green cards right there and then? Or do they get a visa for entry and then once in the US they have to adjust status (which means $1200+ more money, each!). This is the part that confuses and scares us at the same time.

 

Thank you Visa Journey fam.

 

-JR

1. Nothing I see in the I-130 says there is any thing wrong with this. There are two questions: 

 

The beneficiary is in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in:

 

AND

 

The beneficiary will not apply for adjustment of status in the United States, but he or she will apply for an immigrant visa abroad at the U.S. Embassy or U.S. Consulate in:

 

Since mom is going to go back to Bolivia before her current authorized stay expires, you would put N/A for the city and state of the first question, and fill in the info for the second question.

 

2. When I-130 is approved, the cases moves to the State department and then the embassy in Bolivia. Mom then applies for a visa, has a medical exam, gets an interview appointment, has the interview, waits for her passport with the immigration visa, and comes to the USA. Once she lands, her passport is stamped with an I-551 which authorizes her to live and work in the USA. She will later get a green card in the mail. However, 

suggests that she has to pay a fee to get her green card after point of entry. But then again, https://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-immigrant-fee says you can pay this fee between the time mom gets her passport with immigrant visa and before she departs for the USA. 

 

Anyway, go to https://www.visajourney.com/content/guides/ click the links for 

 

 Parents of US Citizens: 
-----  Overview,  Procedure

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Mike E

[stringged 1]

Thank you to everyone for the fast response!

On #1, this is not a tourist entry with intent to adjust status - not what I said. It's just that she wants to travel to the US and visit while the application is in progress. That's all. I'm good with it and it sounds like it won't be an issue.

On #2, I looked up the USCIS fee and it's $220 - not bad compared to the $1200 AOS fee (which is irrelevant, not applicable in this scenario, but still!)

Thanks again, will share updates once we begin.

[Ontarkie 13,915]

Just for the sake of asking as you said biological parents. Was she adopted and has both adopted parents and bio parents? I just want to make sure because if she was adopted she would not be able to petition her bio parents.

[stringged 1]

5 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

Just for the sake of asking as you said biological parents. Was she adopted and has both adopted parents and bio parents? I just want to make sure because if she was adopted she would not be able to petition her bio parents.

Thank you for asking a clarifying question. I didn't mean to cause confusion. These are her one and only parents, and they happened to be biological.

 

In an effort to be fully thorough in my question, it backfired. Thanks again.

[Ontarkie 13,915]

Just now, stringged said:

Thank you for asking a clarifying question. I didn't mean to cause confusion. These are her one and only parents, and they happened to be biological.

 

In an effort to be fully thorough in my question, it backfired. Thanks again.

Funny how there is always something to make someone go hmm  

[stringged 1]

Hi all - I had an additional question on process.

 

Once the i130 is sent, what should we expect to get back if approved?
a. Approval, and a request for us to initiate setting up an appointment for consular processing (we choose date/time from available options)

b. Approval, and a date/time already set up for us for consular processing (USCIS chooses date/time for us)

c. Approval, and something else other than (a) or (b)

 

Thanks!

Edited for clarity.

 

Edited May 17, 2019 by stringged

[Mike E 11,723]

22 minutes ago, stringged said:

Hi all - I had an additional question on process.

 

Once the i130 is sent, what should we expect to get back if approved?
a. Approval, and a request for us to initiate setting up an appointment for consular processing (we choose date/time from available options)

b. Approval, and a date/time already set up for us for consular processing (USCIS chooses date/time for us)

c. Approval, and something else other than (a) or (b)

 

Thanks!

Edited for clarity.

 

First you get an NOA1 acknowledging receipt of the I-130.

 

Then you get an NOA2 indicating approval.

 

The case is then moved to the state department. The state department then moves the case to the embassy or consulate that will host the interviews. 

 

The embassy contacts you with instructions. Your parents then formally apply for the visa. Then there will be more instructions, including a medical exam and police reports. Once they have the medical, the police reports and other required documents, they contact the embassy/consulate for an appointment. The embassy/consulate picks the date and time.

[stringged 1]

15 minutes ago, Mike E said:

The case is then moved to the state department. The state department then moves the case to the embassy or consulate that will host the interviews.

This is all fantastic info - thanks Mike E.

On the quote above - one geographic/health stipulation my in-laws have is that they can't go to their home country's embassy (in La Paz, altitude, bad news for older folks with high blood pressure). Instead, they intend to go to the US Embassy in Paraguay. This is nothing new to the embassy in Paraguay. Do you happen to know if I'm able to "select" the Embassy that needs to contact my in-laws?

Thanks again Mike (and everyone watching).

[Mike E 11,723]

5 minutes ago, stringged said:

This is all fantastic info - thanks Mike E.

On the quote above - one geographic/health stipulation my in-laws have is that they can't go to their home country's embassy (in La Paz, altitude, bad news for older folks with high blood pressure). Instead, they intend to go to the US Embassy in Paraguay. This is nothing new to the embassy in Paraguay. Do you happen to know if I'm able to "select" the Embassy that needs to contact my in-laws?

Thanks again Mike (and everyone watching).

 

You can request an embassy in the I-130. USCIS and State will determine the embassy/consulate. If you have a preference for health reasons, include a letter in the I-130. A doctor's letter would be a a good idea.

[stringged 1]

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

 

You can request an embassy in the I-130. USCIS and State will determine the embassy/consulate. If you have a preference for health reasons, include a letter in the I-130. A doctor's letter would be a a good idea.

Thanks again Mike E. Good to go for now. This community rocks.