# Going back to ones own country



## Linuxpro (Jan 28, 2013)

I have submitted an i130 petition for my wife. I did an i129 before, but we did not stay. It took only five months. I expect the i130 to take about a year.

I want to move back next year. i am not sure how to look for a Job. Here in Singapore I am what they call a "Linux Guru", but in the USA, I am just another nerd, among many.

I have looked internally to see if my employer has openings. Most of the positions are in North Carolina. I do not care to work there. That is too close to all the bosses, and I rather work in a "silo" were I do not know what is happening only a few meters away. 

Also they want to fill the positions within three months. I am not near ready to move.

I want to live in Seattle. Boeing is taking a lot of orders for new aircraft. There must be hundreds of small contractors that make on-board entertainment equipment, and all kinds of other things that will be fun to work on.

I want to do something fun. Writing software for ATM, Verifone terminals, and petrol pumps is dull! Maybe only because I have been doing it for a long time.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Are you 100% sure you wanna go back to the States? I went back a number of years ago and stayed there for 3 years to take care of an aging parent. I grew up in Southern California and was in absolutely in shock at how much the place had changed during my years living here in the islands. Not just Calif, but the entire country had changed and not for the better. That was 14 years ago and I can't even begin to imagine the changes now. The place as well as the rest of the world IMO is going to pot. It would be hard as heck to fit in and function anymore I would think. I'm American - true blue as they come. But there is no way on earth that I'd move back again..


Jet Lag


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## Linuxpro (Jan 28, 2013)

I was born in LA, and I lived there a few years in my adult life.

Step back to the year 1971 or so. We had moved from LA to Sumter South Carolina where I was attending school from preschool to third grade. My father had just returned from Vietnam, and his military tour had ended. 

My father was not right. He stayed up all night with his gun looking out the windows and stuff. He was too messed up to get a job. He took a sabbatical to Thailand for a few months. That was supposed to cure him. It did not. He decided that moving to Phoenix was going to solve the problem.

We moved, and were busy unpacking the rental truck when we stopped to eat lunch. My brother looked outside and asked, "Who are those men unloading the truck?". We went outside. A car was backed up to the rental truck, and they were throwing boxes into the trunk of the car. My father chased them off. Mind you, that was our very first day in Phoenix. Things went down-hill from there.

We visited Califrona two years ago. It is funny how my wife wants to visit places that I do not want to step foot in. She wanted to go to LA. During our visit, some moron was outside the Motel 6 blasting his bass so loud it shook our windows. We went to Target and of course I found a bag of Cannabis laying out in the parking lot. From my point of view the place has not changed a bit.

I would not move to the South-Western part of the USA for anything. However I would move to Seattle, Portland, or some place like that.

The only thing positive I can say about LA, is I think drivers there are more polite than in Singapore. They are willing to let you change lanes in front of them. The only problem with driving in LA is everyone is a damn tourist and has no idea were he or she is going. Hahahaha


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

The United States is, objectively, much better in many, many statistical measures than it was in the past. To pick a random example: crime rates. Violent crime is about half as common as it was in the 1990s, for example. (That's an overall United States statistical average.) There used to be lots of lynchings, far more gay people getting beaten up, much higher rates of medically underinsured and uninsured.... Those are just a few examples.

But this isn't the thread for such debates.

To answer your questions, Linuxpro, one reasonable approach is to file the I-130 now but to "keep it on ice" until you're ready to move with your spouse. It takes several months for an I-130 to be approved. Once it's approved and lands at the National Visa Center you just have to contact the NVC at least once per year -- every 11 months works -- to keep the file active. You can do that "forever" if you wish. Once you decide to move, a 3 month employer expectation should be enough time for your spouse to get through the NVC and get a visa in hand, although your spouse can get ready by filling in any gaps in vaccinations (and records thereof).


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## Linuxpro (Jan 28, 2013)

I think you are right about the violent crime. I do not do anything to call attention to myself. The kind of people that are out to shoot each other are not all that interested in someone like me.

It is funny how all you see on TV is guns and all you hear on the news is crime. Well, the USA is a big place. The chances that a given person will ever see a gun on his school campus is pretty slim when you consider how many schools there are.

When it comes to identity theft, and other small crime like breaking into cars, etc, I am a popular target.

I looked into it (based on your previous advice). the i130 is good for about 18 months. Hehehehe


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

No, an approved I-130 can stay "on ice" indefinitely as long as you contact the National Visa Center at least every 12 months and reference the number. Tell the NVC "keep the file open, please," and that's that.

So it's simple, really. If you intend to move to the United States with your foreign spouse _at some point in the future_, you can file an I-130 petition for your spouse now, if you wish, to reduce or eliminate the lead time associated with that "Phase 1" USCIS part.


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## Linuxpro (Jan 28, 2013)

BBCWatcher said:


> No, an approved I-130 can stay "on ice" indefinitely as long as you contact the National Visa Center at least every 12 months and reference the number. Tell the NVC "keep the file open, please," and that's that.
> 
> So it's simple, really. If you intend to move to the United States with your foreign spouse _at some point in the future_, you can file an I-130 petition for your spouse now, if you wish, to reduce or eliminate the lead time associated with that "Phase 1" USCIS part.


I submitted the i130 on in the second week of February. It was about the same as the i129 that we let die when we left the USA.

