Q & A June 25, 2006Adopted Child -- Filing for Permanent Residence or U.S. Citizenship Directly?A Friend asks: My friend recently adopted a child who came to the U.S. under B1/B2
visa. My friend, a U.S. citizen, had completed the adopting procedure
with a Court Order. The child is now 12 years old. However, his
visa is already expired. My questions are: 1 Unless the child is an orphan, your friend can only place the petition with U.S.C.I.S. two years after establishing both legal and physical custody of the child. At that time, forms I-130 (petition for alien relative) and I-485 (application to adjust status to permanent residence) can be filed at the Chicago lockbox of the National Benefits Center. 2 The law requires that your friend establish two years of physical and legal custody over the child prior to application for permanent residence or U.S. citizenship. Under the regulations, where the conditions are fulfilled, a child under the age of 18 who is temporarily present in the U.S. pursuant to a lawful admission and is maintaining such lawful status may be allowed to proceed directly to U.S. citizenship where the U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the U.S. or its outlying possessions for at least five years, at least two of which were after the age 14, or the U.S. citizen parent has a citizen parent who has been physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for at least five years, at least two of which were after the age of 14. It would not appear that your friend's child would meet the requirements to directly proceed to U.S. citizenship under the facts as you have described them. 3 Although the child's visas is already expired, he/she is considered
in the class of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, and may adjust
status to permanent residence even though overstayed in the U.S..
However, the two years of legal and physical residence with the
parent must still be completed prior to the application. H-1B Processing for the U.S. Master's Degree HolderNie Reader from Maryland asks: My son has completed a master degree in U.S.. He has been working
for its University for over 3 years and one year of OPT accounting
job. Unfortunately, the University would not support him for H-1B
status and he is at the time must return back to Hong Kong. He already
applied immigrant to Canada and waiting for notice. However, his
OPT will be expired in August and he has 2 months grace period.
But he has to leave for Hong Kong in October. According to Canadian’s
processing time, from filing to approval it would take at least
1 year. My questions are: Dear reader: 1 As I do not handle Canadian immigration at this time, I will not give you advice as to what to do concerning your son's Canadian status. You may wish to consult a Canadian immigration lawyer or ask the Canadian consulate what the effect would be on the application if your son moved back to Hong Kong in October. 2 If your son finds a position which is able to sponsor him for an H-1B visa status during this period, there will likely be enough time for an H-1B visa processing as he will be able to take the advantage of the extra 20,000 quota which is given to individuals with U.S. master's degrees. Normal processing for H-1B petitions requesting changes of status vary with the regional service centers of U.S.C.I.S., but is currently approximately 2-3 months nationwide. Expedited processing is allowed under the premium processing program under which U.S.C.I.S. will reach the application within 15 days upon payment of another $1,000.
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Copyright © 2003-2006 Alan Lee,
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