Stepchildren's Visa Issued While Wife is Still in Administrative Processing

[genesis13 3]

I applied for visas for my wife and her two biological daughters from a previous marriage in December 2018, and it has been a long wait that has seen my wife go through two pregnancies (one miscarriage followed by a daughter who is now a three month old US citizen).  I always expected that once my wife's visa was approved that her daughters (my stepdaughters) would be approved at the same time.  However, somehow the daughters are now approved and have been issued visas while my wife is still in administrative processing.  My wife understandably isn't too keen on sending her girls out of the country (they are still in Colombia) without her, and for the life of me, I don't understand how my stepchildren could be approved prior to their mother. 

 

My main questions is whether it is normal for an applicant's stepchildren to be approved before their biological parent who is the sponsoring spouse, whether my stepchildren have to enter the U.S. within a certain timeframe (my understanding is it would be six months for my wife if she was approved), and if they  would even be able to travel with their approved visas without their mother having an approved visa as I was under the impression that the spouse was supposed to travel either before or at the same time as the children.  My stepdaughters are now 20 and 11 years old (they were 17 and 8 when I applied for the visas three years ago), and the biological father has given the 11 year old permission to travel outside the country without him.  Please note I am a US citizen and therefore had to apply for my wife and stepchildren on separate I-130 forms, and my three month biological daughter (she has US citizenship from birth) is still with my wife in Colombia.

Edited August 21, 2021 by genesis13

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

Since you are a US citizen, it is normal for immediate relative cases to be processed separately.  Did you notify the consulate that you wanted all 3 issued together?  The clock is now running on the issued visas. 

The requirement for who travels first says:

1.  Petitioners must enter the US either before or at the time the spouse does.  This does not apply since you (petitioner) are already in the US.

2.  The primary visa holder must enter the US either before or at the same time as a derivative visa holder.  These stepdaughters are not derivative visa holders as immediate family members of a USC.   This rule does not apply in your case.

Your stepdaughters must enter the US prior to the expiration date on the visa.  

Edited August 21, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

If the stepdaughters' visas expire, the consulate, at their discretion, could re-issue them......but that would require new medicals, paperwork, fees, and possibly another interview.  That is not a desirable solution.  

You could also contact the consulate, now,  to inquire if they can revoke the issued visas, then reissue at the same time as your wife's visa.

Edited August 21, 2021 by Crazy Cat

[genesis13 3]

@Crazy Cat

Thanks for the response!  No, I don't think I notified the consulate that I wanted all three to be approved at the same time as I thought that was the way the process worked automatically. Thanks also for explaining the two requirements as it makes more sense now.  The whole idea of separating children from their biological parents is what concerns me as it doesn't make sense to require my wife's biological children to leave her without her, assuming her visa isn't approved prior to the expiration date on the children's visa, and it doesn't make sense to me that my wife isn't approved yet seeing as she has my biological U.S. citizen child who is being separated from me.  From searching the forums, I had never seen a case of which the stepchildren were approved prior to their biological parent.  I will try to find out from my wife what the expiration date listed on the visa shows, and hopefully she will be approved prior to then.  Thanks very much also for your follow-up message about the various options.

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

4 minutes ago, genesis13 said:

@Crazy Cat

Thanks for the response!  No, I don't think I notified the consulate that I wanted all three to be approved at the same time as I thought that was the way the process worked automatically. Thanks also for explaining the two requirements as it makes more sense now.  The whole idea of separating children from their biological parents is what concerns me as it doesn't make sense to require my wife's biological children to leave her without her, assuming her visa isn't approved prior to the expiration date on the children's visa, and it doesn't make sense to me that my wife isn't approved yet seeing as she has my biological U.S. citizen child who is being separated from me.  From searching the forums, I had never seen a case of which the stepchildren were approved prior to their biological parent.  I will try to find out from my wife what the expiration date listed on the visa shows, and hopefully she will be approved prior to then.  Thanks very much also for your follow-up message about the various options.

I don't recall extended administrative processing to be the norm in Colombia.  Hopefully, they will issue your wife's visa in a day or two.  Good Luck. 

[Pinkrlion 2,607]

The 20 year old need to immigrate before she turns 21

[genesis13 3]

19 minutes ago, Pinkrlion said:

The 20 year old need to immigrate before she turns 21

I don't foresee this as an issue as she recently turned 20, but I was under the impression the age out deadline of 21 would not apply due to the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).  I applied for her visa when she was still 17.

Edited August 21, 2021 by genesis13

[Pinkrlion 2,607]

1 hour ago, genesis13 said:

I don't foresee this as an issue as she recently turned 20, but I was under the impression the age out deadline of 21 would not apply due to the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).  I applied for her visa when she was still 17.

