How long do you have to get your green card?

[True Blue]

See related posts below by me here under Now no advantage for US citizen for background story.

 

...... Just checking on all our options and doing some contingency planning.

 

Pregnant unmarried adult step daughter faces the possibility that after her Priority date comes up, she may be unable to travel to USA to get her green card because of safety concerns (pregnant, late in the term, long flight etc).

 

What happens if her priority date passes, she interviews, passes and everything is fine but because of pregnancy late term she is medically unable to travel to USA to get her green card? Can she come to get it 6 months later? Can she wait 12 months? If she doesn't get it in 12 months does she have to start at the back of the line?

 

Thanks for your help!

Edited April 13, 2018 by True Blue (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The green card is awarded when she is processed at the American POE. So the question has to do with the VISA expiration.

 

The Visa will usually expire within six months after the interview. She can simply DELAY the interview until she is ready to travel, up to ONE YEAR later - or even avoid turning in her passport AFTER the interview.

 

It's difficult to know what to suggest without a timeframe here, but there is a LOT of flexibility, both in scheduling the interview, and in submitting the passport for the Visa.

 

After a year of inactivity, her file is tossed. So the LONGEST she can delay her travel is the one year PLUS the Visa expiration time, say, for UP TO a total of 18 months.

[True Blue]

Thanks for clarifying the question, Randy.

 

She has plenty of time left on her 10 year tourist visa. Putting some timeframe to this, if her interview was say in August and it was too late for her to safely fly to USA due to pregnancy or if she gets further delayed say blue slipped for something or a RFE, she will need to stay in China and give birth in October/November

 

Could she then use her tourist visa and GUZ approval to go back to the USA a year later (when the baby was better able to fly) and the get her green card? Or would she need to leave the baby to make a special trip then fly bacK?

 

Having said that on every trip I've made to and from China there have been numerous very small (must be 3 months old or less) babies crying for the entire trip to or from China. Maybe not a big deal to fly so young but I'd like to avoid it if possible.

Edited April 13, 2018 by True Blue (see edit history)

[Randy W]

Thanks for clarifying the question, Randy.

 

She has plenty of time left on her 10 year tourist visa. Putting some timeframe to this, if her interview was say in August and it was too late for her to safely fly to USA due to pregnancy or if she gets further delayed say blue slipped for something or a RFE, she will need to stay in China and give birth in October/November

 

Could she then use her tourist visa and GUZ approval to go back to the USA a year later (when the baby was better able to fly) and the get her green card? Or would she need to leave the baby to make a special trip then fly bacK?

 

Having said that on every trip I've made to and from China there have been numerous very small (must be 3 months old or less) babies crying for the entire trip to or from China. Maybe not a big deal to fly so young but I'd like to avoid it if possible.

 

 

Oh, I see. She will need to use the IR-2 visa to enter the U.S. before it expires. If the IR-2 expires without her having used it, she will need to start over. The tourist visa won't be of any use as far as getting the green card.

 

Assuming the baby is to get a green card as well, I believe they will need to take the trip also.

[dnoblett]

I believe would need to do something to get a derivative immigrant visa for the baby. If birth before the interview then probably have to apply for two visas with extra fees, and new I-864 affidavit of support for each.

 

If birth happens after interview and before using visa to enter the country, I am not sure how the baby's visa would be handled.

[Randy W]

She will know at the interview whether that might be a possibility.

 

Contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate for specific instructions.

 

[Randy W]

Putting some timeframe to this, if her interview was say in August and it was too late for her to safely fly to USA due to pregnancy or if she gets further delayed say blue slipped for something or a RFE, she will need to stay in China and give birth in October/November

 

She could DELAY the interview - OR - KEEP her passport, until she is ready for the visa. Once the visa is in her passport, the expiration date will be six months, depending on the date of the medical exam. It might be a good idea to delay the medical exam until after the birth of the child anyway.

These are the things to discuss with the Visa Officer at the interview to come up with a plan for the mother and the child that will take place within her visa eligibility window.