Trying to request I-130 is expedited from outside the US (Merged)

[Stephie C 8]

18 hours ago, jan22 said:

I don't understand why you think an expedite is needed or might be approved, if I understood one of your posts.  If the court order says that your daughter can leave with you anytime after a certain date -- and doesn't have a date after which she can no longer move -- the only problem from a US immigration standpoint would be if the process was completed too soon.  Did I misunderstand?

 

And, it certainly wouldn't be a reason to expedite the whole family.  You, the US citizen parent, could travel with her to the US before the rest of the family if hers was exedited, while the rest of the family waited for theirs. Asking for an expedite of the entire family would look like an excuse for jumping the queue, IMO.

 

On 5/5/2023 at 10:55 AM, Stephie C said:

Hi, I have made I-130 applications for my husband and children, all still pending. I had to get permission from the family court in the UK to remove my eldest daughter from the jurisdiction. We were granted permission, based on our proposed plan, including timeframe. The applications are taking longer than anticipated to process and I am now concerned that we will not be able to meet our proposed timeframe. One possible outcome if this were to happen is that the child’s father takes us back to court to revoke the original order. Would needing to meet a court order’s timeframe be sufficient grounds for requesting and expedition of all of the I-130 applications? Thank for the help.

[Stephie C 8]

Thank you all for your comments. The details of the court order can’t be shared on an open forum as it would put me in breach of the Children’s Act. The details also are not relevant to answer the question. 
 

When making an application for permanent removal from the jurisdiction it is standard practice to supply the courts with a plan and a timeframe. The judge made their decision based on the plan and timeframe which was accurate at the time the statement was submitted to the court, this included accurate and up to date processing time supplied by the USCIS. The judge felt that the timeframe was appropriate as did the other party’s legal team. Since the order was approved by the judge our processing time has been dramatically altered. This means that certain parts of the plan cannot be met if the processing time remains the same. 
 

As the order was granted on the information that was provided to the judge at the time, if elements of it should change there is a possibility that the father could make a new application to the family court requesting a Specific Issues Order to stop the relocation. This would not be an appeal as he does not have permission to make an appeal, it would be a new application. All applications are accepted regardless of their merit or validity. There would be a number of gatekeeper hearings before it is reviewed by a judge ( the only person who has the authority to make a judgment on such matters). This initial process can take several months. The existing sealed order remains valid until a new order is passed but it would be incredibly risky to remove her during proceedings, for risk of being accused of abduction. The chances of the father’s application being successful are slim but it would delay the relocation and put the child back into proceedings, not a pleasant experience for a child and she has already done enough of them. 
 

Past experience tells me that if the father has the opportunity to be disruptive, he will be.

part of the family relocating first is not an option, I am the primary caregiver for the children, if my husband had to take on this role then he would have to quit his job. That scenario would put our family in severe financial hardship. 
 

So I think a better question to pose to the group is: Would making a request for our cases to expedited harm or further delay our applications in anyway? 
 

Thank you for reading and for your advice. 

[appleblossom 2,448]

It won't harm or delay your applications in any way. But there's no way an expedite would be granted for your husband or other children, as the only one that is affected the court order is the child it pertains to. I don't think an expedite would be granted for her either, for the reasons given by others above, but you need to bear in mind that there's a small chance that her expedite would be granted and the others refused. Which potentially puts you in a situation you say wouldn't work.

 

Out of interest, what timeframe did you give the court? You are aware that there's still quite a way to go once the I-130's are approved, the timescale for those is only part of it?

 

 

[Redro 4,611]

1 hour ago, Stephie C said:

So I think a better question to pose to the group is: Would making a request for our cases to expedited harm or further delay our applications in anyway? 
 

Thank you for reading and for your advice. 

Applying for an expedite won't delay your case.

It might delay your case  (at a later stage) if you inform them your daughter can only permanently move to the US based on the timeline and agreement you provided at USCIS level.

The CO at your daughter's interview might request an updated agreement or a letter from her father stating your daughter is still allowed to leave to move to the US permanently. Because they are aware the agreement in its entirety has not been met... But, the CO might request that even without requesting expedite if the language of the agreement to allow your daughter to move isn't in the format they usually require... 

So, if the father enjoys being difficult obtaining the updated agreement/letter might delay the case. 

 

 

[Stephie C 8]

47 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

It won't harm or delay your applications in any way. But there's no way an expedite would be granted for your husband or other children, as the only one that is affected the court order is the child it pertains to. I don't think an expedite would be granted for her either, for the reasons given by others above, but you need to bear in mind that there's a small chance that her expedite would be granted and the others refused. Which potentially puts you in a situation you say wouldn't work.

 

Out of interest, what timeframe did you give the court? You are aware that there's still quite a way to go once the I-130's are approved, the timescale for those is only part of it?

 

 

Thanks for your reply. Yes I’m aware that the I130 is only the first stage and the process and the next stage was included in the time frame. That is why I am considering applying for it to be expedited now to allow time for the next phase and still meet the original proposed leaving time. 
 

If I make the request I will ask that they all be approved early or none of them. I do have the option to leave before my husband but would have to be able to relocate with all of the kids. 

Thanks for your help 

[Stephie C 8]

1 hour ago, ROK2USA said:

Applying for an expedite won't delay your case.

It might delay your case  (at a later stage) if you inform them your daughter can only permanently move to the US based on the timeline and agreement you provided at USCIS level.

The CO at your daughter's interview might request an updated agreement or a letter from her father stating your daughter is still allowed to leave to move to the US permanently. Because they are aware the agreement in its entirety has not been met... But, the CO might request that even without requesting expedite if the language of the agreement to allow your daughter to move isn't in the format they usually require... 

