From F2B to IR2 to F1

[jane dmd 0]

This is so disappointing.  I have been battling cancer by myself here in the US, doing everything by myself. My ex husband divorced me after finding out my illness but helped me with all the treatment. I was a lawful permanent resident when I filed the petition for my son which could've avoided if the ex husband included my son when we were adjusting my status after marriage. My son was then 20 years old. The petition got approved after a year but because of the COVID issues, it took 3 years before we finally heard from NVC. NVC send our case to the US embassy Manila, we paid for NVC's fees, did his biometrics, medical exam which nearly cost $1000 only to find out my son's case was denied/ refused because he has aged which for the Love of God, not his fault. I tried to appeal but the US embassy said adjudication are usually final and any appeal won't work. Please advise or tell me what to do more. I just want my son to be here with me. Five years have taken away from us. He even feels like he's dream has been taken away as well.

Edited Tuesday at 06:47 PM by jane dmd

[OldUser 8,969]

I'm really sorry about your situation.

 

If your son is unmarried, it would take 10 years or so whether you're LPR or US citizen...

There's nothing really you can do. By law he cannot be given visa any time soon.

 

[Boiler 46,901]

He would have been F2a just when you filed,and with a year for the I 130 would have had to be under 22 when his Priority Date became current.

 

He is now F2b https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2025/visa-bulletin-for-may-2025.html they are currently processing cases filed in 2012

 

If you have or will Naturalise it only speeds things up by a few months, well currently.

[appleblossom 3,863]

19 hours ago, jane dmd said:

This is so disappointing.  I have been battling cancer by myself here in the US, doing everything by myself. My ex husband divorced me after finding out my illness but helped me with all the treatment. I was a lawful permanent resident when I filed the petition for my son which could've avoided if the ex husband included my son when we were adjusting my status after marriage. My son was then 20 years old. The petition got approved after a year but because of the COVID issues, it took 3 years before we finally heard from NVC. NVC send our case to the US embassy Manila, we paid for NVC's fees, did his biometrics, medical exam which nearly cost $1000 only to find out my son's case was denied/ refused because he has aged which for the Love of God, not his fault. I tried to appeal but the US embassy said adjudication are usually final and any appeal won't work. Please advise or tell me what to do more. I just want my son to be here with me. Five years have taken away from us. He even feels like he's dream has been taken away as well.

 

I’m sorry to hear this, but as said above there is nothing to appeal as if he’s aged out there is no visa available to him by law. 

 

The delay in hearing from NVC was due to this too, not Covid - they wouldn’t contact you until nearer the time of him actually being eligible for a visa (Table B on the Visa Bulletin) anyway. Are you saying that he was scheduled for an interview though? That is very odd, they shouldn’t have done that until his PD was current (Table A on the Visa Bulletin). 

 

All you can do is keep an eye on the Visa Bulletin and see when his PD is going to become current. He’s probably got at least another decade or so to go, so if there is any other visa route for him (employment based for example) then you might want to explore that. 

 

Best of luck to you. 

 

 

[jane dmd 0]

but my confusion is coming from this, i filed the petition when he was 20 years old so he falls under this guideline:

Effect on spouses and minor children: If you filed a petition for your spouse or minor children (under age 21 and unmarried) while you were an LPR, the visa category was family second preference (F2A). When you become a U.S. citizen, NVC will upgrade the petition to an immediate relative (IR) visa category. This benefits your immigrating family member(s) because there are no limits on the number of visas that can be issued each year in the IR categories.

Also, under a federal law called the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), visa applicants can “opt out” of conversion to the F1 visa category and remain an F2B visa applicant. This may be beneficial because sometimes the wait time for an F2B visa is shorter than the wait time for an F1 visa.

but it appeared that they based they're assessment on this guideline :

Effect on adult children: If you filed a petition for your unmarried adult children (age 21 or older) when you were an LPR, NVC will change the visa category from family second preference (F2B) to family first preference (F1).

We even got an email from NVC saying "Congratulations! The US embassy/ Consulate General agreed to expedite his visa application process, we thought because of the above mentioned reason (effect on spouse minor children) which lead us to biometrics and medical examination only to find out he was denied/ refused??? NVC should've just said "We apologize but your son will be re- categorize and please hold up paying/doing biometrics and medical exam for now, blah blah blah, instead, right?!

[OldUser 8,969]

CSPA calculation is:

 

CSPA Age = Age at Visa Availability − Time Petition Was Pending

 

Using this calculation, was your child under 21 or over 21? This determines whether CSPA applies to him.

[Boiler 46,901]

If you provide all the dates we can double check.

