Question: My auntie petitioned my mother when I was 3 years old. However, the visa process is so slow that it took 22 years for the visa number to become current. I was over 21 when my mother got her Green Card and the U.S. Embassy said that I aged out and could not come. Is there something that can be done without me having to wait another 10-15 years for a petition from my mother to become current?
Answer: Normally, in that case, once the child ages out, they cannot qualify to come as a derivative. There are, however, certain instances under the CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) whereby the derivative can show he or she is under the age of 21 (under immigration law.) However, in this case, that would not be applicable. Given that, the question then becomes whether you can still fall under any particular provision of the CSPA.
In this case, there was the BIA case Matter of WANG which specifically denied the priority date retention provision of the CSPA. However, the 9th Circuit Courts of Appeal has just come out with a decision which overruled the BIA and has stated essentially that this provision of the CSPA does stand and needs to be followed.
Question: What is this case and what does priority date retention mean?
Answer: First, it is necessary to understand basic immigration family petitions. You have a petitioner which is either the U.S. Citizen, or a Lawful Permanent Resident petitioning the beneficiary (which is the person who wants to come into the U.S.) Once the petition is filed (assuming it is not an Immidiate Relative) will be put into a visa line and only when the visa becomes current (sometimes many years later), can they immigrate to the U.S.
In many of these cases, the child is eligible to immigrate as a derivative at the time that the petition is filed, but once the visa number becomes current, they “age-out”. This can also occur as a direct occurrence for example from a Lawful Permanent Resident petitioning a child under 21.
Question: What exactly is the provision of the CSPA that was ruled on in the 9th Circuit case?
Answer: Well, first you have to try to do the age reduction calculation to see if the beneficiary is actually under 21 for immigration purposes. This means that even if their real age might be over 21 years their immigration age would be under 21 and they can immigrate. However, for purposes of this new case, it is only for those derivative beneficiaries and beneficiaries that have not only aged out, but cannot have their age determined to be under 21.
The CSPA in those cases under the particular provision of the CSPA, will have a petition that is automatically converted to the appropriate category. In other words, let’s say that in your example that an aunt petitioned your mother and you aged out and you cannot reduce your ‘immigration age’ to under 21. In that case, their application is automatically converted for a petition from your mother to you. This would be a Lawful Permanent Resident petitioning a son/daughter over the age of 21. This would be preference F2B.
Then the next part is the key. The CSPA allows you to then recapture or use the priority date of the petition from your auntie’s petition to your mother. As you stated, you were 3 years old when the petition was filed and you were about 24 years old when the visa number became current. This means, that under the CSPA (and now the 9th Circuit Class Action suit that agreed with the provision of the CSPA) that the priority date of the now automatically created petition is the SAME as the one your auntie filed for your mother. Therefore, the priority date will be basically over 20 years old the very moment the petition is automatically created. Since that number is now current, you can then come into the United States under this petition now. You have the petition and the visa number is current. Therefore, you can process right now to get the Green Card.
Question: So, what did the Ninth Circuit case do?
Answer: In fact, USCIS and other government agencies were denying this provision of the CSPA. They basically stated it was not supposed to do what was clearly in the law. Thus, now with the affirmation of the Ninth Circuit case, we can proceed forward with all of these CSPA cases.
Getting the green card through marriage
Is it easy to get a green card?
Filed under: Green Card | Tagged: Brian D. Lerner, brian lerner, california immigration lawyer, child status protection act, cspa, Family Petition, Immigration, Immigration Lawyer, Law Offices of Brian D. Lerner | 10 Comments »
Can you get the Green Card even if your over 21 years old?
Question: My auntie petitioned my mother when I was 3 years old. However, the visa process is so slow that it took 22 years for the visa number to become current. I was over 21 when my mother got her Green Card and the U.S. Embassy said that I aged out and could not come. Is there something that can be done without me having to wait another 10-15 years for a petition from my mother to become current?
Answer: Normally, in that case, once the child ages out, they cannot qualify to come as a derivative. There are, however, certain instances under the CSPA (Child Status Protection Act) whereby the derivative can show he or she is under the age of 21 (under immigration law.) However, in this case, that would not be applicable. Given that, the question then becomes whether you can still fall under any particular provision of the CSPA.
In this case, there was the BIA case Matter of WANG which specifically denied the priority date retention provision of the CSPA. However, the 9th Circuit Courts of Appeal has just come out with a decision which overruled the BIA and has stated essentially that this provision of the CSPA does stand and needs to be followed.
Question: What is this case and what does priority date retention mean?
Answer: First, it is necessary to understand basic immigration family petitions. You have a petitioner which is either the U.S. Citizen, or a Lawful Permanent Resident petitioning the beneficiary (which is the person who wants to come into the U.S.) Once the petition is filed (assuming it is not an Immidiate Relative) will be put into a visa line and only when the visa becomes current (sometimes many years later), can they immigrate to the U.S.
In many of these cases, the child is eligible to immigrate as a derivative at the time that the petition is filed, but once the visa number becomes current, they “age-out”. This can also occur as a direct occurrence for example from a Lawful Permanent Resident petitioning a child under 21.
