Seperation of Children from Parent

[Mrs. Irish 0]

I have been reading thread after thread and post after post and noticing that some of you have been waiting quite awhile. I also noticed that most people who filed last year took an average of 6 months to get their loved one in the country, so that gives me hope.

I have two children. One who will be 7 and one who will be 18 to 24 months when we start this process. I will be going back to the states with my children and leaving my husband behind so that I can fulfill all of the requirements for this stupid process. How many of you who are still waiting on your visas have children? Does the USCIS take that into consideration as well as the fact that we will have been married for 2+ years when we file?

[nfgirl 0]

i'm sorry to hear that you and your children are seperating from your husband, i am also seperated from my husband and we have a 1 month old baby and he wasnt there for the birth and still hasnt seen his baby yet,

uscis will not approve your petition any faster because of these circumstances but the fact that youve been married 2 plus years and have 2 children together should help your petition get approved and show that your marriage is bonafide, good luck

[kalina 0]

Unfortunately USCIS doesn't matter the fact that families with children are separated. Like Nfgirl we have baby too - 7 months old and my husband wasn't able to be present even for the birth. Moreover - one of the many times when he spoke with the officers from USCIS a lady told him that because of the child our process can be longer. There are more papers to be reviewed. I am shocked. The policy of USCIS is so inhuman.

Good luck and fast approval.

Edited July 3, 2007 by kalina

[Mrs. Irish 0]

Unfortunately USCIS doesn't matter the fact that families with children are separated. Like Nfgirl we have baby too - 7 months old and my husband wasn't able to be present even for the birth. Moreover - one of the many times when he spoke with the officers from USCIS a lady told him that because of the child our process can be longer. There are more papers to be reviewed. I am shocked. The policy of USCIS is so inhuman.

Good luck and fast approval.

WHAT? how could your baby slow up the process? It seems like the only extra paperwork would be your child's birth certificate. See... this whole thing makes me want to .....

[pushbrk 12,822]

I have been reading thread after thread and post after post and noticing that some of you have been waiting quite awhile. I also noticed that most people who filed last year took an average of 6 months to get their loved one in the country, so that gives me hope.

I have two children. One who will be 7 and one who will be 18 to 24 months when we start this process. I will be going back to the states with my children and leaving my husband behind so that I can fulfill all of the requirements for this stupid process. How many of you who are still waiting on your visas have children? Does the USCIS take that into consideration as well as the fact that we will have been married for 2+ years when we file?

You ask about USCIS considerations but that's only half the process or for some contries, considerably less than half the process in terms of time. Petition approval is the easy part. Passing the interview and getting the visa is the challenge for most people. That you have children removes most of the bonafide relationship challenge from the Consular process as does the 2+ year marriage and having lived together. The 2+ years has an additional benefit too, in that the eventual green card will not have conditions to be removed after 21 months. It will be for 10 years.

Edited July 3, 2007 by pushbrk

[Urge To Race 2]

I have been reading thread after thread and post after post and noticing that some of you have been waiting quite awhile. I also noticed that most people who filed last year took an average of 6 months to get their loved one in the country, so that gives me hope.

I have two children. One who will be 7 and one who will be 18 to 24 months when we start this process. I will be going back to the states with my children and leaving my husband behind so that I can fulfill all of the requirements for this stupid process. How many of you who are still waiting on your visas have children? Does the USCIS take that into consideration as well as the fact that we will have been married for 2+ years when we file?

Your sig says you moved to Ireland 2 years ago. Can't you do DCF? Save some time, get an IR-1 and the 10 year GC upon arrival, save some money, stay with your husband until he gets the visa? Unless you have some other compelling reason to come back to the US to go through the USCIS service centers.

[Mrs. Irish 0]

Your sig says you moved to Ireland 2 years ago. Can't you do DCF? Save some time, get an IR-1 and the 10 year GC upon arrival, save some money, stay with your husband until he gets the visa? Unless you have some other compelling reason to come back to the US to go through the USCIS service centers.

