Anyone with experience filing I-130 + I-485 for a toddler?

[abumiqdad]

Hi all.

Has anyone here had done any filing for a toddler (born overseas of a US natural citizen mother that had not stepped foot in the USA since 2 years old with a DV lottery winner father [won the lottery after years of marriage to the mother] ) ?

Currently my family is not in the USA.

The toddler had been denied visitors visa initially as he was not included in the DV lottery - the US embassy was made aware of his birth AFTER the DV lottery forms got submitted (he was born after that submission) BUT before the DV interview at the consular.

So he was not included in the DV visa at all. Now the consular officer said he cannot be granted non-Immigrant visa due to the fact that the mother is a US citizen and the father + big brother have immigrant visa.

I guess now i have to file I 130 and I 485 for him before my whole family can travel to the USA.

1. Anyone can share any experience filing for a toddler?

2. Also, who is the best person to petition, me as the father (with DV visa valid since Nov 2016 - but planning to go to the USA to get a re-entry permit before the year end) or the mother, a US citizen but no US ties so far apart from born in the USA (not even a bank account)?

[newacct]

Why not just get add the child to the DV case now and get an immigrant visa for him/her now? It seems like this is the DV for the current fiscal year which doesn't end until October, so there's plenty of time to get the visa and immigrate before they can no longer get one at the end of the fiscal year.

[abumiqdad]

Why not just get add the child to the DV case now and get an immigrant visa for him/her now? It seems like this is the DV for the current fiscal year which doesn't end until October, so there's plenty of time to get the visa and immigrate before they can no longer get one at the end of the fiscal year.

DV visa is case closed, the visa had been issued last year (2016) [i and my eldest son SHOULD HAVE received our GC in the mail but that is not the case - a different issue really] so i do not see the avenue to add him to my DV visa - unless someone tells me the provision in the law regarding that.

And that he has a record of having his tourist visa rejected already.

I do note that someone says for LPR, if the LPR has newborn child in foreign country, the LRP can just bring the child into the USA without VISA, but the baby will get I 551 stamp at POE (but i have not seen any provision of law regarding this though)

[newacct]

DV visa is case closed, the visa had been issued last year (2016) [i and my eldest son SHOULD HAVE received our GC in the mail but that is not the case - a different issue really] so i do not see the avenue to add him to my DV visa - unless someone tells me the provision in the law regarding that.

And that he has a record of having his tourist visa rejected already.

I do note that someone says for LPR, if the LPR has newborn child in foreign country, the LRP can just bring the child into the USA without VISA, but the baby will get I 551 stamp at POE (but i have not seen any provision of law regarding this though)

The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 every year. You said you got your immigrant visa in November 2016, which is in FY2017 (Oct 1 2016 - Sep 30 2017), plus you said you haven't traveled to the US yet, which implies that your DV was for FY2017, because if it was for FY2016 (which ended Sep 30 2016), it would be too late for you anyway. Also, other things you said don't make sense, as you say you haven't received the GC in the mail yet, but you don't become a permanent resident until you enter the US, and since you haven't entered the US, you are not yet a permanent resident and should not be getting a GC.

A derivative beneficiary should be able to get an immigrant visa any time after the principal beneficiary gets it, provided that a visa is still available for their priority date and category, which for DV means only until the end of the fiscal year. But it seems that in your case, the fiscal year has not ended yet.

A child born to a permanent resident mother who is temporarily abroad, or a child born to any immigrant visa holder after the issuance of the immigrant visa and before they enter the US with the immigrant visa, can enter the US as an immigrant without a visa. But neither of these cases apply here. Here, the child was born prior to the issuance of the immigrant visa. Thus the child must get an immigrant visa.

[abumiqdad]

Sorry for not making it clearer, I HAVE VISITED the USA in Nov 2016 to activate the GC (hence i said my visa is valid since Nov 2016) , So yes, as you said, he wont be issued a Diversity Visa ever.

So i guess i am left with the option of petitioning for him. Which brings me to my original questions:

1. Anyone can share any experience filing for a toddler?

2. Also, who is the best person to petition, me as the father (with DV visa valid since Nov 2016 - but planning to go to the USA to get a re-entry permit before the year end) or the mother, a US citizen but no US ties so far apart from born in the USA (not even a bank account)?

The fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 every year. You said you got your immigrant visa in November 2016, which is in FY2017 (Oct 1 2016 - Sep 30 2017), plus you said you haven't traveled to the US yet, which implies that your DV was for FY2017, because if it was for FY2016 (which ended Sep 30 2016), it would be too late for you anyway. Also, other things you said don't make sense, as you say you haven't received the GC in the mail yet, but you don't become a permanent resident until you enter the US, and since you haven't entered the US, you are not yet a permanent resident and should not be getting a GC.

A derivative beneficiary should be able to get an immigrant visa any time after the principal beneficiary gets it, provided that a visa is still available for their priority date and category, which for DV means only until the end of the fiscal year. But it seems that in your case, the fiscal year has not ended yet.

A child born to a permanent resident mother who is temporarily abroad, or a child born to any immigrant visa holder after the issuance of the immigrant visa and before they enter the US with the immigrant visa, can enter the US as an immigrant without a visa. But neither of these cases apply here. Here, the child was born prior to the issuance of the immigrant visa. Thus the child must get an immigrant visa.

[newacct]

2. Also, who is the best person to petition, me as the father (with DV visa valid since Nov 2016 - but planning to go to the USA to get a re-entry permit before the year end) or the mother, a US citizen but no US ties so far apart from born in the USA (not even a bank account)?

To answer your question, the mother should petition, because then it would be in the Immediate Relative category with no wait for visa numbers, whereas if the father petitions it would be in the F2A category with 1-2 year wait for visa numbers.

It doesn't really matter if she has ties to the US; she just has to plan to move permanently back to the US with the child.

[abumiqdad]

To answer your question, the mother should petition, because then it would be in the Immediate Relative category with no wait for visa numbers, whereas if the father petitions it would be in the F2A category with 1-2 year wait for visa numbers.

It doesn't really matter if she has ties to the US; she just has to plan to move permanently back to the US with the child.

Cool. Thank you for the suggestion. Will ask my wife to petition for him.


Oh, anyone knows the timeline for a US citizen petitioning for a natural child for I 130 and I 485?

Like how long does it take to get I 130 approved and then I 485 and then interview?

Also, when the visa is issued, is there like a window of time to enter the USA for the child (like Diversity Visa - around 5 months after issuance?)