GC holder becoming Citizen. What to do with active I-130 petition for spouse?

[vinny]

Need some advice on my next steps….

I am a Green Card holder. I filed a petition (I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative) for my wife in April 2003. This file got approved in 2006 and am waiting for a visa number (probably still another 1 year left)

During this time, my wife obtained an H-1 work permit. This now has expired end of 2007. We started a family, so my wife is currently a stay at home mom.

Summer 2007, I applied for my Naturalization (N-400 Application for Naturalization). I have my interview for naturalization next week.

I believe I can now adjust the status for the I-130 petition after being naturalized and no longer need to wait for the visa number.

How do I go about this?
What is the typical wait time for this?

ThanksWhat is the name of your state?

 

[vinny]

Name of State - IL

 

[HomeGuru]

Why do you have 2 threads Vinny? Don't you know the rules in the US?

 

[evcalyptos]

Need some advice on my next steps….

I am a Green Card holder. I filed a petition (I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative) for my wife in April 2003. This file got approved in 2006 and am waiting for a visa number (probably still another 1 year left)

During this time, my wife obtained an H-1 work permit. This now has expired end of 2007. We started a family, so my wife is currently a stay at home mom.

Summer 2007, I applied for my Naturalization (N-400 Application for Naturalization). I have my interview for naturalization next week.

I believe I can now adjust the status for the I-130 petition after being naturalized and no longer need to wait for the visa number.

How do I go about this?
What is the typical wait time for this?

ThanksWhat is the name of your state?

Immediately AFTER your oath ceremony (when you are actually a US citizen), you can contact the National Visa Center to upgrade your petition to USC and make a visa number immediately available for your wife.
She can then apply to adjust status from your I-130 if she is inside the US.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3180.html#petition

When I filed a petition for my relative I was a legal permanent resident (green card holder). I recently became a U.S. citizen. How can I upgrade the petition?

Please make a copy of your Naturalization Certificate. Send the copy - NOT the original - to the NVC with a letter containing the beneficiary name and case number of the petition you want to upgrade.

Please see the NVC’s contact information.

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

You don't need to do anything with the NVC now that you are a US citizen since your wife is already in the US and not abroad and will not be going through consular processing. Just have her submit the I-485 with all the supporting documentation with the I-130 approval notice and proof of your current status as a USC.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or how I can be of further assistance to you in this matter.

Lana
Immigration Attorney
www.boukhnylaw.com

 

[evcalyptos]

You don't need to do anything with the NVC now that you are a US citizen since your wife is already in the US and not abroad and will not be going through consular processing. Just have her submit the I-485 with all the supporting documentation with the I-130 approval notice and proof of your current status as a USC.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or how I can be of further assistance to you in this matter.

Lana
Immigration Attorney
www.boukhnylaw.com

Isn't an approved (per the first post) I-130 being held at the NVC waiting for a visa number to become current?

At any rate, the OP is not yet a citizen, and if the wife is here in overstay, he should not send an I-485 until after his oath ceremony, when he has his naturalization certificate.

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

But the NVC is not involved in any way if the wife is already in the US. Once he naturalizes, the wife simply submits the I-485 with proof of the approved I-130 and proof of naturalization of the petitioner.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or how I can be of further assistance to you in this matter.

 

[vinny]

Thanks for all the responses.

We have travel plans in June 08. And I believe once the I-485 is filed, she cannot travel outside USA.

I am wondering how long does the I-485 take to process? I searched around, and it shows it takes quite awhile.

Does the long wait apply to my wife filing I- 485 which will show my proof of naturalization?

Another question - will the overstay affect the outcome of her application for GC?
She is a Canadian citizenship, and typically it is difficult to track their movements crossing the US/Canada border by car.

Can she re-enter USA as a visitor to extend her time in US (6 months allowed as visitor) to make sure she does not fall under 'overstay'?


Thanks again.

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

She should not travel once the I-485 is filed and it can take up to a year in some places for the I-485 to be adjudicated although many offices do it much sooner (6-8 months). It has nothing to do with whether you are a citizen or not but has to do with the volume of I-485 petitions handled by the different offices.

 

[evcalyptos]

Thanks for all the responses.

We have travel plans in June 08. And I believe once the I-485 is filed, she cannot travel outside USA.

I am wondering how long does the I-485 take to process? I searched around, and it shows it takes quite awhile.

Does the long wait apply to my wife filing I- 485 which will show my proof of naturalization?

Another question - will the overstay affect the outcome of her application for GC?
She is a Canadian citizenship, and typically it is difficult to track their movements crossing the US/Canada border by car.

Can she re-enter USA as a visitor to extend her time in US (6 months allowed as visitor) to make sure she does not fall under 'overstay'?


Thanks again.

Your wife is probably already here in unauthorized status. She should not be making any travel plans until she has a Green Card (I-485 approval).