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

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

What a bunch of hoops to be with someone you love..

Okay I'll try to give as much information as possible and hopefully in a structured format.

Me: 31 year old guy living and working in the Netherlands (IT). Divorced a few years ago, no kids, nothing special (medical, criminal, etc).

She: 31 year old from the USA. Currently finalizing a divorce (domestic violence, but trying uncontested divorce to minimize impact on kids). Has 3 kids (2, 8, 10) of which at least one has special needs. Has some medical complications. She's currently searching for a house safely away from her 'ex', and looking for work there as her contract ends on January 1st.

She's been in a way of separation for years, but nothing official. Has had a protective order against him for a year somewhere along the way. Some more details in that whole thing, but I doubt its useful for this case.

We met online end of spring this year. First time, and our 'official' date is in July this year. I have visited two more times after, visiting for longer periods. Since the divorce is finally going through we are looking at our path to our future. At first the Netherlands was on the table, but given that he would still want to see his kids, we are opting for the USA to minimize the general impact on the kids. Originally I wanted to go for H1B, but with recent changes that looks less likely. So from what we have read we see two options.

1. CR1 - Either a marriage abroad or the Utah-online marriage.

2. K1 - Coming over with the intend to marry.

From what I saw about the current times, they both are freaking long, which already causes some issues.

The thing we are planning right now:

She moves away from him safely, currently looking at Charleston (SC) as she has family there. Which is expensive. Hopefully she has found someone willing to work with her (as her credit due to the relation is bad and on paper it doesn't look good) but sadly we aren't in the clear yet. Then she's also applying for jobs there, some interviews and some follow up interviews, nothing guaranteed yet.

Given she could get the place she has been talking to our situation would be that I support her financially. I can crash on someone's couch, yes I know it might become a long one, and support plenty for at least the rent. She will get some more things in place and there should be child support. Things by our calculations should be fine, with money to put aside for emergencies, visa filings, my visits, etc.. But the situation is far from ideal. Either day care is going to take a big chunk of the money she makes, or she'd have to work less or find a work-from-home job due to the kids age and time they would be at home.

Ideally I would move to the states, be there for household and working from the states paying taxes there instead of in the Netherlands.

Our question is, would the CR1 be better or do you think the K1 would be faster. It's difficult to get accurate time frames on both of them. With that we could see what would be more feasible (me not being able to work, but she working more and me being allowed in the USA for helping in the household so no day care is needed vs me working longer from the Netherlands but spending more money on daycare etc.) so we can make the right decision.

Also looking for recommendations when it comes to visits during both their waiting times. I have my ESTA which should be fine for visiting friends and family. I would still work in the Netherlands so need to go back, also for my dentist appointments etc. But does that just mean only short visits? Any visits as long as you can proof you have a return ticket and for example these appointments planned? How does that work.

I wish things were easier. But us battling through all of this does make me look positively at anything being thrown at us later down the road.