lucylosingit

hi all. i have been reading some very interesting stuff on this site and need some advice please!!
have recently married a usc( although he has dual nationality being born in uk whilst father in military)
the questions i have concern my children i have 4 sons whom i wish to take, however my eldest son is 22 so cannot be included on my visa, this is worrying as he has disabilities so how would i go about taking him (he has the mental age of a 10 year old) then there is the matter of the 17 year old being coerced into a crime involving an armed robbery when he had just turned 15, he had not committed a crime before and has not done so since. i think its pretty straightforward for the other 2 as the 14 yr old will attend school and the 19 yr old has applied to uni. would be soooo grateful for any advice and i cannot find info anywhere
thank you

Noorah101

How old were the kids when you got married to your USC spouse?

For the 22 year old, I believe he is too old to be eligible to come with you. He wouldn't be able to get an immigrant visa until you come to the USA on your Immigrant Visa and become a US Permanent Resident (US PR). At that time, you can file an I-130 for him, but there is a backlog in that category. USCIS is currently working on petitions filed back in Sept 2003, so about 8.5 years ago. When you become a USC (about 3.5 years after you become a PR), you can upgrade his petition to that category. Currently USCIS is working on petitions in that category from October 2004 (so not a whole lot of difference in time). Of course those backlog dates fluctuate up and down, so no way of knowing what the backlog will be like when you actually become a USC, or for any given year, for that matter.

But the fact remains that he will have to remain in the UK for many years until he is eligible to receive a visa.

If you are thinking of perhaps going back to the UK to stay with him until a visa number becomes available, keep in mind that you then risk losing your US PR status. You'd have to have a consultation with an immigration attorney to go over your plan and see if it would work, what his advice would be, what steps to take to preserve your PR status while you're outside the USA, etc. And of course, you'd also have the other kids INSIDE the USA at that point, who would probably need your attention.

You should talk to an immigration attorney right now, since you have 4 kids, 2 of which may not be eligible for visas right away (the 19-year old also might not qualify, depending on how old he was when you got married).

Plus, you have one child who now has a criminal record.

You will also need legal permission to remove all the children from the UK.

You'll also need to think about your oldest son's health care in the USA. That could be a huge concern if he has a lot of medical needs.

Rene

Noorah101

By the way, here's the link to the Visa Bulletin so you can see the categories and backlogs.

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bul...etin_5630.html

Rene

Michael

Rene

Isn't there some provision for a disabled child that needs the care of parents to immigrate with parents irrelevant of age?

lucylosingit

hi noorah,
thanks for the reply, my husband was told off the record earlier that i should take my eldest son on the visa waiver(esta) and just apply for the other visa when he is in the US and say he cannot return due to his disabilities, which are within an autistic spectrum, so he doesnt really have medical needs as such although my husband is in a good earning job and has healthcare we will be added to. we got married nov 2011 but were told by uscis that the 19 yr old is a dependent as under 21 and not married so my concerns are really the 22 yr old and the 17 yr old and whether his crime comes under different rules being under 18. and thank you for the link
lucy

Noorah101

I have no idea.

Rene

jeffreyhy

You need to be talking with a US immigration attorney, not an internet forum. You have some different issues associated with your different family members, you may need assistance to keep everthing in its proper place and you will definitely need legal assistance with the 17 year-old.

Regards, JEff

Noorah101

Off the record or not, it's illegal to enter the USA as a visitor with the intent to remain and adjust status to permanent resident. So don't do that, especially in a scenario like yours, where if his AOS case gets denied, he has to go back home. Also, at his age, even if he's in the USA, there won't be an avenue for him to adjust status until many years down the road, which means he'll be living in the USA out of status all that time.

How old were each of your children, on the day you got married?

Rene

lucylosingit

ive tried to find out whether there is a provision for disabled children regardless of age but dont seemto be getting anywhere, i would have thought there would be a lot of families in a similar situation, even google cant help me!
thank you for your replies x

lucylosingit

rene,
the children were 21, 19, 17, 14 when we married
lucy

lucylosingit

thank you jeff, looks like thats what i might have to do.
lucy

lucylosingit

rene,
thanks for that, i didnt realise it would be illegal!! and want to make sure we do things properly
lucy

jeffreyhy

Minor point - one does not apply for a visa when they are already in the USA. You need to understand what is really going on.

Major point - you wrote in your opening post that he has the mental age of a 10 year old. You may have difficulties getting him into the USA on the VWP if you and others in your family are entering with immigrant visas, and if he does get in he may well have difficulty adjusting status. Clearly, given his disability and the fact that you are immigrating, he has no intention of returning to the UK after his visit. He is unmistakably intending to enter as a non-immigrant with every intention of remaining and attempting to immigrate. This is a problem.

Regards, JEff

Noorah101

In that case, because of their age at the time you got married, I would think the 19 and 21 year olds will not be able to get an Immigrant Visa at the same time you do. The 17 year old, although eligible age-wise, has a criminal record and has that issue to deal with. It seems only the 14 year old has a clear path to an Immigrant Visa.

Definitely need to be talking to an immigration attorney about all this. It just might be that your husband will need to move back to the UK, instead of you all moving to the USA.

Rene

jeffreyhy

Entering the USA as a non-immigrant with the pre-conceived intent of remaining as an immigrant is not "illegal" in the usual sense of the word. There is no penalty for trying, it's just that immigration law does not provide for such a route to immigration and so the request to immigrate must be denied.

What is illegal in the usual sense of the word is misrepresenting one's self in an attempt to immigrate so as to overcome a barrier to immigration, and such misrepresentation carries severe consequences.

Regards, JEff