Well, it is advisable not to play with your child’s immigration future when it comes to bringing your child to the US.
Let us see some instances here to analyze the issue in detail.
Delaying child’s US immigration is ok?—If you happen to be a parent who took a decision to delay your child’s immigration to the US although you could have done so a couple of years ago, then it is not a good idea.
Many times, parents, who otherwise are eligible to bring their child/children to the US choose to let the child complete his or her school in their native nation before immigrating him/her to the US. In some cases, the delay continues until the child attains the age of 21 years.
In certain cases, preference is give to the final/mid-term exams of the child over the date of the embassy interview (if the two happen to be on the same date).
Is it a viable option?—No. Because many times, the child becomes ‘aged out’ for US immigration and might have to wait for several years before getting immigration to the US since the child was unqualified under the CSPA(Child Status Protection Act).
Parents should avoid delaying their child’s immigration to the US. The onus lies on the parents of the child to bring him/her to the US at the earliest possible time.
Parents desirous of enabling their child to complete his or her schooling in their native nation must get a re-entry permit to help the child get back to complete studies in his/her native nation.
Delaying your step-child’s petition?—If you married a US citizen but are thinking of waiting for some years before enabling your spouse to petition your child, then you need to think again. That’s because any person marrying a US citizen before their child attains 18 years of age can get the benefit of his/her spouse petitioning the step-child without adopting the child.
So, in such a scenario, any delay in filing a step-parent petition for a couple of years is not advisable as per the US immigration law.
It is better that the natural parent lets his/her spouse(who is a US citizen) file a step-parent petition for their child at the earliest possible opportunity. Another option is to file a petition of their own by the natural parent in Category F- 2A(Minor Child of Green Card Holder).