Demise

If the 2 year deadline passed then you can't refile I-360. Only option is to file I-290B to revive the existing I-360. You've got four options with the I-290B. Motion to reopen (here's more facts/evidence) Motion to reconsider (USCIS erred in judgement) Combined motion to reopen and reconsider (basically both of the above, USCIS reviews them individually) Appeal to the AAO (from my personal observations it looks like the sustain rate on appeals is around 5%, but you have to remember that most cases that end up there are generally heavily defective) (generally the office that originally denied the application was take another look at it before sending to the AAO). That being said, I've never seen an I-360 get straight up denied without an RFE, sometimes even an RFE followed by a second RFE or a NOID. Also lets say that they don't RFE you and instead decide to interview you and that goes so-so, they can still RFE you subsequent to the interview. Yes the interview is scary but it isn't be all end all. So at this point I wouldn't stress that hard about getting denied. Also last bit of information, estimated processing time for I-360 currently is 41.5 months, so you're still within normal processing times and they might just approve you without needing all the extra stuff. Do have it all ready in case they do want it but just don't fall into the dark thoughts, you made it this far, you'll make it further.

Honestly I'd sit on it. USCIS is pretty bad with unsolicited submissions. Chances are that it might get lost between the mail room and your actual file. Secondly, understanding abuse requires plenty of specialized training, so while I hadn't seen any testimonials from anyone who had a combined I-360/I-485 interview yet, I simply don't believe that the rank and file employees will be asking for details about abuse there. They might question the legitimacy of marriage because they've already received similar training for I-130s.

Let me take an aside to this question. The stamped immigrant visa serves as proof of permanent residency valid for 1 year from the entry date. The LPR in question can use that for basically anything they'd normally need the green card for - social security number, driver's license, work, international travel, etc, etc. So if you're worried that you legally just won't exist between the entry date and when the green card finally arrives, don't be.

Yeah it applies to those that got that specific waiver I-751s as well. Meh listen, my own divorce took like probably 18 months to get through the courts. I think that's also a factor to consider. Also rank and file employees are not supposed to try to readjudicate the abuse part unless you literally go in there and say "haha, I made it all up".

Are you ignoring the part where I pointed at INA 101(a)(51)(C) as counting applicants for this waiver as "VAWA self-petitioners"? Also https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-6-part-i-chapter-5 Lots of mentions of VAWA in section C don't you agree? Believe me, I'm not an idiot, but while I-360 is likely the most utilized immigration part of VAWA there's a bunch of others.

1. You can naturalize after 3 years. 2. You do not have to be divorced. Those are the two main pluses. Guess what they scrutinize the marriage if you seek the divorce waiver too. Finally you can seek multiple waiver filings on a single I-751. They will most likely summon you for an interview so you can drop ones that didn't prevail. In re word "extreme": Yeah and there's two ways to reach the finding of extreme cruelty, you can have one single hair raising act or you can have a pattern of behavior where none of the acts taken in a vacuum are extreme but there's a pile of them that will wear you down. We're really arguing about minutia. Sure the section might've originated with the Immigration Act of 1990 however it was basically absorbed into VAWA by section 811 of VAWA 2005 by including it in the definitions of who a VAWA self-petitioner is. Also both 216(c)(4)(C) and VAWA relevant parts of INA 204 both use some variation of "battery or extreme cruelty" not domestic abuse or anything of the like. Similar with the few other scattered abused spouse benefits (CCA, NACARA, cancellation of removal, and probably some others). (U-visa uses domestic violence but that's because U-visa requires a crime to have been committed, reported, and ideally prosecuted) Like neither of us is really wrong unless USCIS tells you to face the wall for calling it the VAWA waiver. Either way, I'm gonna drop it here because this conversation is not conductive to anything. In either case the law uses the same term for both and USCIS reviews both in the same place by a team that likely applies very similar standards to both.

Small correction because it's outside edit window (8 USC 1154a) should instead read (8 USC 1168a)

I've done my own I-360. Generally the evidence you want is a self-affidavit explaining your married life and how bad the abuse was. A psychological evaluation is also highly recommended. If you have other evidence like medical records of injuries, police reports, restraining orders, third party statements, etc, those are also worthwhile to submit. Finally all the proofs you can muster that the marriage was legitimate while it lasted. This one is somehow more important than the abuse part. Other than that, in the VAWA thread you basically never see any RFEs relating to the abuse part unless the statements made are contradictory. USCIS questions the validity of the marriage while it lasted a lot harder than they question the abuse parts. I received an RFE myself, USCIS took my self-affidavit at face value and then put me through the wringer that the marriage was legit. Now, most people there are doing I-360 self petitions rather than I-751 waivers but the eligibility and evidence submitted is basically the same and is reviewed by the same humanitarian team.. I would strongly recommend getting a lawyer to handle this, however - it's not easy, but it's not like you need to be the most abused spouse on the planet to be approved.

