Niths

3 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

The I-130 would, likely, be approved relatively quickly.  The delay would come between Service Center approval and NVC actions.

Ok, this is making more sense. Do you know how long the I-130 takes to get approved? It's been 6 months since my petition was filed and it has not been approved yet. 

Is this the general outline of process:

1. 1-130 approved by USCIS

2. Service center approval (processing time varies from 29 months to 65 months depending on the center I am assigned to)

3. Petition is transferred to NVC 

4. Wait time of a few years to receive a visa number

5. NVC reaches out with available visa number

6. Immigration process begins (this can take about a year from medical to interview to receiving green card)

7 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

1.  You cannot legally enter the US as a married son/daughter of a Green Card holder via an F2B visa.  Doing so could be seen as fraud causing a host of legal problems for you, and it could prevent you from becoming a US citizen and/or petitioning your spouse.

2.  Your children can be included in the petition.

3 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

There have been cases here where a person was issued the F2B visa while single, then married before entering the US via the visa.  It caused very, very serious consequences. 

If I got married, I likely wouldn't want to move at that point. But also this 8 year wait is a long time so I may not want to move then either, regardless of whether I'm married or not. 

4 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Original Poster

Visa numbers are just now available for those FB petitions filed in late Sep 2015...Roughly 8 years ago.

 

Ok, thank you.

1 minute ago, Niths said:

What does 'OP' stand for? How are you getting this 8 year timeline? Is it based on the service center?

I think I figured out OP stands for 'original post'

1 hour ago, jan22 said:

By the title, this appears to be an F2B case (unmarried, over 21, LPR parent).  If so, depending on the timeline to USCIS approval, the wait at NVC will likely be several years.

 

To the OP -- it will likely take at least 8 years from the date of petition filing before a visa number becones available and you can be ready to start the visa part of the process.  Whether the case is still at USCIS for a few years or moves quickly to NVC, it doesn't matter.  About a year before a visa number is expected to be current (which would be around 2030-2031 unless something changes), you will get a notice from NVC to start paying fees and submitting documents.

What does 'OP' stand for? How are you getting this 8 year timeline? Is it based on the service center?

6 hours ago, nastra30 said:

Op, I assumed she filed online? The receipt with the service center might be under the document section online.

As of today, you'll be waiting 8+ years for your immigrant visa number to be current.

8 years? I have friends that went through the same process (F2B) and had their PR at about the 5 year mark. This is information as of last year. Has the time increased since then?

3 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

As your mother is a legal resident, It is EXTREMELY important that you are unmarried at the time you enter the US in a few years.  

If I do get married, does the petition get cancelled? What if I were to have a child (without getting marrying)?

Hi,

My mom is a permanent resident and she filed an I-130 petition for me on Aug 29, 2022. She received an automated payment confirmation from USCIS that had a case number beginning with IOE attached to it. Is this the receipt number? Since then she has not received any other communication, either by email or mail. From what I have read online, she should have received a physical letter with a receipt number on it a few weeks after filing the petition. Is this an issue and should I contact USCIS to confirm that my petition is on file? From here, does my case still get assigned to a service center, and if so, how do I find out which one it is?

The processing times for a service center - is this the time USCIS takes to approve/deny a petition without the time to complete a medical, attend the interview and receive your permanent residency?

Thank you. 

On 8/27/2021 at 3:09 PM, Kai G. Llewellyn said:

Correct. There is no set duration. It's wholly dependent on the circumstances. If say you activated PR, went back to Canada, started wrapping things up in Canada and setting stuff up in the US, you could probably re-enter the US without much scrutiny even after 6-9 months.

 

If however, you activated PR, then went back to Canada and basically ignored the fact that you had US PR and carried on your life in Canada with no intention of moving to the US, perhaps then CBP could accuse abandonment. Even then, it'd be unlikely unless you had waited a long time to re-enter, and especially if your re-entry appeared more for tourism rather than moving.

 

That being said, the burden on the Government is pretty high to prove abandonment of PR, and despite the 'rule' being that abandonment can happen even after one day, the duration of the absence and the circumstances surrounding it would be the most deciding factor. The reality is that the longer you are outside the US the harder time you have proving that your intention is that the US is or will be your permanent home.

