Stand alone I-130 for stepchild(ren)

[beejay 123]

lucy4 - I agree with Kazulie. I think you should think about filing your petition to at least get it approved from your service center and receive a priority date. Then you can take things slower at NVC to control when your daughter would arrive. Here is a thread talking about how that would work. The service center part of this portion is the hardest to predict and timelines can change overnight. It would be easier to keep to your schedule if you can get the more unpredictable part (as far as processing time)at the service center over and done with. But you should do whatever works for your situation

Kazulie - Late April approvals should be coming pretty quickly. Your time will come!

[lucy4 11]

lucy4 - I agree with Kazulie. I think you should think about filing your petition to at least get it approved from your service center and receive a priority date. Then you can take things slower at NVC to control when your daughter would arrive. Here is a thread talking about how that would work. The service center part of this portion is the hardest to predict and timelines can change overnight. It would be easier to keep to your schedule if you can get the more unpredictable part (as far as processing time)at the service center over and done with. But you should do whatever works for your situation

Kazulie - Late April approvals should be coming pretty quickly. Your time will come!

Thanks Beejay and Kazulie. I am going to file, but I just mean I'm gonna take it easy as opposed to rush rush rush and wanting everything yesterday. lol. Thats how all of my USCIS dealings are, unfortunately.

But when I said hold off just for a little bit, I meant that literally. I'm filing next week. I had everything ready to mail last week, but when I had made it to the post office, they closed in my face. Then I realized its probably better. We are actually going on vacation next week, so rather than file and have noa1 sitting in my mailbox, and me checking tracking status and bank acct like a mad woman, I decided to wait til the day we leave or the day before so that noa1 will arrive right around when we return. She isnt going to make it for school or Christmas break, so I dont need to go crazy over it. I will be filing in July though.

My other issue, is that my husband is waiting for his oath letter to become a citizen, so Ive been debating whether I should just wait and let him file for her. I dont think it makes much difference though, so Im not going to wait.

Edited July 20, 2012 by lucy4

[beejay 123]

Thanks Beejay and Kazulie. I am going to file, but I just mean I'm gonna take it easy as opposed to rush rush rush and wanting everything yesterday. lol. Thats how all of my USCIS dealings are, unfortunately.

But when I said hold off just for a little bit, I meant that literally. I'm filing next week. I had everything ready to mail last week, but when I had made it to the post office, they closed in my face. Then I realized its probably better. We are actually going on vacation next week, so rather than file and have noa1 sitting in my mailbox, and me checking tracking status and bank acct like a mad woman, I decided to wait til the day we leave or the day before so that noa1 will arrive right around when we return. She isnt going to make it for school or Christmas break, so I dont need to go crazy over it. I will be filing in July though.

My other issue, is that my husband is waiting for his oath letter to become a citizen, so Ive been debating whether I should just wait and let him file for her. I dont think it makes much difference though, so Im not going to wait.

Gotcha.

For your other concern, we were in the same situation. My husband was going through naturalization when we filed for the kids. There really isn't a reason to wait as you are a USC and she is your immediate relative so having your husband file will just mean waiting until he is naturalized and a later priority date, not faster processing - so I would say go ahead and file for her. But where it does make a difference is that if he is a USC by the time you get to NVC and have to fill out AOS you are waived from proving financial support as his daughter will be considered a USC after she enters the US with her visa. So you will fill out the I-864W and not the I-864. If your husband has already finished his interview and is waiting for his oath letter then it sounds like he will be a citizen before you get to NVC so no need to stretch out filing for that purpose.

When his daughter enters the U.S. she won't have any documentation that she is a USC but you can either fill out the $600 USCIS form to get her a certificate or go to the post office with her birth cert (showing your husband as father) and your husband's naturalization cert to apply for a passport which can/will serve as proof of citizenship.

[beejay 123]

UPDATE.

As suggested by Beejay I also started the above as another thread. Seems no one had such an experience because there's no response so far.

Anyway I received the request for the Affidavit of Support Fee for myself and my son but did not receive any for my daughter. I have taken this to mean that she will not be processed with us and she has been placed in another category and will have a longer wait.

very dissappointed. I wonder what would have happened if we did not request the upgrade.

I'm sorry no one answered your thread. So frustrating. This thread seems to discuss things applicable to your case.

