can kids come visit as tourist while my petition for them is ongoing?

[klik2chat 0]

hi everyone,

i am feeling desperate whether or not just let them file for a student visa themselves since they already aged out or file for their petiton. i know the best option for them is to work for themselves their filing as student which is costly. as i have known from the web discussions, it will take 12 years for them to wait if i file for them as an LPR.

my question is, for the meantime can they come visit me as tourist? before we decide to whether for me to file the petition for them or them file student visa themselves to come? ? ?

replies are greatly appreciated. . .

thanks to all the VJ'ers and more power!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.

God bless us all!

klik2chat

[-mitch- 3]

hi everyone,

i am feeling desperate whether or not just let them file for a student visa themselves since they already aged out or file for their petiton. i know the best option for them is to work for themselves their filing as student which is costly. as i have known from the web discussions, it will take 12 years for them to wait if i file for them as an LPR.

my question is, for the meantime can they come visit me as tourist? before we decide to whether for me to file the petition for them or them file student visa themselves to come? ? ?

replies are greatly appreciated. . .

thanks to all the VJ'ers and more power!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.

God bless us all!

klik2chat

Anyone no matter who has the right to apply for tourist or visitor's visa but the question is if it is going to approved... as per atty. M Gurfinkel (an immigration lawyer on TV)that everyone can apply as long as they have close family ties from the country of origin and as long as the reason of visit is temporary, as long as you can show strong proofs that they will be going back to their country after the visit then there is no reason not to apply BUT, it all depends on the consule to approve it or deny it.

but if i were you, i will go ahead and file my petition for them... we will not be infront of the line if we will not get in line. i know it will take years and years for the processing of that petition but that 12 years that were talking about will not tick till we submit that I-130 application.

best of luck to you and the rest of your family.

Edited March 18, 2010 by -mitch-

[JordanP 0]

hi everyone,

i am feeling desperate whether or not just let them file for a student visa themselves since they already aged out or file for their petiton. i know the best option for them is to work for themselves their filing as student which is costly. as i have known from the web discussions, it will take 12 years for them to wait if i file for them as an LPR.

my question is, for the meantime can they come visit me as tourist? before we decide to whether for me to file the petition for them or them file student visa themselves to come? ? ?

replies are greatly appreciated. . .

thanks to all the VJ'ers and more power!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.

God bless us all!

klik2chat

I speak only from my experience, so take this with a grain of salt; however, it seems like my experience is similar to the situation your kids are in.

My Dad received LPR status several years ago and petitioned for me almost immediately. The I-130 was approved within about a year but as you say, the waiting time for an actual visa number to become available is significantly longer. During the time I was awaiting a visa number so that I could file my I-485, I visited the U.S. in visitor status numerous times. As a Canadian, it was not necessary to obtain a visitors visa in advance and visitor status was granted at the border (the status was still standard B-2 visitor status, just provisions of the North American Free Trade agreement grant Canadians entrance without obtaining the visa from the consulate). Upon entering the U.S., I was regularly asked if I had intentions to move to the U.S., as entering the U.S. can raise the question of whether or not the foreign national will just stay in the U.S. and not return to their home country. My answer was always "I may move to the U.S. one day, but am not moving today." Showing ties to the foreign country, which the visitor does not intend to abandon, will likely be necessary. A good example of such ties is having a job to return to.

Since I was only coming to visit, and had ties to my home country, I was always allowed to come to visit my family and vacation in the U.S. while the I-130 petition was approved and I was awaiting a visa number. During this time, I had not exhibited an immigrant intent and therefore was admissable in visitor status (my Dad had only petitioned for me to possibly be able to apply for LPR someday, if I so chose to do so. I had filed nothing). After your aged out children file their application for permanent residency once a visa number becomes available, they will not be able to enter the U.S. in any non-immigrant status (visitor or student visas included) until their application is complete.

As for your son or daughter coming to the U.S. as a student, this is possible, but the chance of he or she obtaining a student visa is not 100%, since there is a petition for he or she to apply to become a resident one day. As I mentioned, a student visa is a NON-immigrant visa which does not allow dual intent, meaning the applicant is not supposed to come here as a student with the intention to one day immigrate. From my understanding, there is ambiguity in the law regarding whether or not the I-130 petition indicates that the beneficiary has immigrant intent. I did come in as an F-1 student after my I-130 petition was approved, but before I filed my application to adjust. I also understand that the USCIS and DOS have eased up a bit with regards to F-1 student visas and have been instructed to look at the applicant's (your student son or daughter's) IMMEDIATE intent in coming to the U.S. as an F-1 student. In my case, I intended to come to study in the U.S. and was obtaining an F-1 visa solely for that purpose and this was separate from whether or not I would one day apply for residency (again, as a Canadian, I didn't require a visa in advance and was granted F-1 status at the point of entry; this may have made things easier).

If the visa issuing office to which your son or daughter apply are to grant a student visa, they would first need to determine that his or her purpose for obtaining an F-1 visa is SOLELY to study in the U.S. and not to eventually immigrate to the U.S.. The office would also have to agree that the pending I-130 petition does not indicate that your son or daughter has an intent to immigrate but rather is only a petition filed by you to one day grant them the opportunity to apply for residency IF he or she chooses when a visa number becomes available.

I do not offer this as legal advice and am not an attorney; however, I have been an aged out son of an LPR for many years and have done a lot of research. If I were in your shoes, I would file the petition I-130 as soon as possible; as the sooner you file, the sooner a visa number will become available to your son or daughter (the date should come even closer once you become a naturalized citizen). Based on my experience, if your son or daughter is able to show ties to his or her home country, the pending I-130 should not prohibit he or she from obtaining a visitors visa to visit you in the U.S.. In consulting my attorney prior to coming to the U.S. as a student, I was told my chances of being granted F-1 student status could be around 50/50. Your mileage may vary. And as you said, your child would have to find a school that he or she wants to go to, show sufficient financial means to support himself or herself (either independently or by someone such as yourself if you have the resources, and would need to obtain the necessary paperwork to file for his or her own visa. He or she should also not expect to work while in F-1 student status. There are other rules regarding this you can look into if they decide to come to the U.S. to study.

Just to let you know; as a visa number has become available to me, I have met a woman here, all of my immediate family are still in the U.S., and I am expecting a child with my US citizen fiance; I have chosen to go ahead and take the opportunity to apply for permanent residency based on the petition my father filed that was approved. I hope to be granted permanent residency within a couple of months. Hopefully this info helps you.

Best of luck.