[jane dmd 0]

june 2020 when i filed the petition he was 20 years old then. dec 2021 when the petition got approved. the case was sent to nvc it took 3 years before we heard from them aug 2024 when we paid fees and submitted civil docs for processing. dec 2024 the case was sent to us embassy in manila. biometric med exams was done april 21 2025 interview with consulate, result denied/ refused

 

[appleblossom 3,863]

On 5/7/2025 at 11:26 AM, jane dmd said:

but my confusion is coming from this, i filed the petition when he was 20 years old so he falls under this guideline:

Effect on spouses and minor children: If you filed a petition for your spouse or minor children (under age 21 and unmarried) while you were an LPR, the visa category was family second preference (F2A). When you become a U.S. citizen, NVC will upgrade the petition to an immediate relative (IR) visa category. This benefits your immigrating family member(s) because there are no limits on the number of visas that can be issued each year in the IR categories.

Also, under a federal law called the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), visa applicants can “opt out” of conversion to the F1 visa category and remain an F2B visa applicant. This may be beneficial because sometimes the wait time for an F2B visa is shorter than the wait time for an F1 visa.

but it appeared that they based they're assessment on this guideline :

Effect on adult children: If you filed a petition for your unmarried adult children (age 21 or older) when you were an LPR, NVC will change the visa category from family second preference (F2B) to family first preference (F1).

We even got an email from NVC saying "Congratulations! The US embassy/ Consulate General agreed to expedite his visa application process, we thought because of the above mentioned reason (effect on spouse minor children) which lead us to biometrics and medical examination only to find out he was denied/ refused??? NVC should've just said "We apologize but your son will be re- categorize and please hold up paying/doing biometrics and medical exam for now, blah blah blah, instead, right?!

 

Which bit of that do you think applies to you? 

 

So using the dates you gave above, and assuming the first of each month just to give you an idea in the absence of exact dates - 

 

Priority Date 1st June 2020, 1st December 2021 I-130 approved so the petition was pending for 18 months. Meaning he wouldn't age out until he was 22 years and 6 months old (roughly - again without exact dates it's hard to give you a definite age). So for him to stay in the F2A category, his Priority Date would have needed to become current before he was 22.5 years old. We don't know his birthday so can't say for sure if that was the case or not, but you can double check it yourself. Or give exact dates for somebody else to do it for you (including his birth date). 

 

The email from NVC about expediting isn't anything to do with his age, for some reason it's the same for all Manila cases (spouses etc). They don't send interview letters regularly like other consulates, they do them in batches and claim they've been 'expedited'.

Edited Thursday at 06:12 PM by appleblossom

[jane dmd 0]

His birthday is October 23, 1999. He was 20 years old and 6 months when I filed the petition, June 21, 2020 which is his Priority date. Petition was approved Dec 1, 2021. So are you saying that they have it all right? There were no mistakes or it wasnt wrongly assessed

[appleblossom 3,863]

15 minutes ago, jane dmd said:

His birthday is October 23, 1999. He was 20 years old and 6 months when I filed the petition, June 21, 2020 which is his Priority date. Petition was approved Dec 1, 2021. So are you saying that they have it all right? There were no mistakes or it wasnt wrongly assessed

 

So working it out exactly, and if my maths is correct (it's atrocious usually, so please do double check the below!) - 

 

Petition took 1 year, 5 months and 11 days to be processed, so he was only eligible for a visa under F2A if his Priority Date became current before 2nd April 2022 (as that was the date his 'calculated age' went from 20 to 21, meaning he was no longer eligible as the under 21 child of a LPR). 

 

But looking at the Visa Bulletins from early 2022, his category WAS current. 

 

Are you absolutely sure that his I-130 was approved in December 2021? His case should have been sent to NVC immediately if so. When did you receive the Welcome Letter from NVC asking you to pay the fees etc?

 

 

Edited Thursday at 06:51 PM by appleblossom

[jane dmd 0]

Yes it was approved 2021 Decemebr 1. I thought because of COVID that's why it got all delayed, ending up hearing from NVC only until August 7, 2024

Edited Thursday at 07:17 PM by jane dmd

[appleblossom 3,863]

44 minutes ago, jane dmd said:

Yes it was approved 2021 Decemebr 1. I thought because of COVID that's why it got all delayed, ending up hearing from NVC only until August 7, 2024

 

No, there's no way it should have been delayed like that. 

 

It was current when the I-130 was approved, so should have been sent straight to NVC and his visa application should have been done in 2022. What does the status say online, and did it say F2B or F2A? Did you chase it up at all in 2022/2023?

 

Double check the dates and that it was current back in 2022, but I think I'd be consulting a lawyer. 

Edited Thursday at 08:01 PM by appleblossom

[jane dmd 0]

Oh my gosh! You were right! His Priority date was current from 2021 to 2023 and NVC did not send us anything until 2024 August. Do you think if I will show NVC all this they would at least consider?

[jane dmd 0]

I never looked at the bulletin to be honest and we were just checking the status on ceac site and waiting on their notification. Oh my Lord my knees are weakening right now. we could've been together since 2022. my cancer wouldn't have came back