approved, but...

[shakysgirl 1]

I personally think writing "what the heck are you talking about" was a bit rough- either not replying at all if you aren't sure what the post is referring to or else a more polite "I'm sorry but could you explain in more depth what you are asking" or something similar would have been better.

[rebeccajo 14]

I personally think writing "what the heck are you talking about" was a bit rough- either not replying at all if you aren't sure what the post is referring to or else a more polite "I'm sorry but could you explain in more depth what you are asking" or something similar would have been better.

Oh sorry.

I explained myself once. That SHOULD be good enough, don't you think?

Now how about we get back to the topic.

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

In another post, chromedOut wrote:

yesterday I had my AOS interview for my AOS -- family sponsored preference/unmarried son of citizen -- I filed at the very end of june.

...

well, today, a day after my interview I discovered that a visa will be allocated to me under the upcoming november bulletin. so now I'll wait a few more weeks until I can finally put this behind me and start l i v i n g.

I went to the USCIS website to see if I can't help work out the situation more and it says:

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/child.htm

Definition of a Son or Daughter

An unmarried “son or daughter” is a person who was once a “child” but who is now 21 years of age or older. A “married son or daughter” is a person who has a recognized parent-child relationship, but who is also married, regardless of age.

What Does the Law Say?

The Immigration and Nationality Act is the law that governs the admission of all immigrants to the United States. For the part of the law concerning immigrant status for children, sons, and daughters, please see INA § 202, INA § 203 and INA § 204. The specific eligibility requirements and procedures for qualifying for immigrant visas and permanent residence are included in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 8 CFR § 204.1, 8 CFR § 204.2, 8 CFR § 204.3 , and 8 CFR § 245. [you will need to check the website itself as there's a lot of info to try and link... sorry]

A U.S. citizen’s unmarried, minor child is considered an immediate relative, does not need a visa number, and is eligible to receive an immigrant visa immediately. Otherwise, sons and daughters of U.S. citizens will be eligible for a visa when their priority date is listed on the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3046.html

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First : Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Second : Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent

Residents: 114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, and any unused first preference numbers:

A. Spouses and Children: 77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older): 23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third : Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens: 23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth : Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens: 65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

Information on immigrant visa number

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/immvisa.htm

What is an Immigrant Visa Number?

An immigrant is someone who is not a U.S. citizen but has been authorized to permanently live and work in the United States. If you want to become an immigrant, you must go through a three-step process. First, the USCIS must approve an immigrant petition for you, which is usually filed by an employer or a relative for you. Second, a visa number, through the State Department must be immediately available to you, even if you are already in the United States. If you receive an immigrant visa number, it means that an immigrant visa has been assigned to you. Third, if you are already in the United States, you may apply to adjust to permanent resident status after a visa number becomes available for you. (If you are outside the United States when an immigrant visa number becomes available for you, you must then go to your local U.S. consulate to complete your processing.)

U.S. law limits the number of immigrant visa numbers that are available every year. This means that even if the USCIS approves an immigrant visa petition for you, you may not get an immigrant visa number immediately. In some cases, several years could pass between the time USCIS approves your immigrant visa petition and the State Department gives you an immigrant visa number. In addition, U.S. law also limits the number of immigrant visas available by country. This means you may have to wait longer if you come from a country with a high demand for U.S. immigrant visas.

How Can I Find Out When an Immigrant Visa Number Will Be Available for Me?

Each approved visa petition is placed in chronological order according to the date the visa petitioin was filed. The date the visa petition was filed is known as your priority date. The State Department publishes a bulletin that shows the month and year of the visa petitions they are working on by country and preference category (see eligibility information above). You can estimate of the amount of time it will take to get an immigrant visa number by comparing your priority date with the date listed in the bulletin. For instance, suppose you look under your country and preference category, and see that the State Department is working on applications they received in May 1996. If your priority date is May 1998, then you may have to wait several more years for an immigrant visa number to become available. You may access the State Department Visa Bulletin at the State Department's Website, or you may call the Department of State Visa Office at (202) 663-1541, to learn which priority dates are currently being processed.

Can Anyone Help Me?

If advice is needed, you may contact the USCIS District Office near your home for a list of community-based, non-profit organizations that may be able to assist you in applying for an immigration benefit. Please see our USCIS field offices home page for more information on contacting USCIS offices.

