Q.778 Apply for parents green

card while they are in India or USA

Question: Dear Sir, My son is a US citizen. He wants to apply for Green Card for me (age 72 years) & my wife (age 68 years). I am a retired Indian Air Force officer. We have current US visitors visa that expires some times in 2014. We are presently in India, likely to visit our son later this year. In this connection, I have the following queries. I will be grateful if you could please guide me. 1. Should we apply while in the US or while in India. What are pluses & minuses of each case? 2. All documents in order, how much time does it take in each case? 3. Any interview? 4. If we apply while in the US, do we have to stay there till the time green card is issued? 5. How do I reply Column 18, Part 3 of I-485 - "Have you ever received any type of Military , para military or weapons training? " The fact is that I served Indian Air Force as Flight Navigator & carried out flying and other allied ground & staff duties during the entire career. Only during initial part of training we were given some basic small arms training. 6. Similarly, how do I reply Column 15(a) of I-485 ? 7. Indian Air Force have their HQs at New Delhi, I served Air Force for 24 years and was posted at various locations. In Part 3-C of I-485, should I mention all places of my posting or only location of Air HQs needs to be given for the entire period? 8. Do I need to mention membership of Defence Services Officers' Institute, Air Force Sports Complex etc.? Regards - SCM Answer: Whether you apply for Green Card while you are in India or while you are in the United States on a tourist visa would depend on your personal circumstances. As far as pros and cons are concerned: • Perhaps the time period for obtaining a Green Card may be shorter for applications made within USA. • However if applying from within the United States, you would have to stay in USA until the process is completed. You will not be able to leave in the middle of the process. • When applying from within the United States for a Green Card, the time to process your application would depend on the place where (your son resides) where the application is made. A rough estimate could be anywhere from 3 to 8 months. • Your son can apply for your immigrant visa and you would also have to apply for adjustment of status to allow you to remain in the US until your application is approved. For adjustment of status, an interview for some people may be waived where as others may be called for an interview. Green card will involve an interview. The best course of action perhaps would be for your son to contact an immigration lawyer in the United States to handle the filling of your green card application, advise you on the best way to proceed and how to answer your military service related questions or any other questions that you may have. I notice that you mention in your email that your US visitor’s visa expires some time in 2014, Your email was received July 18, 2015. perhaps a typing error! or you would have to apply for a new visa if you intend to travel to USA as a tourist. While this might not concern you, I would assume that if a US visa officer became aware of a tourist visa applicants intention to apply for a green card when in USA, their tourist visa would probably be denied.