yc2m

Yeah, the lawyer did say it was not impossible...but would raise many red flags!
My boy is turning 18 this year, and we've been told that unless we marry before his birthday, he cannot be filed along with me, and I just don't know if I could file without him!!
Guess I'm not ready for 'empty nest syndrome', just yet......

scrubbedexpat099

I visited with one pending, many others here have as well.

I would call it so very conservative behavour.

meauxna

I do think the difference of having a USC petitioner vs an LPR petitioner makes a difference, when visiting with an I-130 pending.
A lot of LPR spouses are willing to live under cover until their LPR naturalizes. The spouse of a USC never has all that long of a wait.

crg

It can go both ways. Unless the applicant spouse of a USC is knee-deep into the visa process with the consulate, it is highly likely they will file the AOS after entry as a visitor.

yc2m

...and that's my problem, I wouldn't want to live undercover!
We will be getting married, and, thought that we'd wait until USC came through; this was on the advice from a previous immigration lawyer we spoke to, who hadn't highlighted the issue of filing before my boy is 18. But now, having been told my son wouldn't be able to be filed along with me, this poses a huge dilemma. We'd be happy to wed before he turns 18, but, we'd still want to come to the US for short visits, whilst waiting for a visa to become available. After all, we still have massive ties to the UK, I still have my degree to finish, I work (p/t) for the university, and my son will be going to college, we have a home etc..

If my encounter, with customs, last week was anything to go by under VWP, goodness knows what it would be like with an I-130 filed too!!

Reading over this reply, the old saying 'having my cake and eating it', springs to mind, and yeah, I know, something's got to give here, as I can't have it both ways!!

yc2m

Guys,
could anyone give me an idea of how difficult this would be, if I had an I-130 pending with a spouse as an LPR? Getting married is a given, it's just a case of when. On that assumption, would I be in for a lot more grief, getting married at this stage, and trying to visit on VWP or best to wait until OH is a USC, not filing for my son, and then file for him independently once I have a green card?

Obviously, from now on I will be carrying numerous letters etc to show my intent to return to the UK and not break any laws.

Any advice or any first hand experiences would be much appreciated, thanks!

crg

You mentioned earlier something about your child turning 18. I believe that a child for immigrant visa purposes is an unmarried son or daughter under the age of 21.

How long until the fiance is a USC?

yc2m

He can apply for USC in just under 2 years, however, my son would be the USC's step son. I think we have to file before he turns 18, so that he can be filed along with me, according to the immigration lawyer. Maybe 21 years is for a natural child of USC??

meauxna

This is where you have to do some math. And some more reading! Have you not been reading any of the articles at uscis.gov about bringing family members to the US? Look under the headers "I am a Permanent Resident, How Do I..."

If you marry your fiance before your son turns 18, your husband becomes your son's "Step Father". This relationship is the same as "Father" for immigration purposes.

The Step Son may be petitioned as an "Immediate Relative" on this relationship, but the law states that he must get his Immigrant Visa (or Adjustment) completed by the time he is 21.
If he does not, he is no longer an Immediate Relative, but he becomes a "Son" instead of a "Child", and the wait for a visa number is longer by several years.

You need to calculate whether your son would be able to accomplish this before he turns 21, and to know this, you need to know when your fiance can apply for citizenship and then do some guessing.

You've got 6 pages here talking about visiting, but it seems like you had better get your eye on the bigger picture and make a sensible long term plan for your family.
The consequences are literally years apart.

PS: The Visa Bulletin is one place you can use to do some calculating. See what sense you can make from this: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...etin_4438.html
That link is for the April Bulletin. Since it changes monthly, google 'current bulletin' to get to the fresh page each month.

yc2m

[QUOTE=meauxna;7451499]

You've got 6 pages here talking about visiting, but it seems like you had better get your eye on the bigger picture and make a sensible long term plan for your family. The consequences are literally years apart.

I concur....thank you!