Whippany, NJ Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

An applicant for I-130/I-485 adjustment of status is in the state of grace during the time that the I-485 application is pending and allowed to remain in the States. If your mother leaves the US without advance parole during the time of I-485 pendency, the I-485 is considered abandoned. The I-130 remains valid, but hopefully you would have indicated a request for consular processing. If not, I suggest contacting U.S.C.I.S. to request consular processing if your mother returns at this time. Otherwise there is the good chance that the I-130 will ultimately be approved, but not be transferred for consular processing. If you wish, you can file a new I-130 petition for your mother and begin the process anew when your mother is in India. The processing will take about a year taking into account both U.S.C.I.S. and consular handling times. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  

The approval of immediate relative petitions (where a U.S. Citizen applies for the Green Card of a foreign national is generally a quick process). If you are a Green Card holder and you are applying for your spouse, the process may take a little longer but three to seven months can sometimes be a normal wait time. Once the I-130 is approved, if your spouse is in the U.S. (and the priority date is current) then you can apply for Adjustment of Status in the U.S. If your spouse is abroad then you will want to apply for Consular Processing. The Consular Processing Procedure timing depends upon the Country in which you are doing the process. There are many nuances to the Adjustment of Status Process and the Consular Processing Procedure. Our immigration law office handles these matters on a regular basis for clients in the U.S. and abroad.

In your situation, you would be in a quasi-legal status in which you are allowed to stay during the time that the I-485 application is pending. You can also include your husband by having him fill out a separate I-485 adjustment of status application. If the petition will not be approved and your F-1 status is already expired, you would not have legal status anymore unless you appealed the petition denial and that was approved. You could conceivably be in the US unlawfully for a long period after that inasmuch as the Biden administration is not targeting most status violators for removal proceedings. At such point, you may wish to consult with an immigration lawyer for any further options. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.