martybkk

Just received the 1st NOA for my wife's 1-130 ready to send the I-129f with her 5 year old daughter listed on the form as a dependent. Was confused by the info I have found about dependents so I did not file a I-130 for her ( she can write her name in Thai ....and is learning to write in english if that matters). Worried that when my wife gets her visa in Thailand there could be a issue with her daughter traveling to the USA at the same time. Some of the info I have found says that it should be no problem..other info says it will be a major issue.

Ok, I know I am a long way from the day of the approvals but I am already stressing out about little things like registering our daughter for her first day of school here in the USA.

Regards
Marty

Heres hoping that next year our family can send our 3rd anniversary and our 1st Christmas together here ib the USA.

CaliforniaBride

We filed two separate I-130's. But it seems that you don't have to. But the child must have an approved I-130 in order to Adjust Status later on.

http://www.visajourney.com/faq/index.htm#10.3

10.3)...When starting the K3/K4 process, must I submit an I-130 for our children when I submit the I-130 for my spouse?
A..It is not required to send an I-130 petition for the children when you first submit the I-130 for your spouse as part of the K3/K4 process. However, it is highly advisable to do so, in order to avoid complications and delays during the Adjustment of Status process. The children will not be able to complete the Adjustment of Status without an I-130 petition being approved.
Keep in mind also that you might opt for Consular processing of the immigrant visa. If separate I-130 petitions have not been submitted on behalf of the children, this option is not available to them.

utopiacowboy

To set your mind at ease here is my story.

I sent in the I-130 for my wife last October and afterwards I filed an I-129F for her K-3 visa. The I-129F was approved fairly quickly and she arrived here on April 6, 2004 with a K-3 along with her three kids who have K-4 visas. There were no problems travelling and no problems registering them for school. I still haven't filed I-130s for the kids but I know that sometime in the next year I am going to have to do this. At $500 a pop, I just don't have the money right now to shell out $1500 for their AOS. In the meantime the I-130 that I filed for my wife was approved and we are going to file her I-485 next week.

Don't stress - everything will be fine.

jeffreyhy

Marty,

You don't list your wife's daughter on your I-129f petition because the child is a dependent of your wife (or of you). The I-129f wants to know if your wife has any children and, if she does, who those children are. Who the children are dependent on is not relevant.

You do not need to submit an I-130 petition for the child in order for the child to apply for a K4 visa. The child can do that on the basis of an approved I-129f petition for your wife when your wife applies for a K3 visa. But, these days quite a few people are finding that their I-130 petitions are being approved before their I-129f petitions, sometimes long enough before that a K visa doesn't look so attractive. If it turns out in your situation that a K3 visa isn't such a good deal for your wife things could get sticky for your wife, for the child, or for both.

You're going to need an I-130 for the child sooner or later, as CB pointed out, so you might want to consider submitting that right away in the event that immigrant visas, rather than K visas, become a more attractive option for your family.

Regards, JEff