Immigration Corner | Is it possible for me to change the petitioner?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

My father submitted my filing documents on September 21, 2017. They have been at the National Visa Center (NVC) since 2018 as they arent’ gible for further processing due to the annual limit on visas. My father has since passed in the US. Hs wife (the petitioner) has moved from New York and no longer communicates with us.

Is it possible for me to change the petitioner? What is the procedure to do so? I see on the website where I am allowed to change an address. Do I enter the information for the new petitioner and address there? Note that I’ve created an online account to keep updated on the status of my filing.

I have a cousin who is a citizen in a different state and who is willing to act in that capacity. Since my priority date is coming up shortly (F1), I would love to know what the next steps are?

Thank you for your assistance.

AB

Dear AB,

Condolences on the passing of your father. If the petitioner/sponsor of your immigrant visa is your stepmother, she must be the one to complete the process. You cannot change the petitioner in an immigrant visa filing.

You may be confusing the situation where if a petitioner dies before the filing is completed, the system allows for a substitute financial sponsor. In that situation, the National Visa Center or US Citizenship & Immigration Services must be notified of the passing of the petitioner and a request made for humanitarian processing of the pending application. One of the criteria for the petition to continue under humanitarian processing is for the beneficiary to identify a specific family member who is willing to step into the financial void and sign an Affidavit of Support as the substitute sponsor. This humanitarian process does not change the petitioner.

Once you have confirmed that it is your stepmother who is indeed the petitioner/sponsor of your filing, then you need to determine whether whatever family rift that has occurred can be repaired. Unfortunately, your filing will not continue if your stepmother is the petitioner and she refuses to cooperate with the second phase of the process.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises Immigration law in the United States; and Family, Criminal & International law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator and former Special Magistrate & Hearing Officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com