I called the US Embassy in London they said I couldn't do a DCF because I am not a PR. My husband brought me to Northern Ireland(part of the UK still) with his Irish Passport because it was free and FAST. If you live in N.I. you have dual citizenship. So he brought me here as a Family Member of an EU national. The EEA Family Visa. Our residence here is based on his continued Employment in the UK. If he lost his job we would have to do the immigration process for the Republic of Ireland and move there(which is only like a 10 minute drive from our house).

Over here I have been a stay at home mom since we arrived. So I have no income. I could easily find a domicile in the states. So if I filed for the IR-1 could I stay here and send it to the consulate or is that only for DCF?

My big question I guess is.... Can I stay here and file if I have a joint sponsor? Because everything I read about "if the USC and the foreign spouse live overseas" is the DCF. I'm not sure how to even go about this process. Obviously the last thing I want is for either of us to be away from our children.

[pushbrk 12,822]

Your sig says you moved to Ireland 2 years ago. Can't you do DCF? Save some time, get an IR-1 and the 10 year GC upon arrival, save some money, stay with your husband until he gets the visa? Unless you have some other compelling reason to come back to the US to go through the USCIS service centers.

I called the US Embassy in London they said I couldn't do a DCF because I am not a PR. My husband brought me to Northern Ireland(part of the UK still) with his Irish Passport because it was free and FAST. If you live in N.I. you have dual citizenship. So he brought me here as a Family Member of an EU national. The EEA Family Visa. Our residence here is based on his continued Employment in the UK. If he lost his job we would have to do the immigration process for the Republic of Ireland and move there(which is only like a 10 minute drive from our house).

Over here I have been a stay at home mom since we arrived. So I have no income. I could easily find a domicile in the states. So if I filed for the IR-1 could I stay here and send it to the consulate or is that only for DCF?

My big question I guess is.... Can I stay here and file if I have a joint sponsor? Because everything I read about "if the USC and the foreign spouse live overseas" is the DCF. I'm not sure how to even go about this process. Obviously the last thing I want is for either of us to be away from our children.

The I-130 petition is mailed to a service center in the US, so yes it can be mailed from Ireland but you'll need to use a US address. You can use your sponsor's address or another friend or family member's address as your US domicile address. Deal with the rest of the practical matters as you see fit.

Edited July 3, 2007 by pushbrk

[Mrs. Irish 0]

Thank you so much you have NO idea how much of a relief that is. At what point do you think I should go back to the states and get a job and whatnot... or can I just wait until his IR-1 is approved and we can all go together.

That was SO helpful.... I could hug and kiss you. Or even bake you cookies. B)

[pushbrk 12,822]

Thank you so much you have NO idea how much of a relief that is. At what point do you think I should go back to the states and get a job and whatnot... or can I just wait until his IR-1 is approved and we can all go together.

That was SO helpful.... I could hug and kiss you. Or even bake you cookies. B)

Well, that's a practical matter for you to decide. If you have a joint sponsor, then the practicalities take over. How long will it take you to find a job? How critical is the timing of when you go to work? How quickly can your husband find a job in the US after arrival? Can he line one up before hand? How much savings do you have?

Like I said, the practical matters are up to you. Hypothetically, you might approach it as if there were no visa involved but you plan to relocate to the US on a certain timeline. Choose a timeline that at least reasonably matches that of the appropriate visa timeline and then approach the practical issues accordingly.

