Getting US permanent residency for your foreign spouse is about to get harder...

[mcaffa]

If you plan to move back to the US with your foreign spouse, as I plan to do next year, the process for filing a Petition for Alien Relative (I-130) is about to get much harder. After August 15th, the US Embassy here will no longer be able to assist. You will have to file directly with the USCIS in the US.

Rules change that may affect you and your non-American family member’s ability to return to the USA

 

[Nicole_Ramirez]

I'm confused, if you are going to have to do the paperwork in the States then you should be able to move there & start the paperwork.

 

[mcaffa]

In my case, we wanted to get things squared away while still in Argentina so my husband can start working as soon as we move back. If we apply while we're up there, he may have to wait well over a year before he can start working legally.

 

[amcarey]

That's terrible news! My wife and I are in a similar situation: we wanted to start the paper work here, so she would be able to start working right away once we got back to the US. MCAFFA, what are you going do?

 

[mcaffa]

amcarey, I think we're going to ask to schedule an interview before August 15th. I've already been in contact with the embassy and they have advised me to do just that. I suggest you write them ASAP - [email protected]

My husband wanted to leave here around June or July of next year and not any sooner (so he can get more flight hours - he's a pilot), but if the process goes more quickly, he'll be forced to enter the US sooner than he'd like to (after the I-130 is fully approved, your spouse only has a 6 month window to enter the US). He thinks we should just wait a few more months and then file directly with the USCIS office in Chicago but I read that it can take 1 to 3 years for them to process petitions! We certainly don't want to wait that long. So this weekend, I'm going to try to gather up all the info I've come across and convince him that we need to suck it up and just take the leap sooner than anticipated.

 

[amcarey]

Well, good luck and thanks for the advice. I'll get in touch with the embassy pronto!

 

[xtrasback]

haha don't panic mcaffa, this really shouldn't be making things 'harder' as it was stated. It'll maybe make 'em a bit more troublesome/complicated for those that were thinking about relocating with the 485 stamp already in their passport yes, but it is still pretty much the same thing and you can easily work around this.. When filling for the 130 and 485 you can -at the same time- file a 765 which will allow your husband to work legally while the other forms are being processed/reviewed (usually takes 1-3 months) ...

Every situation is different depending on what you were planning on doing, it seems as if you guys were trying to get everything worked-out from here before flying and that's not a bad thing, but on the flip-side after this change in the procedure what's the big deal ? just get back to the states, apply over there and file the 765 along with your original forms and voila your hubby will be working within the first month.

 

[Nicole_Ramirez]

This was 11 years ago, but it only took about 3 months after filing the paperwork to get my husbands work permit & 1 &1/2 years to get permanent residency. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[mcaffa]

Thanks for bringing up some alternative options, xtrasback.

I guess the rule change isn't the end of the world but I'd prefer to avoid the extra paperwork and bureaucracy. Plus, if we file from here, we won't have to translate and legalize our marriage certificate, criminal background papers, etc. We've decided to just go for it and get our foot in the door before August 15th.