Step Daughter immediate relative Visa question

[NJCube 4]

Hi Everyone, 

 

I'm a US citizen that submitted an I-130 petition for my step daughter May 2024.   Thankfully, I just received notification that it was approved this month.   I'm waiting to get notification from the NVC to start the next process of applying for the VISA, etc.

 

My question is, my step daughter is in college in her home country and has about 4 years left to get her masters.   I want to make sure that once she gets her VISA and enters the US, she retains her US residency until she finishes college.   I've read that as long as she comes every 6 months, she should be ok.   Our intention is for her to come every summer and Christmas breaks until she graduates and moves here.    Is there something else I would need to do?  Some kind of special permsission she needs to apply for?   I do know that if she is going to be more than a year out of the country, she can apply for a re-entry permit (Form I-131) but that won't be necessary in her case.

 

Also, would it make sense to hold off on applying for the visa to prolong the process as much as possible?  I'm not sure how long after the petition is approved, it is required to apply for the VISA.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.   

[appleblossom 4,610]

59 minutes ago, NJCube said:

Hi Everyone, 

 

I'm a US citizen that submitted an I-130 petition for my step daughter May 2024.   Thankfully, I just received notification that it was approved this month.   I'm waiting to get notification from the NVC to start the next process of applying for the VISA, etc.

 

My question is, my step daughter is in college in her home country and has about 4 years left to get her masters.   I want to make sure that once she gets her VISA and enters the US, she retains her US residency until she finishes college.   I've read that as long as she comes every 6 months, she should be ok.   Our intention is for her to come every summer and Christmas breaks until she graduates and moves here.    Is there something else I would need to do?  Some kind of special permsission she needs to apply for?   I do know that if she is going to be more than a year out of the country, she can apply for a re-entry permit (Form I-131) but that won't be necessary in her case.

 

Also, would it make sense to hold off on applying for the visa to prolong the process as much as possible?  I'm not sure how long after the petition is approved, it is required to apply for the VISA.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.   

 

 

My daughter is at college overseas, and it's a valid reason for being out of the country, but you'll need to make sure all of her ties are in the US. Entering every 6 months isn't automatically enough, she could lose her residency after a much shorter time outside the country if she's deemed to have abandoned it.

 

So my daughter has her only job in the US, she only files US taxes, her only home is in the US, her immediate family is in the US, she has a driving licence, her name is on the lease of our house, etc. She's never had an issue, but she has all of that proving that her only home is in the US, and comes for every single school break and long weekends occasionally too. If your stepdaughter gets other breaks, get her to come home for those too, just be prepared to spend a lot on flights to keep her LPR status! Mine spends 3 months here every summer, one month at Xmas, one month at Easter, and then has two 'reading weeks' as well, in February and late October/early November. So at least 5.5 months of the year is spent in the US, but we usually aim for 6 months so that it's 50/50, with long weekends as well.

 

Frankly, we're only staying here because both of our children want to maintain their GC's and get US citizenship. My husband and I would be outta here by now if that wasn't the case! We are making sure that their only ties are to the US and hopefully don't lose their LPR status from studying abroad.

 

As I said our daughter is keen to maintain her LPR status and apply for citizenship before she finishes college, so it's not been an issue for us, but we have various friends whose kids start college overseas and then suddenly want to stay there for the summer to travel or work with their peers, and that wouldn't be possible for somebody on a green card. They just don't have that flexibility. So be open and honest with her and say that if you go ahead with this, you need her to commit to coming home at every available opportunity to maintain her LPR status, or it could be money down the drain. If she's not prepared to do that, then I'd hold off on applying for her visa until she is. You can delay it indefinitely. 

 

Good luck. 

Edited 14 hours ago by appleblossom

[NJCube 4]

2 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

 

My daughter is at college overseas, and it's a valid reason for being out of the country, but you'll need to make sure all of her ties are in the US. Entering every 6 months isn't automatically enough, she could lose her residency after a much shorter time outside the country if she's deemed to have abandoned it.

