Strange Issue?
Im asking this question in regards to my moms friend.. They are Iranians who applied for an F4 visa (my moms friends brother applied for her) in September 98. Shes married with 2 kids. At the time, one was already over 21, but the other was a teen. Anyway, their priority date was Sept. 98, and their approval was Oct. 02. Their visa became current in July 09. They paid all the fees up to the very end for all 3 individuals (2 parents, 1 child). However, when the visa interview date letter came, there was no mention of the son, who was now way over 21. But according to the Child Protection Act date, hes still eligible (hes 20 years and 2 months, according to the lawyer and to our own calculations.. His birthday is 4/1985). Anyway, we tried to find out about why his name wasnt on it to no avail, and they rejected him at the interview (of course), but not his parents.
That was months ago, and since then weve been appealing this decision for him. Just last week we FINALLY found out why he was not included, and thats because the consulate officer stated that his case was not pending 4 years (as is stated on the documents), but rather just SIX MONTHS. He stated some strange date of March 99 that is not listed on any document we have. Also, isnt it virtually unheard of to be approved in just 6 months for a Family 4 greencard? The lawyer is still corresponding with them, but Im just wondering if anyone has experienced or heard of anything like this? Thank you!!
PS, They had another case years and years before this one, which expired because her brother had moved without updating his address.. so they had to file all over again. Could this have something to do with it? I doubt it because that was back in 1990 or 1992, I believe..
If its true that the I-130 was pending for just 6 months, the son born in April 1985 would have aged out in October 2006 and would not be protected by the Child Status Protection Act.
You need to determine the real pending time (approval date minus filing date) before deciding whether to fight this any further.
Oh yes, youre definitely right about that.. if that approval date of 1999 is accurate, then he would have surely aged out. However, they have no documents with that date as far as they know.. I have something of theirs, a Notice of Action from the INS that states that the petition has been approved. The notice date is 10/1/2002. It states the Priority date as being 9/21/98 and the receipt date as 9/22/98. I assume that had the March 99 date been the accurate approval date, they wouldnt be receiving this notice 3.5 years later. I mean, they might have made a mistake at the consulate, dont you think? F4 visas really generally arent approved in 6 months as far as I know.. Thank you!!
Oh, by the way, I have a copy of this exact type of document, the I-797:
immihelp.com/greencard/familybasedimmigration/sample-i-130-approval-notice.html
Thats what Im reading off of..