jan22

You could pursue the case of your baby deriving US citizenship through the grandparents — but it usually takes as long as, or longer than, an immigrant visa and can be harder to document. Prior to filing the I-130 with USCIS (preferably on-line), you should contact the Embassy/Consulate to see if they would accept your filing the I-130 directly with them under the exceptional circumstances provision.

I have not seen anything in this thread that indicates she has the qualifications for an L1 visa, basically — working for a company with a US branch; working at that company at least one year out of the past three years; working in an executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge position.

Follow the information from the State Department. It describes what the document should look like and where/how to get it: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Brazil.html

If I understand your timeline, you’ve been married for almost 3 1/2 years and have spent a total of 9 weeks together after the trip during which you married. Some questions come to mind. If you don’t want to answer them here, fine — but still something to think about that the consular officer may have considered. Nite that this is not a comprehensive list — it’s a starting point: Hiw long have you known one another? How did you meet? How long after you met one another in person before you married? Did you marry on your first in-person meeting trip? Do you have a significant age difference? If so, is that culturally acceptable in Gambian culture? Major difference in religion? Great difference in educational level? Language difference (I know the official language of Gambia is English, but still an important question, just in case.) Do either if you have children? Were either if you married before? Multiple times? International marriage requiring an immigrant visa? Were both families supportive of the marriage? None of these issues by themself would be a problem; however, if many of them apply, taken together they may form a pattern cause concern about the validity of the marriage. I can almost guarantee that the issue was NOT the lack of a large celebration after the marriage. People are married in simple ceremonies (civil and religious) without large celebrations all over the world and still get issued US immigrant visas.

Exactly. But not with the existing petition, as you listed later on in your response.

First two pints are correct. Three is incorrect. When an F2B applicant marries before the LPR petitioner naturalizes, the petition is immediately voided and cannot be resurrected after the petioner naturalizes. Belinda63 is correct — parent must now file a new petition.

I think this summarizes things for the OP: The two stepdaughters with approved I-130s finish the process and are issued immigrant visas. They enter the US — without the baby — and they become green card holders, i.e., LPRs. (Note: The green card processing fee must be paid to USCIS before the card is actually produced, but they will be in LPR status from the minute they are admitted to the US.) The baby’s mother can immediately (even the same day!) file an I-130 for the baby. While the I-130 is being processed and the wait for a visa number occurs, the baby remains in the home country. (Note: The baby’s mother can apply for a re-entry permit after entering the US to return to care for the baby, if she wants to. The re-entry permit is for situations when an LPR wants to protect their green card status but must spend significant time outside the US. It will allow an LPR to be outside the US for up two years without risking the loss of their LPR status. It can usually be renewed for an additional two years, if needed.) Once a visa number is available — assuming there is already an approved I-130 by then — the immigrant visa process is completed for the baby. The baby enters the US with the immigrant visa and becomes an LPR.

Adopting the baby is not at all feasible, IMO. Even if there is a remote possibility, it would likely take as long as it would take for the stepdaughter to enter as an LPR and then petition for the baby. It would not seem possible for the US citizen to meet the requirements for adoption for immigration purposes, including those such as: Proving the baby is an orphan (he/she’s not); Documenting that the stepdaughter is unable to adequately care for the child and has relinquished all parental rights (but then plans on immigrating to the same household as the baby?!); The adopting parent has had legal and physical custody of the baby for two years (baby isn’t even two years old, most likely — even if he/she is, the process for obtaining legal custody and then the two-year clock hasn’t even been started yet); There is a complete and final adoption (hasn’t even been started, don’t know country involved, so don’t even know how feasible an international adoption would be or how long it would take.) Showing that the adoption is not being done solely to circumvent US immigration law (which it is, since the plan appears to be that the baby would still be in his/her mother’s custody and care while living with the “adopting” parents). OP: I’m sorry, but I see no legal means to do this other than the stepdaughter becoming an LPR and then petitioning the baby or your wife delaying US citizenship and petitioning for her daughter so the baby can be a derivative applicant on that petition.

