Vytra

What's a sample letter that I could get written?

We received a letter from the passport agency. One of their requirements is the following:

If your parents were never married to each other, examples of such evidence might include:

➢ A custody decree;

➢ The death certificate of your non-U.S. citizen parent; or

➢ A statement from a competent authority (such as a court or state agency) certifying that your state or

country of birth presumes that you are in the legal custody of your U.S. citizen parent. A letter from an

attorney citing the statute is also acceptable if accompanied by a photocopy of the statute.

My stepchild is from the Philippines. The mother was never married to the father. In the PH, unmarried mothers automatically get sole custody of their child so there is no document so to speak. "Illegitimate children are automatically under the sole custody and parental authority of the mother." What evidence could we provide that meets what they are asking for?

47 minutes ago, arken said:

If your income is low enough, you (not them) qualify for EITC. Of course EITC increases if you have them as dependents on your tax return. 

Yes, but they immigrated in the latter half of the year. The IRS says that they must have lived with you for at least half of the year....I am not sure if this would be an exceptional case since they immigrated in September. 

8 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

Yes you can claim them if they are minors. Presumably you provided over half their support (which the IRS won’t be asking you to prove). And more importantly, there will not be another US tax return filed where another parent will claim the same two kids with the same SSNs. Your return will sail past computer checks.

 

If they are older or married, then other rules may apply. 

Would they still be eligible for the EITC?

12 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I believe you can claim them, as long as no other US taxpayer claims them.  Paging @pushbrk

Nobody else would claim them. We were just unsure because the IRS says, "To be a qualifying child for the EITC, your child must live in the same home as you in the United States for more than half of the tax year" or "Lived with you more than half of 2021 (temporary absences, such as for school, vacation, or medical care, count as time lived in the home)"

Can me and my wife claim them as dependents when we file taxes next year even though they would have lived with us fewer than six months of the year (not by choice, but because they only received their visas in August of this year)? I read that there is supposedly an exemption for greencard holder immigrant children or something like that...

2 minutes ago, Mike E said:

SS cards are supposed to arrive in the mail automatically.  They don’t always.  

Does it matter whether you paid the USCIS immigrant fee or is that unrelated?

Hello,

On the DS-260 form, I answered yes to the question about assigning an SSN and sending a SS card. We did not pay the USCIS immigrant fee because both parents are U.S. citizens and we were advised that it would be unnecessary for them to get a greencard since they de-facto get citizenship automatically - per USCIS: "Children with IR-2 visas that are: under 18 years old automatically acquire U.S. citizenship after admission to the United States if they reside in the United States with their parents."

So, we were wondering if the social security cards will come in the mail automatically. The IR2 immigrant children arrived five days ago. 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

4 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

Don’t detach the visa from the passport. Submit the whole passport 

Aah okay. I hope the person who works at the post office will accept it. We live in a fairly rural part of the country so I assume they don't encounter these situations frequently.

3 hours ago, Mike E said:

1. They are eligible for SS cards based on their endorsed IR2 visas. Try again 

 

2. Apply for their U.S. passports and passport cards using their endorsed IR2 visas, your marriage certificate, and your original evidence of U.S. citizenship: U.S. birth certificate, CRBA, naturalization certificate, certificate of citizenship, 

Don't you need to submit original documents for the passport? So, we would need to detach the IR2 visas from the passport and submit them?

According to the USCIS, 

Children with IR-2 visas that are: under 18 years old automatically acquire U.S. citizenship after admission to the United States if they reside in the United States with their parents.

They arrived to the U.S. a few days ago. My wife and I are both U.S. citizens. We all went to the SSA, but they were unable to issue them social security cards. They said we would need some kind of further evidence. This is important for us because they have just received health insurance (temporarily approved), but we need to submit proof of citizenship and SSNs within three months.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, 

I am trying to register two IR2 visa holders for this. 

They are asking for the following:

1. Valid Passport; - we have this.

2. Valid Visa or Visa Grant Notice; - we have this

3. Valid ID; - can we use the passports? (they are minors aged 14 and 10).

4. Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR for Canada-bound migrants); and - Contract (for EB3 visa). - Visa grant notice (page showing visa class for NZ and Australia bound migrants). - what should we use for the United States? I have heard of the Immigrant Data Summary, but we never received this.

5. Additional requirements for Minor registration (12 and below). - birth certificate; and - biological parent's valid ID. - If not biological parents, submit SPA/notarized authorization letter of proxy other than the biological parents, and proxy's valid ID with photo and signature. - the children are illegitimate so can we only use the mother's valid ID - she is also the petitioner.

Hello everyone,

"Payment for the immigrant fee to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must be made online prior to departure for the U.S. at https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees/uscis-immigrant-fee.  If you move to another address after your arrival, you should update your information at https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAForm.do.  The Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551 or “Green Card”) will be mailed to this address within 45 days upon arrival and will serve as proof of Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status."

We received this message in the email after passing the IR2 interview. However, the USCIS website says that you may pay the fee after arriving to the United States - USCIS - Immigrant Fee - USCIS Immigrant Fee "You may also pay the fee after you arrive in the United States. If you arrive in the United States and haven’t yet paid the USCIS Immigrant Fee, USCIS will send you a payment notice with instructions on paying your fee. You will not receive your Green Card until you have paid the USCIS Immigrant Fee.".

We don't want to pay it because both of the parents (my wife and myself) of the IR2 applicants are U.S. citizens and to our understanding they can directly become citizens while skipping the necessity of receiving a greencard.

In any case, is it true that the USCIS fee must be paid prior to arriving to the U.S.?

