Withdrawing Pending CR-1

[Turkey 0]

Hi all,
 

U.S. citizen petitioner here. Spouse is a Turkish national. I-130 was filed online in December 2024. No approval of anything yet, no NVC case, no DS-260, and obviously no interview. Just the initial receipt notice. I'm considering withdrawing because we ended up moving to New Zealand together instead, and plan to live here for the foreseeable future. 

Will withdrawing now affect future US visa applications? Also, is it considered a " visa refusal" for immigration purposes?

If anyone has firsthand experience with withdrawing before USCIS approval, would love to hear what your confirmation looked like and whether it affected later filings.

Thank you in advance!

[Crazy Cat 45,306]

8 hours ago, Turkey said:

Will withdrawing now affect future US visa applications? Also, is it considered a " visa refusal" for immigration purposes?

 

1.  You might be asked a question.  Non-issue.

2.  No, it is not a refusal.

[pushbrk 13,801]

9 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

 

1.  You might be asked a question.  Non-issue.

2.  No, it is not a refusal.

Correct, but another option is to let the petition get approved, then just login to the CEAC portal once a year, to keep the approved petition alive, once USCIS has approved it.  This allows you to change your mind later, without refiling and waiting a year for approval.  Nothing negative either way.  Just another option.

[S2N 434]

Agree with pushbrk. Approved I-130s never expire. You just need to pay the visa fee within the first year and log in at least once a year to keep it active.

 

The other recommendation is to send NVC an email once a year after logging in noting that you wish to keep the case open and that the email is a record of contact. You don’t absolutely have to do this part, but it will give you a paper trail in case of any glitches.

 

I’d set a calendar reminder every 6 months and log on just to make sure you don’t accidentally forget.