 

So my daughter has her only job in the US, she only files US taxes, her only home is in the US, her immediate family is in the US, she has a driving licence, her name is on the lease of our house, etc. She's never had an issue, but she has all of that proving that her only home is in the US, and comes for every single school break and long weekends occasionally too. If your stepdaughter gets other breaks, get her to come home for those too, just be prepared to spend a lot on flights to keep her LPR status! Mine spends 3 months here every summer, one month at Xmas, one month at Easter, and then has two 'reading weeks' as well, in February and late October/early November. So at least 5.5 months of the year is spent in the US, but we usually aim for 6 months so that it's 50/50, with long weekends as well.

 

Frankly, we're only staying here because both of our children want to maintain their GC's and get US citizenship. My husband and I would be outta here by now if that wasn't the case! We are making sure that their only ties are to the US and hopefully don't lose their LPR status from studying abroad.

 

As I said our daughter is keen to maintain her LPR status and apply for citizenship before she finishes college, so it's not been an issue for us, but we have various friends whose kids start college overseas and then suddenly want to stay there for the summer to travel or work with their peers, and that wouldn't be possible for somebody on a green card. They just don't have that flexibility. So be open and honest with her and say that if you go ahead with this, you need her to commit to coming home at every available opportunity to maintain her LPR status, or it could be money down the drain. If she's not prepared to do that, then I'd hold off on applying for her visa until she is. You can delay it indefinitely. 

 

Good luck. 

 

 

Thanks for your response.  It's a little disheartening though.  My stepdaughter is a full time student in her country of origin so it would be difficult for her to get a job in the US until she completes her studies.   Her parent's are divorced, so you can say that 50% of her family is here and the other is there.  She lives with her mom in her country until she is finished with her studies.   It seems like your daughter's situation is a bit different then my stepdaughter's.    When I petitioned for my stepdaugher she was under 21.  Now she is 21.  

 

 

[appleblossom 4,610]

15 minutes ago, NJCube said:

 

 

Thanks for your response.  It's a little disheartening though.  My stepdaughter is a full time student in her country of origin so it would be difficult for her to get a job in the US until she completes her studies.   Her parent's are divorced, so you can say that 50% of her family is here and the other is there.  She lives with her mom in her country until she is finished with her studies.   It seems like your daughter's situation is a bit different then my stepdaughter's.    When I petitioned for my stepdaugher she was under 21.  Now she is 21.  

 

 

 

So she doesn't live at the university? If she'll essentially have two 'proper' homes, one with each parent, then it will be trickier to prove she's made the US her permanent home and that she's only abroad temporarily. I still think it's doable though, as long as she spends every holiday with you. How much time off does she get each year in total (including every break, not just the big ones)?

 

Not sure why you think finding a job would be difficult for her, are you very rural? There are tons of casual jobs for students here, even just babysitting or something would help, then she'd have her job in the US and also be filing tax returns there. Mine is a barista at the local Starbucks in the holidays, she's also waitressed etc. It works particularly well for my kids as US colleges have different term dates (for example, all of the local students that she works with are returning to college this week, but she doesn't leave until mid September), so employers were really keen on using her to fill the gaps of local students. 

 

If you don't think it's going to be feasible and she may risk her LPR status, then you have two options - the re-entry permit you mentioned above, or just holding off applying for the visa until she's in her final year of her degree. 

 

 

 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by appleblossom

[NJCube 4]

29 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

So she doesn't live at the university? If she'll essentially have two 'proper' homes, one with each parent, then it will be trickier to prove she's made the US her permanent home and that she's only abroad temporarily. I still think it's doable though, as long as she spends every holiday with you. How much time off does she get each year in total (including every break, not just the big ones)?

 

Not sure why you think finding a job would be difficult for her, are you very rural? There are tons of casual jobs for students here, even just babysitting or something would help, then she'd have her job in the US and also be filing tax returns there. Mine is a barista at the local Starbucks in the holidays, she's also waitressed etc. It works particularly well for my kids as US colleges have different term dates (for example, all of the local students that she works with are returning to college this week, but she doesn't leave until mid September), so employers were really keen on using her to fill the gaps of local students. 

 

If you don't think it's going to be feasible and she may risk her LPR status, then you have two options - the re-entry permit you mentioned above, or just holding off applying for the visa until she's in her final year of her degree. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi,  No she does not.  She commutes.   As far as time off, I think Christmas, Summer, and one other break in the spring.  

