JayFromTexas

@pushbrk is it ok to mail 2 I130 applications together or would it be better to mail the mother's and daughter's separately?

There are at least 2 members here who filed both an I130 and an I129f/k3 application to speed up approval of the I130. In both cases, they got their interviews months earlier than the standard I130 timeline. My spouse to be has an 11 yr old daughter. I know we have to file a separate I130 for her, but do we need to file a separate 129f for her too? Also, I've seen discussions here where a spouse's I130 was processed faster than her child's I130. Is there a way to request the 2 I130s be linked in some way and processed in a similar timeframe and subsequently request the interviews to happen concurrently?

That is an option but we won’t be in the same place together until May1. That would get us filed 2 months earlier.

We're aware of the risk. At this point, the son doesn't want to come, but might change his mind when the time comes. He is at University and isn't living at home at the present time.

True, but he turned 18 recently and we have until October 2025 to file as F2a. If we file my spouse's I-130 in July of this year, she should get her greencard in early 2025. We should have a 9 month cushion, but anything can happen in the next 2 years.

We're likely to go IR/CR1 due to various reasons. I understand that pursuing a K1 will allow the son to come here sooner, but as long as he will be eligible for an F2a visa, I think that will be soon enough. I've been reading about the process and it looks like the immigration process for an F2a son of a beneficiary is essentially the same process as the beneficiary, except the son's I-130 can't be filed until the beneficiary receives her LPR status. Is this all correct?

Ok, can you tell me how approximately long it would take for him to receive a greencard?

I plan to marry my Russian citizen fiance' in July of 2023. She has a son who is currently 18 years old. It is my understanding that we can't file a I-130 because my soon to be wife and I weren't married before he turned 18, so he won't be my legal stepson. How can we petition to bring him to the USA? He will be under 21, but over 18. Thanks!

DaveandAnastasia- One other thing you should look at is Aeroflot from IST to Moscow and back. In the travel sites I use, they don't include Aeroflot flights. I've found them to generally be cheaper than Turkish Air, so be sure and check Aeroflot flights too. Definitely not easy or cheap to travel to Russia right now. 😔

SimplyTex, do you think a CDC-approved vaccine is still required for the medical exam? I researched this question after we chatted and it appears it is still a requirement. What do you think?

I did it with 2 checked bags. I needed 3 hours layover, but 4 would provide extra cushion.

We just bought a ticket the other way, Moscow to Dallas and back, for 1/1/23-1/12/23. We spent a little more to buy more convenient flights with shorter layovers, but we could have bought the ticket for $1700-1900, with longer layovers. For Dallas - Moscow trips, it is cheapest through Istanbul, based on our experience. You can normally find a good deal to get to and from Istanbul, but getting from Istanbul to Moscow can cost more than Dallas to Istanbul, depending on the flight chosen. When I traveled to Moscow back in July, I bought Turkish Air flights to IST and back and then Azerbaijan Air through Baku for the IST-Moscow part. Like someone else mentioned, try buying the 2 legs (US-Turkey and Turkey-Russia) separately. If you do that, you'll have to clear customs in Istanbul, but it could save you several hundred dollars. Good luck. There are alternatives out there.

You are a legal permanent resident. Also a legal alien. You are not a citizen.