bzbee

No, it is not a prerequisite. Since the boy was here legally on F-1 visa, we wanted to preserve the legal status till the I-360 was approved. Attending a public school would mean violating the F-1 visa terms and if for whatever reason the I-360 were to be rejected then the boy would be out-of-status. All future US Visa applications would be risky and any travel out of the country is not possible as there would be no re-entry. We didn't want to risk all that, so continued his education at the SEVIS approved school (that issued the I-20) till his I-360 was approved. Once I-360 was approved and he was granted the 'Special Immigrant Juvenile' status, the F-1 status is no longer relevant and we switched him to the public school. The SIJ status is very 'protected' and excludes the applicants for any and all bars to adjustment of status (except terrorist-related activities). So, technically, the boy could've attended a public school and everything would be fine once the I-360 was approved. But if the I-360 was denied, then he'd be in big trouble and that was not a risk we wanted to take.

First Preference (F1) category is for daughters and sons who are 21 years or older. If one or both your daughters are under 21 and unmarried (even if divorced), they can apply for immigration under "immediate relative" category, no need to apply under F1. Details here - https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/green-card-for-immediate-relatives-of-us-citizen If they are 21 or older and unmarried, they can apply under F1 category. Doesn't matter if they are divorced, assuming it's a good faith divorce and not being done for immigration purposes, they just need to be unmarried. USCIS will ask questions and request documentation about the previous marriage and divorce to verify that it is a genuine situation and not immigration fraud. You said both your daughters have children. I am not sure how that might effect their filing category, hopefully for someone more knowledgeable will provide clarification.

The Emirates website has good information on visa requirements and other details. https://www.emirates.com/us/english/before-you-fly/visa-passport-information/find-uae-visa-requirements/?nationality=pk&destination=ae This is what it says for Pakistan nationals - note that the official government site will have "gov.ae" at the end of the domain. Etihad also offers a Visa Application Center - https://uaevisas.etihad.com/echannels/web/client/etihad/index.html#/dashboard You can apply for a 'Single Entry 3--day Tourist Visa' for AED 300 (about 23,500 PKR). Please note the warning - You need a return ticket or onward ticket to be allowed entry. Also, good idea to have travel/health insurance in UAE - they sometimes ask for that. To cross via land border, best to fly from DXB to Toronto. If possible, ask a friend or relative to come pick you up and drive back to the US. If not, you take a bus from Toronto to Buffalo or NYC. Yes, this takes a bit more time & money but seems to be the option with the least risk. Driving in car is better as you don't have to even get out unless they ask you to. In a bus, everyone has to de-board at the border and go thru security and re-board on the other side. You could also take a Uber, but it will be expensive. Or you could go to Niagara Falls and walk across the rainbow bridge during a busy weekend. You could of course just fly direct to JFK or ORD from DXB.

Yeah, I don't suggest Abu Dhabi. Have no option if boarding is denied there. But fly to JFK from Dubai, and once you are on American soil you have certain rights as a GC holder. Even if the GC is out of status they can't just up and deport you. They may detain you, give you time to find representation and probably release you on parole till your case is decided by an Immigration Court. Exactly! I agree. Crossing via land border is probably the best option. To illustrate how relaxed the land borders are compared to the International Airports, see this article from CNBC today. Indian-origin man in US sentenced to jail for smuggling more than 800 Indians using Uber Dude just drove them across the border from Canada in an Uber 😆 - gotta admire the creative thinking 🙏

No, do not try to fly based on your to GC again from Pakistan. Get a visa or fly to a visa-free/e-visa country first. Both Mexico and Canada are visa free for GC holders. And, in my personal opinion, the border checks at the road & sea entries are more relaxed than at the Airports. I entered twice from Mexico and twice from Canada using my GC. At the Mexico crossings (Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana, both were very busy and had to wait to an hour or so in traffic) they just checked the passports, GCs and faces, asked a few basic questions and waved us thru. I was driving back from Toronto and crossed at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge , the border crossing was super busy and lines were backed up for more than a mile. Same experience - a few basic questions and waved us thru. Most rigorous check was at the Niagara Falls - I crossed into Canada by foot over rainbow bridge in the morning and returned in the afternoon, they asked us a lot more questions and seemed to check our documents more closely before allowing. Qatar or UAE would be the easy choice. Pak has E-Visa to UAE and VOA to Qatar. I'd prefer UAE with e-Visa so that you have a valid travel document in hand in case the FIA questions again. And yes, it should be a round trip ticket so prove that you are returning to Pak. A one-way ticket might arouse their suspicions. Dubai / Abu Dhabi are popular tourist spots, and an e-Visa should be easy - apply & pay online, get the visa in email, print it out.

