Suggestions for when to file I-130 for parents

[calberry 18]

I brought up getting green cards for my parents with them and here's the situation

 

- they have valid B1/B2 visas for 5 more years

- they have been coming to the US for 1 to 2 months every year to visit  me for many years

- they are both healthy, have strong social ties, and are not thrilled about moving to the US just yet

- i'm an only child and my parents and I want to be together when they age and are less able to take care of themselves -- we  would prefer this stage of our lives to be in the US

- i'm concerned that the laws may change where USC cannot sponsor parents in the future

 

Ideally they would keep coming to visit me on their B1/B2 visas and in the future (we estimate 5-10 years) apply for their green cards. I'm concerned though with the recent rhetoric that the laws may change so USC may not be able to sponsor parents for green cards in the future.

 

We would love to hear any thoughts or suggestions. Since people on this forum have a better pulse on what is going on what are your opinions on how likely it is that USC won't be able to sponsor their parents in the future, and how soon could this happen?  We don't want to miss this window of opportunity for my parents to join me but it's also not ideal that they come for another 5 years...

[databit 328]

One thought is, that if they come before they get too old, they could work for the 10 years (full-time) to qualify for Medicare and some Social Security earnings.

[JFH 12,191]

The IR-5 category is unlikely to disappear in the next 10 years. Immediate relative immigration is not on the radar of those who want to cut numbers of immigrants. Sibling and adult children migration will be cut before parents of USCs, if anything gets cut at all. It’s all speculation at the moment. 

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

I brought this up before but no one seemed to know the answer, so I’m just gonna throw this out there. What if you apply the I-130, it gets approved and transfer to the NVC. From there, you stall. If you don’t pay the fees and send the support documents, the case won’t move forward. The NVC’s rule is, as long as you keep contacting them at least once a year, the case is still “alive”. So you keep contacting them every year. If there is a change in law, you have an approved petition. Any changes in laws will take some time to take effect, so in theory, you can proceed your case to interview in just a few months, before any new laws to take effect. In theory that should work. I really want to find someone who did that in real life. Like, what is the longest a petition has sat at the NVC and “still alive”?

[calberry 18]

On 6/16/2019 at 8:38 AM, databit said:

One thought is, that if they come before they get too old, they could work for the 10 years (full-time) to qualify for Medicare and some Social Security earnings.

This makes total sense -- we hadn't thought that far ahead. My parents are entrepreneurs and they registered an LLC based in California this year with which they are investing in real estate (rehab and rentals) -- their plan is to pay federal and CA taxes with their ITIN for which they are applying. Would being entrepreneurs (and making over $100k and paying taxes on the income) for 10 years qualify them for medicare and social security earnings?

 

 

On 6/16/2019 at 9:23 AM, JFH said:

The IR-5 category is unlikely to disappear in the next 10 years. Immediate relative immigration is not on the radar of those who want to cut numbers of immigrants. Sibling and adult children migration will be cut before parents of USCs, if anything gets cut at all. It’s all speculation at the moment. 

That would be perfect for our situation! Could someone post a link that shows that IR-5 visas are unlikely to be cut? So far all I have seen are articles that the current administration is trying to replace family preference visas (except for spouses and minor children) with a merit based system.

 

 

On 6/16/2019 at 10:13 AM, USS_Voyager said:

I brought this up before but no one seemed to know the answer, so I’m just gonna throw this out there. What if you apply the I-130, it gets approved and transfer to the NVC. From there, you stall. If you don’t pay the fees and send the support documents, the case won’t move forward. The NVC’s rule is, as long as you keep contacting them at least once a year, the case is still “alive”. So you keep contacting them every year. If there is a change in law, you have an approved petition. Any changes in laws will take some time to take effect, so in theory, you can proceed your case to interview in just a few months, before any new laws to take effect. In theory that should work. I really want to find someone who did that in real life. Like, what is the longest a petition has sat at the NVC and “still alive”?

This would work great for us if we could "stall" for the next few years. The only downside is that my parents would be taking a chance of being refused entry with their B1/B2 visas at the POE based on this thread but it might be a risk worth taking. The following is our order of preference of outcomes so we will definitely look into this idea.