I was wondering how to keep it open. You mentioned that before, but never said what the specific process would be.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Any "touch" of the file at the NVC is reportedly good enough: paying an outstanding fee, calling and asking a question, reporting a change of address, whatever. As long as the file isn't "quiet" for more than a year, it should stay alive.


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## Linuxpro (Jan 28, 2013)

So when we go to the embassy with the actual form (I forget the form number) and it shows expired, what happens? We are talking about the US government. The NVC center might say it is still current, but the form itself will say it is expired. Will they send us something in writing?

Remember when they stopped issuing paper i95? That created a huge snafu for a lot of people. 

The "paperless" i95 burned us, and was the major reason we did not stay in the USA when we obtained the K1 back in 2014. The policy had been in effect over a year, but some of the US federal agencies had not yet adopted the policy and still required an i95 form. When we went to a social security office without a form i95, we were directed to a different office. The officer in second office had to call in a supervisor and ask what to do.

The i95 fiasco cost us a lot of money.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

There's no expiring NVC form if you don't let the NVC finish their tasks. You can pay the NVC fee, but don't proceed beyond that. Just keep the NVC's file open. Once they look at financial criteria (for example) that's perishable since your financial circumstances can change.


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## Linuxpro (Jan 28, 2013)

Thanx BBC. We got our approval for the i130. It has no exipration on it. The same form associated with the i129 had an 18 month expiration.

The i130 took exactly 87 calendar days for approval (about the same as the i129).

I will stay on top of the NVC.

When we did the i129, and we recieved the letter from the US embassy, we were able to get the police clearance, the medical exam, and the interview in only three weeks. They requested another form that we did not have on hand. A week later we couriered the form to the embassy with her passport. Four days later she had her visa in hand.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Yes, just "tickle" the NVC's file at least every 11 months, and it should stay alive as long as you need it to. Flip the e-mail address on file back and forth between two valid addresses, for example. The NVC deals with files that are open for literally decades (for other immigrant visa categories), so this isn't an alien concept.

All that said, I don't recommend petitioning for a spouse unless there's at least a _reasonable_ prospect of his/her immigrating to the United States in the not-too-distant future.

For the record, I think Congress ought to allow foreign spouses from visa waiver/ESTA countries at least to be able to move to the United States with their U.S. citizen spouses and adjust status there, perhaps with the U.S. citizen spouse posting a bond if they absolutely insist. It'd also be helpful if Congress and the NVC formalized the "approved petition on ice" method. Just add a button (or whatever) to the Web-based interface that says something like, "Do you want to keep this file open for another 12 months? (Yes/No)" and that's that. There are some easy, straightforward ways the U.S. immigration system could exhibit "family values" (as Congressional Republicans so often like to boast about), ways that shouldn't be controversial. Indeed, they aren't among Democrats, but sanity isn't winning right now.


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## Linuxpro (Jan 28, 2013)

Very true BBC. I really do not know what the process is all about anyway. So what are they checking? 

I do not know another wife. I have no history of domestic violence. I have no history of inviting criminals/terrorists into the USA. My wife is not on any watch lists. It seems that the DHS could look that up in minuets. 

I am looking at moving next March. I will pay someone to update my resume, to get a job in the USA. I see lots of demand for Linux professionals. I have lots of good references (in the USA). I have no issues with background checks, or drug tests.


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## Sardonicus (Mar 23, 2015)

Jet Lag said:


> Are you 100% sure you wanna go back to the States? I went back a number of years ago and stayed there for 3 years to take care of an aging parent. I grew up in Southern California and was in absolutely in shock at how much the place had changed during my years living here in the islands. Not just Calif, but the entire country had changed and not for the better. That was 14 years ago and I can't even begin to imagine the changes now. The place as well as the rest of the world IMO is going to pot. It would be hard as heck to fit in and function anymore I would think. I'm American - true blue as they come. But there is no way on earth that I'd move back again..
> 
> 
> Jet Lag


Good to read but confirms a lot of my concerns about moving back after many years.

Interesting how you don't want NC but I do, and vice-versa for a place like Seattle. If I could I would certainly consider where you originally came from.


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## Linuxpro (Jan 28, 2013)

My wife and I spent two weeks in Califrona back in 2014. Overall it was wonderful. I was born in LA, so my wife insisted on going there. I would never move to LA. 

We went back to Seattle last year and we loved it.

My employer moved me after closing the small satellite office in Cerritos. I had a choice to move to North Carolina or Singapore. In the LA area I wore shorts and flip flops every day. But in North Carolina they all wear long sleeves. Have you ever been to NC in the summer months? Long sleeves are not an option!

Singapore is laid back, and the office is in a plain building only a short walk from Marina Bay. I could go downstairs to get a lung full of fresh marine air at lunch time, eat at La Pasat. Life was good. I cannot get that in North Carolina. But unfortunately they recently moved our department to Lavender. They took away the only thing that kept me here.

Seattle is a hot-bed for technology, and much more comfortable. I would not mind a job in Oregon some-place, or in Northern Cal.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Linuxpro said:


> My wife and I spent two weeks in Califrona back in 2014. Overall it was wonderful. I was born in LA, so my wife insisted on going there. I would never move to LA.
> 
> We went back to Seattle last year and we loved it.
> 
> ...


I'm with you on LA. I grew up in the Valley (Van Nuys). Lived also in Pomona and Saugus/Canyon Country. It was ok back in the 70's or so; but I was there in 2003 and there is not enough money in the world to get me to move or live there ever again. I've been retired and living in the Philippines for 13 years now and will never return to the States.


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