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Your dad's petition took ONLY 1 month to approve? It may not seem a very bad thing, but trust me, you're screwed.

CSPA = Real age - time your petition was pending at CIS

This means that your CSPA is > 21, and the child protection act doesn't apply to you

HOWEVER, I don't know how CSPA applies to derivatives of the beneficiary so you may want to call NVC to confirm.

The reason why so many people get screwed over is because NVC doesn't have enough visas to give out.

The horror stories are true, but the wait times aren't as bad as they used to be. You may also want to look into "V-type non-immigrant visas" for bringing in your wife and kids without having to wait for CIS to approve your i-130 petition. Your kids come with the mother because they're < 21.

The sooner you file, the lesses the wait time. Good luck!

it looks like they deduct from your age the time your petition sat in queue at NVC, so as long as your were under 21 when the petition was filed, you should still be good.

I think you meant "USCIS" and not NVC, and in that case, I'm most definitely <21

It's a shame my "We're professional, we deal with these cases on daily bases" lawyer didn't bring this up during the 4 years my case has been pending

If I understand this correctly, your petitioners are one or both of your parents, who are currently permanent residents. You were in category 2A: children under 21 of permanent residents, and now you are in category 2b: unmarried children [over 21] of permanent residents.

There is no way, without inventing a time machine, to get back into category 2A: you will never be under 21 again.

If your sponsoring parent will become eligible for citizenship sometime in the next few years, you can cut the wait time down by talking them into becoming a naturalized US citizen. That would bump you to preference category 1: Unmarried adult children of US citizens. I don't know what that would do to your wait time but it has to be an improvement.

Perhaps more realistically, take a look at the sticky at the top of this forum:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=110679

The CSPA may be relevant to your situation.

NVC did mention CSPA when I told them that I'm about to turn 24, but I don't know how CSPA works, and how they calculate the new age. Do you happen to know how?

Just when I thought that I was getting somewhere, and NVC keeps telling me that my case is about to become current, I spoke with my lawyer today, and she says that because I've already turned 21 (petition was filed when I was 20), I fell outside preference 2A, and into 2B. If that really is the case, I'd have to wait 4 more years before my case becomes current. In other words, I'd have wait a total of at least 10 years since the petition was filed to get my LPR, and quite frankly, it just isn't worth it.

So if I fell outside of cat. 2A, is there anything I can do to get back in it, or file a different case altogether, to get LPR as fast as possible?

Thoughts/opinions?

Thank you!

thanks for the information. I guess I'll go the CP route if it indeed is the faster way of the two.

to adjust in country, your F1 can't expire, you have to be legal at all times. if you can extend your student visa, then yes you can adjust in country.

but you cannot be undocumented or ilegal not even a day.

you can't file for a work permit either. the work permit is part of the adjustment of status packet and it's filed concurrently with the i485. the adjustment of status will take around 6 months and you must stay legal at all times with your F1 to adjust in country or your GC will be denied.

If you feel you can't do that, then leave before your F1 expires and adjust through consular process.

since you do have a valid SS number, on all your paperwork, you have to write the SS. the number given to you is for life. the card changes, the number is forever.

@aleful:

I know what you're talking about, but should I even bother with 485 at all? I've heard that CP goes faster, but I'm not sure.

make sense, but here comes the confusing part. By the time my case becomes current (march-10, most likely), my F-1 visa is also about to expire. If I file for i-485 in march, what are my choices until my form is approved, to maintain legal status in the country, besides extending my F-1 visa? payxibka already pointed out that I can't be regarded resident without due approval of my 485 filing. Does that mean that I'll have no status in the country whilst I wait for approval by USCIS? (ignoring F-1 extension)

I also plan on filing i-765 so I can get work authorization. I obtained a social security card 2 years ago, but I don't think it's valid for work outside of campus (I'm not sure).

If going the 485 route takes a considerably long time to process, I'll probably stick to the default option of CP.

I'm utterly confused as of now...

Suggestions?

