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A friend who is a permanent resident (green card), went home to Mongolia for 6 months. He married his girlfriend who has two kids (he says they are his kids from before he came to the US. Now he called me up and asked me how he can bring his wife and kids back with him. I don't know what made him think that I would know the answer. I told him to go to the US Embassy and ask. I'm just curious, for my own sake, what the process might be like for him. I hope someone can give me simple description of it for me?
A friend who is a permanent resident (green card), went home to Mongolia for 6 months. He married his girlfriend who has two kids (he says they are his kids from before he came to the US. Now he called me up and asked me how he can bring his wife and kids back with him. I don't know what made him think that I would know the answer. I told him to go to the US Embassy and ask. I'm just curious, for my own sake, what the process might be like for him. I hope someone can give me simple description of it for me?
Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) files form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.
The wheels of the USCIS grind, but if all boxes are checked correctly and all the supporting paperwork checks out, the petition will typically be approved in 5-6 months.
The approved petition is sent to the National Visa Center, where it waits until a visa number becomes available. Spouses of LPRs do not have priority like spouses of citizens, so this will most likely take some years.
When a visa number becomes available, a letter goes out to the parties and it's time for new round of paperwork and fees - police records, vaccination proofs, that sort of thing. Expect a month, perhaps 2.
The local consulate calls the spouse in for an interview, then finishes the visa approval process.
A few weeks later, the spouse receives a mysterious brown envelope from the consulate, along with a passport with a visa stamp. (Generally upside-down - why do they do that? Anyway...)
Spouse travels to the US and hands off mysterious brown envelope at immigrations.
Spouse gets stamp in passport and can now start the process of getting an actual green card, SSN etc.
I suspect the children (if unmarried and under 21) will follow their mother's petition, but never assume when dealing with the USCIS.
Thanks! So he's looking at a long process. Does that mean he has to travel back and forth every once in a while and/ or not see them for a long time?
Probably the case, yes. It's a tedious process. If his residency status permits to him to apply for citizenship - 5 years of legal residency, IIRC - that might be faster. Cuts out the "waiting for a visa number", as immediate relatives of US citizens have expedited processing.
Disclaimer: I am not an immigration lawyer, just an interested laymen who has dealt with the USCIS.
He does not have to travel to Mongolia. Once he has US citizenship he can adjust the petition to "spouse of Us citizen". See Visa Bulletin for processing!
He does not have to travel to Mongolia. Once he has US citizenship he can adjust the petition to "spouse of Us citizen". See Visa Bulletin for processing!
Well, we don't know how far in the future the option for US citizenship is.
He does not have to travel to Mongolia. Once he has US citizenship he can adjust the petition to "spouse of Us citizen". See Visa Bulletin for processing!
He's already there. My understanding is that he could apply for citizenship, but has to resolve a tax issue first. I don't know the details.
He's already there. My understanding is that he could apply for citizenship, but has to resolve a tax issue first. I don't know the details.
Ah. Then that would be the fastest. And as Threestep points out, he can file the application now and then update it once he reaches citizen status. Him being a citizen cuts out the "waiting for a visa number" bit, easily the longest wait involved.
If he gets in touch with me, I will tell him that. Thanks.
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