waiting for I-130

[gprs50]

What is the name of your state? Texas

I am a Canadian citizen and green card holder since 2001. I got married to a Canadian after I got my green card back in 2002. IT has been almost 3 years since we filed for I-130 and nothing yet.
Since Canadians do not require a visa we used to leave the country every 5 months or so and come back. But we are trying to start a family and it is getting expensive to travel so my wife has over-stayed her stay in the US.

Are there any type of visa for her ? what can we do so her stay her is legal until the I-130 is finalized.

Thank you in advance.

 

[hemingway]

http://www.amcits.com/dual.asp

click on foreign nationals
visas are here

I am not a lawyer. good luck!

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

Now that she has overstayed, there is nothing she can do to legalize her status other than wait for her petition to be approved and to be able to adjust status. When are you due to become a US citizen so you can upgrade the petition on her behalf?

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

Lana
Immigration Attorney

 

[gprs50]

Waiting for I-130

I just dont understand the rational for waiting such a long period of time. Being a green card holder is the worst state of limbo a person can be in.
Why can't speed up the process of my wife's I-130 ... ? Surely there is something that can be done !!! because this I-130 takes 5 years or so and it looks like I will not be able to ably for citizenship until another year and then another year after that for me to get it ... this is so silly and does not make sense. I think I was better off remaining on L-1B visa.

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

Well, I am not going to go into the rationales behind the immigration laws, since that is a moot point anyway since this is the law we have to deal with. Basically, if you want to know why that is the case, it's because the green card holder does not have all the benefits of being a US citizen and this is so with regard to being able to sponsor a relative for permanent residence as well. As a permanent resident, your spouse is not considered an immediate relative petition but is one of the preference categories under the scheme of immigration law and this particular preference category has a certain processing time associated with it due to the number of visa numbers available annually that are allocated to this category. It is very possible and probably, in fact, that your US citizenship will be approved before the visa number will become available for this I-130 and then you can upgrade it to an immediate relative petition. Until then, you just have to be patient as there is no way to expedite it, and no other possibilities for her to get a different status due to her overstay. As for having remained in L1B status, I cannot offer any advice on this point, but if you were already about to get married at the time of getting your green card through employment, certainly it would have been a good idea to get married and include her in your green card application, as that way she would have been eligible for the permanent resident status at the same time as you got yours.

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

 

[gprs50]

Lana, Many thanks for all the help and sorry if I sounded a bit frustrated.

When we first got married we did contact the US embassy in Canada and they did not offer any type of visa other applying for I-130 or getting a job offer with a sponsership.

What I am really concerned about is if we take a trip abroad there is a good chance the INS will not let her back in .. what a fyasco that would be at the airport !!!

What if she went back to Canada and apply for a visa ? what type of visa can we get and how long will it be granted for ?

On top of everything, we are trying to start a family and that has not been easy, we are in the middle of a medical treatment for that so if she is unable to get back in will have even longer wait for having kids.... it so silly one have to put their entire life on hold for this.

I am an Engineer, my wife is a Phd. in Bio Technology, she speaks three languages but instead of speedy arrangement for allowing highly qualifed people to stay in this country these laws certainly makes us feel unwanted.

Thanks again

 

[evcalyptos]

.

I am an Engineer, my wife is a Phd. in Bio Technology, she speaks three languages but instead of speedy arrangement for allowing highly qualifed people to stay in this country these laws certainly makes us feel unwanted.

Thanks again

gp, your wife sound qualified to come to the US on any number of visas. Why don't you hire a real live immigration attorney to assist you with your case; the DIY approach isn't getting you anywhere (example: had you married before you got your GC, you could've brought her along). I'm not being snarky, it's just that you are in a specific situation that could benefit from some legal intervention, which you won't find in discussion groups.
Research ahead.. look at the different visa types and see what your wife might qualify for. With representation, you might even get past the overstay.
PS: if she leaves for an overseas trip, she might indeed have an ugly scene at the airport on return.

 

[gprs50]

Two questions:-

What a lawyer can do ? From all the discussions I see here there is nothing that can be done until I get my citizenship !!! If you have something specific in mind that we can apply for then I will contact a lawyer if not then I will save the attorny fees and wait for my citizenship.

Is it true that one can apply for some type of Visa if the waiting period for an I-130 has exceeded 3 years ?

I must admitt this waiting for the I-130 is so frustrating .... I find it so un-american one having to put his marriage on hold for such a long period of time.

P.S. I met my wife a year after I got my green card, and we did try to get worksponsorship but being a Phd. holder she is over qualified for most of the jobs here in Dallas and as far as teaching in a University she needs a green card first.


Thanks again