Edit: On USCIS website, they say it's okay to file for i-485, if I am,

"1. Spouse, parent, unmarried son/daughter under age 21 of a U.S. citizen with an approved or concurrently filed Form I-130;

2. Beneficiary of an approved Form I-130 filed by a qualifying relative;

3. Qualifying derivative, family-based beneficiary;"

your I-485 would need to be approved before you would be considered a resident.... If you submit your I-485 then also send in the I-765 which when approved provides you work authorization until your greencard is approved

Thanks for the prompt response. Can I also ask you how long it takes USCIS to approve a i-485 application? Should I wait 2 months for my case to become current or go ahead with the filing now?

based on what eligibility would you be filing AOS

"beneficiary living in the US of a qualifying relative", where my dad (got LPR in 06) is my qualifying relative. My priority date is march-06, and the NVC is currently processing cases from jan06. When I called the NVC last week, they told me that its okay to file for AOS because my case is showing under current, even though an actual visa # is unavailable. Even so, I expect a visa number to become available by no later than march of next year.

While living in the US on a F-1 visa, does it make sense to go through CP to get LPR? I would love to file for AOS, so that I wouldn't have to travel abroad, however, people tell me that filing for i-485 can potentially delay my case. IS that true? Also, after filing for i-485, what would be my status in the country if my f-1 visa is to expire? Would I be regarded as a permanent resident. Would I get work authorization?

Btw, ny priority date is just 2 months away from "current"

Thanks

thanks for all the help. Actually, the first reply was the only useful one.

"L" is another work type visa

Are you sure about that? From what I know, H1B is the only work visa that applies to an international student studying in the States. My question is simply this: would filing H1B affect the i-130 case already on file (and approved)?

He can not apply for a work visa, the Employer does.

Which one?

You're right. But the question was if filing for work visa would in any way affect his current i-130 application.

Which would depend on which work visa was involved. Does it have dual intent?

That would be H1B. I don't how any other visa type would apply.

He can not apply for a work visa, the Employer does.

Which one?

You're right. But the question was if filing for work visa would in any way affect his current i-130 application.

watch the month updates... I believe your son is family preference 2A

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin...letin_4576.html

I'll keep on eye on the bulletin, thanks.

On a different note, would it affect the proceedings if my son is to apply for work visa?

Here is what's up:

- Case type: i130 (dad with PR applies for unmarried son < 21)

- Case applied in march 06.

- Case approved, and the approval notice i-797 received, in Jul-09

- USCIS.org lists the case status as "Post-decision", which is supposedly the final step.

So I called NVC to get an update on the case, but they told me that they're out of visa #'s, and that they are currently processing cases from Jun-06. This means that it's going to take at least 8 months more just to get my case under "current", and who knows if there will be further delays within this period.

Can anyone with knowledge on this matter clarify how the final procedure works, and what would be a realistic wait time?

By the way, the unmarried son, who is now > 21, is currently studying in the US.

Thanks

I don't know about this but in case it's not possible, you can still apply for an intership or a co-op that will allow you to work out of campus...

I guess that's an option too. If I had H1B, would I still be paying full international tuition fees? Someone told me that I won't, and that got me excited. Please clarify. Thanks again.

What if I found a role in a startup company that absolutely needs my services? While my college degree is only 2 years away, it would certainly make my life much easier if I get a valid work permit before I finish my education. Do you think there is a possibility? Will USCIS have issues with the startup company? (we're talking 4-6 employees). Thanks

Visa availabilty is based on you a LRP filing for child under 21 , even though USCIS approved you still have to wait for a visa number to become available. Here is thelink on the visa numbers and a little more info for to read. They are working on cases filed in Jan of 2005 so it looks like another year adn a half.

Visa Bulletin

and 1.5 years is just the bare minimum. Lawyers are good at scamming innocent people. Having paid $1K just to file an application doesn't seem like all worth it. I'm guess it's a 2 year wait from now. Thanks you for answering my questions.

Case background:

U.S permanent resident filing for an unmarried son under 21 (filed in march 2006)

Since then:

An approval notice was received in march of 09 that the case has been approved and moved to NVC.

It's been 3 years since the case was filed. What's the expected wait time now that the case is actually in motion? Is it true that there is still a 3 year wait time like many laywers have told me?

To clarify on some points, I called NVC today. They left me with more questions than answers. According to NVC, and my case was filed in California, they don't have a visa number yet. They also told me that their current processing dates are Dec. 04, really? Firstly, what's a visa number? Secondly, what do they mean that they are processing 04 applications? Please don't tell me I'll be waiting 2 more years just so my processing date becomes current.

Thanks