You might also want to know that, on the bulletin page[

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3046.html], it says:

Readers may submit questions regarding Visa Bulletin related items by E-mail at the following address:

VISABULLETIN@STATE.GOV

It seems all you can do right now is wait. I know it sucks, but you seem to have done everything else that has been asked of you, and the rules are that you need a visa number, and as there are only so many allocated at a time, you are now on the list.

Good luck, and I hope that at least something of the above was helpful

Edited October 13, 2006 by WifeOHunkyJohn

[rebeccajo 14]

Well, thanks for researching that, Wifey!

If that is the OP's situation, then I have a question....

What are we talking about here? A visa or Adjustment of Status?

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

I honestly don't know... I thought it was the request for a visa number after approval and why...

but I might be wrong

At least I learned something about the process, right?

[rebeccajo 14]

I honestly don't know... I thought it was the request for a visa number after approval and why...

but I might be wrong

At least I learned something about the process, right?

Yeah! Hopefully we all did cause I've seen the OP on the thread and I guess they aren't coming back to clarify things.

Hey seriously ChromedOut, I couldn't figure out what you were saying. You joined right before you posted and came in here using all kinds of big words I hadn't heard before. Plus it was like 1 in the morning.

Mea culpa?

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

I honestly don't know... I thought it was the request for a visa number after approval and why...

but I might be wrong

At least I learned something about the process, right?

Yeah! Hopefully we all did cause I've seen the OP on the thread and I guess they aren't coming back to clarify things.

Hey seriously ChromedOut, I couldn't figure out what you were saying. You joined right before you posted and came in here using all kinds of big words I hadn't heard before. Plus it was like 1 in the morning.

Mea culpa?

I went back on the website trying to see where it says AOS for this, but the visa number seems to be needed for the approval process, and the AOS must be something else that happens after the visa number is given [like me with my K1 then AOS after fulfilling the K1... I didn't need a visa number to get the K1 but the parent needs the visa number to bring their adult child to the USA...]. So if they are waiting for a visa number, maybe that means it wasn's an AOS but an initial application...???

I think I need to lie down

[diadromous mermaid 36]

I honestly don't know... I thought it was the request for a visa number after approval and why...

but I might be wrong

At least I learned something about the process, right?

Yeah! Hopefully we all did cause I've seen the OP on the thread and I guess they aren't coming back to clarify things.

Hey seriously ChromedOut, I couldn't figure out what you were saying. You joined right before you posted and came in here using all kinds of big words I hadn't heard before. Plus it was like 1 in the morning.

Mea culpa?

This is a simplistic explanation of what is at hand, for those that are a bit confused...

The family preference categories are subject to visa quotas. Typically, a family member sponsors/petitions the alien and when the petition is approved the family member must then still wait until their priority date is current (it's a first in first out system by region that is also subject to a certain number of visas per year). Normally, the alien would wait in the country until a visa was available (that can be sometimes years after the initial petition is approved, per the quota system). However, the regulations do provide an opportunity for an alien to adjust status upon approval of a petition and the availability of a visa, while here in the USA, if perchance it just happens that they are here, and have entered with inspection.

In this case, it appears a little more complex, because chromedOut is already in the USA (albeit an overstay) so he can adjust without returning to his native country. (Well, under another provision of the INA, by paying a fine of $1,000, that is). It is for this reason that he is speaking of both visa and adjustment at the same time. Now he has been allocated avisa, he can now adjust.

Better?

Edited October 13, 2006 by diadromous mermaid

[WifeOHunkyJohn 2]

Oooohhh...

Ok, cool, thanks

[rebeccajo 14]

Better?

Yes much! B) Thanks!

Secondary thought....this $1000 fine provision? Already in place?

Why then is the Dubya going on and on about creating a 'way' for EWI's to stay legally in the US?

Edited October 13, 2006 by rebeccajo

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Better?

Yes much! B) Thanks!

Secondary thought....this $1000 fine provision? Already in place?

Why then is the Dubya going on and on about creating a 'way' for EWI's to stay legally in the US?

This was under INA Section 245(i), which permitted certain aliens that were otherwise ineligible for adjustment to pay a penalty fee for the convenience of adjusting status without leaving the country. The sunset on this was in 2001, if I am correct meaning that it is only available for those 'grandfathered" by that filing date.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/residency/obl25.htm

Edited October 13, 2006 by diadromous mermaid

[rebeccajo 14]

Better?

