PR processing time

[xpucu]

Thanks guys. Another question for those who have recently gotten PRs. How long did it take for them to get approved/rejected? I am told that the longer it takes, the higher the chance of approval. (wishful thinking I presume )

[ecureilx]

Thanks guys. Another question for those who have recently gotten PRs. How long did it take for them to get approved/rejected? I am told that the longer it takes, the higher the chance of approval. (wishful thinking I presume )

Yep, the longer it takes, the longer it works - whatever

I know a couple of guys whose applications were rejected after 15 months, and a few more who got approval by 3 weeks on their first attempt.

[BBCWatcher]

In additiona -> US, you can sponsor a Fiance for Long term residency (whatever you call that .. ) without even getting married.

No, that's not correct. U.S. permanent residents cannot sponsor fiancé(e)s for K-1 visas (that particular type of visa). Only U.S. citizens can do that. Moreover, the K-1 visa only allows temporary entry for marriage. The marriage must occur within 90 days of entry, and then the new spouse of his/her U.S. citizen spouse can remain in the United States and finalize permanent residency status. If the couple does not get married within that 90 day period for whatever reason(s), the fiancé(e) is required to leave the United States. There's only one chance, one entry per K-1 visa issued.

Singapore PRs really do have more privileges than their U.S. counterparts into terms of immigration sponsorship options with the exception of same sex legal spouses.

[ecureilx]

Singapore PRs really do have more privileges than their U.S. counterparts into terms of immigration sponsorship options with the exception of same sex legal spouses.

Since you are the expert in US, and now Singapore too, I have to say Yes Sir, you are correct.

And seems you know something that others here haven't heard of, of late.

Can you explain how ICA makes it easier to import a PR's village or relatives in easily ? Seriously, I am very interested to know.

I know dozens who want to bring the whole town here, and they are extremely excited about your information.

And I hope this 'privilege' you talk of does include Citizens too ? And again, I know quite a few Citizens who can't even get their wife in- they may consider switching to PR in lieu.

[bro75]

Singapore PRs really do have more privileges than their U.S. counterparts into terms of immigration sponsorship options with the exception of same sex legal spouses.

I disagree with this. While PRs are eligible to sponsor spouses (PR or LTVP), children(PR or LTVP), parents (LTVP only), and parents-in-law (LTVP only), the actual approval rates are low. I am a PR for 10 years but cannot get my daughter (who is born here) approved for PR. I do not believe that getting a green card for a child of green card holders is a problem.

[BBCWatcher]

I disagree with this. While PRs are eligible to sponsor spouses (PR or LTVP), children(PR or LTVP), parents (LTVP only), and parents-in-law (LTVP only), the actual approval rates are low.

Why do you disagree? How about zero approval rates? U.S. permanent residents cannot sponsor adult children, parents, or parents-in-law at all. Even if Singapore's approval rate is 1% (it's much higher), that's still infinitely higher than the rate for those family members of U.S. PRs. Moreover, USCIS and the State Department take an extraordinary amount of time (months, in some cases years) to decide a petition for a spouse or minor child. Singapore at least decides much, much more quickly.

....With the exception of same sex legal spouses of U.S. PRs. They have equal legal status to opposite sex legal spouses in the U.S., including equal petition processing delays. In Singapore same sex legal spouses have zero rights.

[BBCWatcher]

Can you explain how ICA makes it easier to import a PR's village or relatives in easily ?

I just did. A positive percentage rate of approval is infinitely higher, infinitely easier than a zero percentage rate of approval (otherwise known as "legally impossible"). Ordinarily this is not a complicated concept to grasp.

[bro75]

I disagree with this. While PRs are eligible to sponsor spouses (PR or LTVP), children(PR or LTVP), parents (LTVP only), and parents-in-law (LTVP only), the actual approval rates are low.

Why do you disagree? How about zero approval rates? U.S. permanent residents cannot sponsor adult children, parents, or parents-in-law at all. Even if Singapore's approval rate is 1% (it's much higher), that's still infinitely higher than the rate for those family members of U.S. PRs. Moreover, USCIS and the State Department take an extraordinary amount of time (months, in some cases years) to decide a petition for a spouse or minor child. Singapore at least decides much, much more quickly.

....With the exception of same sex legal spouses of U.S. PRs. They have equal legal status to opposite sex legal spouses in the U.S., including equal petition processing delays. In Singapore same sex legal spouses have zero rights.

