appleblossom

**Thread Moved, as it's not a CR-1/IR-1 application** There's nothing wrong. Your PD only became current a week ago, so there has been no rush for them to adjudicate your I-130 when there has been no visa available to you since 2023 anyway. Now that it's taken a big jump and your case is current, they should make a decision on it fairly soon. And yes, you have to wait until you get the Welcome Letter before you can proceed and apply for the visa. Good luck.

Which visa category? How long ago were you DQ'ed?

Retrostatic has kindly completed his timeline, which you can see if you click on 'Timeline' under the username. Please 'pay it forward' and complete yours too! Thx.

As above, the visa expires and you have to start again. Keeping the case alive at NVC for years was only possible whilst the case was there, it's too late now. But our point was that if you don't want to subject yourself to the costs of having US LPR and tax obligations, just don't activate the visa. Your choice though - which is why I suggested you take professional tax advice first, to work out the financial implications of being a green card holder if you're living in Oz. If you decide it's going to be too expensive or too onerous, then at least you know and don't become a LPR without doing the research first. FWIW, I agree with the above, the US is the last place I'd go for a quiet peaceful life. Everything is financially driven, everything costs a small fortune, you get far less holiday each year than in other parts of the world, and the stress of needing to fund healthcare is ever present. It's also not a great place to be an immigrant at the moment, and I say that as a white British immigrant - other immigrant friends have had a much tougher time. We plan to be here for another couple of years (staying only for our kids, as they think they want citizenship) and then will give up our GC's and head back to the UK. Another thing to factor is as you're talking about retirement is how you'd fund that in the US. You'd need at least 10 years of SS contributions to get anything back, so if you work in the US for less than that, you'll be paying in to a system and then not getting that money back. And then you'd also have to fund your healthcare yourself - as I said above, ours was $2500ish a month, and that was with us in our 40's. I dread to think what it would be like as we got older! That's another big factor for us, in the UK we don't have to pay anything for healthcare.

Presumably you have experience in caregiving which is why they want you to do it? So make sure you include proof of that, to show it's a genuine job offer and not just one made up by family to get you to the US sooner. Include your resume and pay stubs from previous care jobs, plus anything else relevant.

When you're considering a move to F1 or opting out of the conversion, do factor in past movement as well and don't assume it will be linear. So if you look at F2B today it's October 2012 for her category, so only 18 months until her date. However, it doesn't move like that. If you go back to the October 2020 bulletin, the date then was April 2012, so it's only moved forward 6 months in 5 years. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2021/visa-bulletin-for-october-2020.html

Unfortunately, the time to hold it is when it's still at NVC, before a case is DQ'ed, as then it can be held indefinitely. Once it's DQ'ed and an interview is being scheduled it's too late to pause for long really. You certainly can try the re-entry permit, and it will buy you some time. But if you think your future lies in Australia you may not want to. In terms of taxes, it will depend on your personal situation and also which state you'd be 'resident' in. I'd get really good tax advice because the moment you land and activate that visa, you are a LPR and subject to all US taxation, so you might want to consult a pro first just to double check what your obligations will be. There may be income tax, capital gains tax, potentially exit tax if you decide to give your green card up at a later date. Probably other stuff too that I don't know about - CGT is top of my list at the mo as we're about to sell our UK property! You'll have to file taxes each year, including FBAR (massive penalties if you don't). But you may have nothing to pay (other than a couple of thousand annually for an accountant to file for you), as I said it will depend on your situation so best to get professional advice. You'll certainly need healthcare when you are resident, but again cost will depend on your personal situation. Ours was approx $2500 a month for a family of four when we were self funding if that helps, now we pay about $400 a month as it's subsidised by an employer. Good luck.

Wise words. Tax obligations on LPR's and USC's are very onerous. There's also mandatory registration for selective service, depending on the OP's age.

The NVC timeframes page wouldn't be relevant to K-1's, you don't get the welcome letter etc. Hopefully those with knowledge of how long it's currently taking for K-1's will be able to help, good luck.

I assume she was over 21 when you petitioned her? Has the I-130 been approved yet or are you still waiting for that? DQ is Documentary Qualified - sometimes called Documentary Complete. You'll receive a Welcome Letter from NVC once her PD is current on Table B on the Visa Bulletin You should inform NVC, but whether or not she switches to category F1 is up to you, sometimes people opt out of the conversion as it actually has a longer wait. Once you get closer to a visa becoming available to her, you can see what is happening with each category and then make a decision. Worth noting though, that if she changes from F2B to F1, she can get married and still get a visa (as the child of a LPR, she would have needed to remained unmarried to get one). So if she wishes to do that, that's one good thing from you becoming a citizen - although again it will lengthen her wait if she does.

I thought citizenship in Oz would be part of it. Three years is probably too long, but you can cross that bridge when you come to it. Just make sure that you file a tax return in 2026 (and then every year after that), you get as much sorted as possible in December, and then in June strengthen those ties further with more proof of you making the US your permanent home (even if it won't actually be for a while).

