Parents divorced, green card hidden, need help restoring permanent residence status

[Oneironaut]

Long story short:
My mother and father along with me stayed in the US under permanent residence status back in around 10 - 13 years ago. (Mother was already a citizen)
They broke up, and I was sent home to back to the Philippines under circumstances I don't fully understand.
They continued to work and live there for years whereas I grew up here since I could not return because my papers were withheld .
Now both my parents are citizens. I want to regain that my status and gain citizenship as well.
I filed for another petition since, and the NVC has already received them.
My question is
1) I just turned 21 a few days ago before the confirmation or reception of my documents, will this delay my process by months or years at most?
2) Will I benefit in anyway for having held a green card before and was unable to return due to events that I could not control? (family issues) Or at least have this considered in review process of my request?
3) Is there any likelihood that I can fly back to the US under immigration terms under a year?

Additional info:
I went back to the US last year under a tourist visa


Any insightful answers are greatly appreciated, thank you

[inadmissible]

What petition did you file?

[Oneironaut]

What petition did you file?

Form I-130

[inadmissible]

Generally, US citizens and permanent residents file alien relative petitions using Form I-130.
How did you petition for yourself?

[Oneironaut]

Generally, US citizens and permanent residents file alien relative petitions using Form I-130.
How did you petition for yourself?

Specifically, my mother is the one who sent the petition. But the responsibility of overseeing the matter falls to me thus my concern

[inadmissible]

If your moms petition for you is considered category F1 and not immediate relative, you're looking at a 15 year wait to acquire permanent residence.

You should consider applying for a SB-11 returning resident visa, and make a strong case for why you had no control over your destiny until now. They will accept the argument that you had no control until you became an adult i.e aged 18.

[Oneironaut]

If your moms petition for you is considered category F1 and not immediate relative, you're looking at a 15 year wait to acquire permanent residence.

You should consider applying for a SB-11 returning resident visa, and make a strong case for why you had no control over your destiny until now. They will accept the argument that you had no control until you became an adult i.e aged 18.

Thank you very much, I will explore this option. Are the odds of me being accepted under SB-11 any good? Thanks again

[inadmissible]

No, but given your late filing of Form I-130 you don't really have any other choice, other than to wait 15 years without getting married. 24 years if you get married.

[inadmissible]

I just turned 21 a few days ago before the confirmation or reception of my documents, will this delay my process by months or years at most?

Can you clarify this? Were you age 20 or age 21 on the date USCIS generated your filing receipt?

[Oneironaut]

Can you clarify this? Were you age 20 or age 21 on the date USCIS generated your filing receipt?

The NVC email said they received my documents EXACTLY on the day of my birthday

[inadmissible]

The NVC email said they received my documents EXACTLY on the day of my birthday

Dude that sucks for you. Sorry.

the responsibility of overseeing the matter falls to me

Often, we are our own worst enemy.


Give the Returning Resident Visa a shot, but you'll have to clearly and convincingly articulate why you haven't bothered with this since you turned 18. If you have had any income in the last few years, I would suggest filing tax returns before applying for the returning resident visa.

[Oneironaut]

Dude that sucks for you. Sorry.



Often, we are our own worst enemy.


Give the Returning Resident Visa a shot, but you'll have to clearly and convincingly articulate why you haven't bothered with this since you turned 18. If you have had any income in the last few years, I would suggest filing tax returns before applying for the returning resident visa.

Tell me bout it, I'm pretty much to blame for the delay as well. I was caught up in school.


Okay thanks for the advice. At least i'm confident about my persuasive articulation skills. I talked it over with my mom, and she said we'll wait for a month for the reply of the NVC (already made inquiries via email). And if that fails I should apply for tourist visa and pretty much wait in the US for a while, which prompts me to ask another question...
1) Will my travels to the US as a tourist affect the situation?
2) If I inquire the USCIS about the I-130 vs SB 1 scenario, will I get a productive answer?

Hopefully I can avoid the 10 - 15 yr long wait, frankly I'd be crust if they told me to wait that long (I'd rather have them come up front about this than keep me on my toes waiting every day)

[inadmissible]

1) probably not. The foreign affairs manual specifically authorizes consular officers to issue B visas to aliens eligible for returning visas, for expeditious travel purposes. you should be more worried about explaining why you haven't applied for a returning resident visa in these last three years.
2) nobody gets productive answers when calling USCIS level 1 customer service reps
3) I don't see how you can possibly avoid the 15 to 24 year wait unless granted a returning resident visa

[Oneironaut]

1) probably not. The foreign affairs manual specifically authorizes consular officers to issue B visas to aliens eligible for returning visas, for expeditious travel purposes. you should be more worried about explaining why you haven't applied for a returning resident visa in these last three years.
2) nobody gets productive answers when calling USCIS level 1 customer service reps
3) I don't see how you can possibly avoid the 15 to 24 year wait unless granted a returning resident visa

How could I get better help from the USCIS?
I don't have much confidence in my defense for a SB 1 though, aside from the dispute from my parents and their failure for inaction, I was largely ignorant of the legal procedures for having re entry. Question: Would having a lawyer set up my case have a bigger differential than handling this by myself?
So technically, our petition was granted sooner when I was younger along with my dad because the priority bracket of a spouse and child is higher than being a son over 21 despite having both parents achieved citizenship? Talk about bummer and somewhat ironic

[inadmissible]

USCIS is good at processing forms, not much else, certainly not giving any kind of advice. This forum has many examples of bad advice given by well-meaning USCIS agents.

Competent lawyers are useful, but most immigration lawyers are a waste of money. Unless an attorney spends all days on a particular specialty subject (in this case returning resident visas) they do not have anything helpful to add. You are better off studying the manual that governs consular officers on this topic http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87545.pdf

As for the preference system, the rules are the rules. Given the huge backlog, doesn't it make sense to put spouses and children at the head of the line? You could have saved yourself a lot of grief if you filed the paperwork just a few days earlier.