Epicurus

Hello everyone. OK, here goes my very first post and I hope you can help me with your expertise..

I've read quite a lot about US immigration laws and have looked at several different options for my particular case as a religious worker but I still have lots of holes in my understanding (something tells me I'm not the only one, with US immigration law being what it is). For example, what is a USCIS petition? Why does it take so long (in my case an I-360 now takes 5 months at the California service centre), and finally, I know that the sponsoring organisation is the one responsible for filing the petition but can I apply for the visa simultaneously or should I wait till they get the petition approved?

I could really use some help here as both me and my sponsor are quite confused

Cheers

lifehouse51

USCIS stands for United States Citizenship And Immigration Services

They process many different petitions, including petition by a US Citizen for a Spouse/parents/child/relatives to come to the U.S. on a Green Card, petition by a company for a temporary worker (H1B for example), Change of non-immigrant status from one type to another type, Petition of company for Green card sponsorship, etc.

THe USCIS takes a long time to process petitions, but an option called Premium Processing is available for certain types of petitions. With an extra US$1000, USCIS will guarantee to make a decision in 15 days. Premium Processing has to be requested by the sponsoring organization; it's not available for all types of petition, I don't know whether I-360 is eligible for it.

I looked up I-360, and it's a petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant. I'm not familiar with that type of petition, but I assume that just like other nonimmigrant visa types, you have to wait until it's approved, get the approval notice mailed to you, together with other supporting documents, before you can apply for a visa at a U.S. consulate/embassy. Alternatively, if you're already in the U.S. on another type of legal status, you can also file for USCIS to change your status to the one you want...I believe the change of status petition can be filed together with some petitions.

Epicurus

Hi Lighthouse, and thank you for the answers. But I still don't know what a petition actually is. Is it for sponsor to have my application approved?

Another question on processing times is, the current time is 5 months, but is that a general guide or a limit of how long it can take?

As for your question about my category, I'm a religious worker, so I fall in the Special Immigrant category. I came across this link http://pjclaw.net/permanentresidence/religious.html which seems to suggest that I can apply at the embassy while the petition is being filed simultaneously, though I'm not sure how current the info on the site is.

Rete

petition = to ask for a benefit. In the case of the USCIS it is a form that is completed and sent to the USCIS asking for a benefit (visa) that will allow you to enter the US under legal status.



5 months = long???????? You are naive aren't you. Some petitions can take years to adjudicate. 5 months is a blink of an eye in USCIS timelines.

No, no and again no. You cannot apply as an individual. You need to be sponsored and that sponsor is the one that needs to make the initial application of the petition to the USCIS.

Once it is approved stateside I believe you then will have to follow up with an interview at the US Consulate where it is that you are currently living outside of the US.

Have the sponsor retain the services of an immigration attorney.

lifehouse51

Rete answered some of your questions above. As for the processing time, expect it to be an estimate. Workload vary during the year for USCIS, I'd assume, and also in some cases, they'll request for further info before making a decision, which will further delay things.
As far as I know, you can't apply for a visa until you have the petition approval notice.
If the petition's not filed yet, ask your sponsoring organization to hire an immigration lawyer to oversee things. If they don't wanna spend the money, offer to hire one yourself.

Epicurus

Thank you both for your answers.

Rete, when you say that "5 months is a blink of an eye in USCIS timelines" are you saying that it'll take much longer in reality?

Also, I'm not naiive, just new to this whole thing

Noorah101

No, she's just saying that 5 months isn't long. You referred to the petition taking a LONG time to adjudicate, 5 months! But in reality, 5 months is not a long time when it come to immigration timelines.

It seems you need to re-define your definition of "a long time".

Rene

S Folinsky

Historical note: The Government became extremely hostile to religion. This hostility really became apparent during the Bush administration. There seems to be a presumption that Dieties, liturgy, theology and religious organization are one big fraud. The current administration has yet to change that policy.

Interesting case: Love Korean Church. I happen to know the people who did the three administrative applications. Although not named, they were ultimately vindicated.

No advice given nor intended.

Epicurus

Thanks S Folinsky for the 'advice not given' ;-)

In your opinion, is it harder with a EB-5 than a normal nonimmigrant R visa?

Epicurus

I've done a quick reply twice and it just gets deleted for some reason!

Anyway, thanks S Polinsky for the 'advice not given'

In your experience, is it easier with a nonimmigrant R visa?

On a side note, the case that you posted seems to be irrelevant to my situation because they had trouble proving that a choir director was a religious profession (among other issues from my limited understanding). In my case, I'd be giving sermons & writing books, pamphlets, articles which are religious in nature.

Also, is premium processing available for these visa types?

Epicurus

Any feedback would be appreciated, guys!

Thanks

scrubbedexpat099

R visa's are high fraud so you expect extra quizzing.

These are really questions you should be asking your prospective employer, more specifically their lawyer. They are the ones in control.