You could also try getting to Canada or Mexico and then entering the US by road.

Bypass the FIA. First step, get out of Pakistan - Fly to a different country first - choose a country that has visa free or e-visa agreement with Pakistan and is a popular tourist destination. Second step - From there buy a ticket and fly to the US.

No, they are not sending out a new card when updating citizenship status. If you want a new card, you can always request one with some other reason - lost, disfigured etc.

A print out that I updated my SSN information on that day. No mention of Citizenship on that paper.

Sure, you can change your name again. You would probably need to get a court order, the process is dependent on your state. Once you get the name change order from the court, you can change all your documents to your new name using the order as evidence. Good luck.

How did you change your name? If you did it during naturalization, you should have received the name change petition or order signed by the judge or clerk showing your old name & new name. It is a legal document and proof that you changed your name. If you did it after, you still would have filed some legal paperwork for the name change and would have received a court order or something similar. Take that as proof.

In US, there is a process to apply for PCC - https://services.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/apply-for-pcc I think a similar service would be available in all countries. How do you apply for a Passport renewal in Thailand? Do you apply directly to the embassy, or do you apply thru a service like VFS? You should ask that 3rd party service, if available. If not, go to India for a month or so and apply in person. Also, if you never stayed in India for more than 6 months after you turned 16, you were never a resident in India and they cannot issue PCC. And, AFAIK, your history before 16 does not matter anyway (minor's protection and all that).

Dallas, TX.

Or they may have said/implied they are visiting you to help take care of the baby - that could be considered as working without authorization. Anyways, GC is not the answer if they plan on leaving after a year or two. Maintaining LPR can be difficult (residence, taxes etc.) and, as someone mentioned, if the CBP officer suspects that you are using it as an alternative to Visitor visa, there could be problems. Yes, they were pulled into secondary. But then they were allowed to enter, right? So whatever concerns the CBP officer had were resolved. It is unlikely that this will happen again. If they are worried about travelling maybe you (or someone) could travel with them the next time they visit the US? If you do decide to go the GC route: a) Do it immediately, time is key. And make sure your parents are completely onboard. b) There is no PD waiting for parents of USC, so processing is quick - I've heard as quick as 8 months in one case. Not EAD, actual GC in hand. But realistically, it depends on your location and case details. Your parents must definitely be prepared for a 2-year stay. I know someone who started GC for his mom, but after a few months she got homesick and went to India. Then she had to change to consular processing and fortunately GC was granted in India. But now the Mom is not sure she wants to live in the US, she hasn't returned to the US yet. c) Someone mentioned that if you get a GC and lose it, getting a visitor visa later is difficult. This is not fully true. If you surrender the GC properly, there is no reason to deny a visitor visa. I know first hand because my friend's parents did exactly this. They got GC, but after a year decided life in US is not for them. Surrendered the GC and returned to India, and applied for and got fresh Visitor Visas. d) Get health insurance for your parents. Must have this if they are going to stay here long term. Can be simple or tricky depending on where you live.

