A rare opportunity for green card holder-petitioners

THE UNITED States Department of State has just released its August 2013 Visa Bulletin and for the first time in many years, the priority date for petitions by green card holders on behalf of their spouses and minor children is “current.”

When a priority date is current, this means that a visa is immediately available and that the spouse and minor children may start the process of applying for their immigrant visas.

Who can benefit

Walter, a naturalized US citizen, filed a petition to bring his parents to the United States. Being a US citizen, his parents are considered immediate relatives and visas are immediately available. Walter has a 12-yearold brother, Peter, who will be left behind should Walter’s parents migrate to the United States. There is an approximate waiting period of 23 years for petitions filed by siblings of US citizens.

Before this development, in order for Peter to migrate to the United States, his parents would first have to obtain their lawful permanent resident status or green cards. Only after the parents become green card holders can they petition Peter under the “F2A” category being the minor child of a green card holder.

Walter’s mother does not want to leave Peter behind and informed Walter that she was not going to the United States without Peter.

Walter heard of the recent good news on visa availability. Will Peter now be able to immigrate with his parents? What can Peter do to enable him to take advantage of the visa availability?

Other cases that may be affected include single adult children who have been petitioned by either US citizen- or green card holder-parents. These individuals falling under the “F1” and “F2B” categories must stay single until they receive their immigrant visas and enter the United States. Only when they have their green cards can they marry and subsequently petition their spouses and children. Since the F2A visa category for spouses of green card holders is now current, it should not take long before the spouses of green card holders are also able to migrate to the United States and join their green card holder-spouses.

The F2A category

Before, the processing time for US citizens’ spouses and minor children was generally faster compared to petitions by green card holders. This was because the spouses and minor children of US citizens were considered immediate relatives and not part of the preference categories.

Under the new priority policy, if the person being petitioned is an immediate relative, then a visa is immediately available. This means that unlike preference categories, there is no need to wait years for visa availability.

Previously, the green card petitioners were treated differently from US citizen-petitioners. The spouse and minor children of green card holders had to fall in line and be classified under the second preference category, referred to as F2A, and assigned a priority date. Only when the priority date became current could the visa be made available.

For many years, the waiting period for these F2A petitions varied from one year to four years.

In the current development, beginning Aug. 1, 2013, the visas for beneficiaries under the F2A category will be immediately available.

Reason for change

The movement of priority dates in the different preference categories depends on the availability of numerically assigned visas for each category as well as the demand for these visas. The US Department of State explained that their action of placing the F2A category in current status for August 2013 is to generate an increased level of demand. It is expected that the F2A category remains current for “several” months.

Visa processing

Relatives of green card holders under the F2A category, who are still residing in the Philippines, should take advantage of this recent development.

Immigrant visa processing is done through the National Visa Center (NVC) and at the consular post or US Embassy. Visa processing approximately takes 6 to 12 months. The length of time, it will take for the relative to receive the visa will depend on how fast they can comply with the process requirements.

Since the visa category under the F2A classification is now current, an immigrant visa fee bill and affidavit of support fee bill are to be sent by the NVC to the attorney of record or directly to the relatives in the Philippines. The NVC will then forward the files to the US Embassy and an appointment letter will be sent to the relative being petitioned.

In the case of Walter above, his parents need to receive their immigrant visa status or their green cards in order to take advantage of this development. As soon as they receive their green cards, either one of his parents may petition Peter. When the visa petition is approved, Peter may then undergo the visa processing without further delay.

While the US Department of State expects the F2A category to remain current for a few months, this expectation will still depend on the demand for the visas. There is always a possibility of retrogression. Hence, while the F2A remains current, green card holders should take advantage of this rare opportunity.

*** Atty. Lourdes Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 8877177 or 7211963, or visit her website at www.tancinco.com