 

It's not that it would be difficult for her to get a job here for the summer, it's just that she might want a summer break while not in school.   That's up to her.  

 

As far as the re-entry permit, I was reading that it can take from 6 months to a year processing time and you can't travel while in process so that might not work.

 

Do you have any idea how long you can hold off on applying for the VISA?   I get the feeling that waiting 4 years would be too much.

 

Thanks

[appleblossom 4,610]

5 minutes ago, NJCube said:

It's not that it would be difficult for her to get a job here for the summer, it's just that she might want a summer break while not in school.   That's up to her.  

 

 

It is, again it's a commitment she'd have to make if she did want a green card. If she really wants to keep her LPR status, then records of a job and filing taxes would help if there was every any doubt. One Saturday afternoon a week would do it though, she doesn't have to get a full-time job!

 

5 minutes ago, NJCube said:

As far as the re-entry permit, I was reading that it can take from 6 months to a year processing time and you can't travel while in process so that might not work.

 

No idea where you're reading that, but it's not true. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/B5en.pdf

 

5 minutes ago, NJCube said:

Do you have any idea how long you can hold off on applying for the VISA?   I get the feeling that waiting 4 years would be too much.

 

As I said above, indefinitely. She'd just need to make sure she logged in to CEAC or take another action at least once a year. 

Edited 11 hours ago by appleblossom

[Ontarkie 14,971]

Re-entry permit is the way to go. Do as much as you can that Appleblossom has mentioned. Get her a DL, get her a bank account and apply for re entry right away. She must get her biometrics done before leaving the US so make sure to apply the minute she lands. That plus all the trips home is what she needs to do. 

[OldUser 10,168]

I'd also suggest keeping track of all trips once she becomes LPR. Keep a spreadsheet with dates she enter and leaves the US plus any countries she visits and dates for those trips.

 

This will be needed for N-400.

[NJCube 4]

37 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

It is, again it's a commitment she'd have to make if she did want a green card. If she really wants to keep her LPR status, then records of a job and filing taxes would help if there was every any doubt. One Saturday afternoon a week would do it though, she doesn't have to get a full-time job!

 

 

No idea where you're reading that, but it's not true. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/B5en.pdf

 

 

As I said above, indefinitely. She'd just need to make sure she logged in to CEAC or take another action at least once a year. 

 

Hi,

 

Good point about not needing to have a full time job.  I thought she needed to earn at least $14,500 to file taxes but just read up that you can file regardles.  

 

Thanks for the link.  Looks like you can travel even if your I-131 is still in process.

 

Great to hear about the VISA.   She's going to spend next summer with us so I have to try to time it so it's ready by then.

 

Thanks.

[NJCube 4]

32 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

Re-entry permit is the way to go. Do as much as you can that Appleblossom has mentioned. Get her a DL, get her a bank account and apply for re entry right away. She must get her biometrics done before leaving the US so make sure to apply the minute she lands. That plus all the trips home is what she needs to do. 

 

Thank you.  It looks like it.   As far as the biometrics, you mentioned applying as soon as she lands.   From when I went through the process with my fiance and his Visa, I thought they send you an appointment date for the biometrics.   Its not something you have to apply for.   I could be wrong.  Its been a long time.  

 

Thanks!

31 minutes ago, OldUser said:

I'd also suggest keeping track of all trips once she becomes LPR. Keep a spreadsheet with dates she enter and leaves the US plus any countries she visits and dates for those trips.

 

This will be needed for N-400.

 

That's a very good point also.  Thanks!

[Ontarkie 14,971]

2 hours ago, NJCube said:

 

Thank you.  It looks like it.   As far as the biometrics, you mentioned applying as soon as she lands.   From when I went through the process with my fiance and his Visa, I thought they send you an appointment date for the biometrics.   Its not something you have to apply for.   I could be wrong.  Its been a long time.  

 

Thanks!

 

That's a very good point also.  Thanks!

A little bit different than the fiance visa. Your fiance had to adjust status to get the Green card. Your step daughter will have her green card sent to her automatically the stamp in her passport will be a temporary CG. So she will need to file a re-entry permit and get biometrics done for that.