I-130 for daughter and son over 21 - questions

[kiwiana 2]

I am not familiar with all the rules etc for applying I-130 for a daughter and son over 21 years old .(I am a US citizen). I believe it takes a long time and have the following questions:

1). My son is single at the moment. I believe it can take approximately 7 years or so for the whole process in that particular category and of course anything could happen in 7 years - concerning marital status.. If he did marry during that time, he would be put into a different category, is that right? ( i think that category takes around 10 years or so?)..

So as an example.. say he had been single for 3 years of the process and then happened to get married. When he is put into the "married" category, Would they put him all the way back to the end of the queue (so to speak) of the 10 years category or would they take into account that he had already waited 3 years and he would only have to wait 7 years of the 10 years category?

2). My daughter is married but is separated. ( One has to be separated 2 years in New Zealand before they can file for divorce). If i applied for her now, would i still have to write her husbands name etc down on the form even though they are no longer together? And like in question 1).. When her status changes from married to single again, would she have to go to the end of the queue for a single person (7 years or so) or would they take into account the time she had already waited in the "married" category and deduct that time from the "single" category?

3). In both 1) and 2).. how do you make any changes to USCIS about single or marital status changes? Do you have to fill out another I-130 form and pay another fee?

I hope my questions make sense, as i am not familiar with the process. I have been through quite a few immigration processes over the years but am a newbie to I-130 and would like to find out what is involved before i go ahead and apply..

Thanking you all in advance for any help given....

[cerebus407 16]

1)As a single adult child of a US citizen, your son would be petitioned in category F1. If he married, he would be moved into category F3. There is a time difference between the two. According to the Mar. 2013 Visa Bulletin, applicants from NZ petitioned in F1 category on or before 15 Feb. 2006 are being process. Applicants from NZ in F3 category petitioned on or before 15 July 2002 are being processed so there is approx. 4 year difference in wait if he married.

When you file the I-130, you are given a "priority date" on the date the application is filed. This filing date determines the wait. So if you filed for your son today, his "priority date" would be 24 Feb. 2013 and he would need to wait until his petition became current before he would be processed for a visa (approx. 6-7 years for F1; approx 9-10 years for F3).

2) Regarding your daughter, she is married until she is not married. Her priority date will remain the same regardless. Once divorced, she would move from F3 to F1 category. You may want to investigate a U.S. divorce since that is acceptable to US authorities.

3) If their status changes, you would notify USCIS and/or the State Department. It depends where the case currently is for processing.

I hope that helps!

[kiwiana 2]

Thank you cerebus407 so much! So regardless of whether they have to change from F1 to F3 category,(or vice versa), the priority date remains the same.... Another question that i forgot to ask....Is can they still apply/enter for the diversity lottery as well as having a I-130 filed?

1)As a single adult child of a US citizen, your son would be petitioned in category F1. If he married, he would be moved into category F3. There is a time difference between the two. According to the Mar. 2013 Visa Bulletin, applicants from NZ petitioned in F1 category on or before 15 Feb. 2006 are being process. Applicants from NZ in F3 category petitioned on or before 15 July 2002 are being processed so there is approx. 4 year difference in wait if he married.

When you file the I-130, you are given a "priority date" on the date the application is filed. This filing date determines the wait. So if you filed for your son today, his "priority date" would be 24 Feb. 2013 and he would need to wait until his petition became current before he would be processed for a visa (approx. 6-7 years for F1; approx 9-10 years for F3).

2) Regarding your daughter, she is married until she is not married. Her priority date will remain the same regardless. Once divorced, she would move from F3 to F1 category. You may want to investigate a U.S. divorce since that is acceptable to US authorities.

3) If their status changes, you would notify USCIS and/or the State Department. It depends where the case currently is for processing.

I hope that helps!