Wife's IR1 and Daughter's I-130 Process

[sufi 0]

Hi Folks,

I need some advice regarding immigration petition processing for my wife and daughter. Here is a brief case status:

I became a US Citizen on October 20, 2006. I had filed an immigration petition for my wife in July 2004 when I was a PR. After becoming citizen, I applied to upgrade the status of my wife’s case from spouse of PR to spouse of USC and it escalated the immigration process for my wife. However, what it did not do was to give my daughter a derivative visa status based on my wife’s immigration petition. Therefore, I had to file a separate immigration petition for my daughter who was born in July 2006. I have not received an approval for my daughter’s case from USCIS and am not sure how long it will take.

Now the challenge is that based on how my wife’s case is being processed, she may be able to get an immigrant visa by Mar-Apr 2007; however, my daughter’s case may still be pending. At that time it would be impossible for my wife to travel based on her immigrant visa as we can’t leave our daughter behind.

I have been thinking of applying for I-129F simultaneously with immigration petition and bring both of them to US based on K-3 visa but have no idea how well it will work. Any suggestions?

I will really appreciate any input from you on this situation based on your immigration knowledge and experience.

Our timelines are as follows:

My timeline

Got GC July 7, 2001

Became Citizen Oct 20, 2006

Spouse timeline

Applied to sponsor wife : July 9, 2004 (Based on GC)

Approval notice received : August 7, 2004

Status Changed with NVC : Nov 8, 2006 (After Citizenship)

Paid Affidavit of Support Bill : Nov 14, 2006

Submitted Affidavit of Support and documents: Dec 04, 2006

US Embassy : Pakistan

Child timeline

Applied for Child (I-130) : Oct 22, 2006

Notice of Action (I-797C) Received : Oct 31, 2006

Approval notice received : Still waiting

[sufi 0]

Guys,

Please give some comments and help me with this situation. I really need to make a decision and if needed, file for K-3 and K-4 visa for my spouse and child.

I will really appreciate your help with this.

Thanks,

Sufi

[MaryandMian 1]

Sufi my husband is from Pakistan and his boss is as well. His boss was LPR and then filed and got citizendhip and has upgraded his wife's and son's petitions. Also, his son's is lagging behind and he has a lawyer trying to fix this now. I am sorry I do not know what else to tell you but maybe contact an attorney for legal advice on how to get both the cases brought to the same status. Good luck.

Maybe someone else that has dealt with this same issue will come along and give you some advice as well. I am posting to bring you topic back up and to tell you that you are not alone with this same problem.

Mary

[Yodrak 7]

sufi,

I'm not sure that USCIS would process an I-129f petition from you, since you already have an approved I-130 and the immigrant visa application process is in progress.

You can slow down the processing of your wife's immigrant visa application by being slow to respond to the NVC, which would provide some time for the I-130 for your daughter to catch up.

You might want to have a consultation with an immigration attorney who specializes in family-based immigration to discuss options and strategy.

Yodrak

Hi Folks,

I need some advice regarding immigration petition processing for my wife and daughter. Here is a brief case status:

I became a US Citizen on October 20, 2006. I had filed an immigration petition for my wife in July 2004 when I was a PR. After becoming citizen, I applied to upgrade the status of my wife's case from spouse of PR to spouse of USC and it escalated the immigration process for my wife. However, what it did not do was to give my daughter a derivative visa status based on my wife's immigration petition. Therefore, I had to file a separate immigration petition for my daughter who was born in July 2006. I have not received an approval for my daughter's case from USCIS and am not sure how long it will take.

Now the challenge is that based on how my wife's case is being processed, she may be able to get an immigrant visa by Mar-Apr 2007; however, my daughter's case may still be pending. At that time it would be impossible for my wife to travel based on her immigrant visa as we can't leave our daughter behind.

I have been thinking of applying for I-129F simultaneously with immigration petition and bring both of them to US based on K-3 visa but have no idea how well it will work. Any suggestions?

I will really appreciate any input from you on this situation based on your immigration knowledge and experience.