Question: What exactly is the provision of the CSPA that was ruled on in the 9th Circuit case?
Answer: Well, first you have to try to do the age reduction calculation to see if the beneficiary is actually under 21 for immigration purposes. This means that even if their real age might be over 21 years their immigration age would be under 21 and they can immigrate. However, for purposes of this new case, it is only for those derivative beneficiaries and beneficiaries that have not only aged out, but cannot have their age determined to be under 21.
The CSPA in those cases under the particular provision of the CSPA, will have a petition that is automatically converted to the appropriate category. In other words, let’s say that in your example that an aunt petitioned your mother and you aged out and you cannot reduce your ‘immigration age’ to under 21. In that case, their application is automatically converted for a petition from your mother to you. This would be a Lawful Permanent Resident petitioning a son/daughter over the age of 21. This would be preference F2B.
Then the next part is the key. The CSPA allows you to then recapture or use the priority date of the petition from your auntie’s petition to your mother. As you stated, you were 3 years old when the petition was filed and you were about 24 years old when the visa number became current. This means, that under the CSPA (and now the 9th Circuit Class Action suit that agreed with the provision of the CSPA) that the priority date of the now automatically created petition is the SAME as the one your auntie filed for your mother. Therefore, the priority date will be basically over 20 years old the very moment the petition is automatically created. Since that number is now current, you can then come into the United States under this petition now. You have the petition and the visa number is current. Therefore, you can process right now to get the Green Card.
Question: So, what did the Ninth Circuit case do?
Answer: In fact, USCIS and other government agencies were denying this provision of the CSPA. They basically stated it was not supposed to do what was clearly in the law. Thus, now with the affirmation of the Ninth Circuit case, we can proceed forward with all of these CSPA cases.
Filed under: Immigration Attorney | Tagged: Brian D. Lerner, brian lerner, california immigration lawyer, child status protection act, cspa, Family Petition, Immigration, Immigration Lawyer, Law Offices of Brian D. Lerner | 10 Comments »
Question: I want to petition an orphan. What must I do?
Answer: A USC can petition for an orphan under age 16. In order to be an orphan, both parents must have died, disappeared, or abandoned the child. If there is a sole or surviving parent, he or she must be incapable of providing for the child and irrevocably release the child for emigration or adoption. The child must be under 16 and unmarried at the time the petition is filed on his or her behalf to classify as an immediate relative. The petitioner must be a USC. Natural siblings of the orphan are also eligible to immigrate if adopted abroad while under 18 by the same adoptive parent.
Question: Where must I adopt the child and can I adopt the child in the U.S.?
Answer: That will depend on what country you want to bring in the child as to whether it is a part of the Hague Convention. It would be necessary to understand some parts of the Hague Convention to answer this. Here are some basic rules:
Only USCs—not LPRs—may adopt and immigrate children subject to the Hague rules; The Department of State coordinates with the equivalent “Central Authority” or designee in the child’s home country and this foreign entity is heavily involved in the process; Adoption cannot serve as the basis for the child’s immigration unless they follow certain prescribed steps and sequences; The USC parents are prohibited from contacting the birth parents unless they fall within narrow exceptions; The adopted child must be under 16 when the decree is finalized or the I-800 is filed; there is no exception for children between ages 16 and 18 whose siblings have been adopted while under 16; and the definition of “adoptable” child is broader than orphan and includes those children whose: (1) single birth parent has relinquished control; (2) two living birth parents are incapable of providing care and have released the child for adoption; or (3) unmarried birth father, who can qualify as a “sole parent,” releases the child for adoption after the birth mother has abandoned the child.
Question: What countries are Hague Convention Countries?
Answer: Hague Convention rules apply to children who are “habitual residents” of one of the approximately 80 countries that have signed on to the international treaty. Some of the countries that have not ratified the convention include Kazakhstan, Russia, Guatemala, Ethiopia, and South Korea. Some of the ones that have ratified it include China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines.
Question: What are the procedures for applying, assuming that the child comes from a Hague Country.
Answer: Assuming the Hague rules apply, the following steps must be adhered to in this precise order. First, the prospective adoptive parent(s) obtain(s) an approved home study from an accredited provider, licensed in the state of the adoptive parent(s), and authorized to conduct such studies. The adoptive parent(s) then file(s) Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, with USCIS, along with the home study. USCIS may need to communicate with the designated adoption service provider.
After approval of the I-800A and home study, USCIS forwards these to the adoption service provider and the NVC, which in turn forwards to the Central Authority of the designated foreign country. That Central Authority then identifies a child and refers him or her to the prospective parent(s) along with a report on his or her medical and social background. If the family accepts the referral, they file Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative, with USCIS. USCIS then provisionally approves the petition and forwards it to the appropriate U.S. Consulate.
The consular officer screens the child for admissibility and annotates the visa application with the child’s ability to immigrate following adoption. The officer also transmits the “Article Five Letter” to the Central Authority, which basically affirms that the adoptive parents may proceed with the adoption. The family then completes the adoption or guardianship process and submits the official decree to the consulate, which approves the I-800 and issues the immigrant visa (IH-3 or IH-4).
