World Journal Weekly Q & A - October 8, 2006How long now to obtain permanent residence through asylum adjustment; and how long for my family members to join me in the StatesAsylee Reader asks: My “One Child” political asylum case was approved in April 2002. I applied for my family in 2005 after Real ID Act was passed. In the same time, I applied green card for myself. I did fingerprint in November 2005 and took the medical exam in December. However, Immigration asked me to do the biometrics again on February 2006. This time, they fingerprinted only my forefinger of right hand, took a picture of me and asked for my signature. In March, I received my son’s approval notice. Two month later, my son’s case was transferred to Guangzhou. In May, I received my wife’s approval notice. Why does my wife’s approval notice slower than my son’s? 1. Does the fingerprint in February 2006 for my green card? 2. Will my son and his mom came to U.S. at same time? 4. How long will it take for my family to come to the U.S.? Dear reader: 1 Usually the request for a biometric appointments where only the forefinger print is taken along with photographs and signature is an indication that the case is ready for a final adjudication. The type of fingerprinting you took is for a green card. However, this is not always the case as U.S.C.I.S. occasionly sends out such requests for limited biometrics when the proper request should be for fingerprinting all 10 fingers. In addition, a final adjudication can be either an approval or denial. 2 As long as your wife and son's cases can be matched up at the consulate in Guangzhou, and both cases completed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Guangzhou at the same time, they should be able to come together to the U.S.. 3 It is difficult to state how long it will take you to get the green card. Currently U.S.C.I.S. appears to be jumping around in its adjudication of I-485 applications for permanent residence based on asylum although its official date for processing as seen on its latest time chart is August 1, 2001. (We have received final approvals for cases filed in years after 2001). 4 It is not uncommon for family members of asylees to wait over one year after U.S.C.I.S. has approved the I-730 applications for them to finally enter the United States. Cases that we have had in the past two years in China have averaged approximately one year from the date of I-730 approval to the date of interview by DHS. How much material is now needed for an affidavit of support in overseas processing?Mai Reader asks: I married my girlfriend in March 2005 in Shanghai, China. In April of that year, I applied I-130 for her through my green card status. In October, I became a U.S. citizen and notified Immigration. Now I need to submit the affidavit support. I have a co-sponsor and I only have 2005 tax return. Do I have to have three years of tax returns? If I need to file amendments of past years’ returns, should I amend two years or only one year and wait for the 2006 tax return? Which way is better? Dear reader: In accordance with the State Department cable of March 30, 2006,
concerning affidavits of support, the initial submission of an affidavit
of support form only has to consist of the I-864 and the latest
year's tax return. The cable also states that the sponsor can at
his or her option submit 3 years of tax returns if he/she believes
that the other years' tax returns will help to prove the ability
to support the visa applicant. The cable further acknowledges that
a tax transcript is as good as a tax return; that photocopies of
I-864s for dependents do not need original signatures or notarization
(this is not applicable to immediate relative cases where U.S. citizens
are petitioning for their parents, spouses, and unmarried children
under the age of 21); that the requirement that I-864s must be redone
if over a year by the time of the interview is no longer valid and
that other information is only supposed to be requested pertaining
to the current year where the tax return did not meet the 125 percent
guideline or the consular officer has reason to doubt the affidavit
of support for specific reasons other than the passage of time.
(Also that updated tax returns should not be requested absent positive
evidence of public charge issues). Immigrating a dependent aged-out child and having an advantage in advocating your interpretation of the CSPA if he or she is already in the United StatesSu Reader asks: My family’s (three people) F4 family based Immigrant application was approved in October 1995. At the time of application, my son was only fourteen years old. Now he is twenty-five years old and this fall, will come to UCLA to study for his Ph.D. The current priority date of the F4 was 03/01/1995. So we believe my wife and I will receive green card this year. My questions are: Can my son receive green card the same time we do ours? If not, how should we apply for our son when we receive our green cards? How long will it take? Dear reader: Unfortunately your son will not be able to immigrate with you under the protections of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) because he aged out (turned the age of 21) prior to the priority date became current, and there is no exception in his case. Undoubtedly the consular official that you met (or will meet) in your immigrant visa interview this year (your priority date of 3/1/95 became available in July 2006) advised (or will advise you) to submit an I-130 relative petition for your son as soon as you arrive in the States. In looking at the August 2006 visa bulletin, the estimated processing time for your son to immigrate under the F-2B category for unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents is approximately 10 years unless you later become a U.S. citizen or Congress decides to increase the quota for this category. I note that an argument can be made that your son is entitled to your priority date, but this view is not widely accepted by the U.S.C.I.S. or Department of State at this time. We have had some success on this argument, but limited. If your son is in the U.S. pursuant to an F-1 student visa, there would be a much better chance of making this argument since a refusal by the agency might allow suit in the federal courts. Having him here in the country gives him a significant advantage in winning this argument in the court system over families in which the aged out child remains overseas. Another route for your son to consider is the employment based road which could result in a work visa and ultimately the green card and would be considerably quicker than 10 years. Special rules of naturalization for ages 50, 55, 65, holding the green card for 15 and 20 yearsReader Wong: I am 64 years old and I have green card since 1985. I want to apply for the citizenship but I don’t speak English. In my situation, are there any special benefits which can help me to pass the test? Dear reader: At this time, you are eligible for a naturalization test in the Chinese language. That privilege is accorded to individuals who are either 50 years of age and have held the green card for 20 years or those who are 55 and have had the card for 15 years. If you wait another year until you are 65, the naturalization laws will allow you to take a simplified test in Chinese in which you will be asked questions from a list of 25 instead of 100 questions, and will only have to answer 6 out of 10 correctly. This privilege is given to individuals 65 years of age who have held the green card for 20 years.
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Copyright © 2003-2006 Alan Lee,
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