F2A Spouse I-130 2017 filers

[thepanda 87]

4 hours ago, Tenreyro said:

Yes @QAF2A, we are filing concurrently if the I-130 is not approved, it doesn't matter that it wasn't sent at the same time.

 

However, what @thepanda posted indeed outlines is true, only those categories are authorized to apply, including family based immigrants, which we are.

 

But that is where thepanda is also wrong, because it doesn't say family based immigrants related to US Citizens, neither does it excludes preferences, such as it does in the Employment Based categories, it just points out relatives of US Citizens, saying "including", and that's logical, since those petitioners are not mentioned on the Visa Bulletin on the table for Family Based, because they don't need PD, but someone reading 'Family Based' as a relative of a US Citizen, can think they are excluded if the "including" section wasn't added.

 

At least personally, as the spouse of a LPR with a date current on Chart B, I believe that I can apply.

 

 

I copied the passage from the link you provided containing the instructions. According to the instructions it specifically states family based immigrants of U.S. Citizen. You should go back and check. 

Also, the instruction says that under certain cases concurrent filing is allowed and to check on the website that is provided. 

I have read every official page that I could find and all of them state that an approval is required unless : 

•Family-based immigrants, including immediate relatives, and widow(er)s of a U.S. citizen;

•Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioner;

•Employment-based immigrants in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd preference categories;

•Special immigrant Amerasians;

•Special immigrant juveniles;

•G-4 international organization employees, NATO-6 employees, and certain family members; and

•Certain members of the U.S. armed forces. 

 

But as said in another post: let’s try and worse case scenario they send it back. 

Edited February 28, 2018 by thepanda

[Tenreyro 174]

7 minutes ago, thepanda said:

I copied the passage from the link you provided containing the instructions. According to the instructions it specifically states family based immigrants of U.S. Citizen. You should go back and check. 

Also, the instruction says that under certain cases concurrent filing is allowed and to check on the website that is provided. 

I have read every official page that I could find and all of them state that an approval is required unless : 

•Family-based immigrants, including immediate relatives, and widow(er)s of a U.S. citizen;

•Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitioner;

•Employment-based immigrants in the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd preference categories;

•Special immigrant Amerasians;

•Special immigrant juveniles;

•G-4 international organization employees, NATO-6 employees, and certain family members; and

•Certain members of the U.S. armed forces. 

 

But as said in another post: let’s try and worse case scenario they send it back. 

Sure ^^, let's give it a shot is basically the motto I live by. 

 

I just said the statement was wrong because you said "Our case is not listed in the list above." But it is listed, we are Family based (intending) immigrants.

 

Also, please check the I-485 Instructions I already copied it, it says on Page 20, refering to family members of LPR and non Immediate Relatives of US Citizens:

 

"If a visa is immediately available, applicants filing under a family-based preference immigrant category do not have to wait until Form I-130 is approved to file Form I-485. If a visa is immediately available, you may file your Form I-485 together with your Form I-130, while Form I-130 is pending, or after your Form I-130 is approved. Otherwise, you may file your Form I-485 only after your Form I-130 is approved and a visa is immediately available"

[thepanda 87]

1 hour ago, Tenreyro said:

Sure ^^, let's give it a shot is basically the motto I live by. 

 

I just said the statement was wrong because you said "Our case is not listed in the list above." But it is listed, we are Family based (intending) immigrants.

 

Also, please check the I-485 Instructions I already copied it, it says on Page 20, refering to family members of LPR and non Immediate Relatives of US Citizens:

 

"If a visa is immediately available, applicants filing under a family-based preference immigrant category do not have to wait until Form I-130 is approved to file Form I-485. If a visa is immediately available, you may file your Form I-485 together with your Form I-130, while Form I-130 is pending, or after your Form I-130 is approved. Otherwise, you may file your Form I-485 only after your Form I-130 is approved and a visa is immediately available"

Oh I see what you mean now! I also understand what you meant by the word “including”!!! That’s amazing! Thank you! :-) 

 

yeah i know that passage but I was never sure what immediate available meant. Now I do! :-) 

 

We’ll do it “together”! I’m hoping it’ll work out for us. 

