Q & A March 12, 2006SECURITY CLEARANCES IN I-485 CASES AND THE FRUSTRATION THEY CAUSE -- U.S.C.I.S. HEADQUARTERS IS AWAREWen 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. CHANGING CATEGORIES AND RETAINING THE RIGHT TO IMMIGRATE WITH THE OLD PRIORITY DATEChen 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.
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Copyright © 2003-2006 Alan Lee,
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