[MargotDarko 0]

Despite what the embassy said, it's still worth a shot to submit the I-130 to London USCIS. When I was about to start the process, I was told I wasn't eligible because I hadn't been in the UK long enough, but some people online advised me to try anyway and my petition was processed at the London USCIS office and we're on our way to having an immigrant visa in only six months. Although the checklist says you need the appropriate UK entry clearance, you do have the right to live and work in the UK and you've been here for a long time. It's really up to their discretion I believe. Include a cover letter and return addressed stamped envelope requesting that everything is returned directly to you if they are unable to process your petition. The worst that will happen is that it's returned. Well, maybe the absolute worst is that they charge your credit card the $190 fee accidently, but they shouldn't really.

http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/uscis/i130filing.html

And the check list

http://london.usembassy.gov/dhs/forms/i130..._for_spouse.pdf

If it gets returned, you'll need to change your address on the forms to your family member/friend's address in the US and include a personal check for the payment as the US centers don't accept credit card payment.

Definitely don't go home even if your petition is returned by the London USCIS office. You really don't need to as long as you have a friend or family member in the US who is willing to let you use their address and help you out with the mailing of stuff back and forth. As long as you've filed a tax return each year and kept some US accounts open, you can really stay and all go together when he has his visa. Don't freak out if you haven't been filing taxes - it's really pretty easy to back file and you don't owe the IRS any money unless you ever made more than like $82,000 in one year while in NI.

EDIT - As long as you have a co-sponsor who meets the income requirement, you don't need a job in advance. You'd fill out the I-864 as the sponsor and have $0 income, and the co-sponsor would fill one out and check "joint sponsor". The co-sponsor's household would be themselves, their dependents, and your husband. You and your child wouldn't be included unless you were going to live with them and be supported by them when you returned to the US.

Edited July 3, 2007 by MargotDarko

[Mrs. Irish 0]

You all have been so helpful. I appreciate every bit of information you've given me.

Margot about the tax returns. I've been a stay at home mom so I haven't filed. Well I filed the last tax return from here which was income I had made in the US. I have NO US accounts open. The only bill I've had from the states is my student loan which is being paid on by me sending the money home through paypal and family sending it in.

About the co-sponsor; at first we will probably stay with family until we both get jobs, but we will move out quickly afterwards. Do you think I would still need a co-sponsor for all of us or would it be fine to just put my income as $0 with a joint sponsor? thank you you all rock

[trailmix 77]

The I-130 petition is mailed to a service center in the US, so yes it can be mailed from Ireland but you'll need to use a US address. You can use your sponsor's address or another friend or family member's address as your US domicile address. Deal with the rest of the practical matters as you see fit.

Welcome Mrs. Irish! My Husband and I both live in Canada and we are filing from here and won't be moving until he gets his visa. We didn't DCF, we filed through Vermont - it isn't a real problem, just a few extra hoops to jump through (regarding domicile and affidavit of support).

Pushbrk you mention above that 'you'll need to use a US address' - what for, do you mean for domicile or are some forms only sent within the U.S. - I seem to remember seeing something about that somewhere?

Thanks

[pushbrk 12,822]

The I-130 petition is mailed to a service center in the US, so yes it can be mailed from Ireland but you'll need to use a US address. You can use your sponsor's address or another friend or family member's address as your US domicile address. Deal with the rest of the practical matters as you see fit.

Welcome Mrs. Irish! My Husband and I both live in Canada and we are filing from here and won't be moving until he gets his visa. We didn't DCF, we filed through Vermont - it isn't a real problem, just a few extra hoops to jump through (regarding domicile and affidavit of support).

Pushbrk you mention above that 'you'll need to use a US address' - what for, do you mean for domicile or are some forms only sent within the U.S. - I seem to remember seeing something about that somewhere?

Thanks

Yes, for domicile but the NOA1 and NOA2 will only be sent to a US address, when filing at a service center in the US.

[trailmix 77]

Yes, for domicile but the NOA1 and NOA2 will only be sent to a US address, when filing at a service center in the US.

We live in Canada and our NOA1 and 2 were sent here, so I assume that is only for K visas or certain countries? (I didn't even realize when I posted earlier that I had wandered in to the K forum!). Or is it because when we filed we had no option to use DCF?