So, if the father enjoys being difficult obtaining the updated agreement/letter might delay the case. 

 

 

Thanks for the response, luckily no additional consent will be required from the father as the judge has overruled him. The only way it could be an issue is if he makes any additional applications. Again the need for consent is taken away from the parents and in the hands of the judge. 
 

The wording of the order has been checked by a US family lawyer from the county we plan to move to. They have confirmed that it contains all the correct terminology, so I hope it is sufficient. 
 

My reasoning for requesting the process being sped up ( other than meeting our proposed timeframe) is to ensure that if it is ever taken back to court I can honestly say I have done everything in my power to stick to the original plan. This is why I have also previously asked about K3/K4 visas. 
 

Thank you for your help. 

[Boiler 45,451]

Just some thoughts

 

• Your situation is not exactly unknown, I have seen many cases involving the UK and Court Orders, so my first thought is why is your case different, why does it not follow the normal format?
• I have no idea how long your case will take, it seems cases coming to a conclusion now have taken 18 months on average, so I use that as a best guess. You have only just filed so you are probably looking at September next year, but that could be way off. Obviously we do not know what you told the Court. The timelines mentioned on the web site are only for part of the process and seem to bounce around.
• You also want to make conditional expedite requests, I have never heard of anybody doing that, I doubt USCIS has either. Especially when they are on a completely different basis.
• So the plan seems to be to get your older daughter expedited, use that to get the younger children expedited and then the husband comes normally.
• To expedite you will need to share the Court information and if you cannot due to the Children's Act that seems to scupper the whole process.

[Stephie C 8]

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Your situation is not exactly unknown, I have seen many cases involving the UK and Court Orders, so my first thought is why is your case different, why does it not follow the normal format?

Thanks for your help, it’s very much appreciated. So what is the normal format please? I thought ours was pretty standard. 

[Stephie C 8]

54 minutes ago, Boiler said:

To expedite you will need to share the Court information and if you cannot due to the Children's Act that seems to scupper the whole process

The court order can and has been shared with the USCIS I’m just not comfortable sharing the information on an open forum. 

[Boiler 45,451]

2 minutes ago, Stephie C said:

Thanks for your help, it’s very much appreciated. So what is the normal format please? I thought ours was pretty standard. 

I have no idea, obviously it comes up as a question, do you have permission to remove your child, in most cases the answer is yes, a few have to go through the process as they had not sorted that out.

 

The only time issues I can remember is where the UK Court case is behind the Consulate interview and they have had to delay the interview.

 

Which made me wonder why your case is different. I have never seen this as an issue, so why now?

[W199 333]

5 hours ago, Stephie C said:

Past experience tells me that if the father has the opportunity to be disruptive, he will be.

part of the family relocating first is not an option, I am the primary caregiver for the children, if my husband had to take on this role then he would have to quit his job. That scenario would put our family in severe financial hardship. 
 

 

Severe financial hardship, losing jobs and benefits for the USC is one of the allowable categories for requesting an expedite. But there is no hardship if you don't leave, you could support your foreign husband and kids like everyone else is expected to do, and its so unlikely to be approved for many reasons. And the severe financial hardship excuse is a great excuse for uscis not to approve the other child and make this a moot point.

 

But having proof you tried to keep the timeline on schedule makes a lot of sense if it would help with future UK court proceedings. It seems a bit premature though. And it just doesn't seem like a good idea to give USCIS and the embassy more details and concerns until you have no other choice and you are sure it will do more good than harm.

 

Re your other post, If you have a valid legal court court order, then I can't see how legally it could be viewed as abduction if she leaves after the father has filed new motions for the court. There is no law that puts a legal court order on hold if new proceedings are in motion. That could only be done with an emergency court order. In fact, those new motions should simply become moot and just dismissed by the court if she has left already pursuant to the previous court order. The court no longer has jurisdiction. Warning:  you would need to verify with a UK lawyer if this is really true or not.

[Redro 4,611]

58 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I have no idea, obviously it comes up as a question, do you have permission to remove your child, in most cases the answer is yes, a few have to go through the process as they had not sorted that out.

 

The only time issues I can remember is where the UK Court case is behind the Consulate interview and they have had to delay the interview.

 

Which made me wonder why your case is different. I have never seen this as an issue, so why now?

@Boiler do petitioners/ parents have to show they have permission at USCIS/ petition stage or do they show permission later (NVC/interview)?

[Boiler 45,451]

Just now, Redro said:

@Boiler do petitioners/ parents have to show they have permission at USCIS/ petition stage or do they show permission later (NVC/interview)?

I can not think how it would come up other than at the interview.

 

[Redro 4,611]

 

10 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I can not think how it would come up other than at the interview.

 

So, did OP make an error submitting the information at USCIS stage? 

It seems like maybe she should pursued permission after submitting the I-130s for her family members to avoid this issue?

I'm not well versed in custody disputes but from the limited information given I believe moving her daughter to the US would be contentious even without the already established paperwork... 

[Boiler 45,451]

3 minutes ago, Redro said:

 

So, did OP make an error submitting the information at USCIS stage? 

It seems like maybe she should pursued permission after submitting the I-130s for her family members to avoid this issue?

I'm not well versed in custody disputes but from the limited information given I believe moving her daughter to the US would be contentious even without the already established paperwork... 

I would have wanted all the boxes ticked as soon as I could after I contemplated moving, lets say for example this was a father and not a mother, would the Court have given permission?

 

Sending it in with the application, can not see what harm there could be.