CC90

Adjusting from an E3 is generally no different than adjusting from an H-1B. Your employer will need to file an I-140 on your behalf, and depending on your job and education qualifications, you would fit into a certain preference category.

If you have an advanced degree, there should be a visa number available for you (EB2) currently.

What was the official reason for denial?

Interesting answer. You know for a fact that no one has ever been in my situation before? Or somehow they're excluded from this forum?

That's not what I said.

If the responses to your thread are already at completely opposite ends of the spectrum (which they are), you should know that you're not in the right place.

This is not a routine problem, and if you and your wife's future is important to you, you'd be prudent to seek expert help.

I'm quite sure she falls into the "follow to join"/derivative category, the same as if she was added to my file before it was approved. I don't think she needs to leave, I'm pretty sure she can adjust from F1. Isn't that what this forum is about?

From what I read, only J1 doesn't allow derivative status.

You need to get in touch with someone that can help; this forum is not going to provide what you need.

I'm not convinced this is the case... I could be wrong but I think it may be possible for her to get "follow to join" derivative status since you were married before the AoS is approved. Do more research / consult an immigration attorney.

I agree. She may have to leave the US to get an immigrant visa, but I believe that follow-to-join benefits apply.

Your green card is not given at the interview; it comes 2-3 weeks later.

IF you do get approved at the interview (which only happens 50-70% of the time), you can request a stamp for imminent travel (which is not always given as they're trying to phase it out). If you get approved AND get the stamp, you can travel the next day.

However, this is a lot to bet on. I'd be prepared to change your ticket if necessary.

An approved I-130 or other type of petition is required before an I-485 can be processed. Theoretically, they should be filed separately. However, USCIS makes this bureaucratically easy by allowing you to file them to be considered simultaneously. The answer is A.

If you both are going to keep studying, you shouldn't change either of your statuses. If one of you is going to stop studying, you could become an F2 under the person that continues to be in F1 to keep legal status, if you can prove adequate financial means.

Dual National,

That provision doesn't apply because your daughter didn't become a US citizen after she was born. She was a US citizen at birth and therefore you did not acquire her citizenship, simply because she already had it. Getting a CRBA is not the same as getting her citizenship.

In fact, you don't even need a CRBA to get a US passport if you were born overseas. Your proof of citizenship is actually your foreign birth certificate and evidence of a qualifying lineage (eg qualifying parent's passport).

It would be very difficult for India to argue against this, and I believe it's a very common situation, although maybe not to some low level official at an airport.

Your daughter did not acquire US citizenship after she was Indian--simple as that.

Cat is right though; it could cause an issue at every possible point. It's just theory. I had to spend the night right outside Mumbai airport a few years ago for a really trivial issue. That was a lot of fun... And to think if I had kids then!

If you look at the bottom of page 5 of this document (the Indian Citizenship Act), it permits dual nationality until the child obtains "full age", after which 6 months is given to make a choice. I'm not sure what "full age" is in India.

http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/ic_act55.pdf

I'm not sure why this wouldn't apply to the OP.

CC90 - I personally haven't heard of there being anything out there allowing both for a certain time span [similar to one of the first responses to this thread stating a dual-citizenship age-related cut off point: ie, 18 you decide, till then you are "both"?].

The truly sad part is the two of us discussing this is probably on par with what happens at a lot on Indian Missions around the world - lack of consistent information and speculation run rampant as "factual" answers for any NRI, potential tourist to India, or expat trying to get their paperwork straight to live/work/be educated in India. I've tried to navigate the MHA page [Home Affairs located in Delhi] to see if I could find something, anything that could concretely help the OP in his pursuit of making his daughter's travelling a little easier. Immigration [or any official] issues in India are just plain scary - intimidation, abuses, outright graft/bribery. It is something to be avoided if you can.

Definitely. That's exactly the issue. If there's anything good about US bureaucracy, it's typically pretty consistent.

I have US and another nationality by birth (European), and that country is absolutely terrible and is pretty close in the ranks with India on this one. Not surprisingly, that country threatens the entire cohesion of the EU based on its rather horrible civil service system (guessed which it is yet?).

In any case, I know that South Korea permits dual nationality (involuntarily acquired, ie birth) until age 18. A decision has to be made before that point as to which nationality the person wants (with some exceptions). Japan, Singapore, Germany, and I'm pretty sure South Africa (to name a few) have similar systems (Germany is age 23). The child obviously can't make a decision on his/her own at the age of a few months, so it makes sense to have such a system.

I completely agree with what you wrote too - but the exemption IS for involuntary citizenship [exactly as you describe]. My point was a mix - in some cases what seems like a slam-dunk with respect to US citizenship [dad is a USC] is not so [so it could be moot in other cases] but more importantly this OP went ahead and took additional actions to claim the citizenship. There is an intent portion to what the family did that dilutes the involuntary status of the daughter's US citizenship. They actively sought out benefits from the US citizenship - I would guess [and just a guess] if they wanted to find an out based on the involuntary exemption, the act of claiming the US citizenship could be a wrench in the works.

I see what you're saying. Yes, you could possibly be right about the involuntary exemption. I don't know much about Indian nationality law, but this exemption might apply until the child is of age to report a decision to India (like some other posters alluded to).

