ainsley933

hi Im new to this group, I am really Just after some advice from anyone who can provide an honest answer.
My parents are British but are now American citizens. They have lived in the U.S for many years.

They applied for my wife and myself and our 2 young child to come over to the states to live (I-130).(Im over 21 & married).
That was in October 2003 and was received at the Nebraska office and we were provided with a receipt number.
It was then moved to California and our application date was put back to November 2004.

The current processing time on the USCIs homepage is july 2001, this has not really moved in two years

Does anyone Know if this is going to be like this for much longer or is there any other official route we can take.:curse:
would love some advice

many thanks
official:ainz:

Noorah101

Asking how long it will take is like asking how long is a piece of string. No way of really knowing.

As for other official routes, here they are: http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

Best Wishes,
Rene

meauxna

I'm not sure where you are looking, but what you need is the Visa Bulletin at travel.state.gov (updated monthly)
and your "Priority Date" (look on your receipts for this). Changing Service Centers through internal transfer should not change your PD; did you marry after your parents filed I-130? (that will change your PD/classification).

The I-130 might get adjudicated tomorrow, but that still won't do anything for you. What you are waiting on is not for the I-130 to be approved, but for a visa number to be available for you. See if the Visa Bulletin help you understand it more (I'm afraid your PD is further out than you think).


Immigration through a Family Member

Overview and Process

A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of permanently living and working in the United States. If you want to become a lawful permanent resident based on the fact that you have a relative who is a citizen of the United States, or a relative who is a lawful permanent resident, you must go through a multi-step process.

1. The USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition, I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, for you. This petition is filed by your relative (sponsor) and must be accompanied by proof of your relationship to the requesting relative.

2. The Deparment of State must determine if an immigrant visa number is immediately available to you, the foreign national, even if you are already in the United States. When an immigrant visa number is available, it means you can apply to have one of the immigrant visa numbers assigned to you. You can check the status of a visa number in the Department of State's Visa Bulletin.


<snip>

Preference Categories

If you wish to immigrate as a relative of a U.S. Citizen or lawful permanent resident, you must obtain an immigrant visa number based on the preference category in which you fall.
<snip>

The relatives in the remaining categories must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available according to the following preferences:

* First preference: Unmarried, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. Adult means 21 years of age or older.
* Second Preference: Spouses of lawful permanent residents, their unmarried children (under twenty-one), and the unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents.
* Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens.
* Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. Citizens.

Once USCIS receives your visa petition (Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative), it will be approved or denied. USCIS notifies the person who filed the visa petition of the petition was approved. USCIS will then send the approved visa petition to the Department of State's National Visa Center, where it will remain until an immigrant visa number is available. The Center will notify the foreign national when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number is available.

ainsley933

I have just been looking on the main USCIS homepage. Yes we were married for 7 years before the application was put in. It is such a mind field, and pretty hard to understand. Im not certain what else we can do.

Noorah101

The USCIS website only tells you how long it's taking for the I-130 to get approved.

The Visa Bulletin site (which meauxna linked to) is the one to follow for how long it takes for your priority date to become current so a visa number can be issued to you.

In the meantime, there's not much you can do except wait for your priority date to become current, and look at the link I provided for any other way to come to the USA on your own merit.

Rene

ainsley933

thankyou for your advice.