I'm not as familiar with CSPA and family preferences so bear with me - You said your daughter's petition was filed in 2011 and then approved on August 15, 2011, I believe that means that your service center deemed a petitionable relationship but as an F2A she would have to wait for a visa to be available so what was her priority date for that? If it was not yet current, as a relative of an LPR, it sounds like her age would not have been locked and she would have been converted to F2B when she turned 21 and then been F2B when your husband naturalized. In which case she would have converted to a F1 instead of IR with the rest of your family.

This USCIS page might also explain why your daughter's age may not have been 'frozen'. (Scroll to the bottom to 'things to keep in mind')

It sounds like if the other preference category was faster you can "opt-out" of the new pref category USCIS opt out info. But based on the visa bulletin for July opting out would only be helpful if she was in fact an F2A when your husband naturalized...but if USCIS considered her F2A at the time of your husband's naturalization I believe she would have been converted to an IR. The current priority date for F1 is 08July2005 and F2B 01MAY2004.

What a difficult situation to be in. I'm so sorry that a few days changed your situation so dramatically... if this isn't correct though and her priority date became current before she turned 21 then it sounds like USCIS made a mistake.

[beejay 123]

edit for velrich - sorry I was confused about your priority date, it is August 15, 2011 but because they are on 15FEB2010 for F2As it was not "current" when she had her birthday so her under 21 status was not locked and she did transition to F2B when she turned 21 and then to F1 when your husband naturalized.

[lucy4 11]

Gotcha.

For your other concern, we were in the same situation. My husband was going through naturalization when we filed for the kids. There really isn't a reason to wait as you are a USC and she is your immediate relative so having your husband file will just mean waiting until he is naturalized and a later priority date, not faster processing - so I would say go ahead and file for her. But where it does make a difference is that if he is a USC by the time you get to NVC and have to fill out AOS you are waived from proving financial support as his daughter will be considered a USC after she enters the US with her visa. So you will fill out the I-864W and not the I-864. If your husband has already finished his interview and is waiting for his oath letter then it sounds like he will be a citizen before you get to NVC so no need to stretch out filing for that purpose.

When his daughter enters the U.S. she won't have any documentation that she is a USC but you can either fill out the $600 USCIS form to get her a certificate or go to the post office with her birth cert (showing your husband as father) and your husband's naturalization cert to apply for a passport which can/will serve as proof of citizenship.

Thanks, I didnt even realize that about the 864W. That is wonderful. I wish she could skip the medical etc, since Im pretty sure she'd be classified as a derivative citizen once the petition reaches the NVC.

[beejay 123]

Thanks, I didnt even realize that about the 864W. That is wonderful. I wish she could skip the medical etc, since Im pretty sure she'd be classified as a derivative citizen once the petition reaches the NVC.

It is one less thing to worry about

When you reach NVC stage your (step) daughter will still be the immediate relative of a USC (you) so your husband's status won't change her visa category which will be IR2. She cannot 'derive' citizenship from your husband while she is outside of the US - your husband would needed to have been a citizen when she was born and met a 5 year residency requirement as a USC prior to that in order for him to pass on his status to her while she is abroad - in other words for her to qualify for CRBA and to get a US passport. In the case of your daughter and my kids they will have a 'claim' to citizenship through parentage only after they have been admitted to the U.S. on a valid (immigrant) visa.

Because of that we still have to go through all the fun stuff of the I-130 process including embassy interview. I have not heard of the medical being waived but because the AOS has to do with making sure an LPR won't become a public charge once in the US and as your daughter will have claim to citizenship once here and therefore eligible for means tested benefits is why the AOS is waived versus the medical which is about being eligible to be admitted to US i.e. prior to her being a USC, which is why I suspect it will not be waived. I would love to be wrong on being able to skip the medical and I will look into it a little bit but I suspect that because they are dealing with two different things that won't be the case.

It should be noted that if you do not get documentation to prove citizenship of your daughter once admitted to the US and prior to her turning 18 (either by filing the N-600 or applying for a passport) then I believe she will have to apply for her own citizenship (N400) after 5 years of residency (time as LPR prior to turning 18 will count).

Hope that explains it Congrats on your husband getting close to citizenship - it is an exciting thing!