Adopting the children would have no effect on the results for the visas for which they would qualify and would add years to their cases. Any petition filed by a stepparent or an adopting parent ultimately results in an “IR” (Immediate Relative) visa. The result for the baby are the same — no derivatives, no matter what the IR category is, so the baby would have to be left behind. Once the baby’s mother enters the US, she can immediately petition for the baby, but that will take 3+ years. While waiting, if she wants to return to care for the baby, to protect her own green card status the mother could apply for a re-entry permit once she has been admitted to the US and then return to her home country until the baby’s visa could be issued. The re-entry permit is issued for two years and can usually be renewed once. Certainly not ideal, as it basically delays your step-daughter’s US plans for 3-4 years. I suspect the lawyer who advised you to ask/beg for a visa for the baby was suggesting you try to get a B2 visitor/tourist visa for the baby and then try to adjust to immigrant status once in the US. That would not work for a few reasons: It is highly unlikely that any consular officer would issue such a visa, as it would be condoning fraud. Even if granted the maximum stay on a visitor visa (usually 6 months) the baby could not remain in legal status for the time needed for a visa number to be available for adjustment of status. Once out of status (I.e., past the time of authorized stay), adjustment of status would not be possible. It could ultimately cause problems for your step-daughter if any consular/immigration official thought this plan rose to alien smuggling — assisting someone (the baby) to obtain an immigration benefit to which they are not qualified, whether the attempt is successful or not. This is an extreme outcome, but it has happened. Another possibility is that the lawyer suggested Humanitarian Parole, but that is not a visa. It is an application to USCIS to request someone who is not qualified for a visa to be “paroled” (versus admitted) into the US for a temporary period because of humanitarian reasons. However, the parole process specifically states that it is not meant to be used to replace normal visa processing procedures, so that route, too, would almost certainly not work in your case.

It doesn’t matter whether you got the actual CRBA document before you were 18 or not — if your father transmitted US citizenship to you, you were/are a US citizen from birth whether it was/is documented or not. After 18, the process is completed by applying for a US passport and submitting the same kinds of supporting documentation of US physical presence as you would for a CRBA. Most importantly, as a US citizen, you would not qualify for an immigrant visa or AOS, as they are processes for non- citizens.

If he meets the requirements for “time in the US”, why are you pursuing an immigrant visa (or even the J1) instead of documenting your US citizenship?

Probably the most important piece of information in your post was your last sentence when you asked if your petitioner (your Dad) “ have to come back to the US”. Is he not in the US now? If so, is he outside on the US on a short visit or is he residing outside the US? If residing outside the US, does he intend to return to live in the US when you get your immigrant visa? Also, I am assuming that your family has checked to make sure your father did not meet the requirements fir transmitting US citizenship to you at birth?

OP is applying for an immigrant visa, I believe. Without knowing for sure the specific nature of your crime(s) — which we don’t need to, but you can review (preferably with a lawyer knowledgeable about waivers) to make sure there are no hidden issues that would effect your case — since your crimes were more than 15 years ago that would usually mean you just have to show you have been rehabilitated and that admitting you to the US is not contrary to the safety and security of the country.

Per OP’s first post, she was informed of the reason — 212(a)(6)(C)(1) — seeking to obtain an immigration benefit through fraud or misrepresentation. She was also informed as to what the only way forward is, which is to apply for a waiver of the ineligibility. The requested documents may or may not have anything to do with the fraud finding. They are needed, however, to have a complete application. A application must be complete so any possible areas of ineligibility are identified before an applicant can move forward with the waiver application.

Have you had a new medical? They will not/cannot issue your visa with a medical that is more than 6 months old.

No more sure way than any other visa category. There has to be not only an available appointment but also a visa number still available the month the interview is scheduled. But, I still believe the F4, which is close to being DQ-ed will be faster. I would, if financially feasible, still also recommend filing the IR-5 petitions just to be sure.

Hopefully, you remembered to always refer to your parent as your sibling and used all the right pronouns! If so, it does appear that the case slipped through some cracks in the NVC system. It’s a semi-automated process, which is one of the reasons for the provision that provides notification of potential case closure and gives a year for response before a case is actually closed. Regardless of you posing as your uncle and NVC’s error, my opinion in the final paragraph of my first response concerning whether to continue the F4 or start two new cases — requiring two fees and two sets of all documents with potentially two separate timelines for a while — remains the same. Hope you get this all worked out for your family soon.

It was not necessarily an error on NVC’s part if you were the only one contacting NVC about the case. They want to receive contact from the actual parties involved in the case (your parents and your uncle). That’s why all of the information/instructions from NVC talk about what “you” need to do to keep “your” case active. Technically, you are, legally, a third party to your parents’ case and should not be provided any information about it — unless you’re a lawyer and have been documented as their legal representative. Assuming your uncle is willing to still move forward with the case — since he is the one who will need to provide all the updated documentation — it will be cheaper and faster to continue with this case than start all over again. (And, by the way, you can’t close the F4 case. Only your uncle can withdraw the petition.). If the fees are not an issue, you can still file I-130s (two — one for each parent) as a back-up in case your uncle does not want to/can no longer move forward with his case for them.

If she’s a German national, does she still have residency in Italy? Usually, the requirement is for the interview to be in the country of nationality or current residence. Sounds like both of these would be Germany, in your case.

