appleblossom

Doesn't sound like he'd qualify to me tbh, particularly as you say 'very few employers are willing to sponsor'. Frankly, if he had skills that really are needed in the US (which is what he'd need to show for the EB2 NIW) then he'd be being headhunted on a regular basis for jobs in the US. It's also not great that the first thing that comes up when you Google his name is his own LinkedIn profile (our lawyers said that's the first thing the immi officer will do). From the USCIS site: "Factors USCIS Considers for National Interest Waiver The proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. You are well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. On balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer, and thus the labor certification." Do you think he meets that criteria? If so, I'd suggest a consultation with an immigration attorney that is well versed in EB immigrant visas and can advise what he may be eligible for (if anything). We used Fragomen and they were great. It may be that a job offer is needed though, has he tried job hunting?

Nope, not me. But if you start a new thread with a relevant title, those with a similar experience will try and help I'm sure. Good luck.

The OP hasn't been on the forum for 5 and a half years, this is a really old thread. I'd suggest you start your own new thread with any questions.

You must follow the instructions in the country specific info, it will depend on if it's for a native born Beninese or not - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Benin.html

Sounds like there's nothing to do but wait for your interview to be scheduled. What is confusing you about the screenshot above? It's good news that you are now DQ'ed and not stuck in AP.

And as said above, it take the same amount of time for that visa as yours will anyway - but at least with the CR1, your spouse will be able to start work and travel straight away. So it's the better route by a mile IMO. But if you want to move sooner, another option would be to see if your wife may be eligible for another type of visa i.e. an employment based one. Depends on what she does, her education level, how in demand her skills are, but possibly something else to look at - just make sure that if she does go down that route it won't be an issue if she's applied for an immigration visa too (not all are dual intent). Good luck.

Immigrant visa in hand a week or two after that. Green card 1-3 months after you've arrived in the US. Good luck, hope your PD becomes current at some point next year. 🤞

Ah, ok. So basically they'll happily take your money but that's it. 😂 Once your PD is current on Table B then everything else should open up for your on CEAC and you can get started. Then it's just a case of waiting until your PD is current on Table A to actually get the visa. Good luck.

I'm surprised you've been sent the Welcome Letter, as you're not eligible to file yet (current date on Table B of the Visa Bulletin is January 2023, so only applications with PD's earlier than this are supposed to be able to file). What happens when you log in, will it let you pay the fees or is that all greyed out? Normally, once your PD is current on Table B (dates for filing) on the VB, you can do everything except the interview. So pay your fees, submit your docs and your DS-260. But then once you're DQ'ed, your application will be held until your PD is current on Table A of the Visa Bulletin, and only then will you be added to the queue for an interview. HTH, best of luck.

This lawyer wasn't suggesting you lie surely? You have to list the last 5 years of employment in your application and I'd assume they can easily check your tax records anyway.

Well, without PP it could have taken a year to get approval, and you never know, maybe in spring your PD will be current. So perhaps it will turn out to have been a wise decision after all!

They send them out at weekends too - we got ours on a Saturday.

I know, my own teenage daughter will be doing the same when she goes to college abroad next year. But she'll have lived in the US for 18 months on her green card by then to establish herself, she'll have a part-time job here to come back to in school vacations, she'll be filing tax returns, she'll have a driving licence, she'll have a bank account, her name is on the house lease and all her family will be here. Etc, etc. Just not sure how many ties a 14 year old can have to prove she's not abandoned her US residency, particularly without parents there! But good luck to you/her.

Ah, I see. That's a shame. If she's not a full-time US resident and plans to finish schooling in the Philippines over the next few years then presumably you're aware she's risking her LPR status? Not sure it was really worth if if that's the plan, you may have been better off waiting to apply until she was actually ready to move.

Sounds like she's now a US citizen then, so no need for her green card at all. https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-h-chapter-4

That's good. I'd still suggest you answer @nastra30's question about your step daughter's age, as it may be very pertinent - there's a chance she's now a USC.

I always found CEAC pretty useless, although maybe it's better for spousal apps. Try this instead - https://egov.uscis.gov

As above, it's an email. How long you have to wait will depend on when you were DQ'ed, as IL's only go out once a month - so if you were DQ'ed just before the cut off for that month, you may only have a few days of wait before the IL pops in to your inbox, but if you were DQ'ed just after the previous month's cut off, it'll be a month or so before you get it. It sounds like you just missed last month's cut off. I'm not sure IL's have gone out for this month yet, so hopefully in the next few days you'll get it, although it is odd that your CEAC status still says it's at NVC. What does your non CEAC status say, does it say it's in transit?

Why have you not submitted tax returns?

I really hope so. There are quarterly limits as always, otherwise all visas would be allocated too quickly. There have been a few articles about the EB visa backlog getting worse in the future and the reasons for it, here’s one that another forum member posted a while back - https://immigration.net/2023/06/15/the-coming-apocalypse-for-employment-based-immigrantswhat-the-current-backlog-in-perm-labor-certifications-dol-prevailing-wage-requests-and-pending-and-approved-i-140s-means-for-future-visa-b/

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition/step-3-pay-fees.html If your step-child is also getting a visa, then yes, you pay it for both of them. Not heard of a biometrics fee for anybody going through consular processing? Don't forget the green card fee as well though - $220 each.

Yes, a huge difference. If you were from India then you'd have to add a decade to that time as their PD on the VB is 2012. And even if you're comparing it to others in the ROW category then it's still potentially as much as 2 years difference! London is one of the quickest consulates, only 2-3 months from being DQ'ed to an interview (if current). Other consulates have huge backlogs and people are waiting 2 years or so for an interview letter even if their PD is current. Yep, it's retrogressed, just means there is much more demand for visas than there are visas available so they've had to slow it down.

Ah, perfect, that's good - one of the quickest consulates and quickest area too. Although your PD is approx a year earlier than the current date on the Visa Bulletin, that doesn't mean it will move forward at the same rate. For example, in September's VB the date was 1st July 2022, it then moved in the October bulletin but only by a week - so the VB moved a month but the PD didn't. Ditto in November, it moved forward by about a week, and then hasn't changed at all in December. So in 4 months it's moved 15 days, hence you can't assume that it will go forward a year in a year. I'm afraid it's likely to take longer if it carries on at the same rate, but then sometimes it does do big jumps in a month - so who knows! Predictions for EB visas are that they will take longer as time goes on (you can look up the stats for people in the queue and how that increases, if interested), so I'd be prepared for that just in case. Best of luck. Nearly there though! Hopefully not too much longer, I hope you get a lovely Christmas present with a big jump in January's VB.

Hi, and welcome. Which country?

This doesn't seem to apply to you as your wife lived there 10 years ago, but just for future ref for others, the country specific guidelines say "Immigrant visa applicants in Brazil need to provide a police certificate from each state in which they have lived for over six months during the last five years as well as a federal police certificate". https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country/Brazil.html