Our timelines are as follows:

My timeline

Got GC July 7, 2001

Became Citizen Oct 20, 2006

Spouse timeline

Applied to sponsor wife : July 9, 2004 (Based on GC)

Approval notice received : August 7, 2004

Status Changed with NVC : Nov 8, 2006 (After Citizenship)

Paid Affidavit of Support Bill : Nov 14, 2006

Submitted Affidavit of Support and documents: Dec 04, 2006

US Embassy : Pakistan

Child timeline

Applied for Child (I-130) : Oct 22, 2006

Notice of Action (I-797C) Received : Oct 31, 2006

Approval notice received : Still waiting

[wally 0]

we had the same sort of situation, I was approved and had my CR1 interview date scheduled and my kids' I-130's were still waiting for the NOA2s'. It was a mix-up on our part. Call USCIS, where you sent your daughter's petition. Keep calling till you get someone who will act on your behalf. Explain your situation and be ready with all the case numbers. Be prepared to fax birth certificates, etc. etc. Once my husband got ahold of someone who would help, we had to fax a letter and proof that I was the kids' mom. We then had to get the petitions sped through NVC and on to the Consulate.

My kids interviewed at the same time as me and we did not file for the K3.

[sufi 0]

Hi Folks,

I spoke with an Immigration Officer today by calling USCIS customer service number. The officer told me this:

1) I do not need to include my daughter in any correspondence with NVC.

2) When NVC forwards my wife's IR1 case to US Embassy in Pakistan, and the embassy sends documents for my wife to fill out, we should include my daughter's I-130 NOA1 and my daughter's birth certificate with other documents.

3) At the time of issuing visa to my wife, the US embassy will also issue visa to my daughter.

4) I do not need to file for I129F for my wife and daughter.

So far, I do not know any one who have been through this process and I will really appreciate if you guys can share your experiences with me.

Thanks,

Sufi

Our timelines are as follows:

My timeline

Got GC July 7, 2001

Became Citizen Oct 20, 2006

Spouse timeline

Applied to sponsor wife : July 9, 2004 (Based on GC)

Approval notice received : August 7, 2004

Status Changed with NVC : Nov 8, 2006 (After Citizenship)

Paid Affidavit of Support Bill : Nov 14, 2006

Submitted Affidavit of Support and documents: Dec 04, 2006

US Embassy : Pakistan

Child timeline

Applied for Child (I-130) : Oct 22, 2006

Notice of Action (I-797C) Received : Oct 31, 2006

Approval notice received : Still waiting

[Yodrak 7]

sufi,

My experience is that

- the USCIS National Customer Service Center is known unofficially as 'the misinformation line' for good reason, and that

- the people there, even if you were transferred to one who is a USCIS immigration officer and not a contract telephone answering person, do not speak for the Department of State or any of the DoS' consular sections.

With regard to items 2 and 3 in your list, I feel fairly comfortable writing that a consulate cannot issue an family-based immigrant visa to a person without an approved I-130 petition for that person. At least not in the circumstances that you have presented.

Yodrak

Hi Folks,

I spoke with an Immigration Officer today by calling USCIS customer service number. The officer told me this:

1) I do not need to include my daughter in any correspondence with NVC.

2) When NVC forwards my wife's IR1 case to US Embassy in Pakistan, and the embassy sends documents for my wife to fill out, we should include my daughter's I-130 NOA1 and my daughter's birth certificate with other documents.

3) At the time of issuing visa to my wife, the US embassy will also issue visa to my daughter.

4) I do not need to file for I129F for my wife and daughter.

So far, I do not know any one who have been through this process and I will really appreciate if you guys can share your experiences with me.

Thanks,

Sufi

.....

Edited December 7, 2006 by Yodrak

[sufi 0]

Yodrak,

Thanks for reply. What do you suggest that I should do in this situation? Do you know anyone who may have similar situation?

Sufi

[Yodrak 7]

Sufi,

You didn't read my first post in this thread?

Yodrak

Yodrak,

Thanks for reply. What do you suggest that I should do in this situation? .....

Sufi

Edited December 7, 2006 by Yodrak

[sufi 0]

sufi,

My experience is that

- the USCIS National Customer Service Center is known unofficially as 'the misinformation line' for good reason, and that

- the people there, even if you were transferred to one who is a USCIS immigration officer and not a contract telephone answering person, do not speak for the Department of State or any of the DoS' consular sections.

