Q & A October 12, 2003

Q & A 1

Dear Mr. Lee:

I applied for professional immigration as a tutor in 1997, and obtained the Green Card in May 2002. The interview took place in Charlotte, North Carolina. When I filed for an I-824 form in Feb 2002, I included my son as the person I filed for. His name was spelled correctly in the application form. But his name was spelled incorrectly on the receipt for this application. We never received any actions on this case in mail. When checking with the INS online, we knew that a written decision was mailed out on October 22, 2002. But we never received any in mail.

Accordingly, we filed an I-824 form again in August 2002 to the INS in Charlotte office with my sons’ name spelled correctly, and got a receipt which was like a grocery receipt. No further reply was received since then. We wrote letters to the INS Charlotte and Texas offices in October 2002, inquiring the status of this I-824 application, but never received any response from them.

Question:
My son will be 21 years of age soon. What shall we do now?

Xu

Dear reader:

It would appear that your son is eligible for benefits under the Child Status Protection Act as he is turning 21 after the date of enactment of the CSPA, and you filed an I-824 (Application for Action on an Approved Petition or Application) on his behalf within a one-year period of time after he became eligible for immigration. Under recent interpretations of the BCIS and Department of State, the CSPA applies to cases in which individuals did not ageout until after August 6, 2002. Following the lock-in date for benefits, (May 2002 in this case as the final approval was given to the principal at this time), the child must apply for immigration within a one-year period. The State Department has opined that in situations where the principal alien has adjusted status in the United States and the dependent child is overseas, that one year period should be tolled by the filing of an I-824 follow to join application.

You have stated that a written decision was mailed October 22, 2002, but that you never received the mail, and that you filed another I-824 form in August 2002 to the local INS office in Charlotte. You should certainly continue to check the applications with the local office and service center of the BCIS. In addition, you may wish to check with the American consulate to determine if it already is in possession of the first application (assuming that it was approved). BCIS mistakes on receipts do not necessarily translate to mistakes on the approved petition, especially where BCIS is reminded that the name is incorrect.

Copyright © 2003 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.