4 hours ago, djalexhouse said:

2. ''You must pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after you receive your immigrant visa and before you travel to the United States." 

they recommend to you to do it before traveling . There is no  a penalty for not paying it before their travel, but it does mean that they won't start working on your  green card until payment is made. That is, if you pay it before, as soon as you are admitted to the country your card will already be in process. The wait would be less than arriving in the country and paying the card until then.

 

I hope my answers were of some use to you!

Do they need a greencard if both parents are U.S. citizens? Wouldn't they be eligible for U.S. citizenship immediately?

So to clarify, if we don't pay, they can still travel without any obstruction?

Hello,

My wife's children had their IR2 interviews recently. According to her, everything went well and they will receive their passports in about 1-2 weeks. 

We had originally scheduled the interviews on ustraveldocs.

I had two questions:

1) How will they know when to pick up the passports at the courier address website? When we log in to the ustraveldocs, it doesn't say anything anymore. I think my wife said that they will contact the phone number we provided or something. 

2) "What do I need to do before I travel? You must pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) after you receive your immigrant visa and before you travel to the United States." So, if we do not pay this, will they (the children) be allowed to board a flight to the U.S.? My wife is a U.S. citizen.

Just now, Mike E said:

Well I can believe there countries that require three doses regardless when the second  dose was administered or when the patient last suffered from Covid.  It’s not like Covid policy has ever followed logic or science. 

Correct, there is no logic or science behind this. My fear is if she or my infant daughter test positive since COVID is so rampant nowadays. 

The Philippines has a completely illogical policy:

"Fully vaccinated travellers over the age of 18 who have received the primary series of COVID-19 vaccine and at least 1 COVID-19 booster shot are not required to have a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test result before travelling to the Philippines."

The fact that she just became fully vaccinated is irrelevant to them...

2 hours ago, Hank_ said:

That is correct,  your wife and daughter can obtain the BB stamp in their passports.    

 

Did you complete Report of Birth to the Philippines for your daughter?   She would be a dual citizen, thus can have both U.S. and Philippine passport and would not need the BB stamp.

 

" There's a new Philippines travel update, with some good news! The latest IATF resolution removed several of the requirements for entry into the Philippines - no more RTPCR tests, no more travel insurance, and I have a warning about a new scam related to obtaining the OneHealth Pass! I'll post a link to the new resolution, along with the current list of requirements for entry.  "

 

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2022/05may/20220526-IATF-Resolution-168-RRD.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3IaRqju19ZyzSNJk8Z_W2kgd3rnMcNzrzbOpzTVzYtx4_-6DqD0rrrp0k

 

Yes she is a "former citizen"  ...  Carrying her old Philippine passport will provide evidence of this to obtain the BB stamp

 

Does your wife have her U.S. passport?      (A silly question but asking)

 

My wife does not have a booster dose (she is getting her second primary dose a week from today), so she would still need to get tested. 

She does have her U.S. passport.

We did not complete a Report of Birth. The daughter was born in the United States - does that matter?

Is it a problem that we will be flying using a non-Filipino airline? Where would they get the BB stamp? - from who and where?

6 minutes ago, Lirfita said:

She does not need travel insurance if she is half filipino, tell her to bring her dual citizenship certificate with her. Antigen test 24hrs prior the flight. Booster is not needed. 

She is full Filipino. She received US citizenship this year but still has her Filipino passport. I think she is considered a “former Filipino citizen.”

Hello,

I was wondering if there would be any issues flying to the Philippines from Canada. My wife and daughter plan to fly (they are both U.S. citizens). The reason they are flying from Canada is because we live close to the border and it is more affordable this way.

My wife is a former Filipino citizen so I believe she has Balikbayan privilege and thus does not need to apply for a visa, nor for the daughter since they are flying together. Is this correct?

My wife will only have been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccines and not with the booster so she needs a negative PCR test 48 hours prior to the flight. The daughter is an infant.

Are there any potential issues?

Thanks. Just trying to cover all my bases.

Update:

I spoke to someone finally. They said to just bring the original NVC letter and new CGI letter if we want to come to the latter date (the CGI appointed date). As for the medical exam, we plan to do it 13 days before the interview and they said that was fine as well. 

Thanks everyone for your input.

Update:

I spoke to someone finally. They said to just bring the original NVC letter and new CGI letter if we want to come to the latter date (the CGI appointed date). As for the medical exam, we plan to do it 13 days before the interview and they said that was fine as well. 

Thanks everyone for your input.

Medical Exam Instructions

All immigrant visa applicants, regardless of age, require a medical examination prior to the issuance of a visa. It is your responsibility to schedule a medical exam with St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic two weeks before your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy. 

Does the medical exam have to be taken over two weeks before the interview? Is it okay if it is 12 days? I am trying to figure out how to schedule it best because some flight days are extremely expensive.

15 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

The procedure may have changed since I re-scheduled my interview in 2021, or maybe it's just different for IR1 visa category.  Anyway, when I logged in to my account, there was no option for me to schedule via the portal.  The USEM call center agent I talked to at that time said that was normal for my visa category.  I suggest you keep trying to contact them to verify your interview appointment date listed in their system.

 

I was not able to reach anyone. I kept getting hung up on after 15 minutes. I tried all night.

Pre-Interview checklist

Every applicant must bring the following documents to the immigrant visa interview:

A copy of your NVC interview letter (does not apply to Diversity Visa, fiancé(e), adoptive, or asylee/refugee applicants).

The issue is that my NVC letter has the original interview date. The new one is from ustraveldocs. Which one should I show?