Please answer my wife's question

[True Blue]

The facts, just the facts - short and sweet

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Wife now in USA with 10 year green card. Wife's unmarried 28 year old Chinese born daughter lives and works in China

 

Wife has applied to bring her daughter to USA as an unmarried daughter of permanent resident (F2B)

 

Unmarried 28 year old Daughter wants to come to USA to visit us. She has never been to USA. She went to college/grad school in UK and has traveled some in Europe. When she was in school in England, she applied to a USA tourist visa, but she was told she could not come from England and would needed to apply in Beijing. So there is no official "denial" stamped in her passport but perhaps there is a record somewhere as she did pay US Government a fee to apply. She returned to China 2 years ago and wife applied for her to immigrate. Daughter has a modest amount of money and a small condo in China. She now has 2 years work experience in China (with an American owned company).

 

 

 

Opinion, conjecture and speculation

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Based on what I have read and the answers to questions I have asked here, a 28 year old unmarried Chinese girl with 2 years work experience and minimal assets in China, who has applied to immigrate to the USA will have a very hard time proving "strong ties" to return to China (even though her job prospects in China are a lot better and she loves living in China).

 

 

My wife believes if she becomes a US citizen then daughter's chances of getting a tourist visa to visit the US are higher.

If not, wife prefers to remain green card holder for time being as she does not have to pay for visa when she returns to China.

 

Wife knows becoming citizen later closer to the time when a slot opens up can speed up unmarried immigration by 11 months (F1) and if daughter marries is only way to bring her over (F3) though that will add almost 4 years to the F1 waiting period.

 

 

The BIG question

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Will my wife becoming a citizen in any way improve the chances of her daughter being allowed into USA on a tourist visa?

 

 

[dnoblett]

Makes no difference if parent is a green-card holder or citizen.

 

If daughter has a good track record of international travel then the odds are good would get a B-2 visit visa to the USA even with a long pending I-130 petition, the denial in the UK should have no affect, just sounds like an interviewing officer did not know procedure and differed it to home country, consulate.

 

They know there is no way to adjust status based on a pending I-130 unless there is a visa number assigned to the case by NVC.

[newacct]

In fact, the fact that the wait in her category is so long is helpful for the tourist visa, because the priority date is not coming up soon, so the immigration officers are less likely to suspect her of trying to immigrate based on the visa.

Edited April 9, 2013 by newacct (see edit history)

[warpedbored]

If your wife becomes a US citizen it will speed up the process. Just notify the USCIS if she does and they will upgrade the petition.

[True Blue]

Thanks Dan and NewAcct.- We are going to give the tourist visa route another shot. But based on what I have read here and on other boards, I am not very optimistic that her tourist visa will be approved

 

The facts that her daughter is female, unmarried, no kids, under 40, and has an outstanding immigration petition in the works don't help. Also she has had a job for only 2 years and only has a modest amount of real property and cash in the bank. She is a real saver, lives modestly, has a masters degree and a good job. But like any 28 year old, she is too young to have accumulated much. I suspect all of this, taken as a whole, will likely not be considered as "strong ties". Thus in my mind I have pretty much ruled out hope of her ever getting here until she accumulates enough wealth and ages over 40. But that will likely be OBE unless she marries. If she remains single, and the lines remain as they currently are, then an immigration visa slot is ready in 9 years.

 

Nonetheless, my wife has a lot more faith in her new country than I do. So we are going to give it a shot. Rather than saving our meager savings for retirement, or spending it to stimulate the economy, we are going to make out our voluntary contribution (filing fee) out to USCIS. I'd like to agree with me wife and hope we will get some favorable result. But after a lifetime of living in a country run by donkeys and elephants, I expect that we will again be buried under a pile of donkey and elephant poop. Maybe congress will even use our filing fee against us, to fund new ways of pushing legal immigrants further to the back in the line. Meanwhile, will there be a horde of new illegal immigrants pouring over the border to take advantage of immigration "reform"?

 

Don't mean to get cynical or political. I do feel for all immigrants legal or illegal. We have all had experience waiting waiting and more waiting. It just plain sucks. However, true immigration reform IMO would be to process all qualifying immigrants (legal or illegal) into the country within a reasonable time of 3 to 5 years. This would basically eliminate the need/demand/necessity for illegal immigration except for highwaymen, murderers, terrorists, pickpockets, bushwhackers, revolutionaries and other assorted miscreants who do not qualify to enter the USA under the law. Sponsors should still be held accountable for 10 years to prevent an influx on the welfare rolls and the problem is solved..

 

Carl, I presume you mean if my wife becomes a US citizen, it will speed up the process of getting an immigration visa for her daughter. You are not implying that becoming a citizen will speed up or enhance the chance of the daughter getting a tourist visa - correct?

 

Thanks

True Blue

 

ps Carl -I'm not a musician or a woodworker, but I check out your guitar project from time to time and do admire your incredible skill.

Edited April 10, 2013 by True Blue (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

In this case you already paid USCIS for that petition (I-130)

 

Your step daughter will be paying a visa application fee to the consulate which is DOS, USCIS in not involved in a non-immigrant visitor's visa.

[Randy W]

In this case you already paid USCIS for that petition (I-130)

 

Your step daughter will be paying a visa application fee to the consulate which is DOS, USCIS in not involved in a non-immigrant visitor's visa.

 

That's a stretch - they are definitely on speaking terms, especially when the petition is forwarded to the consulate. The key here would be to demonstrate ties to the home country, a purpose for the visit, and a long range plan showing how the visit would fit in with her intent to immigrate.

[True Blue]

Thanks for the explanation, Dan and Randy,

 

Where I work (a state governmental agency), we just call all US agencies "The Feds" (possibly because we often get "fed up" with them or possibly because we constantly have to "feed them" so much data.

 

I shouldn't be the pot calling the kettle black ---I'm sure lots of folks get "Fed up" with our state governments as well.

[warpedbored]

Carl, I presume you mean if my wife becomes a US citizen, it will speed up the process of getting an immigration visa for her daughter. You are not implying that becoming a citizen will speed up or enhance the chance of the daughter getting a tourist visa - correct?

 

Thanks

True Blue

 

ps Carl -I'm not a musician or a woodworker, but I check out your guitar project from time to time and do admire your incredible skill.

I meant the immigration visa for your daughter. If your wife becomes a US citizen it will up grade your daughter's visa category to F-1. I understand your grief. My wife and I filed for our son 5 1/2 years ago and likely have another 1 1/2 years to wait. My wife is a Naturalized US citizen.

 

I know of nothing that will speed up a tourist visa.

 

Thanks for the attaboy on the guitar.