janousek

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for the answers to 2 questions. When does the time clock for US Citizenship starts? We've been married since March 2002. And our AOS case was approved in Apr 2004. My spouse is a USC. So how do I count the 3 years towards my citizenship paperwork?

I've tried to search answers on USCIS website but ended up confuse with bureaucratic language.

What are the legal ways that a LPR (GC holder) can bring parents to live here permanently? USCIS website says that a LPR can not file petition for his/her parents.

Please suggest.

Many thanks
-Janousek

andrea874

The 3 years started the day you became a permanent resident.

If the USCIS website says that LPR's cant petition for their parents, then I am guessing that is correct.

Noorah101

I am thinking that you might have to be a citizen in order to bring your parents over. So if you got your LPR status in April of 2004, then I guess you would be eligible for citizenship in April of 2007.

I don't know a lot about the citizenship process, so I'm just guessing here.

Best Wishes,
Rene

ian-mstm

You can apply for citizenship 90 days prior to the 3rd anniversary of the date on your green card. Only the green card date is relevant.


I don't think a PR can petition for a visa for their parents and, even if they could, it'd be 8 - 10 years before a visa was available since it'd be subject to an annual quota. I think only a USC can petition for such a visa - and there are no quotas for USCs, so you may be able to send off a petition in under 3 years.

Ian

Matthew Udall

This part "usually" holds true (the 90 day prior part) but not always.

Rete

One of the reasons why the 90 days prior might not fit the equation is if the marriage is not a full three years at the start of the 90 day period. Another might be that you have been outside of the US for more than 18 months in the three year period you are basing your eligibility on. Another would be that you were not a resident of the state for the required length of time as outlined in the Guide to Naturalization.

For answers to whether or not you qualify, d/l or order the Gudie and read the critera carefully. It spells it out clearly what is required of you for eligibility.

Rete

Trent

Posted from this USCIS webpage:
Hope that helped! You will have to wait until you become a US Citizen. After that you can file I-130 for your parents and current wait period is around 1 year (depends on which service center you will send your application to).

CaliforniaBride

Eh? Am I having an artificially blonde moment here?

Trent

Not sure.

But current processing date at VSC for example for I-130 (US Citizen filing for spouse, parent, or child under 21) shows September 1, 2004 (posted on October 6). I'm assuming that it's accurate. If this is the case, those filing at VSC should be getting a response within, say, a couple of months at most? For Texas and Nebraska, it's around a year (roughly).

Here's the link for CSC processing dates:
https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/js...ter=California

CaliforniaBride

That's I-130 processing times, I-130 approvals are not the same as citizenship?

I don't think you meant what you typed? What i read you to mean was that citizenship is acquired roughly a year after filing an I-130??

CaliforniaBride

I'm going through Los Angeles for AOS. Have you got the link to their processing times?

ian-mstm

The spouse is the USC, the OP's PR was approved in April.

Ian

CaliforniaBride

Well spotted

Trent

Sorry, what I meant was, OP will have to wait until he/she becomes a USC. Sorry for confusion.

ian-mstm

No worries!

Ian