Returning Resident Visa Denied, Have to Re-Apply for IR-1 Visa

[Ms. Curious 0]

Any advice, suggestions, comments are appreciated for our situation.

My wife and I left the US for a short visit to Singapore. We expected to return in 3 months. However, we found out that my wife was pregnant during our time abroad. We had been trying to have children for a while so we were overjoyed with the good news. We extended our itinerary to 6 months. However, after many doctors informing us that my wife should not travel, we decided to have the baby in Singapore.

My wife has had a green card for over 10 years. Due to the pregnancy and delivery, her time outside of the US lapsed for more than a year. The main reasons were:

- doctor's advice to avoid long distance travel

- daughter's US passport and registration of birth abroad was only approved after the 1 year deadline for my wife to return

- wife needing time to recover after an emergency C-section surgery

- baby had severe jaundice

We applied for the returning resident visa SB-1. We provided 2 doctor's letters, many emails from our landlord showing our monthly utility bills, many emails from family and friends back in the US waiting for us, car insurance bills, car loan bills, etc.

Even though, we showed proof that it was beyond our circumstances, social & economic ties and medical letters, our application was still denied.

So now we have to re-apply for my wife's IR-1 visa and this could take a long time (from what I am reading here on VJ).

Our concerns:

- our whole life is back in the US. We never planned to be away for so long. Our furniture, our lease, our property are all pending.

- vaccinations, possible side effects for our daughter who is still nursing (100%)

- difficulty in finding a job while overseas

Questions:

1. Is it beneficial to ask our congress representative to intervene and reverse the SB-1 application decision?

2. The US embassy in Singapore does not offer DCF. Any other way to expedite?

3. Do I need a US - based job?

4. Can I work for a foreign employer to show means of support?

5. Can I work for a US company but based overseas?

Timeline:

• March 2012 - Flight to Singapore for 3 months (planned)
• May 2012 - Discovered we are expecting first child
• June 2012 - Extended return date to September 2012
• August 2012 - Doctors advised us to avoid long distance travel
• February 7, 2013 - Baby's arrival
• February 26, 2013 - Applied for US passport & registration of birth abroad
• March 9, 2013 - 1 year lapse of stay out of US
• April 1, 2013 - Final doctor's visit for baby's jaundice blood test & observation
• April 26, 2013 - Application for SB-1 visa
• June 6, 2013 - Letter received from US embassy denying SB-1 application

We feel so lost and stranded.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

1. No

2. No, but by preparing all your documents and things ahead of time you can make it go as fast as possible; it should take less than a year.

3. No- you can get a co-sponsor or file base don assets.

4. Only if that job will continue in the USA once you move back, ie you will get an intra-company transfer.

5. Yes, if they transfer you back when you move back to the USA, ie intra-company transfer

In terms of your baby and the concern about vaccine: is your child not a US citizen? If you are, there is a very strong chance the baby is too, and so is entitled to a US passport- no visa needed, no vaccinations needed.

[Ms. Curious 0]

Hello Penguin,

Thank you for your answers.

Sorry we didn't clarify about the vaccination, what we were concerned about is the vaccinations for my wife and how that can affect our nursing baby. Can we get a waiver for my wife's vaccinations based on our baby's needs?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Hello Penguin,

Thank you for your answers.

Sorry we didn't clarify about the vaccination, what we were concerned about is the vaccinations for my wife and how that can affect our nursing baby. Can we get a waiver for my wife's vaccinations based on our baby's needs?

No. They won't give vaccines that would harm the baby. If your wife was a GC holder before she should be good on vaccines anyway.

[Ms. Curious 0]

No. They won't give vaccines that would harm the baby. If your wife was a GC holder before she should be good on vaccines anyway.

Hello Harpa, that's great news. My wife first got her GC in 2000 but we don't have records of her previous vaccinations.

[NikLR 13,227]

They can do blood tests to find out what her immunity is. She likely would have had some already because of the pregnancy (such as rubella.)

[Ms. Curious 0]

They can do blood tests to find out what her immunity is. She likely would have had some already because of the pregnancy (such as rubella.)

Ok, thank you.

[Ms. Curious 0]

1. No

2. No, but by preparing all your documents and things ahead of time you can make it go as fast as possible; it should take less than a year.

3. No- you can get a co-sponsor or file base don assets.

4. Only if that job will continue in the USA once you move back, ie you will get an intra-company transfer.

5. Yes, if they transfer you back when you move back to the USA, ie intra-company transfer

In terms of your baby and the concern about vaccine: is your child not a US citizen? If you are, there is a very strong chance the baby is too, and so is entitled to a US passport- no visa needed, no vaccinations needed.

Hello Penguin,

If I am a self-employed business owner, can I show that I am collecting consulting fees as part of my income?

Also, can I ask a friend in the US to mail our 1-130 application packet from the US on our behalf?

The US Embassy website in Singapore says we should mail our application to the Chicago lockbox.

However, form I-130 states that if we reside in California, we should mail our packet to Phoenix.

Any advice?

Thank you.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

If you are self employed, they will go by line 22 on your tax return.

Sure, a US friend can mail- remember some items will require original signatures from you though.

[Ms. Curious 0]

If you are self employed, they will go by line 22 on your tax return.

Sure, a US friend can mail- remember some items will require original signatures from you though.

Thanks for the prompt response.

My 2012 tax returns were filed as self-employed.

However, my status is different now.

On the I-864 form, I have state my current employment status, correct?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

yes, current status, as it is current and ongoing income that counts.

[Ms. Curious 0]

Penguin, thank you. Much appreciated.

[Ms. Curious 0]

The step by step guide for the IR-1 visa here on VJ says that I should photocopy all pages of my passport. I have seen elsewhere that only the biodata page is needed. Any advice?

[NikLR 13,227]

For the initial I-130 petition it requires the entire passport to be photocopied for the USC petitioner. Or you can use anything else like a birth certificate or naturalization certificate to show the USC is a USC.

The NVC requires only the bio data page of the beneficiary's passport with the IV package.

[stevie b 141]

For the initial I-130 petition it requires the entire passport to be photocopied for the USC petitioner. Or you can use anything else like a birth certificate or naturalization certificate to show the USC is a USC.

The NVC requires only the bio data page of the beneficiary's passport with the IV package.

yikes.. I guess they blew by that requirement.. I only copied my bio data page and the two stamps from my trips to Fiji .. whew