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Hi, I am a green card asylum. I already have my green card for 4 years now. I am married and I have 1 child. My question is can a green card category AS8 petition a relative? I would like to petition my wife if it is possible. Thank You
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: New York Already Tried: Nothing yet
-Could you explain your situation a little more?
When did you get married?
my Green Card category is AS8 Derivative Asylee (Children/Dependents). I got it when my mother applied for Asylum in 2005. On my GC state resident since 04/14/06.Now that I am married and got a child I would like to petition my wife. My son was born on March, 2007 and we got married 2 months later May, 2007. My wife is on her F-1 visa. And her I-20 along with her visa is going to expire August 2010. My question is I want to petition her. Can a green card category AS8 like mine petition my wife? Thank You
Has your mother adjusted stautus from asylee to lawful permanent resident?
The asylee staus allows her to leave in the US legally, but she would still need to adjust status to be a lawful permanent resident?
Are you currently over 21?
Yes. Both of us are lawful permanent resident. We already received our GC on hand. And on the GC it stated resident since 04/14/2006. I am 23 years old this year.
Yes, you could apply for your wife as a lawful permanent resident. However, a spouse of a lawful permanent resident is not considered an immediate relative so she would be required to return to her home country to adjust status and her priority date,(the date that her application will processed by USCIS) would be at least four years in most cases and five and half years if she is from Mexico based upon the 2nd preference visa category of the U.S. Department of State's April Visa Bulletin which tracks the processing dates of visa applications.
Of course, she could continue in legal status with her F-1 student visa for the duration of her program.
Your best option would probably be to wait until you are eligible to apply for Citizenship and then petition for your wife because she would then be considered an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen and A visa would be available immediately. She could remain in the US in lawful status while her application is being processed and would not have to worry about upgrading her application based upon your citizenship which could be more time consuming and expensive.
You will be eligible to apply for citizenship in about ten months or so. You can apply 3 months prior to your five years as a permanent resident. However, it may be a good idea to hire an Immigration to assist you with this process and accurately count your days as a permanent resident because an application can be denied if you apply too soon.
Yes, I will be eligible to apply citizenship on Jan 2011. By then, my wife has already graduate and her I-20 & visa will expire. I was thinking, while waiting for next year for me applying citizenship if I could petition her now with my green card so that after her graduation she could stay here in the US and not go out on status. She has a family here already which is me and her son. Why would she go back? And I wouldn't want us to separate or anything. Thank You
Your thought process is solid, but the timing does not quite work out because she would have to return to her home country based upon your petition as a permanent resident if her student visa expires. She could not wait in the US without legal status until you become a US citizen.
Once option that she could explore is to apply for a post-optical training program that would allow her more time to in the US under a student visa. This additional time could match up with your eventual Naturalization as a US citizen.
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Ok, then. We will discuss this matter together. Yes, we are trying to find a way to keep her here. She has no problem going back after graduation though while waiting for me to petition her after I get my citizenship. But, that's the problem I want all of us to be together. Thank you for your information and help.
You are welcome and good luck.