You have a point there. The thing in favor of US green card holders is this. If a green card holder has a child in the US, the child is automatically a US citizen and the parents do not have to worry about his/her residency status. A child born to Singapore PRs in Singapore is a foreigner whose permanent residency has to be applied for. And in our case , rejected many times. Green card to citizenship is also straightforward and easier to achieve than Singapore PR to Singapore citizenship. If you cannot sponsor your parents as a green card holder, you can always do so after you apply for citizenship and gets it approved. In summary, a US PR at any point can decide to make the US their permanent home (as long as they do not violate any terms of their PR). A Singapore PR who plans a family cannot make this decision.

[ecureilx]

Can you explain how ICA makes it easier to import a PR's village or relatives in easily ?

I just did. A positive percentage rate of approval is infinitely higher, infinitely easier than a zero percentage rate of approval (otherwise known as "legally impossible"). Ordinarily this is not a complicated concept to grasp.

There we go again.

For example, US has 1% approval rate and Singapore has 1.01% approval rate, so in your world, Singapore has a much much better chance

Statistician wins !!! Again.

[BBCWatcher]

The thing in favor of US green card holders is this. If a green card holder has a child in the US, the child is automatically a US citizen and the parents do not have to worry about his/her residency status.

Every child physically born in the United States (including territorial waters and airspace) is born a U.S. citizen with the exception of the children of foreign diplomats. Singapore PR mothers can arrange that too if they wish, and (relatedly) U.S. PR mothers who find themselves outside the United States when they go into labor (perhaps prematurely) don't give birth to U.S. citizens (unless the father is a citizen who was a U.S. resident for the required duration).

A child born to Singapore PRs in Singapore is a foreigner whose permanent residency has to be applied for. And in our case , rejected many times.

But an LTVP was approved, I assume.

OK, that said, I very much applaud the United States for its wonderful Fourteenth Amendment (birthright citizenship). It's a simple, straightforward way to avoid the myriad problems such as multigenerational statelessness which are getting worse as our species becomes increasingly globally mobile. But the Fourteenth Amendment really doesn't have anything to do with U.S. PR status as such. Physical location of birth is all that matters. There are a few "birth tourists," and I think that's absolutely perfectly fine.

Green card to citizenship is also straightforward and easier to achieve than Singapore PR to Singapore citizenship.

True. Singapore has moved backwards in the past several years on this score.

If you cannot sponsor your parents as a green card holder, you can always do so after you apply for citizenship and gets it approved.

Yes, but then it can be a two decade wait for a decision on the petition. I wish I were joking.

Let's also mention the fact that the U.S. immigration fees charged by the government add up to thousands of dollars. Even a simple U.S. green card renewal now costs US$450. Singapore charges very reasonable fees in comparison.

In summary, a US PR at any point can decide to make the US their permanent home (as long as they do not violate any terms of their PR). A Singapore PR who plans a family cannot make this decision.

Is LTVP status for a dependent child of a PR precarious in immigration terms? I wouldn't say so. True, it's not as generous in terms of government benefits (public school access and fees, notably), but are many children of Singapore PRs getting kicked out?

[bro75]

Every[/i] child physically born in the United States (including territorial waters and airspace) is born a U.S. citizen with the exception of the children of foreign diplomats. Singapore PR mothers can arrange that too if they wish, and (relatedly) U.S. PR mothers who find themselves outside the United States when they go into labor (perhaps prematurely) don't give birth to U.S. citizens (unless the father is a citizen who was a U.S. resident for the required duration).

This is correct and it makes the US green card a better option for those who are planning a family.

Is LTVP status for a dependent child of a PR precarious in immigration terms? I wouldn't say so. True, it's not as generous in terms of government benefits (public school access and fees, notably), but are many children of Singapore PRs getting kicked out?

LTVP is normally given with a 1 year duration for PR dependents. The yearly renewal causes some anxiety but our daughter has not been rejected yet. The bigger problem is if your child cannot get a place in the local school system (Singapore PRs are guaranteed slots in the public school system). Slots are limited nowadays and LTVP/DP holders are fighting for the limited amount of space. The alternatives are very expensive private/international schools which is barely affordable for many PR families. It is this lack of school options that will cause some Singapore PR families to uproot themselves again. This is not a problem for US green card holders. We will face this problem this year and if our daughter cannot get a space in public school, we will probably return to our home country or maybe i can ask for a very big raise.

[BBCWatcher]

This is correct and it makes the US green card a better option for those who are planning a family.

Or a plane ticket to the United States for the pregnant mother (but not too pregnant). And some great medical insurance coverage.

[x9200]

This is correct and it makes the US green card a better option for those who are planning a family.

