Will withdrawing an I-130 petition affect a future petition?

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Will withdrawing an I-130 petition affect a future petition?

My wife and I are looking to move from the UK to the US. A few months ago, my wife, a US citizen, filed the I-130 petition. We’re expecting to hear the decision on the petition soon, which then moves into the visa process automatically. However, since submitting our circumstances here have changed and we would like to stay here a little longer than originally planned – say, 6-12 months longer. We absolutely still want to move to the US, just not quite yet. If we withdraw now, would it affect a future petition? Instead of

withdrawing, is it possible to

Asked on September 4, 2018 under Immigration Law, Massachusetts

Answers:

SB Member California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

There is no reason to withdraw anything.  Even if you hear that the I=-130 has been approved, that is still not the end of the process.  You will have to complete additional paperwork with the NVC and then it has to go to the US Embassy in London for consular processing and this can take another 3-6 months at the minimum.  Once you go through consular processing, if you are approved for an immigrant visa, that visa will be granted for 6 months so you can then immigrate to the US anytime during that visa's validity period.  If you withdraw, you will then have to restart the whole process from the beginning and pay all the fees again and wait potentially longer than you intend.  But if the timeline for your move is such that you want to wait indefinitely, if you withdraw, it will not prejudice your future petitions.


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