Q & A March 12, 2006
Q & A 1. 2.
Q&A 1.
SECURITY CLEARANCES IN I-485 CASES AND THE FRUSTRATION THEY CAUSE
-- U.S.C.I.S. HEADQUARTERS IS AWARE
Wen Reader asks:
I started my labor certificate and green card (I-485) process in
5/2001. I received CIS’ receipt in 10/2002 and had done twice
fingerprinting in 2002 and 2003. However, at the time of interview
on 10/1/2004, the examiner said that they needed to do my background
check on my entry. In 2/05, Immigration received my background check
file and my attorney had written letters to immigration examiner
for status. I have no criminal records and filed tax returns with
annual income of more than $20,000.00 (for the past 10 years). It
had been over 4 years, why have I received any results? What strategic
method should I use to speed up the process in obtaining my green
card?
Dear reader:
There is unfortunately at this time no tried and true method under
which security clearances can be expedited. The major problem appears
to rest with the FBI name checks which seem to be taking forever
in some cases. There was a brief moment of hope that the FBI would
start to establish a dialogue with individuals calling a certain
number (202) 324-2399, but that route does not appear to be working
as it only refers individuals to an e-mail address fbinncp@ic.fbi.gov,
which has not replied to written inquiries for months. Currently
it appears that the FBI will only expedite on information from U.S.C.I.S.
that a military deployment is imminent; the individual is not covered
by the Child Status Protection Act and will ageout; a writ of mandamus
lawsuit is pending in the federal court; there is a grant of permanent
residence status by the immigration court; or there are compelling
reasons as supplied by the requesting U.S.C.I.S. office. In the
latter case, the need for expedite would be assessed on a case by
case basis. We recently received a letter from U.S.C.I.S. headquarters
concerning a long delay on one of our I-485 cases, but no relief
as the letter basically reiterated that the FBI name check is still
pending, U.S.C.I.S. must balance its obligations to the individual
applicants against its obligation to the public as a whole to safeguard
the public; until the background investigation is completed, U.S.C.I.S.
will not move forward with a case, and it also understands that
we and our clients are frustrated by the progress of the application
process. My recommendation is to use as many resources as possible
including attorney letters and congressional inquiries to continue
keeping U.S.C.I.S. aware of the concern in your case.
Q&A 2.
CHANGING CATEGORIES AND RETAINING THE RIGHT TO IMMIGRATE WITH
THE OLD PRIORITY DATE
Chen Reader asks:
I applied for my unmarried adult son to immigrate in 11/00. When
I later on obtain my U.S. citizenship, will my son be able to retain
his old priority date? What should I do to retain the old priority
date? If my son gets married after I became a U.S. citizen, will
his priority date stay the same as an unmarried adult child? If
my son marries a Singapore lady and becomes a Singapore’s
permanent resident, will the whole family be able to retain the
same priority date? Is Singapore’s priority date the same
as China? What documents do we have to provide for the changes?
My friend who is also a green card holder applied for his unmarried
adult daughter. However, his daughter recently gave birth to a daughter;
can granddaughter come to U.S. with the mother? How to apply for
the granddaughter? When my friend becomes an U.S. citizen, can his
daughter and granddaughter retain their old priority date?
Dear reader:
1 When you become a U.S. citizen, your son will be able to retain
his old priority date. If your son is overseas, you would notify
the U.S.C.I.S., National Visa Center or American embassy/consulate
(depending upon present location of the petition) of the change
in circumstance requesting an upgrade of preference category from
F-2B to F-1 (unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen) with a copy
of the naturalization certificate. If your son is in the U.S. and
eligible to adjust status to permanent residence, he would submit
the I-485 adjustment of status application to the Chicago lockbox
of the National Benefits Center immediately with proof that you
are a U.S. citizen.
If your son is married after you become a U.S. citizen, his priority
date will remain the same. At this time, there is no difference
in the F-3 visa availability date for married sons and daughters
of U.S. citizens for persons born in Singapore or China. You would
follow the same procedure as above if your son is overseas, but
would also enclose proof of the marriage. In addition, please note
that the availability date for the F-3 category for the month of
February 2006 is only up to July 15, 1998, which means that your
son and his dependent(s) will have to wait to immigrate until the
priority date is current. This is unlike the case for an unmarried
son or daughter of a U.S. citizen for which the current visa availability
is up to April 22, 2001 for the month of February 2006. With a priority
date in November 2000, your son would immigrate immediately under
the unmarried category, but probably wait at least another three-five
years as a married person. If your son is in the United States,
he is not eligible to submit an I-485 application until the priority
date becomes available (assuming that he meets all the qualifications
for adjustment of status).
Your green card holder friend's daughter can immigrate to the U.S.
with her daughter. Dependent upon the present location of the I-130
petition, notification of the birth with proof of such can be given
to U.S.C.I.S., the National Visa Center, or the U.S. consulate or
embassy. When your friend becomes a U.S. citizen, his daughter and
granddaughter can retain the old priority date.
|