Beginning on September 25, 2008, USCIS expanded its direct mail program to include the forms I-800A and I-800. Applicants must now submit them to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox facility for initial processing using the following address: USCIS, P.O. Box 805695, Chicago, IL 60680-4118. These forms will then be forwarded to the National Benefits Center in Lee’s Summit, MO, which has assumed processing of these petitions.
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How can I bring in an Orphan to the U.S.?
Question: I want to petition an orphan. What must I do?
Answer: A USC can petition for an orphan under age 16. In order to be an orphan, both parents must have died, disappeared, or abandoned the child. If there is a sole or surviving parent, he or she must be incapable of providing for the child and irrevocably release the child for emigration or adoption. The child must be under 16 and unmarried at the time the petition is filed on his or her behalf to classify as an immediate relative. The petitioner must be a USC. Natural siblings of the orphan are also eligible to immigrate if adopted abroad while under 18 by the same adoptive parent.
Question: Where must I adopt the child and can I adopt the child in the U.S.?
Answer: That will depend on what country you want to bring in the child as to whether it is a part of the Hague Convention. It would be necessary to understand some parts of the Hague Convention to answer this. Here are some basic rules:
Only USCs—not LPRs—may adopt and immigrate children subject to the Hague rules; The Department of State coordinates with the equivalent “Central Authority” or designee in the child’s home country and this foreign entity is heavily involved in the process; Adoption cannot serve as the basis for the child’s immigration unless they follow certain prescribed steps and sequences; The USC parents are prohibited from contacting the birth parents unless they fall within narrow exceptions; The adopted child must be under 16 when the decree is finalized or the I-800 is filed; there is no exception for children between ages 16 and 18 whose siblings have been adopted while under 16; and the definition of “adoptable” child is broader than orphan and includes those children whose: (1) single birth parent has relinquished control; (2) two living birth parents are incapable of providing care and have released the child for adoption; or (3) unmarried birth father, who can qualify as a “sole parent,” releases the child for adoption after the birth mother has abandoned the child.
Question: What countries are Hague Convention Countries?
Answer: Hague Convention rules apply to children who are “habitual residents” of one of the approximately 80 countries that have signed on to the international treaty. Some of the countries that have not ratified the convention include Kazakhstan, Russia, Guatemala, Ethiopia, and South Korea. Some of the ones that have ratified it include China, India, Mexico, and the Philippines.
Question: What are the procedures for applying, assuming that the child comes from a Hague Country.
Answer: Assuming the Hague rules apply, the following steps must be adhered to in this precise order. First, the prospective adoptive parent(s) obtain(s) an approved home study from an accredited provider, licensed in the state of the adoptive parent(s), and authorized to conduct such studies. The adoptive parent(s) then file(s) Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, with USCIS, along with the home study. USCIS may need to communicate with the designated adoption service provider.
After approval of the I-800A and home study, USCIS forwards these to the adoption service provider and the NVC, which in turn forwards to the Central Authority of the designated foreign country. That Central Authority then identifies a child and refers him or her to the prospective parent(s) along with a report on his or her medical and social background. If the family accepts the referral, they file Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative, with USCIS. USCIS then provisionally approves the petition and forwards it to the appropriate U.S. Consulate.
The consular officer screens the child for admissibility and annotates the visa application with the child’s ability to immigrate following adoption. The officer also transmits the “Article Five Letter” to the Central Authority, which basically affirms that the adoptive parents may proceed with the adoption. The family then completes the adoption or guardianship process and submits the official decree to the consulate, which approves the I-800 and issues the immigrant visa (IH-3 or IH-4).
Beginning on September 25, 2008, USCIS expanded its direct mail program to include the forms I-800A and I-800. Applicants must now submit them to the USCIS Chicago Lockbox facility for initial processing using the following address: USCIS, P.O. Box 805695, Chicago, IL 60680-4118. These forms will then be forwarded to the National Benefits Center in Lee’s Summit, MO, which has assumed processing of these petitions.
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Coffee talk with Immigration Attorney Brian D. Lerner, A Professional Corporation on Immigration and Naturalization Law and specifics on how you can find solutions to immigration problems, visas, work-permits, deportation and other areas of immigration law. Find out about why you should hire an immigration attorney and/or deportation attorney who knows what they are doing
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. Immigration Lawyer Brian D. Lerner explains this area of immigration law so that it is clear and in normal and plain English. The Law Offices of Brian D. Lerner is happy to give you a free 10 minute consultation at http://www.blerner.checkappointments.com/. Additionally, call us at 562-495-0554 or send a Skype to ‘briandlerner’.
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Coffee talk with Immigration Attorney Brian D. Lerner, A Professional Corporation on Immigration and Naturalization Law and specifics on how you can find solutions to immigration problems, visas, work-permits, deportation and other areas of immigration law. Find out about why you should hire an immigration attorney and/or deportation attorney who knows what they are doing
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Brian D. Lerner Immigration Attorney & Deportation Lawyer Blog 