[thepanda 87]

2 hours ago, Akanksha said:

What is i485? Do f2a fillers need to fill?? And when? My i130 is not yet approved ...do I need to fill i485?

I don’t know how it exactly it work for people who are outside of the US. 

We already live in the US and then therefore can file I-485. 

[Tenreyro 174]

1 hour ago, thepanda said:

Oh I see what you mean now! I also understand what you meant by the word “including”!!! That’s amazing! Thank you! :-) 

 

yeah i know that passage but I was never sure what immediate available meant. Now I do! :-) 

 

We’ll do it “together”! I’m hoping it’ll work out for us. 

Perfect!!! I am excited you are on board too!!!   

 

Let's cross our fingers and say our prayers so that everyone of us with our pending I-130 get filed properly and approved as soon as they can approve our cases.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Tenreyro

[QAF2A 27]

3 minutes ago, Tenreyro said:

Perfect!!! I am excited you are on board too!!!   

 

Let's cross our fingers and say our prayers so that everyone of us with our pending I-130 get filed properly and approved as soon as they can approve our cases.

Fingers crossed!

 

We'll keep each other updated on the result. Even if only one of us passed, the rest can seek legal help to appeal.

[JAtlanta 8]

Hello Guys,

 

I am also in F2A category and my PD is July 27, 2017 at CSC. As per my knowledge and understanding you can not file for I-495 (AOS) if your spouse is still on Green Card. We can only file once he/she becomes citizen. AOS is something to adjust your visa status to Visa A to becoeme LPR (as an example). In our case some of us are already in US whether on F1, H1, B1/B2. If we want to Adjust the status from all these category to Green Card, for which we have already filed I-130, we have to wait till our spouse becomes USC and if we are in US. Person who is outside US can not file for AOS.

Please check the below eligibility link to file for i-485

Also i see among all the centers CSC is way behind and it is so frustrating to wait for almost 2 years. In fact timeline for spouse of USC is also running very slow.

[arken 4,197]

16 minutes ago, JAtlanta said:

Hello Guys,

 

I am also in F2A category and my PD is July 27, 2017 at CSC. As per my knowledge and understanding you can not file for I-495 (AOS) if your spouse is still on Green Card. We can only file once he/she becomes citizen. AOS is something to adjust your visa status to Visa A to becoeme LPR (as an example). In our case some of us are already in US whether on F1, H1, B1/B2. If we want to Adjust the status from all these category to Green Card, for which we have already filed I-130, we have to wait till our spouse becomes USC and if we are in US. Person who is outside US can not file for AOS.

Please check the below eligibility link to file for i-485

Also i see among all the centers CSC is way behind and it is so frustrating to wait for almost 2 years. In fact timeline for spouse of USC is also running very slow.

You are completely wrong on the eligibility of AOS by spouses of GC holders.

 

Spouses of GC holders can file for AOS as long as their PD is current per Table A or B of the monthly visa bulletin whichever USCIS follows for that month.

 

[JAtlanta 8]

3 minutes ago, arken said:

You are completely wrong on the eligibility of AOS by spouses of GC holders.

 

Spouses of GC holders can file for AOS as long as their PD is current per Table A or B of the monthly visa bulletin whichever USCIS follows for that month.

 

Yes I agree. Only if your PD gets current.

Btw do you have any idea why there is so much delay at CSC in processing I-130. Other centers are way ahead of CSC.

[arken 4,197]

8 minutes ago, JAtlanta said:

Yes I agree. Only if your PD gets current.

Btw do you have any idea why there is so much delay at CSC in processing I-130. Other centers are way ahead of CSC.

Yeah it keeps on bouncing between different SCs.

 

when I filed i130 in 2015, CSC had the lowest processing time of less than 4 months while others were averaging over 8-10 months and they started forwarding i130 petitions to CSC.