True but her visa has already been issued.  CSPA does not apply after visa has been issued.  Someone can correct me if I am wrong

[Sparkle Sparkle 913]

I do think its not a qualification issue...maybe a background check...My advise ifs to send the girls through before they run out of visa

[HRQX 4,145]

4 hours ago, Pinkrlion said:

CSPA does not apply after visa has been issued.  Someone can correct me if I am wrong

CSPA still applies after the visa is issued. For IR categories, the age is frozen on the day the I-130 was filed. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/child-status-protection-act-cspa

7 hours ago, genesis13 said:

From searching the forums, I had never seen a case of which the stepchildren were approved prior to their biological parent.

As Crazy Cat mentioned, for IR cases the cases are separate. I have a brother-in-law that is a naturalized USC and his stepdaughter entered the US with IR-2 visa about 15 months before his his wife entered the US with IR-1 visa.

Edited August 21, 2021 by HRQX

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

4 hours ago, Pinkrlion said:

True but her visa has already been issued.  CSPA does not apply after visa has been issued.  Someone can correct me if I am wrong

You are wrong. The age is frozen for IR2 at petition filing date (and for F2A when a visa is available). It is onky K2 that needs to enter before turning 21.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

7 hours ago, genesis13 said:

@Crazy Cat

Thanks for the response!  No, I don't think I notified the consulate that I wanted all three to be approved at the same time as I thought that was the way the process worked automatically. Thanks also for explaining the two requirements as it makes more sense now.  The whole idea of separating children from their biological parents is what concerns me as it doesn't make sense to require my wife's biological children to leave her without her, assuming her visa isn't approved prior to the expiration date on the children's visa, and it doesn't make sense to me that my wife isn't approved yet seeing as she has my biological U.S. citizen child who is being separated from me.  From searching the forums, I had never seen a case of which the stepchildren were approved prior to their biological parent.  I will try to find out from my wife what the expiration date listed on the visa shows, and hopefully she will be approved prior to then.  Thanks very much also for your follow-up message about the various options.

Because IR are all separate petitions, the embassy does not necessarily link the visa issuance dates if they are not instructed to do so. The children can wait for their mom to be issued a visa, assuming it will not take longer than 6 months (as it seems unlikely to be a security related issue i would not expect it to take anywhere near that long). (Worst case if it does take longer,  the two kids can enter the US before their visas expire (they should be able to do this alone given the elder one’s age and the permission granted to the younger one to travel), then return to wait for their mom - but I’m thinking this is unlikely to be necessary.)

[Demise 1,096]

14 hours ago, Pinkrlion said:

The 20 year old need to immigrate before she turns 21

She's an IR2, IR2s never age out or fall out of the category unless they marry. Like yeah, if you drag your feet NVC will close their part of the case and send the I-130 back to USCIS, but you can revive it all by filing I-824. So ultimately you could have a 40 year old child come as an IR2.

 

Anyways: is it common for children to get visas before the parent? No, but in this case because they all had their own separate I-130s, they're each an independent primary beneficiary, so they can all come independently of the mother. Also looks like you've been married for 2+ years so there's no I-751 issues. Also considering that getting the visas reissued is a hassle, they should at very least touch down in US to get their permanent residence even if they could use a bit more time, stamped immigrant visa lets them travel outside the US for 1 year, if they need 2, they can file I-131 for a re-entry permit, do biometrics, and then have it shipped to a consulate abroad and return within 2 years.

Edited August 22, 2021 by Demise

[genesis13 3]

15 hours ago, HRQX said:

CSPA still applies after the visa is issued. For IR categories, the age is frozen on the day the I-130 was filed. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/child-status-protection-act-cspa

As Crazy Cat mentioned, for IR cases the cases are separate. I have a brother-in-law that is a naturalized USC and his stepdaughter entered the US with IR-2 visa about 15 months before his his wife entered the US with IR-1 visa.

@HRQX

Thanks for sharing this information.  I hope this doesn't happen in the case of my wife, but do you know if they returned your brother-in-law's wife's passport while he was waiting?  The embassy kept my wife's passport from the day of the interview making it where she cannot leave the country, and I would definitely want her to travel to the U.S. if there is a long wait as I used all of my leave from work for the rest of the year traveling there during the birth of our child.

Edited August 22, 2021 by genesis13

[Crazy Cat 39,284]

1 hour ago, genesis13 said:

and I would definitely want her to travel to the U.S. if there is a long wait as I used all of my leave from work for the rest of the year traveling there during the birth of our child.

If she needs to travel duting the AP process, she can request her passport.....BUT, it will add even more delay time to the case....and could trigger other issues.