Discussion:
i was born in the philippines and married and filed for I-485 on 2000. My mom is american citizen. My I-130 is approved with receipt date of 1999. Until now i still do not have my greencards. I am on legal status until now. I am wondering whether the I-485 employment based is faster than family based.
Answer:
There are quite some backlogs. The Priority Date for Family Category 3, married sons and daughters of citizens, currently is March 1990 for people from the Philippines (see the current visa bulletin at travel.state.gov/visa_bulletin.html).
That means that your I-485 was filed way too early. Only people who's I-130 was approved on or before March 1990 can actually file an I-485.
So you have a waiting time of another 9 years in front of you.
Employment-based I-485s are usually processed in 2 years or so (provided you already have an approved LC and/or I-140). I guess that makes the choice obvious.
Answer:
Could I apply for citizenship when i am in the USA for 5 years since i am in legal status here in the USA??
Answer:
You need to have the GC for 5 years before you can apply for citizenship.
Living here in a non-immigrant status doesn't matter.
Answer:
I do not quite agree that the approval of family based I-485 will be based on the priority date of I-130. If it has to follow the priority date for I-130 then it does not matter anymore to file for I-485 if you are already in the USA. I-485 is for people already in the USA. When we were interviwed we were not told anything like that by the BCIS officer. We were told during our interview that the approval of all I-485 will be on hold due to 9/11 incidence, and been congratulated by the officer because our case is approvable. Immigration laws is really very complex and always open for debate. Technically speaking, they cannot follow the priority date of our I-130 if it will take 9 years due to backlog. What they gonna do if the main applicant died accidentally??The dependents will be deported back to their country right??This is technically wrong.
Answer:
"I do not quite agree that the approval of family based I-485 will be based on the priority date of I-130."
If you agree with that is irrelevant.
The law is what decides that. And the law states that there is a quota for immigration applications. That means that each year, only a certain number of immigrants can get approved.
Since there are many more applications than the allowed number, backlogs exist.
You can see the current backlogs in the Visa Bulletin, issued each month by the Department of State at travel.state.gov/visa_bulletin.html
"We were told during our interview that the approval of all I-485 will be on hold due to 9/11 incidence"
Huh? A lot of I-485s have been approved since then...
"What they gonna do if the main applicant died accidentally??The dependents will be deported back to their country right??"
That is exactly what would happen. It is not "technically wrong." It is the law. Period. End of story.
You are right, immigration law is difficult, and you have a lot to learn about it...
The law is online on the CIS website. You can look up the yearly quota and learn about the process yourself. You will see that I am right...
For example, INA 203(a)(3), defining Family Category 3:
"(3) Married sons and married daughters of citizens. - Qualified immigrants who are the married sons or married daughters of citizens of the United States shall be allocated visas in a number not to exceed 23,400, plus any visas not required for the classes specified in paragraphs (1) and (2)."
Answer:
Dear Joe,
You are really good with this immigration law stuff...
Are you an immig. lawyer? If so, is there some way to retain your law firm for my immigration process?
You sound way smarter and better than my dumb ass lawyer who knows nothing...
Thanks.
Answer:
"Are you an immig. lawyer?"
Nope. I am just a lay person who has an interest in these things...
I am a software engineer, and I at first had a bad lawyer as well. I fired her, got a new, much better lawyer, and then I decided that I better learn about this stuff to avoid any more such costly mistakes...
Answer:
You know what???In this country if you have connection your application gets approve faster too. For example if you know somebody in the government such as congressman or state representative. Another is if you have a lawyer who can follow up your case and fight for you. You can get more priority than those who does not have any lawyer or know somebody in the government. This is irreputable fact.....Am I Right???
I just happen to know someone who is a state representative who is following up my case.
Answer:
"For example if you know somebody in the government such as congressman or state representative. Another is if you have a lawyer who can follow up your case and fight for you. You can get more priority than those who does not have any lawyer or know somebody in the government. This is irreputable fact.....Am I Right???"
No. If cases take longer than usual, anybody can go to their local Congressperson and ask them to inquire at CIS. Lots of people do that. Congresspeople are elected to serve their communities.
I guess you have to learn a bit about how democracy works in the US...
Lawyers can also only work within the laws. There are good reasons to pay for a lawyer. They are the professionals. You don't repair your car engine yourself, either, do you? But apparently you think you can file an immigrant petition yourself... Maybe you made some mistake? People pay lawyers to avoid making mistakes... And in fact, you seem to have made the mistake of believing what somebody at CIS told you. If you had looked at this and other boards, people like me would have advised you to never believe what they tell you. I have personally met people who got deported because they believed what an INS official told them. If you want to be sure, always ask a good lawyer.
In your case, if it is a petition in family category 3, as I have to conclude based on your statements here, nobody, not a Congressperson, not a lawyer, can bypass the quota. You just will have to accept that.
There is, however, the possibility of a private law, but such laws are usually only introduced in really heartbreaking cases (and they require a lawyer working closely with a Congressperson, anyway.)