Or a plane ticket to the United States for the pregnant mother (but not too pregnant). And some great medical insurance coverage.

I wonder if (or perhaps how significantly) this is reflected for different countries for granting/refusing their citizens the US visas. Or is it self-regulating based on what you mentioned above (the medical expenses)?

[BBCWatcher]

I wonder if (or perhaps how significantly) this is reflected for different countries for granting/refusing their citizens the US visas.

I'd say the existence of the Fourteenth Amendment has practically zero impact on U.S. visa policies. The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868, and the U.S. has had incredibly varied visa policies in the 146+ years since then. There are much, much bigger factors influencing visa policies.

Or is it self-regulating based on what you mentioned above (the medical expenses)?

That's part of it.

To be clear, the immigration status of the mother giving birth in the United States doesn't matter, with the exception when both parents are official diplomats. Whether the mother is staying legally or illegally is irrelevant for these purposes: the child is born a U.S. citizen. There are approximately 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants residing in the United States (2014 estimate), and that's not counting legal and illegal visitors.

In practice, in reality, U.S. citizenship is available to children of diplomats as well. State and local governments register births in the U.S., not the federal government, and they don't even ask about diplomatic status and have no real way of checking anyway. It's such a rare exception to birthright citizenship that most local officials don't even know about it. Many diplomats, particularly from developing countries, quietly accept the default of U.S. citizenship for their children born in the U.S.

Note that a U.S. citizen child cannot sponsor a foreign parent for immigration to the United States until the child reaches age 21. Then there's a long waiting period after application of approximately one decade, and also the child must be a qualified financial sponsor (or have a qualified co-sponsor). In other words, this is not a realistic, easy route to legal U.S. immigration for the parent -- and that parent cannot easily become a burden to the state anyway since any such burden is privately collectible from the sponsor(s). Some critics have called these children "anchor babies," but that's just political rubbish. Thirty plus years is a long, long time. It's not an anchor, it's a very long and very thin rubber band that often breaks.

Note also that U.S. hospitals must, by law, accept and treat patients and attend to their emergency care needs regardless of their ability to pay. That doesn't mean the hospital has to provide the private maternity suite with massage service -- far from it. And the hospital will do everything it legally can to collect on its bills. But there are some mothers who deliver in the U.S. and cannot pay, and they and their babies are still cared for. The hospital then has to write off the costs (and pass them along in the form of higher bills on paying patients) but may get some government funding to help.

Add that all together and there are really two basic categories of "birth tourism": (1) women, mostly crossing the border from Mexico, mostly without medical insurance and without the ability to pay, who give birth in the U.S. (planned, semi-planned, or unplanned); (2) wealthy women who explicitly arrange their births in the U.S., perhaps even with private wards and other special perks. Neither cohort is all that large numerically. I think also there's an increasing realization that U.S. citizenship includes not only rights and privileges but also obligations -- tax and financial reporting, for example. There is some anecdotal evidence that the already low level of U.S. birth tourism is falling a bit. Wealthy women (many from China) have several choices as well.

There are some very rare cases when mothers wait a little too long, and their babies decide it's time to emerge. There are a few women who have given birth aboard airliners bound for North America. When that happens, believe it or not there's an investigation to determine exactly when the birth occurred and where the airplane was located. If the airplane was within U.S. airspace -- the space above U.S. territory including its territorial waters -- at the moment the baby was born, then the baby was born a U.S. citizen and receives his/her paperwork. If not, then that baby just missed citizenship. Though rare, this happens often enough because there are somewhat higher costs to stay longer on a birth vacation -- housing, food, etc. Some women are tempted to cut it too close, and of course some babies arrive prematurely. This is all very risky, of course, but it happens occasionally.

[Strong Eagle]

The fact remains that a USA green card provides far more stability and security than the blue Singapore PR card. Assuming you are living in the USA (the whole concept around 'permanent resident'), your PR status is good for 10 years, and renewal is an automatic process... you don't have to prove up a job, employer, income, housing, nothing. In fact, you apply to "replace" your green card at 10 years, and you only lose your PR status for violations including criminal activity and not living in the USA for extended periods. It really is permanent.

Contrast this to Singapore where you now get a max of five years, and then if they don't think you're earning enough or have the right job, they give you one more year or don't renew you at all. There are at least a few horror stories on this board of people whose lives have been turned upside down because the "permanent" in Singapore PR really isn't.

When I first hooked up with this board I had an extended conversation with an immigration attorney who was arguing precisely this point for a client of his... that Singapore PR is actually conditional upon employment and therefore, is actually a form of work permit as opposed to true permanent residency.