Dear VJ,
We filed an I-130 for our 11 year old daughter/step daughter in January 2024. Still no movement forward on application per USCIS site. Daughterlives outside the US with her mother. Daughter is passport holder of ESTA-eligible country.
Can we bring her to the US, even while the I-130 process is incomplete, and file an adjustment of status form for her?
More background:
I (f, US citizen) married my husband (who had a daughter from a previous relationship; they were never married, have joint-custody of their daughter) in South America. We filed a I-130 while he was outside the US and the entire process, from I-130 to permission to immigrate, was done in 11 months.
Husband is now a US citizen (since 2021). We hadn’t originally filed for his daughter to come to the US and she has lived with her mother since my husband emigrated. He provides child support monthly and is a very involved dad and we have a great relationship with her mom. The hope is that the daughter will come to the US for university most definitely, but possibly even for highschool.
We decided to apply for her immigration in January (with the full approval of her biological mom), but I’m, frankly, shocked by how long it’s taking to just process the I-130.