With regard to items 2 and 3 in your list, I feel fairly comfortable writing that a consulate cannot issue an family-based immigrant visa to a person without an approved I-130 petition for that person. At least not in the circumstances that you have presented.

Yodrak

Hi Folks,

I spoke with an Immigration Officer today by calling USCIS customer service number. The officer told me this:

1) I do not need to include my daughter in any correspondence with NVC.

2) When NVC forwards my wife's IR1 case to US Embassy in Pakistan, and the embassy sends documents for my wife to fill out, we should include my daughter's I-130 NOA1 and my daughter's birth certificate with other documents.

3) At the time of issuing visa to my wife, the US embassy will also issue visa to my daughter.

4) I do not need to file for I129F for my wife and daughter.

So far, I do not know any one who have been through this process and I will really appreciate if you guys can share your experiences with me.

Thanks,

Sufi

.....

Yodrak,

Your answer is giving comments about the service level of USCIS and I completely agree with you on those comments that information provided by USCIS reps is often times misleading. However, I need to decide whether I sould file for K-3 visa for my wife so that my daughter can get derivative K-4 or is there any other way that my daughter can get a visa with my wife when she gets her IR1 visa.

Sufi

[Yodrak 7]

Sufi,

That was my second post, not my first post.

Yodrak

Yodrak,

Your answer is giving comments about the service level of USCIS and I completely agree with you on those comments that information provided by USCIS reps is often times misleading. However, I need to decide whether I sould file for K-3 visa for my wife so that my daughter can get derivative K-4 or is there any other way that my daughter can get a visa with my wife when she gets her IR1 visa.

Sufi

Sufi,

You didn't read my first post in this thread?

Yodrak

Yodrak,

Thanks for reply. What do you suggest that I should do in this situation? .....

Sufi

[hafiz 1]

lol yodrak is so cool.

[sufi 0]

UPDATE

Called USCIS again and spoke with a different Immigration Officer. Same response as before. I hope they send all of their Immigration Officers for training so that they do not missguide!!

Called NVC to add my daughter to the case and according to them since IR1 does not give derivative status to kids, I can't add my daughter to this case. I will need to wait for my daughter's I-130 to be approved by USCIS.

Sent the following e-mial to US Embassy in Pakistan:

"I became a US Citizen on October 20, 2006. I had filed an immigration petition for my wife in July 2004 when I was a PR. After becoming citizen, I applied to upgrade the status of my wife’s case from spouse of PR to spouse of USC and it escalated the immigration process for my wife. Based on information provided by USCIS customer service reps, I filed a separate immigration petition (I-130) for my daughter who was born in July 2006. I have not received an approval for my daughter’s case from USCIS and am not sure how long it will take.

I spoke with an Immigration Officer today by calling USCIS customer service number. The officer told me this:

1) I need to contact NVC to include my daughter in the case they are processing for my wife and send my daughter’s information to Pakistan with my wife’s.

2) When NVC forwards my wife's IR1 case to US Embassy in Pakistan, and the embassy sends documents for my wife to fill out, we should include my daughter's I-130 NOA1 and my daughter's birth certificate with other documents.

3) At the time of issuing visa to my wife, the US embassy will also issue visa to my daughter.

4) I do not need to file form I129F for my wife and daughter.

5) My daughter will not be left behind and can come to US with my wife

Based on the above information, I am not sure whether US Embassy in Pakistan processes infant’s cases the way Immigration Officer told me on phone. Can you please confirm whether we would be able to get an immigration visa for our daughter at the time of my wife’s IR1 interview?"

RESPONSE FROM US EMBASSY IN PAKISTAN

This information is not in accordance with 9 Foreign Affairs Manual 42.21 N2.2-1 that reads in part as follows:

The INA does not generally accord derivative status for family members of immediate relatives as it does for preference applicants (all Family based categories like F1, F2A, F2B, F3 and F4). A US citizen must file separate immediate relative petitions for the spouse, each child, and each parent.

We therefore recommend that you pursue the petition that you have filed for your daughter. Because your spouse’s petition is approved and with NVC, USCIS must expedite your daughter’s petition. You can request them to do this for you. We hope this information is helpful.

Yours truly,

Immigrant Visa Unit

QUESTIONS

Does anyone know if USCIS can expedite the petition of my daughter as suggested by US Embassy in Pakistan?

Sufi