Andrei

I have a Greencard and few months ago I got married here in the USA,
my fiancée was here on the B-2 visa. The she went home; we did not
file I-130 because I was told the processing time is 3-5 years and it
will be faster to me to become US Citizen and get her on K visa or so.

Now my wife is back into the USA on the same B-2 visa, and we are
looking for the possibilities to keep her here in a legal status until
I will get USC.

Someone who appears to be knowledgeable told me that, in our
situation, I can file I-130 for my wife simultaneously with the filing
of I-485 and this will allow my wife to stay here legally until I-130
will be approved or until I will get the USC. This person said this is
possible to do because my wife is already legally here in the USA.

All this sounds a bit strange for me and the immigration lawyer that
we consulted did not mention about this I-130/I-485 possibility,
although we did not ask directly about it.

Could this "I-130/I-485 plan" really work, i.e. legalize my wife's
presence in the USA? I have never heard about it and it sounds too
simple to be true.

Any comments are appreciated,

TIA,

Andrei

Jozef

"Andrei" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I have a Greencard and few months ago I got married here in the USA,
    > my fiancée was here on the B-2 visa. The she went home; we did not
    > file I-130 because I was told the processing time is 3-5 years and it
    > will be faster to me to become US Citizen and get her on K visa or so.
    > Now my wife is back into the USA on the same B-2 visa, and we are
    > looking for the possibilities to keep her here in a legal status until
    > I will get USC.
    > Someone who appears to be knowledgeable told me that, in our
    > situation, I can file I-130 for my wife simultaneously with the filing
    > of I-485 and this will allow my wife to stay here legally until I-130
    > will be approved or until I will get the USC. This person said this is
    > possible to do because my wife is already legally here in the USA.
    > All this sounds a bit strange for me and the immigration lawyer that
    > we consulted did not mention about this I-130/I-485 possibility,
    > although we did not ask directly about it.
    > Could this "I-130/I-485 plan" really work, i.e. legalize my wife's
    > presence in the USA? I have never heard about it and it sounds too
    > simple to be true.

It is.
After filing the I-130 petition, you can file the "I-485 application to
adjust status to permanent resident status" only after a visa number becomes
available for your spouse.
She will be in the F2A category, which currently has a 5 year backlog:
http://travel.state.gov/visa_bulletin.html

If she remains in the US past the expiration date of her I-94 card, she will
not be able to adjust status in the US anymore. If she accrues more than
6/12 months if illegal presence she will be barred for 3/10 years.
Mind you, her current status in the US is already suspect, since she's
obviously not a tourist - You're fortunate she made it in! :-)

Sorry for the bad news. Make sure to sign Ingo's 'F2A' petition here:
http://www.kkeane.com/lobbyspousal-faq.shtml

Waiting until you obtain citizenship may be a better option for you.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/spouselive.htm
Information for Lawful Permanent Residents
If you are a lawful permanent resident and your petition for your spouse is
approved, your spouse will be notified by the Department of State when a
visa number becomes available. If your spouse is outside of the United
States at the time of notification, he or she must then go to the local U.S.
consulate to complete visa processing. If your spouse is inside the U.S.
through a lawful admission or parole and is maintaining that status at the
time of notification, he or she may file the Form I-485 when the visa number
becomes available. If that is not the case but the petition was filed on or
before 04/30/01, he or she may be eligible to benefit under section 245(i).

If you do not have the visa number issued by the Department of State, you
must wait for a number to become current. Your spouse may need to depart the
United States to avoid accruing unlawful presence. For more information,
your spouse should refer to How Do I Become a Lawful Permanent Resident
While In the United States?

Fabian Behague

Dear Andrei,

Your wife is legal in the state for six months under the B2 visa.
After this time she can get an extension.
You need to sponsor her and apply for her ajustement of status for her to
become a permanent resident too but the process is very long.
So you should become a USC first and then apply for her.





