American living In Australia to bring family but how?

[Chancy 6,247]

13 minutes ago, Brian1977RI said:

Will all 4 of us need it,or just my wife who hopefully will be granted a green card?

 

Health insurance is not required to apply for a visa.

 

After you move to the US, you might want to sign up your whole family for health insurance.

 

[Brian1977RI 0]

Chancy, thanks for chiming in. I thought I read in November 2019 Trump passed a law saying anyone who immigrated to America must already have health insurance, paid for upwards of a year in advance? 

[HRQX 4,146]

4 minutes ago, Brian1977RI said:

I thought I read in November 2019 Trump passed a law saying anyone who immigrated to America must already have health insurance, paid for upwards of a year in advance? 

It wasn't a law. It was a Presidential Proclamation that is now revoked: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/Presidential-Proclamation-on-Health-Care.html

On May 14, 2021, President Biden revoked Presidential Proclamation 9945, Suspension of Entry to Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System.

[beloved_dingo 2,002]

6 minutes ago, Brian1977RI said:

Chancy, thanks for chiming in. I thought I read in November 2019 Trump passed a law saying anyone who immigrated to America must already have health insurance, paid for upwards of a year in advance? 

I believe Biden revoked that. Prior to that, it had been challenged/blocked in court so I am not sure if it was every truly enforceable. 

 

Edit: HRQX beat me to it  

Edited November 8, 2021 by beloved_dingo

[HRQX 4,146]

45 minutes ago, beloved_dingo said:

Prior to that, it had been challenged/blocked in court

Biden's revocation was still warranted since enforcement was imminent:

• https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Ruling.pdf
• https://www.aila.org/infonet/healthcare-insurance-proclamation "...remain in place until the mandate issues"

Without the revocation it would have been an uphill battle for the Plaintiffs: https://innovationlawlab.org/media/Plaintiffs-Petition-for-Rehearing-En-Banc-01.19.21.pdf

Edited November 8, 2021 by HRQX

[beloved_dingo 2,002]

6 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Biden's revocation was still warranted since enforcement was imminent:

• https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Ruling.pdf
• https://www.aila.org/infonet/healthcare-insurance-proclamation "...remain in place until the mandate issues"

Without the revocation it would have been an uphill battle for the Plaintiffs: https://innovationlawlab.org/media/Plaintiffs-Petition-for-Rehearing-En-Banc-01.19.21.pdf

I agree that it was warranted. I was just letting OP know that it had been blocked in court even before Biden's change. 

[Brian1977RI 0]

So now it's just get the kids naturalized as citizens, get the wife to fill out the green card forms and wait? Anything I'm missing?

[HRQX 4,146]

1 hour ago, Brian1977RI said:

So now it's just get the kids naturalized as citizens

Your children are citizens from the day they were born, so they don't need to "naturalize." They just need to apply for documentation (i.e. CRBA and/or US passport) that proves their US citizenship.

[Chancy 6,247]

11 hours ago, Brian1977RI said:

So now it's just get the kids naturalized as citizens, get the wife to fill out the green card forms and wait?

 

As HRQX said, no need for your kids to naturalize as they are already US citizens.  You just need to prove it to the US consulate through the CRBA process.

 

Also, your wife will not be filling out green card forms.  You (the USC spouse) will need to petition for her by filing form I-130.  After the I-130 petition is approved, your wife will be eligible to apply for an IR1 spouse visa.  After she is granted the visa and enters the US, she will immediately become a US permanent resident (aka. green card holder).

 

Start by learning about the immigrant visa procees flow here -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition.html

 

[Brian1977RI 0]

Thanks everybody who has chimed in so far,you've all been very helpful. So we have my wife's I-130 form all filled out, now who do we send it to? We are in Australia, do we send it to the consulate here or do we need to send it to the Mainland stateside? 

[HRQX 4,146]

1 hour ago, Brian1977RI said:

So we have my wife's I-130 form all filled out,

I-130A spouse supplement is also needed. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-130a.pdf

1 hour ago, Brian1977RI said:

We are in Australia, do we send it to the consulate here

If you get a job offer in the US you could try filing the petition at a local consulate: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-b-chapter-3 "USCIS has delegated authority to DOS to accept and adjudicate a Form I-130 filed by a U.S. citizen petitioner for an immediate relative if the petitioner establishes exceptional circumstances or falls under blanket authorization criteria defined by USCIS."

 

Otherwise, I recommend online filing: https://www.uscis.gov/i-130 it's the blue "File Online" button

[ultrasoul 58]

On 11/6/2021 at 11:44 PM, Brian1977RI said:

I'm an American citizen (born in R.I.) and moved to Australia in 2013 and since have been married and have 2 children under 5 . I want to move back and bring my 3 non-American citizen family members with me...how do I do it? So far I've read they have to apply for green cards, but I also have to get health insurance for them. Any help will be appreciated,  also how long does it take for a green card to be approved typically?

@Brian1977RI Does your wife possess a current and unexpired tourist B1/ B2 visa?

 

  

On 11/15/2021 at 9:45 PM, Brian1977RI said:

Thanks everybody who has chimed in so far,you've all been very helpful. So we have my wife's I-130 form all filled out, now who do we send it to? We are in Australia, do we send it to the consulate here or do we need to send it to the Mainland stateside? 

Also don't waste your time filing a paper I-130. You can file I-130 online- benefit of online filing is you get same day case number generation. Shaves a good week off the processing time as well

Edited November 17, 2021 by ultrasoul

[Redro 4,623]

1 minute ago, ultrasoul said:

@Brian1977RI Does your wife possess a current and unexpired tourist B1/ B2 visa?

Australians are eligible for ESTA. 

[Brian1977RI 0]

My wife HAD a tourist visa 2 years ago...but what's that have to do with getting her over to America? You cant go to America on a tourist visa then apply for residency can you? 

[Boiler 47,487]

18 minutes ago, Brian1977RI said:

My wife HAD a tourist visa 2 years ago...but what's that have to do with getting her over to America? You cant go to America on a tourist visa then apply for residency can you? 

No you can not