Only if the VWP entry is deemed to be transiting the US or the person is actually a resident of Mexico.

This is one of the somewhat-unknown aspects of the Visa Waiver Program, designed to prevent someone using their full 90-day VWP entry, make a short trip to Mexico, Canada, or the Caribbean (i.e., contiguous territories), and then return to the US for a new 90 day VWP entry. 9 FAM 201.1-4(C)(e)(2)(b) summarizes it by saying that a side trip to to Mexico (or other contiguous territories of the US) does not “reset” the 90-day VWP clock. The time in Mexico is added to the time in the US and, together, they cannot exceed 90 days. https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM020101.html#:~:text=After the initial admission into,and%2For adjacent islands does There is a provision (section 3, immediately following (2)(b) cited above) for using the VWP to transit to another country. If the re-entry to the US occurs after the initial 90-day VWP entry, you have to show that the intent in returning to the US was not to circumvent US immigration law. Not sure, but I suspect that CBP would not accept that was the case, since OP was made aware of the issue of returning from a contiguous territory on what sounds like a fairly recent trip, and seemingly is planning another trip with exactly the same issue. (Sorry, OP — just trying to present a view from the CBP officer’s perspective). Plus, it’s hard to describe a one-month initial entry into the US and a one- month return entry as “transiting” the US. And, OP — just to clarify, on your last trip, they didn’t give you a new visa at the border — they granted you a new entry under the VWP. It doesn’t sound like you’ve had an actual visa during your travels. Ideally, to comply with US visa law, you would apply for a B2 visa, use it to enter the US for a month and then go to Mexico. When your Mexico trip is finished, you would again seek entry under your visa and spend the final month in the US before going back to Germany. Barring that, flying to a country outside the contiguous territory and then joining your boyfriend in Mexico would officially reset your timeline. But — there are some difficulties with this plan. Sorry if this gets confusing…will try to be as clear as possible. The side trip to another country would have to be at the beginning of the Mexico portion without a return to the US until the final month (e.g., US — Guatemala (or some place withe easy flights to Mexico) — Mexico — US) or it could be determined that you overstayed your VWP entry by not leaving US and contiguous territories within 90 days (if, for example, you went US— Mexico — other country — US). Another possible problem with this plan is, if you put the other country first, follow it with the Mexico portion, and then try to enter the US by land from Mexico, you might run into the issue that you are not seeking entry into the US via a VWP participating carrier. Best plan, IMO, is to apply for a B2 visa before beginnng your trip. Applying in Mexico will not stop the VWP clock, but might get you admitted back into the US. If you get the wrong CBP officer, though, you might be denied entry and possibly lose VWP. More importantly, the visa interview appointment wait times in the Embassy/Consulates in Mexico range from 414 to 728 days — so, you most likely would not even get a visa interview in time — and might not be approved. Appointment wait times in Germany range from 14 days (Munich) to 37 days (Berlin) to 48 days (Frankfurt).

Although I could be wrong, I think it will be very helpful for your waiver application that your mother actually did complete her 2 year requirement. Applying for the waiver should not cause any issues with you entering the US for visits. In a warped way, it might actually help that you need the waiver — once you’re married to a US citizen, the concern might be that you would enter the US and immediately apply to adjust status. You cannot do that without the waiver, so possibly adjusting status isn’t possible! Good luck!

OP: FYI, when the J1 is sponsored by a Fulbright — i.e., is US government funded — a waiver is very difficult to get approved. Perhaps they’ll be a little more flexible with the J2 dependent…you can only apply and find out. I don’t want to sound harsh, but you didn’t “age out” from the J2. You benefited from it for the full duration of the J1 program, if I understood your post correctly. After that, a choice was made to not comply with the requirements for which the J1 was granted for 20 or so years, which is only now an issue that must be addressed for immigration to the US. I would urge you not to approach the waiver application with the primary reason being aging out of being a dependent of the J1 — if that was a reason for a waiver, every dependent would just wait until they turned 21 to avoid the requirement. The “J” visa is designed to be an “exchange” visa. The visa holder comes to the US to experience US culture, education, environment, the people and attitudes, etc. There are specific targeted programs for some countries to facilitate interactions between the countries in certain areas. The goal is for that person to then take what they have learned about/from the US back to their home country and share it, resulting in a better understanding between the people of both countries. Lofty goal that may or may not work — but has no chance if the visa holder and family never return to the home country to share their experiences.

Because they never returned to the “home country” (or last legal residency) from which the J1/J2 was issued.

Is this a fundraiser for the charitable event, i.e., are they selling tickets for it? If so, in addition to the other issues already discussed, he could not participate using a B visa. One of the requirements is that the event be free to those attending.