Help! My mom is American but I must wait 7 years to get my green card via the i130?

[mrchungstah 1]

My mom is an American living in Canada. She wishes to retire in America, and I (Canadian, over 21, unmarried) want to join her in America to take care of her.

 

In order for me to be eligible to work in the US, I was told that I must submit the I130 (in Chicago's lock box since we're outside the US), and then once it is approved (by one of the service centers), it will be sent to the Department of State. Once the Dept of State receives this, they will arrange an interview. Only after this interview is completed will I receive my green card/immigrant visa.

 

The visa bulletin board says they are still processing 2011 cases (7 year delay). Does this mean that if I submit my I130, I will not be eligible to work in America for 7 years?

 

I have some ancillary questions: 1. There are 4-5 service centers, all of which are 2-3 years wait time with the exception of Vermont, which is a 7 year wait time. How do I ensure that I am not stuck with the Vermont service center? / 2. Is there a way I can work legally in America if I have the I130 approved, but have not had the interview with the Dept of State? / 3. Can I hire lawyers to make any of this go faster?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

[Liam2021 587]

Nothing to help you to get visa faster because that the law for everyone.

[apple21 953]

1.  Regardless of which Service Center your case goes to, the waiting time of 7 years still applies to your F1 category. 

2.  Only way to work legally is if you can find an employer who will sponsor you for a work visa. 

3.  You can hire a lawyer but that will not give you any special treatment. Your waiting time will still be 7 years. 

Edited May 12, 2018 by apple21

[Ontarkie 14,609]

you won't be in the US for 7 yrs waiting to work. You will be in Canada, you can't move until the visa is approved not just the I-130.

[Boiler 46,359]

7 years may be optimistic.

 

You could look to immigrate on your own merits.

 

 

[kzielu 1,154]

19 minutes ago, mrchungstah said:

My mom is an American living in Canada. She wishes to retire in America, and I (Canadian, over 21, unmarried) want to join her in America to take care of her.

 

In order for me to be eligible to work in the US, I was told that I must submit the I130 (in Chicago's lock box since we're outside the US), and then once it is approved (by one of the service centers), it will be sent to the Department of State. Once the Dept of State receives this, they will arrange an interview. Only after this interview is completed will I receive my green card/immigrant visa.

 

The visa bulletin board says they are still processing 2011 cases (7 year delay). Does this mean that if I submit my I130, I will not be eligible to work in America for 7 years?

 

I have some ancillary questions: 1. There are 4-5 service centers, all of which are 2-3 years wait time with the exception of Vermont, which is a 7 year wait time. How do I ensure that I am not stuck with the Vermont service center? / 2. Is there a way I can work legally in America if I have the I130 approved, but have not had the interview with the Dept of State? / 3. Can I hire lawyers to make any of this go faster?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

You're not only will not be able to work for next 7 or so years, you won't be able to live here as well. Others above answered your questions. Service center has zero relevance, their processing time has nothing to do with waiting for visa number to become available and is shorter in every case than wait.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Plus, if you get married (which presumably is a possibility for an over-21 in the next 7 or so years) you change to F3, where the current wait is about double that of F1. 

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

Btw this is kind of off topic but it’s somewhat curious to retire to America from a healthcare perspective (I totally understand it from a weather perspective, or whatever else may be her reason)... has she properly examined the costs of healthcare in the US and what, if any, benefits she’d be entitled to (based on her own social security/Medicare tax contributions in the US)? People coming from countries with public health systems are often deeply shocked by the costs in the US, especially realizing they may not be entitled to benefits simply by virtue of being a citizen.

[TNJ17 1,329]

You won’t be waiting for work authorization in the US for 7 years, you will be waiting to enter the US for 7 years. If that. Those kinds of family based visas take a really long time to process and they may not be around much longer given the current White House administration so you’re either better off finding a work sponsor or remaining in Canada. 

[mrchungstah 1]

So theres nothing lawyers can do? Could I appeal and say that I need to take care of my mom since she will be by herself?

[EandH0904 1,184]

11 minutes ago, mrchungstah said:

So theres nothing lawyers can do? Could I appeal and say that I need to take care of my mom since she will be by herself?

Is she no longer able to care for herself? She could come back to Canada for your assistance or hire a home health care worker. Having you come down you help her is a job, technicall, that someone else could do. 

[TNJ17 1,329]

Contrary to people’s beliefs, lawyers cannot make any case go faster or increase your chances of getting approved. If anything it does the process down because lawyers have too many cases and yours will just be sitting on their desk awaiting to be filed. Unless you have a really bad case with criminal history or a lengthy overstay there is no need for a lawyer. 

 

There is is no such thing as an appeal saying you have to take care of your mother. It takes as long as it takes. And currently 7 years is how long it’s taking. 

[mrchungstah 1]

Someone mentioned something interesting in a reddit forum. They provided a link that suggests that I may be an American citizen:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-legal-considerations/us-citizenship/Acquisition-US-Citizenship-Child-Born-Abroad.html

 

My mom lived in America 1979-1986. I was born 1989. She was a citizen already at the time of my birth.

 

What do you guys think?

Edited May 12, 2018 by mrchungstah

[Boiler 46,359]

Impossible to say without full details.

[mrchungstah 1]

10 minutes ago, Dee elle said:

there is a residency requirement for the passing on of USC status by descent for children born overseas... you havent given enough details of your sitution for anyone here to give any more advice.. work through the link you gave 

So following this link (https://nl.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/148/transmission_tables.pdf), for "CHILD BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK TO U.S. CITIZEN MOTHER", it says that the requirement is "Mother physically present in U.S. or possession continuously 12 months prior to child’s birth".

 

Does this requirement mean that she must be in the US 12 months right before I was born (ie 1988-1989), or can it be any amount of continuous 12 months prior to my birth, but not the immediate 12 months right before my birth (in which case she was here 1979-1986)?

Edited May 12, 2018 by mrchungstah