Family Green Card Processes

Getting started planning your application

Checking the family relationship.

You checked the family relationship between applicants and sponsor not only to make sure that it is a ‘qualifying’ relationship, but also to know which supporting documents you are going to need to prove this family relationship (you need this evidence at the very beginning of the process to file Form I-130);

Immediate relative, or preference applicant.

You know whether you will start the Green Card process as an ‘immediate relative’, or under a ‘preference’ category (F1, F2A, F2B, F3, F4). This will have an impact not only on your timeline, but also on the immigration rules you are subjected to;

Adjustment, or consular.

You know whether you are going to go through adjustment of status, or consular processing:

• If you plan to go through adjustment, you made sure that you are (or will be) eligible to file the adjustment Form I-485. If you recently entered the United States, you paid attention to the ’90-day’ rule;
• If you plan to go through consular processing, you know whether your U.S. immigration history (overstays, …) or other events (arrests, …) might create issues. If you are currently living outside the United States with your U.S. spouse, you are aware of what ‘domicile’ is.

You also realize that applicants generally do not get to choose their process. In particular, U.S. Citizens are not supposed to get their parents (or spouse) to the United States and then file for adjustment once they are on American soil: such applicants need to go through consular processing.

Filing strategy

There is a ‘filing strategy’ in place for the entire family, not just one family member:

• When applicants are immediate relatives, you understand that there is one I-130 (and one Green Card case throughout the process) for each family member (both parents are being sponsored, then two I-130s- one for each parent; a spouse and young child are being sponsored, then two I-130s- one for the spouse and one for the child; …);
• When applicants are under a ‘preference’ classification, you understand that they can have ‘derivative applicants’. When these derivative applicants are children of the principal applicants, you have a sense as to whether you are going to need the help of the CSPA to maintain their eligibility.

Whenever possible, you try to mitigate risks through your filing strategy. This generally involves filing multiple petitions instead of just one. For instance, you might want to file for your parents, and plan to have them file for your younger brother under F2A when they get their Green Card. But you might also want to file for your brother under F4, as an ‘insurance’.

Realistic timeline

You have a sense of the timeline associated with your Green Card case, so that you have realistic expectations as to when you are likely to get your Green Card, and can plan your life accordingly.

No expedite

Most applicants believe that their case should be expedited. But the reality is that getting a case expedited is hard, with very few life scenarios meeting the requirements of U.S. immigration rules. So simply do not count on one and consider spending no time and energy on making a case for expedite…

Travel while in process

Adjustment applicants cannot travel in and out of the United States before they get their ‘combo card’ (employment authorization and advance parole) approved. There is few exemptions to that rule, such as being present in the United States under an H1B, so applicants need to be careful. But once advance parole is approved, use it (unless you have grounds of inadmissibility that can be held against you) and stop looking on the internet for stories of applicants who were denied entry while being on advance parole.

Applicants going through the consular process understand that getting a temporary visa to travel to the United States is possible, even after Form I-130 has been filed. But they also recognize that they are going to have to show ties to their current home country.

Impact of life events

You are aware of the positive and negative things that life events can bring to your Green Card application. For instance, to maintain Green Card eligibility:

• Principal applicants who are immediate relative children and under F1 will change categories if they get married (IR-C to F1, and F1 to F3);
• F2Bs cannot get married, they first need the sponsor to naturalize to at least be transferred to F3;
• No derivative applicants can get married;
• Derivative applicants cannot have a CSPA age that is 21 years old or older;
• …

Other examples, you know ahead of time whether the LPR sponsor becoming a U.S. Citizen is a good idea or not:

• A Green Card holder sponsoring their spouse and child would not want to naturalize if they filed only one I-130 on behalf of their spouse (the child would no longer be allowed to be a derivative applicant);
• F2B applicants need to either accept a transfer to F1, or ‘opt-out’;
• …

Affidavit of Support strategy

You either have an affidavit of support strategy, or you have an idea of what it could be:

The affidavit of support is a math exercise: either the family sponsor is meeting the minimum income requirements based on their ‘household size’ or not;

• If the family sponsor does not earn enough, there needs to be something else (generally a joint-sponsor that U.S. immigration agencies believe is likely to live up to this commitment);
• In any instance, you made sure that the family sponsor (and the joint-sponsor if there is one) filed their U.S. taxes the last 3 years (or did not have to file because they were not earning enough income).

Strengthen and update your case

You understand that your Green Card application is a ‘living organism’: its strength can grow over time, and it will most likely need updates (because of the length of the process). For instance:

• You are a young couple at the I-130 stage? Stop worrying about lack of joint-accounts and such. Make your best case, but keep gathering new, stronger evidence over time (as most couples are generally able to);
• Tax filings of the family sponsor, or the joint-sponsor? They will probably have to be updated with the latest for the interview;
• Police certificates? They are valid for 2 years, so you might need updated ones, at least for your country of current residence;
• Medical Exams? Do them as late as possible in the process so that you do not have to do them twice;
• …