Special Immigrant Juveniles - https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-US/eb4/SIJ This forum has great information & details about the VAWA process, but not much about SIJ. So posting our experience with SIJ. In 2019, we had a family tragedy. My sister-in-law passed away suddenly leaving her 12-year old son semi-orphaned in India. The father had little interest in the child, and the grand parents were over 80 and couldn't take care of a child. The child's father happily handed over custody to us and promptly remarried. We applied for and got a F1 visa for the boy. We brought him to the US to live with us in early 2020, before the Covid pandemic hit. He was enrolled in a SEVP Certified Private School that issued the I-20 for the F-1 visa. The school was expensive, but it was the quickest & easiest way to get the boy to the US and stay long-term. We contacted several lawyers about his options for a Green Card. Most recommended adoption, but that was not practical due to us being US citizens and him being an Indian citizen. International adoptions come under the Hague convention and is a lengthy & expensive process with no guarantee of success. Plus India had a mortarium on international adoptions. And we had other reasons for not wanting an adoption. So that was not an option. One lawyer (NM) finally mentioned Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) but suggested we wait 6-months so that the boy comes under the state's legal jurisdiction. We did our research and felt that SIJS was the best option for the boy. Meanwhile Covid happened and everything shutdown. No progress the whole year. Step 1: Getting a court order finding the child a ward of the State (4 months, about $2500 for all - Lawyer Fees, Court Fees, Doc Fees etc.) Early 2021 we contacted NM again and she referred us to another family lawyer (MS) who handled SIJS cases before. MS was great at his job, took about 6 weeks to get all the paperwork and evidence ready to support a case for SIJS and filed the petition with the county family court. Due to Covid backlogs, we couldn't get a hearing for a couple of months. It was tense waiting for the hearing. The day of the hearing came, MS told us not to be nervous and to be honest and sincere while answering the judge's questions. The hearing went on for about 30 mins and the judge asked both us and the lawyer several questions before approving the order. It was a big relief. The order placed the child in our custody and finds that: a) Child's reunification with his mother not viable as she is deceased. b) Child's reunification with his father not viable due to abandonment and neglect. c) Not in child’s best interest to return to home country as he has no one to take care of him there. d) The child is placed under the custody of an individual appointed by a State court. Step 2: Petition USCIS for SIJ status, I-360 (9 months, about $50 - Consulting Fee with the Non-Profit, No USCIS Fee for SIJS ) It was now mid-2021 and the next step was to file form I-360 with USCIS for SIJ status. All the immigration lawyers wanted heavy retainers for this ($8K or more). Seemed kind a steep. Then came across a non-profit agency that mainly helps children & women with immigration issues and are familiar with VAWA & SIJS. We had a consultation with them (they had a lawyer too) and, after the meeting, we felt confident we could file it ourselves 🤞. We researched and gather a lot information about form I-360 and prepared our petition and supporting documents with a clear & concise cover letter. Checked everything half a dozen times before mailing it in August 2021. Got a receipt notice the next week. As per rules SIJ petitions are supposed to be adjudicated within 180 days. When we didn't hear anything after 6 months, we called USCIS. The rep we spoke with was nice but didn't have any information. Said that the case is under review, and that they are running a bit late due to back log and asked us to wait another 3 months. Then in May 2022, we got the approval notice. Yay 😃 School year had just ended and we were glad to take the boy out of that expensive private school and enroll him in a public school. No need to maintain his F-1 status any longer. Step 3: Adjustment of Status, Green Card, I-485 (6 months, about $1,500 including USCIS Fee, Biometrics Fee and Doctor Fee for Medicals) The last step is to file for AOS. Apparently GC is almost a sure shot as SIJ status is protected from "all bars to adjustment except the terrorist-related adjustment bar". None of those 'bars to adjustment' applied to the boy, of course, but we were still anxious. Submitted the form I-485 in July 2022 and got the Biometrics done the next month. AOS for SIJ applicants is processed under the EB-4 category. We had a priority date of Aug-2021 (the date of I-360 filing) and EB-4 PD for India was current when we filed the I-485 in Jul-2022. So, we hoped it'd be processed quickly. In Oct 2022 we got an RFE. We were extremely anxious when the online status said that, wondering what we missed and what could've gone wrong. It was stressful waiting for the notice to arrive in mail. When we got it, it turned out to be an error in the Medicals (I-693) - the only document not prepared by us. The nurse had made a couple of mistakes in entering the vaccine history. It took a couple of weeks to sort it out and submit a corrected I-693. In Dec 2022, just before Christmas, the I-485 was approved. The SSN card came the next week, and the Green Card was delivered this week. What a wonderful start to the New Year Finally, our SIJ journey is over. So happy & relieved. Thanks for the community & support 🙏