Bringing Step children of different ages

[Ron4 22]

Please try and bear with me on this one, without too much judgement and name calling.

I brought my (now) wife here in November of 2012 on a Fiance visa and her 2 children came also one with us and another followed. We are now married and my wife has LPR. Last fall the children became disenchanted and begged to go back to Colombia, we fought it but finally my wife grew tired of their griping and let them go back.

As I warned them would happen they now realize they have made a mistake, and wish to return to the US. My step son is 16 and I think I understand the process to petition him (I130). When it comes to my step daughter it get a little more sketchy, okay a lot more sketchy. First of all she is 20 and will turn 21 in November. And if that is not enough, soon after she returned to Colombia she became pregnant and is due in September.

Is it possible to petition them both? What route do I need to take?

Thank You for any help.

[Ron4 22]

Also, I am seeing instructions for USC to petition step child, and for LPR to petition child. Which one should we use or can we petition as a couple?

[aleful 1,905]

hi

it is better for you to file for your stepson

for the stepdaughter her mother should file for her, the reason is that there are no derivatives on immediate relative petitions

this means you could file for your stepdaughter if the marriage took place before she was 18, if the marriage was after 18 you cannot petition for her anyway.

but if you could, she would have to leave her baby, because there aren't derivatives for immediate relatives

so she should be filed by your wife

[Hypnos 6,576]

First, did either of the children receive conditional green cards? If so, what did you do with them?

[Ron4 22]

First, did either of the children receive conditional green cards? If so, what did you do with them?

The AOS was never filed for either of them so no green card of any type was held by either.

[Ron4 22]

I see the current posted processing time for I-130 for resident petitioning for son or daughter under 21 is 5 months. Will her turning 21 during this time ruin everything or as long as we are to a certain point in the process it will be fine?

[Hypnos 6,576]

Then yes, you file an I-130 for your step-son since you married before he turned 18. It will be about a year, give or take, before he receives his visa.

How old was your step-daughter on the day you married? If she was under 18 on that day then you can file for her too. If she was 18 or over then your wife will need to petition her instead, and the daughter would need to wait until her priority date became current before she could obtain a visa. She is likely to age out before F2A became current, meaning she would be bumped down to F2B. She would have to wait about 7 years for her priority date to become current.

If you file for your step-daughter then it will be a much shorter wait. The problem will be your step-daughter's newborn child. If you are able to petition your step-daughter then she would need to leave her child (when it's born) behind, become an LPR, and then petition her own child. If your step-daughter cannot be petitioned by you and is instead petitioned by your wife then your step-daughter can include her own child as a derivative of her application and they could both immigrate together. Given the derivative issue, you may wish to do this anyway so that your step-daughter and her child can immigrate simultaneously.

There are positives and negatives both ways.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Hypnos

[aleful 1,905]

hi hypnos

one problem, she will have had the baby and if her stepfather files for her, she cannot bring the baby

there are no derivatives for immediate relatives

[Hypnos 6,576]

Yep, I just said that above (forgot to mention it the first time around).

[Ron4 22]

Then yes, you file an I-130 for your step-son since you married before he turned 18. It will be about a year, give or take, before he receives his visa.

How old was your step-daughter on the day you married? If she was under 18 on that day then you can file for her too. If she was 18 or over then your wife will need to petition her instead, and the daughter would need to wait until her priority date became current before she could obtain a visa. She is likely to age out before F2A became current, meaning she would be bumped down to F2B. She would have to wait about 7 years for her priority date to become current.

If you file for your step-daughter then it will be a much shorter wait. The problem will be your step-daughter's newborn child. If you are able to petition your step-daughter then she would need to leave her child (when it's born) behind, become an LPR, and then petition her own child. If your step-daughter cannot be petitioned by you and is instead petitioned by your wife then your step-daughter can include her own child as a derivative of her application and they could both immigrate together. Given the derivative issue, you may wish to do this anyway so that your step-daughter and her child can immigrate simultaneously.

There are positives and negatives both ways.

Yes, unfortunately I cannot file for her as she was over 18 when we married, I don't like the 7 year thing but what ya gonna do

Thank you all very much for your help, this sight and all the wonderful people on it really helped in the K1 process and continue to be a huge help as we try to get our family together.

Thank You All!

[aaron2020 11,651]

Yes, unfortunately I cannot file for her as she was over 18 when we married, I don't like the 7 year thing but what ya gonna do

Thank you all very much for your help, this sight and all the wonderful people on it really helped in the K1 process and continue to be a huge help as we try to get our family together.

Thank You All!

Hi,

You can file for the son. It will take about 6-12 months.

You can not file for the daughter as she was over 18 when you married her mother. (The funny thing is that you could and did bring her over on the K2 which would have allowed her to adjust for a green card. However, you can not file an I-130 for her.)

Mom can file for her unmarried 20 years old daughter in the F2a category. Her daughter will age out into the F2b category when she turns 21. She can not get marry while waiting for a visa in the F2a or F2b category. Her baby will be able to immigrate with her as a derivative beneficiary.

Big mistake on the 20 years old part. The 17 years old lucked out.

[Hypnos 6,576]

The only saving grace is that the daughter can immigrate with her child, but that seven year wait (estimated) is going to be rough. As stated above, she will need to remain unmarried, also. Unfortunately, even if your wife becomes a US citizen and is able to upgrade her petition for her daughter from F2B to F1, the difference right now is only one month (April 2007 compared to May 2007) so that's essentially going to be no help at all.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Hypnos

[aaron2020 11,651]

I see the current posted processing time for I-130 for resident petitioning for son or daughter under 21 is 5 months. Will her turning 21 during this time ruin everything or as long as we are to a certain point in the process it will be fine?

The 5 months is only about approving the I-130. It has nothing to do with the overall wait.

You can not file for her since she was over 18 when you married mom.

Mom can file for her in the F2a category (LPR petitioning an unmarried child under 21). However, the current PD for this category is May 1, 2012. There will be a 2 years wait at least in this category for an available visa. She will age out when she turns 21 still waiting for the current PD in the F2a category. She will be in the F2b category where it will take 7 years for her to get a visa.

So, the 5 months is meaningless.