[velrich 50]

edit for velrich - sorry I was confused about your priority date, it is August 15, 2011 but because they are on 15FEB2010 for F2As it was not "current" when she had her birthday so her under 21 status was not locked and she did transition to F2B when she turned 21 and then to F1 when your husband naturalized.

I read the info. thanks.

So when is a person considered to be a citizen? On the day you passed the interview or oath day? I am thinking that if it is interview day then he was a citizen before she turned 21. Or am I clutching at straws here?

[beejay 123]

I read the info. thanks.

So when is a person considered to be a citizen? On the day you passed the interview or oath day? I am thinking that if it is interview day then he was a citizen before she turned 21. Or am I clutching at straws here?

I absolutely understand why you would be clutching at straws.

Unfortunately one is not a citizen until after the oath ceremony when they have their certificate in hand. It's dangerous to identify yourself as a citizen before the oath - so you shouldn't be voting, applying for means tested benefits etc. until after - as doing so can jeopardize your citizenship. (If you remember, the little checklist you fill out on the day of asks a bunch of questions about what the applicant has done during the time between interview and oath ceremony). There was a thread on here a little while ago of someone who applied for job online a few days before his oath ceremony (it was either a job only for USC or he identified as a USC) and it caused major problems and USCIS delayed the ceremony - I think it was delayed not denied as of that point. The applicant did so thinking it was perfectly fine and legal for him to do so but it got him in a world of trouble. I don't know if the OP's spouse ever came back to update the situation but I really hope it got sorted out. I know this doesn't apply to you but claiming to be a USC when you are not is considered one of the biggest and unforgivable crimes in the eyes of USCIS.

[Kazulie 132]

Instead of being approved yesterday, the kids were sent to my local USCIS office for AP. DEVASTATED.

[Country Girl 0]

Hi, I need help pls... I am gettin' confuse about the I-130(for stepchild). The petitioner is my USC husband.What are the requirements cuz the guide here on VJ is for spousal petition.The first step is to fill out I-130 (420$), Copy of the petitoner birth certificate and passport, Copy of the stepchild birth certificate, Copy of Marriage certificate,Copy of divorce decree...that's it?after approval? how about for the AOS?NVC will ask for that later on?and do we stil need to provide pay stubs for the last six months? tnx for any replies

[beejay 123]

Instead of being approved yesterday, the kids were sent to my local USCIS office for AP. DEVASTATED.

Kazulie, I am so sorry. I wish I could say something that would make it better. I know this isn't a comfort but it isn't a denial and the application for now is still in play. If they want to mess around with AP you have a priority date that is going to freeze the kid's ages.

Have you had your I-130 interview or court date?

[Kazulie 132]

Kazulie, I am so sorry. I wish I could say something that would make it better. I know this isn't a comfort but it isn't a denial and the application for now is still in play. If they want to mess around with AP you have a priority date that is going to freeze the kid's ages.

Have you had your I-130 interview or court date?

The kids are only 11 and 14 so not aging out anytime soon but still, we are wasting valuable time. Especially with the older one being high school age!!

Husband has been in AP for over 4 months without a word from immigration. No interview date, nothing. This is EXACTLY what I don't want to happen with the kids. Sigh.

[Kazulie 132]

Hi, I need help pls... I am gettin' confuse about the I-130(for stepchild). The petitioner is my USC husband.What are the requirements cuz the guide here on VJ is for spousal petition.The first step is to fill out I-130 (420$), Copy of the petitoner birth certificate and passport, Copy of the stepchild birth certificate, Copy of Marriage certificate,Copy of divorce decree...that's it?after approval? how about for the AOS?NVC will ask for that later on?and do we stil need to provide pay stubs for the last six months? tnx for any replies

Are the kids in America or their home country. If they are in their home country, they would get their green card automatically when they enter the States. No adjustment of status needed.

Yes, you will need to do the taxes stuff when after their I-130s get approved and get sent to NVC.

[beejay 123]

The kids are only 11 and 14 so not aging out anytime soon but still, we are wasting valuable time. Especially with the older one being high school age!!

Husband has been in AP for over 4 months without a word from immigration. No interview date, nothing. This is EXACTLY what I don't want to happen with the kids. Sigh.

I know the feeling that the kids are aging years in a matter of months It may be they have linked the cases and you won't get a decision on theirs until a decision is made on your husband's. Best case scenario maybe it will force a decision on your husband's case.