INA 101(a)(51)(C): INA 216(a)(4)(C) (8 USC 1154a): VAWA Naturalization Sheet: Basically, if you see "battery or extreme cruelty", just presume VAWA.

VAWA ROC waiver is an option. The positive is that you don't need to be divorced to seek it and get to keep the 3 year eligibility for naturalization. The downside is arguing all the VAWA abuse stuff.

Is either of your parents still alive? If so you could petition for a parent and later your brother could use the now LPR parent for the I-601. Sponsor and qualifying relative can be two different people.

I guess someone looked over the A-file due to the I-90, then saw that the I-485 was approved so might as well just revoke the I-765 since the EAD stopped being valid when the I-485 was approved.

In this context: If the kid was under 18 when you married - yes the kid is considered a stepchild of a US citizen (INA 101(b)(1)(B)). If the kid was over 18 when you married then I don't know but I am leaning to say no as a stepparent-stepchild relationship was never formed in a case like that. I've been looking through INA and I really can't find anything that'd allow it, as the eligibility basically hinges on being a child or former child of an abusive US citizen and if that relation was never legally formed then there's nothing to proceed from.

1. Check page 8, part 3, box 1.a. and include a printout of statements from the SSA as proof that you have those 40 credits and are exempt from the affidavit of support requirements. Also include I-864W requesting the same just in case. I'm not sure they want it or not but it's a short form. You do not have to file I-864 or provide tax documents. 2. No, put those names in. Only real case where you can skip the names is where the identity of the parent(s) is unknown like your father is unknown or you were found abandoned and then raised in an orphanage. Hadn't seen my father in like 25 years, still did list him. 3. No, unlawful presence is not a factor in adjustment via marriage to a US Citizen. Nor is it a factor when traveling out advance parole due to Matter of Arrabally. 4. It's a tough question since strictly speaking neither DACA nor parole is a concrete legal status. Just write in DACA. 5. Yep, it's dumb but if they want it then do provide it. 6. Answer to that one is yes. It's a question really meant to weed out those with multiple EWIs where the permanent bar triggers. 7. No, that's an old provision letting one adjust after EWI or violating status in any category if petitioned before April 30, 2001.

Average day in IT.

You can't use AR-11 or online form to change your address for anything VAWA related. You have to write to whichever service center has the form(s) in question. The letter needs to basically say some variation of "I moved, my new safe VAWA mailing address is [address]" with "safe mailing address" being the keyword, the letter also has to be signed since they compare signatures against what's on the I-360/I-485 to verify that it's you who actually sent it in. So what do in this scenario? Ask your congressman or senator to inquire on your behave and 1: Pass your change of address letter to USCIS. 2: Ask USCIS to resend the I-360 approval notice and the I-485 RFE to your new address or at least get you a digital copy. It's a good question where the I-485 currently is. It could be in NBC, it could also be at the field office associated with the old address as either can issue an RFE. I have received an RFE for the medicals from the NBC.

I really doubt ICE is going to go around raiding schools, however for peace of mind: Schedule an infopass appointment for an ADIT Stamp. Bring the I-90 receipt notice with you. USCIS can either issue that as a stamp into your kid's passport or they can issue it as a standalone document on an I-94. The stamp serves as temporary proof of permanent residence valid for 1 year.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-583_onjq.pdf That's the decision they're (poorly) talking about. Give it a read. Basically it's not that USCIS can yoink your visa nilly willy. In this case the I-130 was approved and later revoked when it came to light that the beneficiary previously entered into a sham marriage and got slapped with a 204(c). The I-130 revocation was appealed to the BIA that dismissed the appeal. Then the petitioner tried to seek collateral review via a federal district court, that one denied it, appealed to the 11th circuit that again denied it, and the supreme court that similarly denied it. Now, collateral review in immigration is hard to come by and the only claims that ever really succeed there happen under the APA where the agency's own rules are contrary to law. In most cases you have to petition for review after exhausting the administrative remedies (for an I-130 that'd be USCIS -> BIA -> US Court of Appeals -> Supreme Court). Moreover the claim here wasn't really that the ban was applied incorrectly, rather the whole claim was that USCIS abused its discretion by revoking the I-130, which it did correctly. Moreover, in general discretionary decisions are not directly appealable (e.g. why you can't ordinarily appeal an I-485 denial). 204(c) is also annoying in that there's no waiver available, you have to basically disprove that the prior marriage was bogus in course of seeking some other immigration benefit. So all in all, nothing changes. It's pretty much always been this way.

