jan22

A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) can only be issued up until the child is 18. But, after the age of 18, if the child was a US citizen from birth -- through meeting the requirements for a CRBA -- they don't lose that US citizenship. They can apply directly for a US passport, submitting all of the documentation needed for a CRBA application along with the passport application. OP, assuming you were born in wedlock, prior to your bIrth was your US citizen parent physically present in the US for a total of 5 years, 2 of which had to be after they were over the age of 14? All of the time they were in the US, even on short visits, would count. If so, you likely acquired US citizenship at birth and can apply directly for a US passport at the US Embassy. [NOTE: If born out of wedlock the amount of physical presence may differ, depending on which of your parents is the US citizen.] If you think you qualify, you should look at the Embassy's website for the CRBA application requirements. You would need to supply similar documentation of your parent's US physical presence with a passport application.

You have to use the MRV fee receipt within a year to schedule an interview appointment. That appointment can be after the year has passed (i.e., after one year after the date on the receipt). To use your example, you pay the MRV fee on 12/30/2022. You need to schedule your interview prior to 12/30/2023. The interview can then be in 2023, 2024, 2025 -- whenever the appointment is available.

If so, you must be filing under "Extraordinary Ability", as the other categories for EB-1 require an employer-based petition. IMO, it would not be good to force your information under that descriptor when there are other choices that are a better fit. The one you cited is only one of ten "Criteria for Demonstrating Extraordinary Ability" -- you need to be able to demonstrate your extraordinary achievements in at least three of the ten. You should pick ones that better match your area of expertise. The seminars and presentations you describe wouks fit better under such categories as: Evidence of your membership in associations in the field which demand outstanding achivement of their members. Evidence of your original...business-related contributions of major significance... Evidence of your performance in a leading or critical role in distinguished organizations. Your exampless of presentations, etc that you have done could be used in any of the criterIa cited above. Hopefully, you have other examples of your achievements besides "...keynotes, conferences, and seminars..." that you would be able to use to meet other criteria (e.g., awards or prizes, publications, scholarly articles, etc) that are listed in: https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-first-preference-eb-1 The potential to submit "comparable evidence" that you cited is for documentation that you want to submit for your field of extraordinary ability which does not fit within any of the established criteria, not to force it into an existing criteria that it doesn't match. The problem with doing that is you need to not only show that what you submit shows extraordinary ability within the area, but also that the area itseIf helps defines national or international acclaim worthy of recognition in your area of expertise. If you are not able to organize the documentation of your extraordinary abilities/achievements to fit the existing criteria, you may want to consult an attorney well-versed in preparing EB-1 applications.

There is no law to preventon it. However, if the parents do not have visas, unless they can clearly demonstrate that they qualify for visas but just aren't applying (which would likely lead to a whole different set of questions), it is unlikely the child will be issued a visa.

Note: USCIS is not currently involved in the case, if I read the original post correctly. The petition was approved in March 2022 and the K-1 visa interview was conducted in April 2022. The case is at the State Department (Embassy) stage.

There is no way to for NVC to know whether you will definitely benefit from CSPA until your Priority Date (PD) of 12/03/2007 becomes current. With the current slow advancement of the PD in the F4 category, there is a possibility you will not, even though you have a total of more than 10 years, five months of CSPA protection. So, if your PD becomes current before you are 31 years, 5 months and a few days old, you can then contact NVC about getting listed in the case and paying the fees, rather than wasting time and money fighting to pay fees now when you may or may not remain eligible. The F4 category was significantly effected by the COVID suspension of visa processing. There was already a huge backlog due to the annual numerical limits in the category. Two+ years of no cases being approved pushed the backlog even longer, resulting in -- as you likely know -- no progression in the current 22 Mar 2007 Priority Date since September 2021, more than 16 months. You need it to move forward a little Iess than 10 months within the next five years. It is hard to know the possibility of that right now. Your younger siblings remain listed on the case because it is very likely they will remain eligible under CSPA -- they have 10+ to 11+ years for the PD to move 10 months...a much more likely scenario.