 

As far as I'm aware, charging LPRs with abandonment is 'lowest of the low' priority for CBP and I think they usually only target the most egregious circumstances as those are the ones that are going to stand up to scrutiny by the IJ. I'm talking about the folks that might return to the US for a week once a year, or those who very obviously have their lives in another country.

 

So my thoughts to you is that she'd be fine with having more time after activation, but make sure that she is actively using that time to plan and work towards her move to the US.

Thanks Kai, your answer is very helpful!

1 hour ago, HRQX said:

She should avoid abandoning the LPR status: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-we-grant-your-green-card/maintaining-permanent-residence

You may also lose your permanent resident status by intentionally abandoning it, including but not limited to:

• Moving to another country and intending to live there permanently;
• Declaring yourself a “nonimmigrant” on your U.S. tax returns; or
• Remaining outside of the United States for an extended period of time, unless it’s a temporary absence, as shown by:
  • The reason for your trip;
  • How long you planned to be absent from the United States;
  • Any other circumstances of your absence; and
  • Any events that may have prolonged your absence.

Note that the IV entry will affect her ability to use Canadian healthcare while simultaneously maintaining LPR status:

I didn’t know she’d lose access to healthcare once she gets her LPR. She does not want to abandon the LPR but needs more time than this December to make the move. Which is why she wants to cross the border before December to get the LPR but come back to Canada for some time before permanently moving to the US. I can’t seem to find information on how long this gap can be before losing LPR. Does that mean there is no set duration?

5 minutes ago, Sparkle Sparkle said:

of course...she can take a weekend trip on saturday and be back home in canada by monday

Thanks for the quick reply! If she were to do that, after returning to Canada, how much time will she have before she officially has to move to the US? 

Hi,

My mom has received her US visa and has been given until Dec 6, 2021 to cross the border. When she crosses the border and is allowed to enter as a permanent resident, does she have to start living there? Or can she cross to get the greencard activation started and come back to Canada while planning her official move later down the road?

Thanks.

1 minute ago, SusieQQQ said:

My understanding is that NVC usually warns the applicant that it is up to them to determine if they actually qualify for a visa when adding them back. Just being listed does not mean you get a visa. The CSPA age needs to be under 21 as at the date a visa becomes for you to be eligible. We have sadly seen a number of people here get denied a visa under such circumstances - convinced they would get a visa because they were listed on the application but denied because they had aged out. There are cases where NVC has removed someone in error (turned 21 but still eligible under CSPA) and obviously those people were successful after being reinstated on the case.

Ok, this makes more sense now. You're right, I must have been added back on because I requested it. We really thought it was at the discretion of the visa officer even if I had aged out. Gosh, we were so wrong!

Thanks for your help:)

1 minute ago, SusieQQQ said:

Based purely on the information in that post, and assuming the OP did not unintentionally misrepresent anything, the officer made an error issuing the person the visa. CSPA is embedded in law, it is not discretionary or up to the officer to decide. It is quite possible that the person will get his green card revoked if they look at it again (for example if he applies for naturalization) and they realize it was issued in error. 
 

Are you sure no-one asked to put you back on the case? If a request comes in to do so NVC will follow it regardless of their opinion of the merits. We’ve seen this before. Other than that…then unfortunately yes it may be an error on someone’s part.

When I was removed from the case due to aging out, I think I had reached out to find out if we can appeal/be considered again. So perhaps they did add me back in but the Consulate did not approve my visa. 

When you have seen others request to be added back on the case, what was the outcome of those scenarios?

Thank you!

I came across this post and it was a similar situation to mine. The older son had aged out but was listed in the interview letter and medical. The son showed up and had his visa approved. 

How does this make sense? Is it up to the interviewing officer to decide? The officer said there was no record for me at all so there was nothing they could do. 

47 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

You were included by mistake, probably because you were in the system somewhere. Unfortunately that doesn't mean you get a visa.

Yes I figure it doesn't mean I get a visa. The unfortunate part in this is that they are so reckless with the case management and they probably couldn't care one bit to improve their process. It is what it is and we just have to deal with it. 

Anyway, thanks for all your help! It's been very helpful:)

21 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

No, unfortunately the law is what it is and a lawyer cannot change it.