"Andrei" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > I have a Greencard and few months ago I got married here in the USA,
    > my fiancée was here on the B-2 visa. The she went home; we did not
    > file I-130 because I was told the processing time is 3-5 years and it
    > will be faster to me to become US Citizen and get her on K visa or so.
    > Now my wife is back into the USA on the same B-2 visa, and we are
    > looking for the possibilities to keep her here in a legal status until
    > I will get USC.
    > Someone who appears to be knowledgeable told me that, in our
    > situation, I can file I-130 for my wife simultaneously with the filing
    > of I-485 and this will allow my wife to stay here legally until I-130
    > will be approved or until I will get the USC. This person said this is
    > possible to do because my wife is already legally here in the USA.
    > All this sounds a bit strange for me and the immigration lawyer that
    > we consulted did not mention about this I-130/I-485 possibility,
    > although we did not ask directly about it.
    > Could this "I-130/I-485 plan" really work, i.e. legalize my wife's
    > presence in the USA? I have never heard about it and it sounds too
    > simple to be true.
    > Any comments are appreciated,
    > TIA,
    > Andrei

Andrei

Thank you, Jozef and Fabian. That's what I had in mind- this plan was
so simple that it should be used by everyone.

However, does it make any sence to apply for I-130 before my wife's
B-2 will be expired here or it does not worth it and I should wait for
USC first? I have heard that if one applied for I-130 as GC holder and
then become USC the "waiting period" is automatically waived and if
I-130 is already in the system... maybe getting a GC for my wife will
take less time that starting from scratch as USC?

The other question is could it be a problem if my wife stay in the US
until I get USC, i.e. will overstay her B-2 visa, and then I will
petition for her as USC? In other words, could INS deny a greencard
or create any other problems for USC wife if she overstayed her visa?
Or, if she will departure and I petition for her as USC, could she be
denied entry?

Thanks,

Andrei

supernav

>The other question is could it be a problem if my wife stay in the >USuntil I get USC, i.e. will overstay her B-2 visa

Sigh...

Typical "thinly-veiled" can I break immigration law and get away it type question. It's quote the popular trend on this board.

Can she get "away" with it? If married to a USC -- yes she will and it forgives.

But unfortunately, as you yourself are demonstrating, thousands of people take advantage of this -- and get people to come here on various non-immigrant visa's, "overstay" and then "get married" later.

So yes she will be illegally here. She can't leave the country or get a SSN or Work legaly, and heaven forbid she runs into any INS officer. But when you become a USC, expect you two to go through a grilling of an interview to verify you two are married (which i asusme you will be).

So in a nutshell -- if you want to know if she can break the INS law now, and be forgiven later -- yes. Tons of immigraton law-breakers do it all the time. Marraige and Tourist fraud is the #2 fraud besides border-jumping and smugging with the IS.

-= nav =-

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

First, I would like to point you to my Web site that deals with this exact
issue: http://www.kkeane.com/lobbyspousal-faq.shtml

As for whether or not it makes sense to file her I-130, that depends on a
number of factors. Among the factors are how long her B-2 visa is valid,
what her nationality is, how much longer it will be until you become a US
citizen (counting both the time until you qualify to apply, plus the
processing time). There are a LOT of variables here; I haven't mentioned
all of them.

Basically, when you file an I-130, you are facing two separate delays.
Both start at the same day, so they are essentially concurrent. The more
important one is the quota backlog. Because there is a quota of
approximately 100,000 Green Cards per year for spouses of Green Card
holders, but there are about a million people waiting in line already,
there will be approximately a five year delay (the math does not seem to
add up. There are a number of reasons for that. I'll be happy to explain
more, or just take my word for it). As a matter of fact, the current delay
is 5 1/2 years - that is, people who filed in 1998 are becoming eligible
now. There is no guarantee that your wait would be limited to five years,
though, as the wait time changes all the time very substantially.