However, from what I know about certain countries (which is more than what I know about India), "involuntary" consistently means nationality by blood and "voluntarily" means naturalization. This means that simply obtaining proof of your US nationality is very separate from acquiring it, which was involuntary. Even the US (for security clearance purposes) makes a distinction between a person's attempt to obtain proof of or register a foreign nationality that they were "born" with, opposed to naturalizing into it.

India could very well be different, and I'm sure there's case law on the issue.

Many other countries that have an issue with dual nationality have similar provisions. I would guess that such a system would exist because a child theoretically wouldn't be able to visit the US until he/she was of age to renounce US nationality. I don't think India would be ignorant to this potential issue, which doesn't even only apply to the US, and thus perhaps require a decision by a certain age--but allow it until then.

Maybe, maybe not - there are some qualifiers. Biological children of USC can put in a claim for citizenship but they must meet the following:

A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) of the INA provided the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen, is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen, is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.) The U.S. citizen parent must be genetically related to the child to transmit U.S. citizenship.

A decision is then made by the consulate - for many people, this is cut and dry. But, for a few it isn't as simple as "Because my father is a USC...".

You're absolutely right, but that wasn't my point. If the child is indeed a US citizen (and in this case she was), the child's effective date of citizenship acquisition is birth--not the time a CRBA was issued by the consulate. Assuming the child meets the lineage requirements, that child is already a US citizen when born. The consulate simply confirms it by issuing a CRBA; they do not GRANT citizenship since the child IS already a US citizen. If the child does not meet the lineage requirements, the consulate refuses to issue a CRBA since the child is not a US citizen according to US law. The consulate can only make findings of fact which will dictate whether those facts fit the test of law. They don't make a decision as to grant citizenship; the law does that. They just decide if the facts are true/false.

The OCI/PIO would be the way to go in this case. From what I know, they allow the holder almost all the rights in India without having Indian nationality.

However, you shouldn't regret getting a CRBA for your daughter. She was a US citizen at birth, not when you reported it to the consulate. Reporting it just gets proof of it. She would have likely been denied a US visa and told to get a US passport if you had tried because she was already a US citizen.

Incorrect. ASSUMPTION of intent isn't enough to deny. KNOWLEDGE of intent results in definite denial (and in VWP cases, no appeal)

Not quite. Have you read the Matter of Cavazos?

(3) Where a finding of preconceived intent was the only negative factor cited by the immigration judge in denying the respondent's application for adjustment of status as the beneficiary of an approved immediate relative visa petition and no additional adverse matters are apparent in the record, and where significant equities are presented...a grant of adjustment of status is warranted as a matter of discretion.

Re-entering in a shorter time than a year after a 6 month trip (if you do indeed get that time--it's not guaranteed) is a very bad idea, ESPECIALLY with an approved I-130.

When you come the first time, it would be prudent to have a very good and specific reason for staying 6 months. Trying to re-enter after this within a year or so on a B-2 could cause you serious issues.

Sure, come here temporarily, for up to 6 months while you're waiting, but that's all you'll get realistically. Don't do AOS.

You have to keep in mind that the fact you have a visa means nothing. The time you are allowed to stay (UP TO 6 months; not nearly always 6 months) and if you are allowed in are determined at the border.

It says "Fee waiver approved." I would take it at its word.

Medicaid for you could potentially be problematic, but the baby would be in the clear since he/she is American.

You cannot be a green card holder and a USC at the same time.

If she qualified for some type of relief that solidified her citizen status, was naturalized based on a parent, or has US citizenship by birth somehow, she should apply for and receive a Certificate of Citizenship (or Certificate of Naturalization, depending on her circumstances) before you even try to adjust status. Based on what you said, your application will likely be denied as you have no basis to adjust status--or are currently unable to prove it.

He should apply for his SSN at the local SSA office with the EAD card. He will then be given an SSN, which will stay the same even after he gets his green card.

Generally, a citizen or resident of any country is eligible to submit a visa application at any US mission. However, unless that person is a permanent resident of citizen of the country in which he/she is applying, the application is unlikely to be approved under normal circumstances. Since your husband has clearly established domicile in Barbados, it should not affect his application under normal circumstances.

The NVC will forward the petition to the mission that you specifically stated; it does not make the determination for you.

You should also consider that affirmatively quitting and disassociating yourself with the party, contrasted with just letting it lapse can be construed as two different things.

We all could be wrong; there are rarely enough details in a certain person's post that could possibly generate a complete response. But I agree with the above that there certainly is a chance for denial--and that some tend to not read too throughly.

The OP said that the initial application was rejected because her father tried to sign her up: this would mean that she was NOT in the CCP at this time.

Then she stated that she joined and was active for a prolonged period of time rather recently, which suggests that this was completely voluntary, separate from her father's application. This is definitely grounds to deny; careful thought and a heavy review of all relevant details is in order to determine if the level of activity and exact circumstances of CCP membership would be cause for concern.

Seeing this cause serious problems more than a few times, it is not something to play around with if the individual joined themselves, by their own will, and was continually active--regardless of level.

The actress Lucille Ball was a registered communist and she did it to appease her grandfather.

What's your point?

Affiliations with the CCP make you ineligible to adjust status and also inadmissible to the United States. Your involvement has to be involuntary for it not affect you. The burden of proof is on you to describe the involuntary nature of your involvement. If you ever signed any paper indicating your will to join, this is voluntary.

You would be best to consult with a lawyer that has experience in this field. Taking this up on your own could very well leave you expelled from the US.