C56

"Naturalization Before I-130 is approved" Question, please 

I filed I-130 in June 2018 for my 21+ unmarried son ( F2B ) and his 15 years old son Derivative beneficiary.

On July 2020 I became American citizen. 

My case has not been approved yet by USCIS.

I have not notified my new citizenship status to USCIS.

I was hoping that, later, my son could opt out F1 and keep in F2B so he could get his green card sooner.

I have been naturalized before I-130 is approved. 

Unfortunately, I found out today,  that I did lost the original F2B category from the date I filed the I-130 application in June 2018. It will not be possible to opt out from F1 anymore.

Please confirm the above statement.

Will my grandson, the derivative beneficiary in the same I-130, still be eligible to use CSPA protection in case he ages out in F1?

Please reply.

Thanks,

C56

Aaron,

Another piece of information:

When I filed the I-130, F2B petition ,I was LPR .

On June 2020 I was naturalized as American Citizen. 

My petition should be F1 now, but I plan to stay as F2B because it has been faster to get approved (so far has been faster).

I still did not send any notice to USCIS about my new status. I learned that the USCIS would know it automatically, but I plan asking USCIS to retain F2B. 

Any piece of time counts to get the green card sooner before my grandson turns 21 in January 2027.

Thank you for your advice.

Hello Susie,

I am so grateful for your advice.

I am more confident now, having learned your explanations that my grandson will not be aging out during the immigration process. He has just completed 15 years old this month of January 2021.

You did help me a lot understanding the steps of the I-130 process until approval.

I put in writing my understandings. Please be kind enough to check them.

As per Chart A predictions of the Immigration Planner www.immigrationplaner.com/visa-bulletin/all-countries/f2b-predictions/, my son’s PD of June 2018, will be current by September 2023.

Then, NVC would be requesting documents by September 2022:

- September 2022 is one year sooner than September 2023 (when our PD will be current in Chart A).

- September 2022 is also when our PD becomes current in Chart B.

The approval I-130 letter from California Service Center will be sent to me sometime between 40 to 52 months (3 years+4 months to 4 years+4 months) from the receipt date of June 2018. I should be receiving the approval letter any time from October 2021 to October 2022.

In the worst case scenario the I-130 will be approved by October 2022 and USCIS will send it to NVC.

If my I-130 is approved by October 2021, then it will take until September 2022 for NVC to request our documents.

If my I-130 is approved by October 2022, the NVC theoretically would be requesting our documents by September 2022 (before receiving my case from USCIS??).

I understand that the Service Center time range is estimated, and the Visa bulleting dates are prediction dates.

Please let me know if I did learn the lesson!

I thank you very much for your kindness.

Best Regards,

C56  

Thank you Susie ,

Is the 52 weeks (4 years and 4 months) from my priority date June 2018? If it is then by October 2022 I should be receiving my I-130 approved. 

By Oct.2022 the case will be passed to NVC. 

Then I should look to the Visa Bulletin and estimate 1 year before my priority date will be current to submit the documents.

I guess I understood.

Thank you.

C56

Thank you Susie.

Sorry, I am still confused. I thought that when the date of the Bulletin has reached our priority date, it  would mean that a Visa has became available for my son, therefore his I-130 could be approved and our petition would be sent to NVC, consulate, interview....

All I need to know is approximately when I will be receiving a I-130 approved letter! It has been 2 and half years since I first applied. 

I still do not understand the Service Center role, specially when each service Center have different processing times. 

I was planning to observe for more 1 or 2 years the bulletin dates of both F1 and F2B and then decide to update the status with USCIS, or ask to retain the F2B. 

Regarding to the derivative beneficiary, nobody told me. I read about it. 

Thank you very much for your advice. 

C56