Bringing a stepson to the US

[portorusa 431]

Hi! I am a US citizen. My husband is a green card holder, he has a 10 year green card. My stepson is in France, he will turn 18 y.o. in a few days. We want to bring him to the US to live with us.

The thing is, my stepson already had his IR-2 visa in 2020. He never used it due to the pandemic and family issues, so stayed in his home country with his mother.

The visa expired, of course.

Now, what do we do to bring him to the US as soon as possible? Do I have to start the process from scratch (I-130) again, or does his father (my husband) has to initiate it?

Please advise!

Thank you!

 

[SalishSea 18,052]

4 minutes ago, portorusa said:

Hi! I am a US citizen. My husband is a green card holder, he has a 10 year green card. My stepson is in France, he will turn 18 y.o. in a few days. We want to bring him to the US to live with us.

The thing is, my stepson already had his IR-2 visa in 2020. He never used it due to the pandemic and family issues, so stayed in his home country with his mother.

The visa expired, of course.

Now, what do we do to bring him to the US as soon as possible? Do I have to start the process from scratch (I-130) again, or does his father (my husband) has to initiate it?

Please advise!

Thank you!

 

He will need to be petitioned again.  You can petition him as your stepson.

[Chancy 6,243]

44 minutes ago, portorusa said:

The visa expired, of course.

 

I suggest you contact the consulate in Paris first, to ask if they would be willing to re-issue your stepson's visa.  If they agree, they'll send you instructions which would likely involve going through the medical again and paying the visa fee.

 

[SalishSea 18,052]

1 hour ago, Chancy said:

 

I suggest you contact the consulate in Paris first, to ask if they would be willing to re-issue your stepson's visa.  If they agree, they'll send you instructions which would likely involve going through the medical again and paying the visa fee.

 

I can see that happening with a visa that had expired a few months ago....but two years??

[iwannaplay54 985]

2 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

I suggest you contact the consulate in Paris first, to ask if they would be willing to re-issue your stepson's visa.  If they agree, they'll send you instructions which would likely involve going through the medical again and paying the visa fee.

 

The call is free but I’d expect a fresh start after two years

[portorusa 431]

Thanks for all the responses! I contacted the Embassy three weeks ago, and received a robo-response that they are heavily backlogged with cases and slow in responses. 

If I petition him as my stepson, will it matter that he would be 18 years old? Also, will I have to file I-130 all over again even though he had been approved as my family member in 2019?

[Boiler 45,872]

If you petition him now then yes the I 130 is how you go about it and being 18 does not matter.