My mother is a permanent resident in the U.S. and she filed a petition for me in 1997 under F2B category since I am over 21 yrs old and unmarried.

I don't intend to live in the U.S. yet(at least for now) because I have a good job here in the Philippines and I don't want to lose the opportunities I'm having at present and up to perhaps for the next 3 yrs.

If my following of the processing of priority dates is correct, there's a huge chance that I will get mine in the last quarter of next year (2007).

If I don't pursue it for over 12 months, the petition automatically becomes void, right? On the otherhand, if I pursued it, and got the visa, what would happen if I went to the U.S. and immediately left again after a week or so without getting my green card? Can I still go back the following year using the same approved visa?

My dilemma is that, I can't live in the U.S. but I desire to be able to visit my mother and sisters there once in a while, at least once a year, be with them for a couple of days.

I know that I can just get a tourist visa to meet my purpose but it's so hard to be issued such a visa because the people in the embassy are too strict in requiring documents proving that I have reasons to return to the Philippines and they don't just accept the truth that "I love my life here in the PHilippines."

Is there a possibility for an F2B category be just replaced for a B1/B2?

You’ve made a good assessment of your case. If you do intend to settle in the US in the near future, I would advise you to simply delay the processing of your IV as long as possible. Built-in processing delays through the NVC could actually take longer than you expect.

Edward Weiner
Attorney at Law

E-mail: E.Weiner@immigration-aux-usa.com
Internet Site: http://www.immigration-aux-usa.com/