When to leave country?

[milomito]

Hello!

I'm trying to do some long term planning and can't figure out at what point hubby will need to go home. Is it within one year from I-130 approval or just wait for notification of 1st appt date? I got it stuck in my head that we have one year from I-130 for him to leave. A lawyer told us "technically he should have left when the I-130 was filed" but that seems to be really too long since you already wait outside the country 1 or more years waiting on approval.

Thanks!

MiLomito

[Luckysprite]

Welcome to the forum MiLomito!

There are many people on the forum in the same situation as you are - and their spouses have not/did not leave the country until the first appt was scheduled and they needed to attend.

The only potential downside is that at any time your husband could still be detained and possibly deported, which would complicate the case, somewhat.

It is a personal decision as to when to leave the country - but I'm with you on this one .... if they already have to wait for the wavier approval, it is worth trying to stay here as long as possible...

[djones9714]

Welcome -- another person from Virginia. Good to see. One attorney I talked to also said the first thing -- leave when he filed the I-130 to avoid being present if they called in him for an interview based upon the I-130. However, after talking to numerous people about whether or not they were called in for an interview just by filing the I-130 and receiving so many "nos" on this question, we decided that we were going to wait and see what happens. I might mention that another attorney said if we were called in for an interview, DO NOT GO to that interview -- leave the country at that point.

[Laura]

There's no immigration-related benefit to leaving before the interview. Minimize the time you are apart (or just living outside the U.S.) -- of course he could still be deported, but that's no more likely than it was before you filed the I-130.

Good luck!

[Marina Street]

[QUOTE=milomito;12158]Hello!

I'm trying to do some long term planning and can't figure out at what point hubby will need to go home. Is it within one year from I-130 approval or just wait for notification of 1st appt date? I got it stuck in my head that we have one year from I-130 for him to leave. A lawyer told us "technically he should have left when the I-130 was filed" but that seems to be really too long since you already wait outside the country 1 or more years waiting on approval.


Thanks!
Hello Milomoto, many of us staying in US until will get an appointment for interview, I just got my 130 approved and people told me that it could be one more year from this point(paper to NVC then abroad) takes time so I am not going untill then, so I can enjoy my husbands company longer. But it is up to you. Good luck.

[mujerdejimmy]

Just a note -- make sure you are checking on your interview times if at all possible. Colombia posts them on the US Embassy website every month. We never got an interview letter so if I hadnt noticed his A# on Ocotber 1 he would have missed his appt cuz he was still here. I called down there and they said he is still responsible to arrive at his interview although he had not recvd the letter.
The letter came a week after his interview.