K2 adjustment

[spmalone 0]

I was wondering if there has been problems with K-2's getting their green card when the parents married after the K2 turned 18. In the adjustment laws the word "minor child" is used but is not defined. My K-2 has been denied because I married her mother when the K2 was 18. My K-2 is getting very close to 21 now. The worry is that she could age out before the mess is cleared up. I would love to here about cases where the k2 was 18 or older when the parents got married and got their green card. The more recent the better. The lawyers are working the issue and I have hope that things well still workout. However, it may help to know that most of the nation is allowing for K2's to adjust if their parents married after turning 18. I have received some very good information which all points to that the word means under 21, but as yet have not been able to get the green card. Thank you for your information

[perfect 39]

Best person to give you all the correct information about this is poor Girona who has been going through this for over 2 years and must by now be somewhat of an expert for VJ in this area. It seems to be somewhat subjective depending upon which office you are dealing with.

[SVFD631 0]

Hi Spalome! I wish I could answer your question but I would like to know myself. I just applied for my daughter's AOS 2 weeks ago and she will be 21 in August so I am worried about how things will go. They have signed for her AOS but not yet cashed the checks - I am really worried because she not only turns 21 in August but also her K-2 was going to expire August 28th and the only reason we waited is because she was unsure whether or not she wanted to stay. Of course she decided to stay so we will see how it goes.

As for the 18 years old thing, I have heard that as long as you apply for AOS by 21, your (well...I won't say okay)..but that you can apply so I don't know where the 18 thing comes from......

I will be interested to see how it all turns out.

Good luck,

Julie

[Girona40 0]

K-2 adjustment requirements seems to be something the USCIS cannot always get to grips with. There is a case at the moment where a K-2's mother didn't marry the USC until after she was 18 and they are in Court right now arguing that she should be able to adjust status. The USCIS are arguing that the step-parent relationship was not formed prior to the child turning 18. This is not required for a K-2, but other visas do require that the parent and USC marry before the child turns 18. They are applying requirements of "immigrant visa holders" to "non-immigrant visa holders". It makes no sense. I will let you know how it works out for this particular family, as soon as we hear. My husband keeps in touch with the USC step-father and that poor man is worried sick.

My son applied for AOS when he was 20 - he had good time to adjust, but the USCIS didn't get his interview scheduled until he was over 21 and that is the first time we ever heard the term "age out".

My husband knows the INA inside out now - he has researched and researched and we have had meetings with various people at the USCIS, including the District Director at Washington DC, who cannot show us anywhere where it says a K-2 has to be under 21 at the time of adjustment, only at the time they enter the US.

As we, and our attorney, see it - a K-2 is issued to the child of a K-1, so long as they are under 21 and unmarried. Then when they get here and apply for AOS the only requirement they need to meet is that they ENTERED the US before they turned 21 and that they are still unmarried and that the K-1 parent marries the original petitioner within 90 days. That is it. That is all that is required.

But, the USCIS seem to be hung up on the "minor child" bit and don't seem to know when it applies.

There is another case at the moment where a child came in (under 21 and unmarried) and the K-1 did not marry the original petitioner until after the child entered the US, but still within the required 90 days. They too are eligible for adjustment under the INA and CFR.

This particular section is a mess and needs clarification by the USCIS because I see more and more people in this situation, being denied when they should be approved.

Our case, at the moment, is heading up to the Administrative Appeals Office because the District Director and her Supervisor of Adjudications could not show us, at our meeting, where in the INA it says K-2's have to be under 21 at the time of adjustment, only when they get their visa and when they enter do they have to be a "child" by their definition.

There are several cases where AOS has been granted to a K-2 whose parent and the USC married after the child turned 18 and they are entitled to adjust status. My son would have had no problem adjusting status if they had interviewed him prior to his 21st birthday. His case should have been expedited because we told them his age when we filed for AOS, but they didn't follow their own Standard Operating Procedures.

If I can be of any further help, please PM me - I don't think you will have a problem though.

Glenys

Oh, and Julie, don't just let them sit on your application. Chase them up and find out when the interview is likely to be scheduled. Make an infopass appointment if you haven't heard anything by the end of March. If they don't schedule the interview before your daughter turns 21 then you are going to be in the same predicament as us, and I would hate that to happen to anyone. It took them 10 months to schedule my son's interview - don't let it slide, they need to be expediting your case.

I was wondering if there has been problems with K-2's getting their green card when the parents married after the K2 turned 18. In the adjustment laws the word "minor child" is used but is not defined. My K-2 has been denied because I married her mother when the K2 was 18. My K-2 is getting very close to 21 now. The worry is that she could age out before the mess is cleared up. I would love to here about cases where the k2 was 18 or older when the parents got married and got their green card. The more recent the better. The lawyers are working the issue and I have hope that things well still workout. However, it may help to know that most of the nation is allowing for K2's to adjust if their parents married after turning 18. I have received some very good information which all points to that the word means under 21, but as yet have not been able to get the green card. Thank you for your information

I just realised that YOU are the guy that my husband has been in contact with. I thought this case was in Court now. Have they still not decided? I truly feel for you - this must have been a complete nightmare for you and it isn't right. Your daughter has every right to adjust status and I know, believe you me, how frustrating it is when they don't seem to know how to apply their own rules.

Good Luck - Let us know how it works out.

G.

[pj1959us 0]

David (K-1) and Chris (K-2) arrived here in August 2004, when Chris was 19 and applied for AOS in October 2004. According to the Chicago D.O. processing times then, he was going to be over 21 by the time the AOS interview would take place...however, I was aware of this situation before they even arrived here and knew to do what I could to take care of it (and also put in BIG RED BOLD letters all over the AOS application about the age-out when we originally submitted it).

On your local D.O. information page under the USCIS website, there should be a section regarding "age-outs" and an address to notify beforehand and when. In our case, they wanted notified 6 months before Chris was to turn 21 years old at a specific address. I also involved our local Congressman around this same timeframe, whose aid was very beneficial ensuring that the case was fast-tracked.

We were lucky enough to have the AOS interview in August 2005, well before Chris turned 21. We had no problems adjusting the K-2's status at all. The I-129F clearly states that the K-2 is issued to the child as long as they are unmarried and under 21, and as long as they enter the US before 21 and the K-1 marries before the 90 days, there should be no issue (operative word: should) adjusting status. It is the I-130 (not used for K-1/K-2) that stipulates the marriage must take place to the stepparent before the child turns 18.

I read someone's post on another forum that had submitted an I-130 with their I-485 AOS petition in error (they were adjusting from K-1/K-2). It apparently caused a huge hassle because of this, I guess since an assumption was made that it was a marriage-based AOS instead of fiance-based, and the disparity in paperwork caused all sorts of confusion. It is still not resolved. Be sure that an I-130 wasn't submitted, because it makes no sense you are being told that there is a problem (as a K-1/K-2) because the marriage wasn't before the child was 18...that sounds like there is an assumption this is a marriage-based case (K-3/K-4, for example), instead of fiance-based (K-1/K-2).

Best of luck to you, and the rest, that are going through this quagmire.

Edited February 25, 2006 by pj1959us