If you do a Google search for CSPA calculator you will get a hit (I cannot post the url here), fill in the relevant dates and hit “calculate”. (11/01/2018 will be date a visa was available). If the CSPA age is over 21 at the date a visa becomes available, you are ineligible. 

I found the calculator. My CSPA age is 29 which is way over. So it's likely that what happened in my case was an administrative error? Perhaps by NVC?

Just now, Niths said:

Thanks SusieQQQ. Can you let me know how you calculated my CSPA age and what it was? Are there any instances when someone is aged out but can still get the visa by going through a lawyer?

Yes, birth date is Aug 19, 1985

29 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Ok I’ve estimated birth date based on first post as august 1985?. The priority date needs to be current in table  A of the visa bulletin for a visa to be available so in fact it was only current in November 2018, and unfortunately you had already aged out by that stage. I do not know why they asked you to pay fees and be at the interview.

Thanks SusieQQQ. Can you let me know how you calculated my CSPA age and what it was? Are there any instances when someone is aged out but can still get the visa by going through a lawyer?

2 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

No, the approval notice would have come before this.  It is an i797 notice from USCIS (not from NVC)

Thanks.

The approval date was May 6, 2009. 
 

Priority date became current in Apr 2018.

43 minutes ago, arken said:

Ask your uncle about i130 approval notice. NVC sends email regarding payment n processing when one's PD is current or about to be current. The petition could have been approved much earlier.

Ok, thank you, I have asked him and I’m waiting for a reply.

I am attaching an image of the email that was sent to my uncle on Apr 20, 2018. Can you please have a look to see if this could be the approval notice?

26 minutes ago, arken said:

You were 19.5 years in 2005 when i130 was filed? Do you know when was it approved by uscis?

Yes that’s right. Where can I find the date USCIS approved it? I thought when we received the email from NVC, that’s the date we were approved. 

Hi,

I am sharing my experience with the hopes that someone can provide some answers and guidance. 

My uncle (mom's brother) filed a petition for my mom on Feb 28, 2005. At that time I was 19 years, 6 months and 9 days old so I was included in the application. On April 20, 2018, we received an email from the NVC requesting us to pay fees and upload documents to the CEAC. My name was also included as an applicant and we completed the D2-260 and submitted our application on Feb 16, 2019. 

A few months later (maybe around 6 months or so), I logged into CEAC and noticed that my name was no longer in their system. I called NVC and they said that I had aged out so I was removed from the application. I accepted this and moved on. 

On Feb 21, 2020, NVC sent an email to my mom and uncle stating the processing was complete and her application has been forwarded to the US Embassy with the appointment information. At the bottom of the email, I was also listed as an additional applicant. The email said 'Those members of your family, named below, must appear at the Embassy/Consulate General on the appointment date.' I was very confused when I saw this because I thought I had been removed from the application. I contacted the Embassy to find out if I was being considered but they did not give a straight answer. The interview was scheduled for March 27, 2020. My mom called to schedule the medical and the lady said that I am also listed so I need to do my medical as well. At this point, I thought maybe they added me back in because of the CSPA, so I did the medical, police clearance and got ready to go to Montreal for the interview with my mom. However, COVID happened and our interview was cancelled. 

This year, on May 7, 2021, my mom received a brief email (the one she received last year was far more detailed and lengthy) from the Visa Information Service stating that she was scheduled for an interview on June 28, 2021. Again, we paid to do the medical and police clearance and registered on their site where my name was also listed. 

When we arrived at the Embassy yesterday morning, security did not see my name on the list so only my mother went upstairs. I waited about 3 hours for her to wrap up and come downstairs. The outcome - the Embassy said that I am not in their system at all and therefore I am ineligible for a visa. When asked as to why my name was included as an additional applicant, in the medical and registration portal, they had no answer and said it was not from their end. I am baffled as to what happened. I have waited over 2 years for this, and paid for everything twice, only to arrive and have them tell me that I was never in the system in the first place. 

Could this have been an administrative error? Is there any chance I may still qualify under CSPA? I have tried attempting the calculation but I don't think I am doing it right. Should I pursue this with a lawyer? Any advise/information would be super helpful.

As for my mom - she needs to submit my uncle's original birth certificate and then she will get her greencard. It looks like my mom will be getting it shortly.

Thanks in advance!