Sounds like a plan, just bear in mind you do need to show you've intended to make the US your permanent home. So get as many ties as you can, and of course, file tax returns! How long do you realistically think you need to be away from the US before you can move?

We’ve all done it, but if you apply then surely you factor that in? It doesn’t normally take several years. And really you should have delayed things at the NVC stage if you couldn’t leave yet. My concern is that you’ll end up risking your LPR status further down the line, and risking a large amount of money too. If you really have no intention of moving for several years, then I’d let the US go and reapply if you decide you’re ready to move in the future. Trying to juggle two houses, two lives, a wife in another country, multiple flights, etc, just wouldn’t be fun. And as you’re an EB applicant then any further career progression would only help any future application, so it’s not as though this is a one time thing you were eligible for.

Apologies, I think it was in the instructions for the form, rather than the form itself. But the first link o gave you is the one you need really, that’s the official info on re-entry permits.

Is this genuinely the only reason? Or are you trying to get citizenship in that country before moving? I’m just struggling to understand why you’ve applied for an employment visa, based on your skills being in the national interest of the US, yet don’t want to go and work there? Surely if you applied for an employment based GC for the US, your plan is to build your career there, not somewhere else? I’d be very careful, as your whole visa is based on your job moving to the US, so I would be wary of using ‘not wanting to abandon your career in another country’ as the reason for your re-entry permit personally. You must have given plans and evidence of your intended career in the US for your petition, so be mindful of potential misrepresentation if anybody might think any of that wasn’t true. Some applicants can have their biometrics reused, but you can’t count on that being the case. My daughter had to redo hers, even though she’d only got her GC a few months before. Honestly, it doesn’t seem as though your two plans are going to come together, if you want to be out of the US for several years then you shouldn’t have applied for the visa yet really. I think you may need to decide where you want to be rather than try and have your cake and eat it too.

**Thread moved to IR-1 forum, as you’ll be applying for IR-1/2 visas**

You don’t usually need to move ahead of your family, just to prove you intend to - proof of property/job searches (you don’t have to actually have them in place), school enquiries etc. The whole process is set out step by step here - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition.html Read it super carefully, no need for a lawyer. That link also gives you the info you need on fees (don’t forget to add in costs of medicals, document fees etc - maybe another $500 per person as a rough guide), the required documents etc. Best of luck.

Fab, was just checking as sometimes people don’t realise they have to wait for payment to clear and wait before proceeding to the next stage. I agree with @JeanneAdil, it may be weekend maintenance so clear cookies etc and try again in the week. Best of luck!

Just to confirm, you’ve had your welcome letter and paid the fees?

How long are you thinking you’ll need to stay out of the US then? Sounds like it could be far too long and you’re almost better off letting the visa go and reapplying a few years down the line if/when you do want to move? Waiting a few months (long enough to get the GC) is a more sensible idea and will allow you to establish more ties before you leave. But your reasons for not moving immediately sound a bit vague, you do need a good reason for having permanent residency but not actually making the US your home. And no, don’t leave it a year before returning, that’s too risky. See this recent thread -

As @OldUser said, why would you trust a random YouTube video over the link I have given you, which is from USCIS and clearly states you can’t leave until you’ve had biometrics done? It also says it on the I-131 application form - “If we require biometrics, the alien must appear for any required biometric services appointment BEFORE they leave the United States.” Plus of course, even if it were allowed then from a practical point of view you may struggle to get back in time - my daughter received notice of her biometrics the day before her appointment (it had been mailed 10 days before). Remember that re-entry permits are for permanent residents who need to leave for an extended period, but you do have to establish that permanent residency first. 3 weeks may not be enough anyway (my daughters biometrics were about 6 weeks after applying for hers), so as I said in my first response I think you may need to plan to stay longer. But whatever time it takes make sure you use it to establish some ties to the US - get yourself a bank account, a phone number, a driving licence etc. Anything to show you do intend to return and have started to make the US your permanent home. You won’t have your GC anyway by that point but should have your SSN and ideally get that first. It’s too late now I know, but just for anybody else reading in the same situation, if you can’t move to the US straight away then just delay things at the NVC stage (where it can be delayed indefinitely) instead until you are in a position to move. What’s your reason for not being able to move straight away? Keep good evidence of that too in case questioned at a later date, i.e. if it’s to care for a terminally ill family member, get a letter from their doctor, if it’s for a critical work project, get evidence from your boss, if it’s to finish a course of study keep academic records, etc. Best of luck.

It would depend on the vaccinations you need. But prices are on their website - https://visamedicals.co.uk/united-states/

Why would CBP and ICE be an issue? As long as they marry, in the US, within the 90 days they've not done anything wrong, it's no different to somebody flying to Vegas for a wedding.

Follow this VJ guide - And the official one - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition.html You can marry and file the paperwork whilst in the US but will then return to Canada for consular processing. You can visit throughout the process though. Good luck.

Oh! Then that’s far and away your easiest route (likely your only route if we’re honest). What’s his status, is he on a work visa or an American?