The children and spouses of those who hold green cards in the United States that are currently under petition for F2A visas might be getting a change in status next month, ABS-CBN News is reporting.
The date when the petition was filed by the holder of the green card will not have an effect on the timing of the adjustment, which means, according to Citizen Pinoy host Michael Gurfinkel, that regardless of when the petition was filed people can now also adjust their status or file for a driver’s license, work authorization or social security number providing they meet the other criteria for eligibility.
The availability of these petitions would be not dissimilar to someone who already has US citizenship requesting documents for their child or spouse when the visas have been immediately issued. This means that because the filed petitions would now be made current those F2A that were wasted between the years 2009 and 2012 could be used, says ABS-CBN. The ruling of the Supreme Court in favor of recognizing same-sex marriages means that they might also be able to get a status adjustment for their petition.
However, immigrants and holders of green cards are being advised that they should keep in mind the restrictions that are applicable to the family-based F2A category of visas. Anyone with an out-of-date status or who entered the US without inspection might not be eligible, even if married to a green card holder.