Definitely close like how @Boiler said. Any trips abroad during that time? If not then he should have just barely enough presence in US for the kid to be eligible for a CRBA. If there were some then it is literally a matter of counting all the days and seeing if it comes up above 1826-1827 days (365 x 5 + 1-2 leap days). Again, the 5+ years can be spent in any status: Citizen, non-citizen national, permanent resident, any kind of non-immigrant, TPS, asylee, refugee, and even as an illegal immigrant.

Small correction, only kids can use a parent's work for US government, not spouses, I misread the section.

Was he present in US for 5+ years before the birth of the child (in any status) and at least 2 years after turning 14 (again in any status)? The law (INA 301(g)) only requires 5+ years of physical presence (and at least physically present in US for 2 years after turning 14) (with some outs like working for the US government while abroad or being a dependent of spouse/parent who works for the government counting as well), and that the parent is a citizen when the child is born. Not that the parent was living in US as a citizen for 5+ years. So all in all, as long as he lived in US for 5+ years at any point in his life, at least 2 years after turning 14, and was a citizen when the kid was born that'd be enough. He could've left the day he got his naturalization certificate otherwise.

Don't bother trying to fix that because realistically that's not an error. The thing about having multiple nationalities is that generally country A believes you to be solely their citizen and generally country B believes you to be solely their citizen. Pakistan also has Jus Soli, so by being born there you're most likely a citizen (unless you were born to foreign diplomats or enemy soldiers). Do you have both? Most likely. Both US and Pakistan permit multiple nationalities, Pakistan doesn't strip their citizenship unless you become a citizen in a country where renunciation is a requirement to naturalize, in other words - you become a citizen of a country that doesn't permit multiple nationalities (e.g. Japan). So yeah, submit that birth certificate of your kid and just ideally have something to link that entry listing you as a Pakistani to you. If you have a certificate of citizenship then that "lists a country of former nationality", otherwise you'd likely need to get a FOIA of your A-file, your Pakistani birth certificate, or a DNA test.

So the expiration date on the visa itself doesn't matter. It's the date of entry + 1 year. Other than that, the proof in question just has to be valid as of the date when USCIS gets it. Even if it takes longer than the expiration of the proof (again, date of entry + 1 year) then IR5 isn't conditional so the presumption is that the petitioner remains an LPR. Even if they would RFE for copy of the CG then well, that'd still count for purposes of CSPA.

They can file immediately, each kid will need their own I-130. At the I-130 stage only things that're needed are: 1. Proof of permanent residency: generally that's a green card but in this case the stamped immigrant visa is a valid proof. They don't even need an SSN at this point and if they don't have it yet then just leave it blank and explain in the last section "Entered recently, haven't been issued a SSN as of the date of filing this form". 2. Proof of relationship: This will be the kids' birth certificates with certified translation if not in English. In any case, best to get the ball rolling ASAP. The 18 year old will be cutting it close since the F2A backlog is about 3 years these days. Now, CSPA will definitely help, it allows the time the I-130 is pending to count against the actual age. Formula is as follows: Age at date of visa availability - time petition was pending = CSPA age. Then if this comes out to under 21 the sibling has 1 year to "seek to acquire" permanent residency, generally that's filing DS-260 (if abroad) or I-485 (if in US). Age at date of visa ability is the date the priority date becomes current or the date the petition was approved, whichever is later. Other considerations: Petitioner's naturalization overwrites normal CSPA calculations, there it's basically under 21 - IR2, over 21 - F1. So in some cases naturalization can actually make things worse. The kids have to stay unmarried, marriage will just kill the petition (unless the parent's a citizen at that point where it'll drop it to F3).

No, that's free for dependents, https://www.uscis.gov/g-1055?form=i-765 Scroll down you'll find: If you are filing for a renewal EAD under one of the following categories: (c)(9) Persons seeking adjustment of status as a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, self-petitioner (including derivatives); also (c)(10) Abused spouses and children of a lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen applying for cancellation of removal and adjustment of status under INA section 240A(b)(2); (c)(14) Deferred action if filed by a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Form I-360 self-petitioner (including derivatives); (c)(31) Principal beneficiaries or derivative children of an approved Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petition; or All of these are listed as having online and paper filing fees of $0. (c)(9) is the normal one (pending I-485 based on pending or approved I-360). (c)(10) is cancellation of removal (pending EOIR-42B). (c)(14) is deferred action from a prima facie determination (in event you can't file I-485 for some reason like final order and you need the I-360 approval to reopen/terminate). (c)(31) is approved I-360. Those are all the categories a VAWA self-petitioner and children thereof can generally get an EAD under and they're all free, initial, renewal, and even replacements.