AAnil

One of the documents for US passport is the proof of Citizenship. What did you provide as proof of citizenship for the IR2 beneficiary?

Thanks.

Anil 

Not paying would be against what has been communicated to me after the IR2 interview. What would be my basis for not paying? Is there any link on USCIS that says IR2 does not have to pay. As far as what I see on the USCIS portal, all it says is
You do not have to pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee for:

Children who enter the United States under the orphan or Hague adoption programs;
Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants;
Returning lawful permanent residents (SB-1s); and
K nonimmigrants

Here's my educated guess. Since IR2 is for under 18 years of age, maybe an IR2 in itself does not imply the beneficiary would want to become an US Citizen. Therefore, you need to get a Green Card. And if the IR2 decides to be a US Citizen, they he or she applies for a US passport and/or N600. 

HOWEVER, if the IR2 is clear that he would want to become a US citizen after entering the US, then I don't see the need for the Green Card.  Again, this is just my reading or educated guess of the implications of U.S. Child Citizenship Act (CCA) on IR2. Now what would be really good is if there was a more sound way to confirm what I am thinking it might be. I would appreciate it if someone can direct me to an authentic source.

Thanks.

Anil

hi All,

Here's a situation. I have an upcoming visa appointment for IR2 visa. The IR2 visa beneficiary is above 17 but under 18. my questions,

Since the beneficiary is 17, Is the beneficiary (IR2) expected to go to the interview by himself? or is it expected that one of the parent would escort the beneficiary for the interview? Will the consular officer ask questions mostly to the beneficiary or to the parent?

thanks.

Anil 

since I got only one response, I guess I ought to try rephrasing my earlier question.

are there times when the NVC initiates an expedited request? i mean without the petitioner raising an expedited request. for example, let's say if the NVC determines that a beneficiary is soon to be 18 and might loose the benefit of the CCA act, does the NVC raise an expedited request for that case?

thanks.

Anil

Thank you. I got that part. My question is related to the NVC email titled "case has been expedited due to child citizen act of 2000"  and what does it mean to the petitioner (a US citizen) having a documentarily approved case (at the NVC) for a child under 18?

Anil

Can someone explain to me what does it mean to get an NVC email titled "case has been expedited due to child citizen act of 2000" ? Does that imply the NVC has expedited the case on behalf of the petitioner or does it mean that the petitioner is expected to raise an expedited request on the basis of "child less than a year from losing eligibility as per child citizen act of 2000" 

Since the email does not specifically tell to raise an expedited request, let's assume the NVC has done it for you. In that case, how long would it be before one can expect a visa appointment (at Mumbai)? 

Thanks.

Anil 

My family was in the same situation earlier this year. They did not have any issues/questioning when they were here to visit me for 3 months (while still awaiting NVC processing). Just for my own comfort and peace of mind, I did give them a letter to carry. It was a letter I wrote addressed to the CBP officer. In the letter I explained the situation and attempted to help the officer understand the intent was only a short visit. In addition, I ensured that my family knew everything about the process so that they can convince the officer that there is absolutely no motive to violate any B1/B2 restrictions. And in fact there were every reason to return to host country.

In theory, the CBP officer can deny entry, but for most part they are reasonable and will accommodate genuine cases. I think they have many years of experience and over the years see many travelers with all sort of intent. So, they have pretty good instincts to identify a genuine case. 

I am sure it will all be fine. I wish you quality time with your husband and a very happy thanksgiving.

Anil

Not very significant. The updates coming from the NVC and US Consulate in Mumbai are very confusing to understand. As per the visa issuance monthly stats, the Consulate is indeed issuing IR visas. However, the NVC customer service (as of last week) continues to tell that the consulate is closed for new appointments. In which case, one has to assume that they are working on backlog and not giving "new appointments". But then there is no clarity as to what constitutes 'backlog'. In theory, everything pending till yesterday could be considered backlog. 

In short, very little updates, and the wait is very frustrating. However, frustration is not a good feeling. So it helps me to be mindful that in the large scheme of things, my situation is not so bad. There are several others who are heavily impacted from the covid situation, and their situation is a lot worst than mine. 

I wish you good luck.

Anil

Yes I did file only an I-130 seeking a visa to be issued at a US Consulate abroad.

Yes, I am going to send a message to USCIS to find out which center is assigned. I was just curious what is this National Benefits Center about? 

Thanks for your response.

Anil

Interesting I did not see any response. I presume that NBC must be something new. I am not sure if it is indeed a USCIS processing center. Just like the ones listed in the drop down box for the I-130 processing times. The drop down box for the I-130 case processing times has only  California, Texas, Nebraska, Potomac, and Vermont. Clearly NBC does not show up as one of the centers in the drop down (for I-130 case processing times).