 

Preference 1: File for I-130 after 5 years

Preference 2: File for I-130 and stall for a few years

Preference 3: File for I-130 now

Preference 4: Lose opportunity to file for I-130 because of changes to immigration rules

Edited June 17, 2019 by calberry

[JFH 12,191]

2 hours ago, calberry said:

 

 

 

That would be perfect for our situation! Could someone post a link that shows that IR-5 visas are unlikely to be cut? So far all I have seen are articles that the current administration is trying to replace family preference visas (except for spouses and minor children) with a merit based system.

 

 

IR-5 is not a family preference visa. It’s an immediate relative visa (the same as spouses and minor children). 

[calberry 18]

On 6/17/2019 at 2:49 PM, JFH said:

IR-5 is not a family preference visa. It’s an immediate relative visa (the same as spouses and minor children). 

Thank you, yes this is correct. I guess I'm referring to articles like this that say "instead of the ability to sponsor parents, siblings, children, and spouses, immigrants who become citizens or legal permanent residents would be limited to sponsoring only their spouses and minor children for green cards". Is there a way to figure out the odds of this happening?

[Boiler 46,086]

No

[JFH 12,191]

1 hour ago, calberry said:

Thank you, yes this is correct. I guess I'm referring to articles like this that say "instead of the ability to sponsor parents, siblings, children, and spouses, immigrants who become citizens or legal permanent residents would be limited to sponsoring only their spouses and minor children for green cards". Is there a way to figure out the odds of this happening?

Only believe things that come from USCIS. Not a journalist’s interpretation or sensationalism used to sell newspapers. 

[Boris Farage 353]

Filed for my mother as soon as I was able (2017), she's had her green card since 2018, splits her time now between home and the States. Father wasn't interested at all, not a big fan of things over here, but he's thinking about it seriously now getting on in years. Money thankfully isn't an issue, I know it is for some. If the IR5 is pulled as an option and he wants to be here, there are other ways to get here for him. Keeping an eye on it for him in the meantime.

[calberry 18]

21 minutes ago, Boris Farage said:

Filed for my mother as soon as I was able (2017), she's had her green card since 2018, splits her time now between home and the States. Father wasn't interested at all, not a big fan of things over here, but he's thinking about it seriously now getting on in years. Money thankfully isn't an issue, I know it is for some. If the IR5 is pulled as an option and he wants to be here, there are other ways to get here for him. Keeping an eye on it for him in the meantime.

Oh I didn't even think about this option. I assume you mean that since your mom has a green card (or becomes a citizen in the future) your dad could come in as a spouse if the IR5 category is removed. Also how much time apart do your parents spend from each other?

 

I guess this gives us one more option (and preference)

 

Preference 1: File for I-130 after 5 years

Preference 2: File for I-130 and stall for a few years

Preference 3: File for I-130 now

Preference 4: File for I-130 for one parent so the other can come as a spouse if IR5 is removed

Preference 5: Lose opportunity to file for I-130 because of changes to immigration rules

 

[Boris Farage 353]

7 minutes ago, calberry said:

Oh I didn't even think about this option. I assume you mean that since your mom has a green card (or becomes a citizen in the future) your dad could come in as a spouse if the IR5 category is removed. Also how much time apart do your parents spend from each other?

 

I guess this gives us one more option (and preference)

 

Preference 1: File for I-130 after 5 years

Preference 2: File for I-130 and stall for a few years

Preference 3: File for I-130 now

Preference 4: File for I-130 for one parent so the other can come as a spouse if IR5 is removed

Preference 5: Lose opportunity to file for I-130 because of changes to immigration rules

 

Essentially, yes. My father could come in as my mother's husband if the category goes away, either as a green card holder or as a citizen, if she chooses to obtain citizenship. However, she does spend a sizeable amount of the year in England, just under six months. Her choice to spend this much time in England will slow down her path to citizenship, and I have reminded her of this repeatedly, but she has always done what she wished, no stopping her. 

 

My father comes over here for visits when she is here as his schedule permits, but Mum and I have always been very used to him not being around much since he travels for business much of the year. Mum and Dad see each other about four months a year in total right now, depending on where each is in the world. My father also has the option of an EB5 visa, but he is hesitant at the moment to invest more in the States before the next election and rumblings about a possible recession. 

 

Keeping your options open is a solid plan. Never know what will happen.