Free US immigration self-help guides, example forms, community discussion, case tracking & estimated approval dates!

We submitted the I-864EZ. On tax returns, our 2023 income was around 30k, 2024 was around 50k, and the current estimate is around 130k. (1st Jan 2025 -31 Dec 2025)

Will it cause issues during the visa, as we are not expecting an interview before May 2025?
We did provide his employment verification letter, but not the pay stubs.

We got the following message:

The income reported as stated on form I-864, I-864A is insufficient to overcome the public charge grounds of inadmissibility for visa issuance. To avoid delays, an additional Affidavit of Support Form I-864 from a joint sponsor may be submitted. For more information visit https://nvc.state.gov/aos and https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p. A consular officer will decide if you meet these requirements at the time of the interview. Note: You, as the sponsor, and any other sponsors household members and joint sponsors, must provide updated or additional evidence for the applicant to present at the time of their interview such as: * Other income * Assets * Proof of current employment Note: You submitted documentation to the National Visa Center through the Consular Electronic Application Center CEAC. You can continue to upload documents to CEAC up until the date of your visa interview.

Aloha everyone,

I m hoping to get some detailed guidance on my daughter s situation.

• I am a U.S. citizen (naturalized in 2022).

• My daughter is 17 years old, a U.S. LPR who got her IR-2 immigrant visa and green card in 2017.

• She lived in the U.S. and attended elementary school here.

• Around December 2021, after COVID, I decided to have her continue middle school (through 10th grade) in New Delhi, India. She has been studying there since then.

• She has now been outside the U.S. for about 3 4 years, with no re-entry permit.

When I became a U.S. citizen, my daughter was not physically in the U.S. with me, so she did not automatically derive citizenship at that time. My goal now is:

1. Get her back to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident

2. Have her derive U.S. citizenship through me before she turns 18, and

3. Then apply for her U.S. passport.

My current understanding (please correct me if I m wrong) is that if she is again admitted to the U.S. as an LPR while she is still under 18 and is residing in my legal and physical custody, she would automatically acquire U.S. citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act (INA 320).

Because she has already had an IR-2 and green card once, I am trying to avoid starting a completely new IR-2 processfrom scratch if it will take 1.5 2 years, as that risks her turning 18 before everything is completed.

I ve been reading about the SB-1 Returning Resident visa and I m wondering if that might be a better and faster option in her case, since:

• She is a minor child of a U.S. citizen,

• Her long stay abroad was for schooling in India, and

• We always intended for her to return for high school in the U.S. and live with me.

From what I can see, SB-1 processing at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi / Consulate in Mumbai might be around 4 6 months, which seems much more manageable given her age.

My questions for the group:

1. Given that she is a minor LPR who has been abroad ~3 4 years for schooling, is SB-1 (Returning Resident)realistically viable in your experience, or is it usually denied in cases like this?

2. Has anyone here successfully gotten an SB-1 approved for a minor child in a similar school-abroad situation from India (New Delhi/Mumbai)? What evidence did you provide?

3. If SB-1 is unlikely, is my only real option to start over with a new I-130 (IR-2) even though I already did that process for her back in 2016 2018?

4. For those who recently did IR-2 consular processing for a child from India, how long did the full process (I-130 + NVC + interview) actually take?

Ultimately, I just want the clearest path to:

• Get her back to the U.S. as an LPR,

• Have her derive citizenship before 18, and

• Then apply for her U.S. passport.

Any insights, timelines, or strategy advice especially specific to India (New Delhi/Mumbai) and SB-1 vs. new IR-2 would be really appreciated.

Mahalo and thank you in advance.

Hello! My case arrived in Nigeria and was entered as Ready on November 5, but my fiance still has not received the Packet 3 with instructions for scheduling his interview. Does anyone have a timeline on when we can expect the Packet 3 so we can move forward?

My mother 89 years old has been a US PR since 06/14/2007 and carries an Indian Passport. We want to file and N-400 for her now but the issue is that in Feb 2024 she travelled to india for what was to be a brief visit but in june just prior to her return she slipped and fell and had a fracture in the leg where she already had had a knee translant. Due to her advanced age she was hospitalized for over a month and doctors had to do a megaprosthis which involved taking her old implannt out and putting a new one. Hospital stay was acompanied by a mandator 6 months physical therapy and followup visits to the surgeon/hospital plus there were nurological complications from anesthesia. Consequently she was able to fly back to US only in Jan 2025. Now we want to file her N400 and have a question wether it is possible to overcome continuous stay requiriement due to this incident. All the while in her absense all family was in US (sons), She had active bank accounts and investment accounts in US, active US health insurance and filed taxes. Otherside this the only other absense was August 2023-Dec 2023. The Travels from August 2023 were to sell property she owned in india.

Is it possibe to apply for N-400 for her and overcome continous presence requirements given her age and circumstances.

Hello, I want some advise regarding filing AOS for my parent. I am USC and applied for I-130 for my parent. My parent entered US with his existing Visitor visa while his I-130 was pending. No questions were asked at the port of entry. His I-130 recently got approved (while he is on visitor visa). Initially I chose consular processing. Now, we have changed mind and want to file AOS instead of consular processing. Is it safe to file AOS, since I-130 was pending at time of entry. Please advise if someone has dealt with similar situation. Is there any recommendation or things we need to consider. Thank you in advance