jan22

Just to clarify -- NVC has no decision-making role in any part of the process. I'm sure that they said they would seek a decision from the State Department (or Bureau of Consular Affairs). The dilemma is, obviously, a visa should not be issued with a known-to-be incorrect birth date. But, to issue the visa with the newly-established correct birth date would conflict with all of the USCIS records. I don't know, but I suspect the visa will need to be issued with the correct birth date.

The first step in scheduling an expedited visa appointment, which I believe you have already done for the brother, is scheduling a regular appointment. The steps after that are outlined on the embassy's website at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/do/en/expedited-appointment/ . They list recommended documentation for a medical emergency appointment, but what you will need to submit will be slightly different. You will need to, of course, document the seriousness of your husband's condition including the very short timeline that you are facing. The other difference will be the documentation of paymment of the medical expenses. You will not need to document how all of the medical bills for your husband will be paid. Rather, you will document how the payment for the visa applicant's (his brother or whoever is applying for the visa) part in the process will be paid, i.e., how the testing and surgery for that individual will be paid by your husband's insurance. It would also be good to provide a little documentation or description of searches that have been done to find a donor already in the US. The Embassy will also likely want some documentation of the probability that the person seeking the visa will, in fact, be a match. They are not likely to approve a series of expedited appointments for various family members to find a match, for example. I would urge you to investigate all possibilities of getting testing done prior to the visa application to ensure there is the highest probability that a match will be possible. There might be more possibilities for testing in the DR then you're aware of, or there might be a way to get the samples to be tested drawn in the DR and sent to the US for testing. The medical offices dealing with International Services should certainly be able to help you with that information. I'm sorry you and your family are going through this and wish you the best.

How long did it take for USCIS to approve the petition filed by your grandfather for your mother? Depending on how long that took, your brother may or may not have aged out of being a derivative on that petition for your mother. Worth checking to see if his CSPA age is under 21. If your mother files a new I-130 for him after she enters as an LPR, it will be at least 10 years before a visa number will be available and he can apply for the visa. The current Priority Date (PD) for that category is 22 September 2015 -- so people who filed eight years ago are just now being processed for visas. The PD for the category does not advance a full year during any calendar year, so people filing now will be waiting more than 8 years. It's a guess, but I would think 10-12 years is a reasonable guess. And, of course, he needs to remain unmarried.

And, i belIeve her entering on a parent visa (IR-5) will also close out the opportunity of her son being a derivative on the petition your grandfather filed. He cannot be a derivative if there is no longer a principal applicant. Your mother will have to start fresh and file a new I-130 for her son (your brother) after she enters the US as an LPR. Is your mother married or unmarried? If unmarried and your grandfather filed for his unmarried daughter over 21 in 2013 (i.e., 10 years ago), her priority date is current and that visa could be processed and her son could come with her or follow her as a derivative. How old is your brother? If your brother has aged out, and would no longer qualify as a derivative, it doesn't matter what visa your mother uses to enter the US -- it would require a new petition.

Assuming you applied for the immigrant visa to bring your son to the US to live with you in your physical custody, under the Child Citizenship Act, he will become a US citizen immediately after being admitted to the US as a resident. So, yes, he will qualify for you to submit the I-864w.

Hmmmm. It is actually difficult for an error in validity to occur in the passport processing system. Have you gotten the envelope with the documentation submitted with the application back (it is sent separately from the passport)? I suspect there might have been some issue with proof of identity or citizenship that was submitted --maybe it was a copy and they needed an original, or it was difficult to read, or unclear name documentation (identity documents and citizenship documents in different names, with no documentation of the difference such as a marriage certificate), or something else -- and they want additional/original proof submitted. It was sufficient for them to believe her identity and that she is a US citizen, but insufficient for required documentation, so they ussued the limited vaIidity passport rather tban a denial. If so, she should receive some information on how to submit what they need and the passport will be reissued or amended to full validity.

Because a country is smaller, it doesn't mean they will be faster. Smaller countries with fewer cases also have less staff to process those cases (i.e., the level of consular staffing depends on the consular workload of the country). Plus, Djibouti's case load is larger than you might think, as it is the designated processing post for YemenI citizens since the Embassy in Sanaa closed. Hopefully, they will process your case rapidly.

Were the passport applications submitted in the US or at an Embassy/Consulate overseas? Was this a renewal or a first-time passport application?

Not to be negative -- but if you've completed 70% of the HHR (almost 17 months?), you're likely to actually finish the two years before you could submit and get a waiver approved!

In the US justice system, if you were adjudicated guilty, you were convicted. It likely doesn't rise to an inadmissibility for a visa, but a conviction, non-the-less.

As I said earlier, I am unaware of any procedure to repay the cost of a J-1 program. Having such a procedure would actually negate the basic purpose of the J-1 visa program, which is designed to be an exchange program visa -- you bring knowledge/culture/experiences from your home country to the US and take back knowledge/culture/experiences from the US, hopefully leading to better cross-cultural understandings. If the J-1 visa holder doesnt go/take anything back to their home country, the "exchange" portion of the equation is lost. For a short prorated such as yours, you might (emphasis on the "might") get a hardship waiver approved. Good luck!

Usually unlikely, but not impossible. How long was the J-1 progam?

When US government funds are used to fund a J-1, the individual almost never gets a waiver of the two year home residency requirement. I am unaware of any portion of the law/regulations that allow a person to repay government funds spent in support of a J-1 in order to avoid the waiver process -- but, who knows, there may be some legal precedent out there somewhere. I would require the lawyer to provide evidence of the case he referred to, citing the specific area of the law or legal argument that allowed it to be approved. Without that information, I would drop this lawyer immediately.

If your native language is one of the official languages of the country where the interview occurs, it can be in that language. If not, it may or may not be possible -- totally depends on whether there is an officer at post who speaks your particular language.

Are they your biological or adopted children, or are they your step-children? If they are your biological or adopted children, they will acquire US citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act when they enter the US to live with you using their IR-2 visas. You can file the I-864w for them. If they are your step-children, they will not acquire US citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act and you cannot use the I-864w for them.