CRBA and I-130 for China born children

[BJMing]

This is my first post. I’ve gotten a ton of valuable information from this community and so far I’ve been able to find answers to all my questions here! However I’ve hit a roadblock and we are working on a tight timeline so I need some help.

 

My husband was born in the US and lived there till he was 6 years old before leaving due to his dads work which brought him to many countries. He returned to the US at age 17 for university for 4 years. During university he traveled in and out of the US to visit his family. After that he moved back home and never lived or worked in the US but would travel back for business or pleasure. He definitely meets the 5 year physical (incl 2 years after age 14) presence requirement for our children to receive CBRA. However he does not have his first passport which shows his first 6 full years in the US. He has his university transcripts and passports showing his total presence in the US after age 14 to be just under 4 years.

 

We have been married for 15 years and have two children born in China, aged 8 and 10. We live in Beijing but never went to the US consulate there to register their birth. We never went through the CRBA process because we could not provide evidence of the total 5 years physical presence before the children worn born.

 

My husband found work in the US and left in January to start a new job there. Myself and the kids are still in China trying to get our PR or passports to join him. We hope to leave in June after the school year so that the children can start school in the US in August.

 

Since we did not file CRBA, in December he filed a petition for all three of us to obtain immigrant visas. The process has been smooth and quick. We received notice to book our interviews in early March and I’m busy gathering all the documents for the interview which we plan to schedule in May.

 

However, after much research and talking to someone in a similar situation it seems that we need to prove that our CRBA was denied and its not our own choice to choose either CRBA or I-130.

 

My husband will be back in May to try filing CRBA and get US passports for the children. If that is denied then he should get a letter of denial which we will present at our immigrant visa interview.

 

My questions are:

1. Is this a feasible plan?

2. If CRBA is denied, do we get the denial letter on that day? Because we would like to go for our medical and immigrant interview ASAP after the denial.

3. Will Guangzhou accept the denial letter at the interview or was it supposed to be submitted at petition time? I wonder why they didn’t ask for that when it’s clear that my husband is a US citizen through birth in the US.

4. If we go our our visa interview in mid May, would we be able to leave China on the last week of June?

[Randy W]

Your children ARE American citizens, so I expect there's a chance that the CRBA will be approved, especially since your husband was an American citizen at birth - but that it hinges on the interviewing officer's discretion and the proof you supply as to the U.S, residency requirement for your husband.

 

1. Definitely - I don't see any snags.

 

2. I would suggest you get every proof you can of the CRBA interview, including, if possible, something signed by the Officer.

 

3. I'm sure they will.

 

4. Shouldn't be a problem

 

Even if the CRBA is denied, I believe your children become automatic citizens immediately upon arrival in the U.S., under the Child Citizenship Act.

 

I found a similar case on VJ that might be helpful, although the U.S. parent was a naturalized citizen - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/431566-our-story-crba-for-our-child-denied-entering-the-us-with-a-baby-transportation-letter-and-citizenship-through-the-cca/

[Randy W]

The USCISsays this - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/birth-abroad.html

 

Failure to promptly document a child who meets the statutory requirements for acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth may cause problems for the parents and the child when attempting to establish the child’s U.S. citizenship and eligibility for the rights and benefits of U.S. citizenship, including entry into the United States.

 

[BJMing]

Thanks Randy. I read your first reply and was relieved but then read your second and was immediately worried.

 

I read that we can file CRBA for the child up till he/she is 18. Do you know of any cases where the family had issues when they filed so late?

[Randy W]

Thanks Randy. I read your first reply and was relieved but then read your second and was immediately worried.

 

I read that we can file CRBA for the child up till he/she is 18. Do you know of any cases where the family had issues when they filed so late?

 

 

Yes - the VJ link I gave you above. He was denied the CRBA for not enough evidence of satisfying the U.S. residency requirement, even though he had plenty. Hopefully, your Visa Officer won't be so much of a horse's a$$ picky.

 

But they had to get a visa (baby transportation letter). What you may end up doing, is to fall back on the I-130.

 

My impression was that you had all but given up on the CRBA. I believe you have a shot at it, but it will depend on the good will of the USCIS officer reviewing your case. Bring as much evidence as you can.

 

The "issue" referred to in the USCIS quote was simply the denial of the CRBA. You will still be eligible for the I-130/IR-1 and IR-2 visas, which will result in green cards for you and your children, along with immediate citizenship for the children (AFTER arrival in the U.S.), since at THAT point, it will hinge ONLY on the citizenship of their father - and no 5 year residency requirement.

 

Read the link - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/431566-our-story-crba-for-our-child-denied-entering-the-us-with-a-baby-transportation-letter-and-citizenship-through-the-cca/- it'll tell you everything you need to know. Just remember that your husband was BORN a US citizen - I'm guessing that will carry extra weight at the CRBA interview.

 

Also that your fallback is the I-130/IR-1 and IR-2 visas instead of the baby transportation letter.

[BJMing]

Thanks Randy, this sounds promising. I did speak to an immigration lawyer and he said we should go for the CRBA and that there shouldn’t be any trouble with filing for the kids even though they are already 8 and 10. I hope that is the case.

[BJMing]

Just wanted to give everyone an update on this topic.

 

We went to the US consulate this week to file CRBA and get first passports for the kids and fortunately after a 2.5 hour wait, they were approved.

 

We couldn't find any direct evidence of my husband's physical presence in the US during this first 7 years. He does have passports from age 10 to present and university transcripts which proves that he was in the US for just under 4 years before the children were born. So this is what we submitted:

 

1. College transcripts of husband's father during the time before my husband was born and till age 5.

2. Husband's original birth certificate

3. Stack of photos of my husband taken when he was a child in the US. We included a couple of birthday photos with his name on his birthday cake.

4. All original passports of my husband with entry stamps to the US from the age of 10 till birth of first child.

5. Husband's college transcripts.

6. Pre-natal records, scans for each child, photos of my pregnancies, family photos showing the kids growing up.

7. A long declaration on the last page (the additional information sheet) of the CRBA form DS-2029 explaining the evidence we present and why we presented them, and a calculation/estimation of the total number of days of physical presence.

 

We really made an effort to present as much relevant evidence as we could gather. Even though we did not have any records of my husband's physical presence in the US during his first 6 years, we wrote that it was because he did not go to daycare back then but hoped that his father's college transcripts will help support that.

 

The officer who interviewed us was very thorough. She said we presented a lot of evidence but reprimanded us for applying when the kids were 8 and 10 instead of when they were babies. She asked us why and we just told her the truth. We explained that we thought we had the choice to do so up until the children were 18 so we didn't see the urgency, but now that we want to move to the US, we would like to get the passports ASAP. She also asked the kids a few questions.

 

My suggestion to anyone who ever gets into the same situation or when dealing with the US consulate is to present as much relevant evidence as possible in an orderly manner, summarise the evidence for the officers, present to the officer that you have made your best effort to gather the evidence/documents and why you might be presenting alternatives, remain calm and tell the truth.

 

I'm relieved that this has go through smoothly. Next step is my visa interview in GZ!

[Randy W]

Congratulations, and Good Job! . . . and Good Luck!