U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Your Complete Guide, 2nd Revised Edition
~ Updates and Errata ~
October 29, 2001
Page 98
The USCIS is no longer requiring applicants for adjustment of status to submit a form confirming payment of taxes. According to the USCIS, the form, 9003 will not longer be sent with adjustment of status packets.
245(i)
It is still unclear whether Congress will pass a 245(i) extension this year.
K Visa Regulations
U.S. citizens with husbands or wives abroad may benefit from new USCIS K visa regulations. The K visa is available to your spouse (K-3) and your spouse?s unmarried minor (under 21) children (K-4). The first step is filing USCIS form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for your spouse. Then, you can file the K petition. The USCIS need not have approved the I-130 petition, you just need proof of filing. The USCIS is developing a new petition form for K-3/K-4 visas. For now, use form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fianc?. K spouse petitions are filed at USCIS, P.O. Box 7218, Chicago, IL 60680-7218. Once the USCIS approves the petition, it is forwarded to a U.S. consulate in the country where you married your spouse.
Getting your family members K visas makes sense only if you are in a rush to get your family here. Getting a K visa should take three to six months. Getting an immigrant visa for a spouse of a U.S. citizen at a U.S. consulate could take one year or longer. The down side to the K visa is that it gets your family here faster, but then the wait to get the immigrant visa in the United States is longer than at the consulate - about two years. For more on K visa processing, visit the USCIS website, http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/..
V Change of Status
The USCIS is now allowing V visa applicants to change status without leaving the United States. The V visa is available to the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents. To qualify your permanent resident parent or spouse must have petitioned for you on or before December 21, 2001 AND you must have been waiting for permanent residence at least three years. Children eligible for V visa status include those whose mother or father petitioned for them directly and those who are ?derivative beneficiaries? of a spouse of a permanent resident. For more on derivative beneficiaries, see Chapter 1 of U.S. Immigration and Citizenship. You start counting the three years from the date the USCIS received the preference petition filed by the permanent resident spouse or parent. It doesn?t matter when the USCIS approves the petition. The important date is when USCIS receives the petition.
If you are in the United States, you apply for a V visa by filing USCIS form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and a completed USCIS form I-693, Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status. You must also submit proof that you can support yourself without need for public assistance. To prove you won?t become a ?public charge,? you may follow the ?non-binding? affidavit support rules using USCIS form I-134, Affidavit of Support. For more on the medical examination and the public charge rules, see chapter 6. You must include a copy of the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative filing receipt, proving that a petition was filed for you by December 21, 2000. If you want USCIS work permission, you must include USCIS Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with your change of status application. You submit your V visa change of status application to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, P.O. Box 7216, Chicago, IL 60680-7216.