In our AskVisalaw.com section of the SIB, attorney Ari Sauer answers immigration law questions sent in by our readers. If you enjoy reading this section, we encourage you to visit Ari’s blog, The Immigration Answer Man, where he provides more answers to your immigration questions. You can also follow The Immigration Answer Man on Facebook and Twitter.
If you have a question on immigration matters, write [email protected]. We can’t answer every question, but if you ask a short question that can be answered concisely, we’ll consider it for publication. Remember, these questions are only intended to provide general information. You should consult with your own attorney before acting on information you see here.
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QUESTION: My sister is a US citizen, and she filed an F-4 I-130 petition for me 15 years ago. I was born in the Philippines, but I have since moved to Canada and become a citizen of Canada. The wait times for a visa for the Philippines for the F4 category is way longer than the wait time for Canada. Am I now able to use Canada as my country of chargeability for my petition?
ANSWER: Unfortunately, no. You cannot use Canada as your country of chargeability for determining when a visa will become available for your immigrant petition according to the Department of State Visa Bulletin. Obtaining the citizenship of another country does not change your country of chargeability.
There are a few exceptions to the general rule that your county of chargeability is the country of birth. Obtaining the citizenship of another country is not one of those exceptions. Here is a link to a previous post of mine where I discuss what those exceptions are, so that you can see if maybe you qualify for a different country of chargeability based on one of those exceptions.
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QUESTION: My parents had a green card and stayed in the United States for 8 years. They went back to India in 2008, and their green card expired in 2010. Now they want to come back to the USA. Can I renew their green card now?
ANSWER: Someone who has not been back to the US in 9 years will not be able to show that they did not abandon their US permanent residence. So “renewing” the visa is not likely to be successful. If you are a US citizen, you may be able to file a new immigrant petition for your parents to eventually apply for new immigrant visas.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.