 

seems like they did route quite a lot in a year or two backlogging it by that much. Hope they get processed soon.

[Tenreyro 174]

59 minutes ago, JAtlanta said:

Hello Guys,

 

I am also in F2A category and my PD is July 27, 2017 at CSC. As per my knowledge and understanding you can not file for I-495 (AOS) if your spouse is still on Green Card. We can only file once he/she becomes citizen. AOS is something to adjust your visa status to Visa A to becoeme LPR (as an example). In our case some of us are already in US whether on F1, H1, B1/B2. If we want to Adjust the status from all these category to Green Card, for which we have already filed I-130, we have to wait till our spouse becomes USC and if we are in US. Person who is outside US can not file for AOS.

Please check the below eligibility link to file for i-485

Also i see among all the centers CSC is way behind and it is so frustrating to wait for almost 2 years. In fact timeline for spouse of USC is also running very slow.

Indeed, AOS cannot be filed from outside the US, and apouses of USC cannot file it at the same time with a I-130.

 

However, with a pending I-130 and a current PD, it is theoretically possible, according to both I-485 instructions and USCIS policy manual.

 

About the delay, as @arken said, CSC was the one with shortest waiting time for F2A I-130 (when I filed in Dec 2016). But it seems that USCIS sent there most (if not all) F2A for a long time, creating an enormous backlog. It doesn't help also that CSC was only making significant progress when the Chart B date advanced.

Edited March 9, 2018 by Tenreyro

[Jt6 1]

Hello all. 

My PD is 06/23/2017 and I’m CSC as well. 

My online case status says that name was updated on March 1st 2018. Anybody have any clue what that means?

[xpetzo 0]

Hey all,

My spouse's I-130 PD is October 30, 2017, and it's being processed in CSC. I'm really worried about the slowdown in number of cases processed per quarter in CSC. I wish they had sent mine to Texas, Vermont or Nebraska, as those have really low processing times now. I don't understand why everyone is being sent to CSC if CSC is so slow. Do you think it would make any difference if we called every day asking about this?

I'm especially worried about getting a rejection after all this time, I can't believe how long I have to remain far from my wife just because I already have a green card and no longer an H-1B like some of my friends.

My wife is outside the US, so she won't be able to benefit from the current priority dates for filing a visa in order to file for AOS.

[QAF2A 27]

11 minutes ago, xpetzo said:

Hey all,

My spouse's I-130 PD is October 30, 2017, and it's being processed in CSC. I'm really worried about the slowdown in number of cases processed per quarter in CSC. I wish they had sent mine to Texas, Vermont or Nebraska, as those have really low processing times now. I don't understand why everyone is being sent to CSC if CSC is so slow. Do you think it would make any difference if we called every day asking about this?

I'm especially worried about getting a rejection after all this time, I can't believe how long I have to remain far from my wife just because I already have a green card and no longer an H-1B like some of my friends.

My wife is outside the US, so she won't be able to benefit from the current priority dates for filing a visa in order to file for AOS.

Hi, xpetzo,

 

I understand your sadness, being apart because of visa problems really frustrating.

 

Based on my understanding, the charts for filing(chart B) is also an estimate for chart A movement for end of the current fiscal year(till Sep, 2018). So I am assuming USCIS is planning to finish processing the cases before the chart B date at the end of this September. This is an assumption based on some researching.

 

I know for sure though, that when your priority date is before the chart B cut-off date, your case will be transfered to NVC and you would be completing forms and documents before your priority date is current in Chart A, which means that your wife could get the green card sooner(few weeks compared to 6+ month before chart B was invented) after her date is current.

 

Don't give up hope, this is a wait game, and this is why our marriages would be stronger. It is frustrating, but always keep hope in mind, don't let the process get you down!

 

 

[QAF2A 27]

We'll keep each other updated on the status of our I-130s. 

Edited March 28, 2018 by QAF2A