Sorry, but they have not "always been in his custody" from a legal standpoint. Marrying the mother of children does not usually grant legal custody of the children to the step-parent. That must usually be done through the courts. I'm guessing that legal custody was only obtained during the adoption. Yes, he will need to file individual I-130's and I-485's for his wife and the three children. The 19-year-old is too old to gain automatic citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act and it is unlikely that the 17-year-old will either. All requirements under the CCA must be met prior to the child turning 18. There is one major requirement missing -- the children being admitted to the US as Legal Permanent Residents. After the I-130 and I-485 are approved, the two oldest children will become LPRs only, like their mother. However, there is also another problem with the 19-year-old -- based on their age now (19) and the finalization date on the adoption (2021), they were well over the age of 16 when the adoption was complete. An adoption for immigration must be finalized prior to the child's 16th birthday. On the other hand, a step-parent could petition for a step-child after 16. Now that the adoption is complete, I don't think he can now petition as a step-father. A good immigration attorney might know a way around this issue, but I don't know. They definitely need a good immigration lawyer.

Legal adoption by a US citizen will not, on its own, grant US citizenship to a child, even if it is done in the US while the children are in the US. It is possible to adopt a child for whom you then become legally responsible, and not have that adoption qualify for immigration purposes. The primary missing piece here, under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA), is that the children have to have been admitted to the US as Legal Permanent Residents before they can possibly acquire US citizenship. That missing piece can be met by filing an I-130 and I-485 for each child. Once the AOS is approved, IF the adoption meets the requirements of an adoption for immigration purposses AND all the requirements of the CCA are being met, the children will attain US citizenship. There is insufficient information in the original post to determine if the adoption meets the requirements for immigration and whether all of the other requirements of the CCA are met and will continue to be met. For example there are questions about the following, at a minimum: How old are the children? How old were they when their mother married him? When did the US citizen receive legal custody of the children? What was the date of the final adopton decree? Is there a biological father still in the picture and, if so, did he sign off for the adoption? IMO, it is time/past time to consult a good imitation attorney in addition to the family law attorney. If the adoption decree does not meet the legal requirements of an adoption for immigration purposes, does he still qualify to immediately file AOS for them as their stepfather? Or, if the only impediment to filing as the adoptive father is the two-year legal custody issue, must he wait to file? If it's recommended that he wait to file, can he file for his wife and once her AOS is approved, she file for the children? There are undoubtedly other questions or avenues to pursue that an immigration lawyer might raise. There may be difficulties get SSNs for the children also. The new birth certificates, in most if not all states, will reflect the actual place of birth. SSA will then ask for the DHS paperwork documenting the child's entry into the US. Identity must also be proven -- most likely that will need to be the children's passports -- again resulting in a request for the DHS entry documents.

No, sorry. Only US citizens filing for an immediate relative (IR categories) can request approval from an Embassy/Consulate to file an I-130. Others with urgent needs shouId file the I-130 with USCIS and request an expedite. See (especially Footnote 4) https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-b-chapter-3.

Don't know if you got an answer to this or not, so am responding just in case. If I am reading your post correctly, your husband does not work for the religious organization directly; rather, he works for a construction company that has a contract with the organization. If that is the case, then no, you would not qualify for expeditious naturalization. Even if he were employed directly as a contractor for the organization, it is unlikely he would be in a position that qualifies. He would have to be in a ministerial position or a missionary.. See Section C on the US IS website at https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-4.

Was your friend a US citizen at the time he filed the I-130 or has he become one since? Or is he an LPR? (Sorry if I missed that information anywhere in your post. I know the post is in the "Family of US Citizen", but people sometimes post in the wrong section.) The answer to thIs makes a difference for the baby of his daughter. if she is the daughter of a US citizen (IR2), she cannot bring the baby as a derivative on her vIsa case.

I'm late to respond to this, but hope tbe OP will see it. Are you sure it is the CRBA they want authenticated? A CRBA is not a birth certificate; rather, it is a citizenship document that proves the individual was a US citizen from birth. The birth certificate would be what was issued by the country where the child was born. It has information on it it that will not be on the CRBA.

There is a provision for an LPR to be issued a temporary visitors visa - I assume this would also apply to the ESTA equivalent - when they need to travel to the US more quickly than getting a returning resident visa would take, without relinquishing their green card. It isn't clear that the lady's situation would qualify under this provision, but we don't really know the details of her situation. 9 FAM 402.2-4(B)(10) (U) Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Issued Nonimmigrant Visitor Visa for Emergency Temporary Visit to United States(CT:VISA-1625; 09-08-2022) (U) An LPR may, in some cases, need to get a visa more quickly than obtaining a returning resident visa would permit. For example: a permanent resident employed by a U.S. corporation may be temporarily assigned abroad which requires them to remain out of the United States for more than one year. They may be issued an NIV to travel to the United States for urgent business meeting and Form I-551 need not be surrendered. The relinquishment of the I-551 must not be required as a condition precedent to the issuance of either an immigrant or NIV unless DHS has requested such action. You may wish to limit and annotate the visa to reflect the nature of the LPR's travel, and to provide additional information to ports of entry.

