When a petitioner dies

Q: My father petitioned for immigrant visas for me and my family. He paid the necessary fees, but passed away in March. What happens now?

A: Generally, the petitioner must still be alive at the time the beneficiary immigrates to the United States. A petition (Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative) can never be approved after the death of a petitioner. If the embassy has received an approved petition but the petitioner then dies, we must send the petition back to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for revocation.

However, in rare circumstances, USCIS may reinstate a petition for compelling humanitarian reasons. This is within USCIS’s discretionary authority. To request humanitarian reinstatement of a revoked petition, the beneficiary should send a written request to the USCIS office where the petition was originally filed. The request must include a copy of the petitioner’s death certificate and a copy of the Form I-130 approval notice. A substitute sponsor – a family member who takes the place of the decedent – must file an I-864 Affidavit of Support, which is an enforceable contract of financial support for the beneficiary.

Can we apply for US citizenship?

Q: My mother was born in the US. She never formally applied for Jamaican citizenship but was married to a Jamaican. All her children were born in Jamaica. Can her children apply for US citizenship?

A: Depending on physical presence requirements (how long your mother actually spent in the United States) her children may qualify as US citizens. Children born in Jamaica (or anywhere outside of the US) to an American citizen parent or parents may apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) and/or a US passport. Applications for CRBAs are accepted in the American Citizen Services Unit Monday through Friday beginning at 8:00 am. In order to ensure that you are seen in a timely manner, please arrive no later than 9:00 am, as the CRBA process can be lengthy. Before coming to the embassy for any citizenship determination, please review the requirements on our embassy website at kingston.usembassy.gov and prepare all forms in advance.

If you are coming to the Consular Section for American Citizen Services, please walk to the entrance and inform the security guards and greeters; you should not wait in line with the visa applicants but in the shorter line for American Citizen Services. Additionally, all visitors to the embassy are subject to a security check.

The immigrant visa process

Q: How long will the immigrant visa process take after filing for a married child and his/her family?

A: US immigration law limits the number of this type of immigrant visas to 23,400 per year worldwide. Because of that numerical limitation, the applicant must wait until the cases filed earlier have been decided. This can take a long time. The applicants we are interviewing now are ones where the parent filed the petition on or before August 2000 – almost nine years ago. A complete explanation of this process, as well as all necessary forms, can be found at www.uscis.gov.

Getting a green card without a petition

Q: Can a green card be granted without marriage or filing?

A: All immigrant visa cases originate with a petition filed with the USCIS. There are classes of immigrant visas that are not based on family relationships. Employment-based immigrant visas are one category. These immigrant visas are used so that an applicant can work for a certain amount of time for the US petitioning company. You can find more information about these types of immigrant visas at www.uscis.gov.