It implies that either NBC is not a USCIS processing center but only a place to collect applications, or it might mean the USCIS portal is not updated, or maybe there is more to it. I was hoping that someone would have had an experience with the NBC and can help me understand what it is.

Thanks.

Anil 

The receipt after filing the I-130 application (IR1 type) says its from the National Benefits Center (NBC). Is the NBC only the central point of contact before the application gets routed to one of the USCIS processing centers: California, Texas, Nebraska, Potomac, and Vermont. Or is NBC also one of the USCIS processing center? if so, it does not show up as one of the centers for I-130 case processing times. Could someone please explain to me what is NBC really?

Thanks.

Anil

I am filing online I-130 for my spouse. I provided the details and relevant documents as per the prompts. However, I did not encounter any prompt asking me to upload my spouse birth certificate. I thought that the birth certificate of the beneficiary is one of the important documents when filing I-130. Any idea what I may have missed or overlooked? 

Thanks.

Anil 

Thank you. Which IR visa have you applied? In which month did you get DQed at the NVC?

It sounds like my best bet is to continue to wait for the IR2 visa interview and hope (or pray) that it is not going to be year from now. 

For someone who is on the borderline, I wish they accommodated it as an expedited case (at an appropriate time). I also wish that there was some more recognition for the implications of the extended period of separation of families of US Citizens. I guess we are too small of a number to make a persuasive case for increasing the priority. 

As they say, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And that's what I am trying to do my best. 

Thanks for clarifying my doubts.

Anil

since it has been about 9 months that we are awaiting interview date for IR2, my concern is what happens if we end up waiting one more year. in one more year, the beneficiary will be 18. does that mean he no longer qualifies for becoming a citizen upon entry into the US? 

Thanks.

Anil

this is IR2 visa for my son (not stepchild). He is under 18, so he will become a US citizen upon entering the US. He has been in the US for about 3 months.

It has been over 9 months I am awaiting interview date for IR2 visa for my beneficiary. The beneficiary is already in the US (non-immigrant visa) for a few months. As per the process in the works, when notified of a interview date, the beneficiary would return to the host country. The rate at which things are moving, its all uncertain when we can expect the IR2 visa interview. Is it possible to opt for the AOS by filing I485 in the US? 

Thanks.

Anil 

I have been monitoring this portal for the IR categories interviews since August 2021. I have seen very few (less than 5 I think) IR interviews since August. So I am really not sure what's going on in Mumbai. I did find out through other groups that some (IR category) who got DQed In Oct 2020 did get an interview date in Sep 2021. But then there is no clear pattern of how it is progressing. Neither the NVC nor Mumbai Consulate is sharing any details about the visas issuance. In fact they are getting so many calls that they give a very generic response. 

It's really hard to make any sense of what's the strategy of the IR interview dates. 

All I can say is that I have seen many unfortunate cases since the pandemic. So, if all I have to put up is some more waiting time, I am sort of getting okay with it 🙂

Anil

Also, is Oct 2020 for your I130 approval or is it when you got documentarily qualified with the NVC?

What is the visa type you are awaiting your appointment?

Anil

Thanks for the update. Since I had not seen many post interview dates (for IR visa) in Sep and Oct (this month), I wasn't sure if the Consulate in Mumbai is giving appointments for IR visas. Then some people told me that they are not giving new appointments, but giving only to those whose got cancelled. 

I presume yours was not a cancelled case. 

On your question, it is my logical deduction that the consulate is asking for your daughter's I-130 approval. The reason I deduce that because from what I understand, in consular processing there are only two steps: 1. Approved I-130 2. Completing the NVC documents 
What is really odd is that the required NVC documents (for your wife's case) were not specific to your case. I mean if your daughter's I-130 approval was a pre-req prior to issuing her IR1 visa, then it should have been one of the documents requested by the NVC. 

Well, I am not a lawyer, so I don't know the nuances of the visa issuance process. But from what you are describing, the light is at the end of the tunnel. It might be some wait time, but there are no signs for any show stoppers.

All the best for your case.

Anil

in which year and month did your wife get documentarily qualified at NVC?

Thanks.

Anil

I have been monitoring the IR visa appointments (posted in visajourney.com) for the US Consulate in Mumbai. I saw that there were very little in August and even fewer in September. Is the Mumbai consulate processing extremely few cases of IR visas or is it just not happening and the only cases being considered as those cancelled during April/May 2021? Any idea of what's going on with IR visas in Mumbai?

Anil