Significant progress but new complications

[sidmando 15]

There has been significant progress on my applications for my wife and stepdaughter since I last posted, but now there is a new complication that I need some guidance on.

 

We had the visa interview for my stepdaughter yesterday, and it was approved with no problems. So that's great news. The problem is with my wife's application. She was finally DQ'd a week ago. The problem is that she is still subject to a 5 year entry ban (due to having worked illegally in the US before I met her), which still has one year to run. We were considering applying for a waiver, but the consular officer yesterday told me that in the era of COVID waivers are taking 1-2 years to process. So the problem is that my stepdaughter's visa will expire before my wife's entry ban is over.

 

It seems to me there are two possible paths forward. 1) I could travel to the US with my stepdaughter in order to use her visa before it expires. (My wife and I have been married for over 2 years, so my understanding is that a green card will be immediate/automatic in our case. Is that correct?) Can anyone advise whether this is a viable option? If my stepdaughter travels to the US and then comes right back to Peru, will she be able to come and go freely after that? 2) Extend my stepdaughter's visa until my wife receives hers. Does anyone know how this would work? The consular officer said a new medical exam would be necessary, which is fine. But is there a limit on how long the visa can be extended?

 

As always, thanks in advance for any & all advice. I couldn't have gotten this far without all of your help!

[milimelo 4,546]

What waiver is needed? You can actually see processing times for various forms on USCIS.gov. 
 

re: daughter- that was a stand-alone I-130 so what you’re considering doing is fine. Activate visa, turn around and go back - make it a long weekend, do some shopping/sightseeing.  Easier than getting a new visa reissued and you still have to do yet another medical exam. 

[sidmando 15]

3 minutes ago, milimelo said:

What waiver is needed? You can actually see processing times for various forms on USCIS.gov. 
 

re: daughter- that was a stand-alone I-130 so what you’re considering doing is fine. Activate visa, turn around and go back - make it a long weekend, do some shopping/sightseeing.  Easier than getting a new visa reissued and you still have to do yet another medical exam. 

The waiver would be needed to get my wife's visa issued before her entry ban expires. She will probably be given a visa interview within the next few months (that's how long it took for my stepdaughter), but my understanding is that she will be denied the visa if we go ahead with the interview while the entry ban is still in effect. Apparently there is a waiver process to get the entry ban overturned, but that process takes so long that it is not a viable option for us at this point. So my understanding is that what I will have to do is postpone my wife's interview until after the entry ban has expired. Is that correct?

[Crazy Cat 42,192]

38 minutes ago, sidmando said:

2) Extend my stepdaughter's visa until my wife receives hers. Does anyone know how this would work? The consular officer said a new medical exam would be necessary, which is fine. But is there a limit on how long the visa can be extended?

Visas cannot be extended.  If a visa holder cannot travel due to circumstances beyond his/her control, the consulate can, at their discretion, re-issue it.  That would require a new medical and, possibly, a new interview.  The new visa would expire no later than 6 months after the new medical exam. 

Option #1 is certainly viable. 

Edited September 2, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[sidmando 15]

2 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Visas cannot be extended.  If a visa holder cannot travel due to circumstances beyond his/her control, the consulate can, at their discretion, re-issue it.  That would require a new medical and, possibly, a new interview.  The new visa would expire no later than 6 months after the new medical exam. 

Option #1 is certainly viable. 

Yes, option #1 seems like the best way forward. Can you confirm that as long as my stepdaughter enters the US (even if it's just for a few days) she will then be able to come & go freely?

[Chancy 6,243]

3 minutes ago, sidmando said:

Can you confirm that as long as my stepdaughter enters the US (even if it's just for a few days) she will then be able to come & go freely?

 

It will say so on the visa itself -- that upon endorsement (ie. getting a CBP entry stamp) the visa will become a temporary I-551 (ie. green card) for one year.  Since your stepdaughter will immediately become a green card holder after getting that CBP entry stamp, she will be free to come and go from day 1.  Just make sure that she does not spend more than 6 months at a time outside the US.

 

[sidmando 15]

1 minute ago, Chancy said:

 

It will say so on the visa itself -- that upon endorsement (ie. getting a CBP entry stamp) the visa will become a temporary I-551 (ie. green card) for one year.  Since your stepdaughter will immediately become a green card holder after getting that CBP entry stamp, she will be free to come and go from day 1.  Just make sure that she does not spend more than 6 months at a time outside the US.

 

What will happen if she spends more than 6 months outside the US? Since it will be over a year before my wife is able to travel to the US, it would require 2 trips in order to avoid my stepdaughter not being outside of the US for 6 months.

[Boiler 46,000]

How do you know what the nature of her ban is when she has not been interviewed and a finding made?

[Chancy 6,243]

4 minutes ago, sidmando said:

What will happen if she spends more than 6 months outside the US?

 

The likelihood increases that the returning green card holder will get hassled by CBP for possible abandonment of LPR status.  Though for a minor child, the chances of that happening will be low.  Still, you may not want to risk it.

 

[sidmando 15]

9 minutes ago, Boiler said:

How do you know what the nature of her ban is when she has not been interviewed and a finding made?

She was removed from the US. More specifically, she was denied re-entry when she traveled back to Peru and tried to come back to the US. They didn't let her in and sent her back to Peru. At that time she was issued a document from the US Dept of Homeland Security stating that she is prohibited from entering the US for a period of 5 years.

[Boiler 46,000]

2 minutes ago, sidmando said:

She was removed from the US. More specifically, she was denied re-entry when she traveled back to Peru and tried to come back to the US. They didn't let her in and sent her back to Peru. At that time she was issued a document from the US Dept of Homeland Security stating that she is prohibited from entering the US for a period of 5 years.

5 year ban for being deported, you said she had also worked illegally.

[sidmando 15]

Just now, Boiler said:

5 year ban for being deported, you said she had also worked illegally.

The reason she was denied re-entry was because she was suspected of working illegally. In the document for her removal it states that she was in violation of the terms of her tourist visa because she unlawfully obtained work on a previous visit.

[Boiler 46,000]

Did she work illegally?

 

I assumed she did

[sidmando 15]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Did she work illegally?

 

I assumed she did

Yes. Per the advice I received on this forum, we included all of that in her work history in the visa application.

[Boiler 46,000]

So you are assuming she will just be subject to the one bar, something that could have been waived a long time ago by filing a I 212.

 

I can see the possibility of an I 601 but mo way of knowing for certain, something the Consulate will determine 

Edited September 2, 2022 by Boiler