Yes much! B) Thanks!

Secondary thought....this $1000 fine provision? Already in place?

Why then is the Dubya going on and on about creating a 'way' for EWI's to stay legally in the US?

This was under INA Section 245(i), which permitted certain aliens that were otherwise ineligible for adjustment to pay a penalty fee for the convenience of adjusting status without leaving the country. The sunset on this was in 2001, if I am correct meaning that it is only available for those 'grandfathered" by that filing date.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/residency/obl25.htm

Interesting.

[shakysgirl 1]

I personally think writing "what the heck are you talking about" was a bit rough- either not replying at all if you aren't sure what the post is referring to or else a more polite "I'm sorry but could you explain in more depth what you are asking" or something similar would have been better.

Oh sorry.

I explained myself once. That SHOULD be good enough, don't you think?

Now how about we get back to the topic.

My opinion was based ON your explanation. You were rude- whether intentional or not- and the OP took off because of it. Obviously, your explanation wasn't good enough. It really stinks that people get rude on these sites and scare people off. And then get all sarcastic when someone posts an opinion about it.

[chromedOut 0]

I never "ran off" just sought another accomodating forum as suggested. I guess this, too, is an unofficial "married only" place. I apologized for not properly introducing myself as it would have taken far more time than I was willing to devote in front of the computer late last night. so here's a condensed version, if you will, of my situation:

I came to the states at a very young age with my family as my father was transferred by this job. I believe I was a J-2. I did not arrive here illegally. by the time he was allowed and able to seek permanent residency I was close to aging out as a dependant, and I did about 10 months before a gc was adjudicated to him and the rest of my family. my father then filed an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative form which established by priority date for JAN 01. we were aware that I was going to be considered an "overstay" as soon as my J-2 expired, however the I-130 allowed me to stay in the country with my family until I was able to apply for an adjustment of status (I-485). unfortunately, I was not allowed to work or leave the country as that would automatically trigger a 10 year ban from entering the country.

we -- my father, family and my attorneys -- knew that my best chance was to wait until my father became a u.s citizen so I could be upgrated to a higher family based preference. unfortunately, my father was denied naturalization on his first try due to the fact that he spent 3 DAYS longer outside of the country than he was supposed to. he reapplied as soon as he received that letter and had to go through the entire process again: fees, fingerprints, security checks and worst of all lost of time. the was granted his citizenship at the end of june and we knew that we had less than two days to turn in all of my paperwork before the end of june as the july 06 visa bulletin was indicating that the priority dates were going to be retrogressed and I would, again, be left hanging.

have you guys ever had the experience of gathering all the required documents for an I-485 in a day and a half? trust me, you don't want to live through that. I had to beg the doctor and his entire staff to let me take a chest x-ray as they insisted I had to have a TB skin test (takes 48 hrs. to receive the result -- 48 hrs. that I did not have). I went to a second doctor that let me take a chest x-ray to prove that I was tb negative but then he could not guarantee that I would get my bloodwork back in less than a day. so I went to a third clinic that had a lab on site so I could get my medical sent with my application.

all the hard work and running all over town paid off in that I was finally approved on wednesday, but as I stated I was nailed by the retrogression again.

so if you are ever frustrated by the process I can attest that it works, if you give it time and play by the rules. if one should have a right to be pissed off at the world it is I. I've waited about 7 years to finally be a legal permanent resident after having the rug pulled from under me numerious times.

[rebeccajo 14]

I'm glad you came back and gave your story. Thanks.

It sounds like it was a nightmare! And even though this is mostly a 'married only' place your story - and I'm sure your future input - has a definite place here.

Believe it or not there WAS a somewhat similar story here earlier this year. A young man of british descent left here to visit an ill relative, only to be denied re-entry upon his return. He had lived here virtually all his life as his father had come here on a business visa. The company his father worked for was supposed to process papers for the whole family and it turned out they never did. So our young man was an overstay - he filed a waiver and was denied.

His american wife moved back to the UK with him.

Sorry that I didn't understand what you were talking about last night. Your story is more complex than most of us have read on here.

Thanks for the insight - and please stick around!