This delay is written into the law, and it will be automatically waived
once you become a US citizen (actually, waived is the wrong word - it
really doesn't even apply in the first place)

The second delay is the simple processing delay. The quota delay starts
ticking the day you file the I-130. CIS (INS no longer exists) knows that.
It wouldn't make a difference whether they approved the I-130 in a day or
in five years because either way, you'd still be waiting more than five
years for the quota. So they also take three to five years (or more) to
approve the I-130.

Now it is important that this is simply a red tape processing delay, and
it does NOT get waived. With luck and persistence, you may be able to get
a Congressperson to step in and speed up the processing once you are a US
citizen.

Especially if you are still far from becoming a citizen, filing the I-130
now may possibly actually make sense - or it may not. It may particularly
make sense if you are planning go go for consular filing.

Yet another thing to be aware of is that once you file an I-130 for her,
there is a good chance that once her B-2 visa expires, she would not be
able t renew it.

There are a number of alternate strategies. For instance, you could wait
until you are a US citizen, and then file the I-130 and I-485 together (as
a US citizen, you can do that even if your wife overstayed).

On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 18:15:58 -0800, Andrei wrote:

    > Thank you, Jozef and Fabian. That's what I had in mind- this plan was so
    > simple that it should be used by everyone.
    >
    > However, does it make any sence to apply for I-130 before my wife's B-2
    > will be expired here or it does not worth it and I should wait for USC
    > first? I have heard that if one applied for I-130 as GC holder and then
    > become USC the "waiting period" is automatically waived and if I-130 is
    > already in the system... maybe getting a GC for my wife will take less
    > time that starting from scratch as USC?
    >
    > The other question is could it be a problem if my wife stay in the US
    > until I get USC, i.e. will overstay her B-2 visa, and then I will
    > petition for her as USC? In other words, could INS deny a greencard or
    > create any other problems for USC wife if she overstayed her visa? Or,
    > if she will departure and I petition for her as USC, could she be denied
    > entry?
    >
    > Thanks,
    >
    > Andrei

--
Remember, I am strictly a layperson without any legal training. I encourage
everybody to seek competent legal counsel rather than relying on usenet
newsgroups.

Please support H.R. 539, H.R. 832 and S. 1510. More information at
http://www.kkeane.com/lobbyspousal-faq.shtml

Please visit my new FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com (always under construction)

My email address in usenet posts is now invalid for spam protection. See
my Web site for information on how to contact me.

Please feel free to enjoy some of my photographs at my Web site
http://www.ingopakleppa.com ! Comments are welcome.

AnnaV

Just an idea:

Maybe you should look up V-1 (spouse or child of permanent resident). If the petition has been in the pipeline for 3 years (I think... you'll have to check), then your spouse or child can apply for a temporary non-immigrant visa to let them come here. It'll get them here sooner while you're waiting for your citizenship or until your petition for them as LPR gets approved.

Not sure about the benefits, though (i.e. if they can work). Just ran across it while doing some research on the web.

Tavia

.

Hector

    > "Andrei" <[email protected]> wrote in

    > > Could this "I-130/I-485 plan" really work, i.e. legalize my wife's
    > > presence in the USA? I have never heard about it and it sounds too
    > > simple to be true.

You file the I130 and she files the AOS(I485)

She can also file for work permit at the same time too!

put them all in the same envelope!

Joachim Feise

On Wed, 24 Dec 2003, Hector wrote:

    > > "Andrei" <[email protected]> wrote in
    > > > Could this "I-130/I-485 plan" really work, i.e. legalize my wife's
    > > > presence in the USA? I have never heard about it and it sounds too
    > > > simple to be true.
    > You file the I130 and she files the AOS(I485)

There is a quota for spouses of PRs (family category 2A.)
She can only file an I-485 once the PD is current. And that currently
takes 5+ years.
During this time, the spouse will need legal status on her own. If her
allowed stay on the B2 runs out, she would need to change to a status
that allows immigration intent, such as H1, or she would have to leave.

    > She can also file for work permit at the same time too!

Again, only when the PD becomes current.

    > put them all in the same envelope!

Won't work.

-Joe