Requesting US residency for Argentine parent

[jbeas176]

yes palermo. swip credit car for 10 dollars to talk to someone. deposit 100.00 in embassy bank to make an appointment. wow

 

[Renzi]

Whatever political rhetoric around immigration has been over the past few years, the actual laws and procedures haven't changed much. I have a close relative who works with CBP and the biggest mistake most people make is to try to change their status while on a tourist visa. In most cases, the process has to be initiated in the home country of the petitioner, which in your case is Argentina. You're bound by the conditions of the visa type you enter with, so even if you enter as a tourist but actually intend to stay indefinitely and apply for residency, you could be considered in violation which is almost a guarantee of getting not only denied, but denied reentry altogether in the future. I believe there is a specific type of visa for petitioners (I don't remember offhand) and you might need to prove you can assume financial responsibility for your parent, etc.

Keep in mind, a lot also comes down to the person handling your case in the US, if one detail is off in your paperwork, some officers have no problem kicking you to the back of the line. My relative isn't like that, but I've heard plenty of stories.

 

[dilmah]

right, at the moment of crossing the border a person who enters on tourist visa is not allowed to have an intention to adjust status to permanent resident.

And if he/she does so (files an adjustment of status petition) within first 3 months after entering the US,
then the burden of proof that it was not the original intention is on him/her.

 

[Brian_is_here]

Technically, if you go route 1, that's naughty. You could be not allowed entry to the US if you answer the questions CBP asks incorrectly.

If i were in your shoes and you're not in a hurry #2 is the correct answer. File here and get her PR from abroad. It will probably take at least 12 months. But do consult with a lawyer.

If you decide 12 months is too long, you're going to need to be prepared to bluff you're not entering the US with intention to do a change of status.

If CBP chats with her about why she is traveling she better not say something like: i want to immigrate to the US. Everything she says to CBP better align with the story that she is going to the US for tourist reasons and intends to leave before 180 days.

Then if you just so happens to change her mind on day 91 about returning, she should do an adjustment of status to permanent resident.

 

[Pierre Smith]

You'll file in Argentina - traveling to the US on a tourist visa with the intent to adjust status is considered to be visa fraud, and can result in denial of your application and a ban from the US. The lawyer you talked to is right that it can be done, but you never know what sort notes they'll take at the consular interview when they grant the b1/b2, or even at the port of entry nowadays, plus there's the risk that your elderly mother says the wrong thing at interview. Point is that you have the time, so might as well do it right.

In another life I worked briefly as an immigration attorney (it turned me from being super pro-immigrant to being hard against our broken asylum system, but that's another story), so I've got a decent if somewhat outdated sense of the process: don't know what this site is selling, but these are the correct steps.

At this point, probably the key worries for you are that you'll need to be able to demonstrate the intent to return to the US, and have a good indication that you can satisfy the affidavit of support.

Expect it to take a year or so.