Not an accurate statement for most countries. However, in this case, it is likely to cause some questions about your intentions when seeking to return so soon after an extended stay in the US.

I'm not sure why my suggestions have caused such an extreme, somewhat hostile and condescending, response. I did not say employment records were not good evidence; rather, I was suggesting the importance of supplying additional evidence along with the employment records. The consular officer is looking for a preponderance of the evidence (not "proof beyond a reasonable doubt") to make their determination -- supplying various sources of documentation instead of just one type has long been suggested and can provide a better picture for the officer. It is better to be prepared with as much information as you can instead of having a CBRA held up for needing more documentation, IMO. The issue of overseas or remote work not counting as physical presence pre-dates COVID and has resulted in further documentation requests for years (yes, even before March 1, 2020). I merely pointed out it may become more of an issue. And, especially with all the restrictions on international travel, there will not be an issue of someone saying that zooming into a high school class in the US instead of sitting in a classroom during COVID closures -- where you were likely already a student when the shut-downs occurred -- does not document physical presence. I cannot see where anything I suggested would result in a conclusion that fewer CRBAs will be issued. On the contrary -- with more complete documentation, it should result in more CRBAs being issued without delays. I see no need reason to alarm people by drawing that extreme conclusion. Regarding the baby being born after the mother's IV was issued -- there is no requirement that the parents then file an I-130/I-485 after the mother and baby enter the US (with or without a passport waiver along with the visa waiver for the baby -- sorry I wasn't clear about that part -- even with a passport (if no passport waiver is requested/approved), the mother must still show proof of parentage (both parents) along with the passport). The baby would be admitted at the POE as a Legal Permanent Resident and get a green card without filing those documents.

Pregnancy is not usually a reason for expediting a case, unless there is something especially concerning about the pregnancy. Looking at it from an outsider's (Embassy's) perspective, your request didn't seem to supply a reason beyond what is the normal issue of being separated from your family. If being worried and frustrated when not together is a reason to expedite, everyone would be requesting expedites. Not being able to be with her for the birth or to help afterwards is also normal in the world of immigration. By asking for a written expedite request, they are giving you the opportunity to describe the special situation in your case that makes it qualify for an expedite. Look carefully at Family's list above -- include information such as that (for those areas, if any, that apply to your case). Also, does your fiance not have any family available to help her? If not, I would also suggest that information be included. Also, I assume you did not copy it into this thread for privacy reasons, but make sure you include the three items of "additional information" specified in their request.

If you meet the requirements to transmit your US citizenship to your child (5 years of physical presence in the US, 2 of which were after you turned 14, all of which were before the child is born), the baby must be documented as a US citizen rather than trying to get an immigrant visa. Employment records are becoming less useful, as they usually prove you worked for a company that was in the US, but you could have worked overseas (although that, at times, may also count depending on the employer). But, with the growth of remote work, especialy post-COVID, it becomes more difficult to determine physical presence through employment records. School transcripts or grade cards that show presence over time (especially high school and university) as opposed to just diplomas which can be earned on-line, medical records (especially vaccination records), housing (e.g., rental or Iease agreements) and/or utility records, credit card records, etc can all prove useful in conjunction with the employment records. If you do not meet the citizenship transmission requirements, and the baby is born before your wife's immigrant vIsa is issued, you must file a new I-130 for him/her and get an immigrant visa. You can request expedites for both the USCIS and State Department portions of the process, but they may or may not be approved. However, if you can't transmit US citizenship and the baby was born after your wife's visa was issued but before she traveled to the US, the baby would not require a visa, only a birth certificate or other proof of parentage. (See 9 FAM 201.2-3 (b)(1) and (b)(4) at: https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM020102.html).

Are you 100% sure you calculated your physical presence properly? How and when did you get your green card? Did you spend time in the US before you got the green card? if so, did you include that time?