Green Card process for Germans to America?

[Hungry For Cheese 0]

I'm not sure where to put this, but I need some help with understanding this process.

My uncles is trying to get his step-daughter and her daughter here to the states to be with him and her actual mother. They followed some directions they were given and filled papers with El Paso, TX. They were then told they did it wrong and sent papers to Dallas, TX, which in turn sent them to somewhere in California where it would seem they are just sitting.

I just visited them in NM and promised her mother I would do what I can. My uncle married the mom and is in the military, so it was real easy, but my step-cousin isn't married or anything and seeks a better life in America with family.

The initial process started in August, does anyone know how long it normally takes. I have a feeling either they are missing something or if they did do it correctly, the papers are sitting in some room in California, and will continue to for months.

On another board I got this repsonse....any accuracy to this?

Go to VisaJourney.com : Marriage and Family Immigration to the USA (K Visa) and ask in the forums there. This forum doesn't have the expertise to help you with that question.

There are various visa processing centers in the US and where your application needs to be sent depends on where you live.

Green cards can take anywhere from 6 months to several years to a couple of decades to process. I'm not sure the beneficiary is eligible for a green card though; if your uncle's wife is a legal permanent resident she cannot sponsor the daughter if the daughter is married. (I'm assuming the daughter is over 21 years old). If the daughter isn't married, she can be sponsored but it will take a few years if I'm assessing the situation correctly. The child will get a green card if his/her mother gets one; the child by him/herself is not eligible for one. Also, your uncle cannot sponsor them because the appropriate family relationship doesn't exist between him (the petitioner) and them (the beneficiaries). I'm pretty sure it has to be his wife who makes the application.

The people at VisaJourney will be able to give you a much more accurate answer.

Also, if she is married to an American, how much income does the guy need to sponsor/support this 27 year old woman and her 5 year old daughter?

[YuAndDan 153]

A few details needed to understand this case.

How old is step daughter?

Is Uncle a US Citizen?

If step daughter is under 21, before visa issuance, then treated as unlimited class visa.

Biological parent needs to be a US-Citizen, if daughter is over 18 when marriage took place.

If older than 21 then classified as F-2 preference, and again only biological parent can file for this visa, so biological parent needs to be a US Citizen.

You may want to read I-130 instructions page 1 it tells you who may and who may not file the petition.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf

[Hungry For Cheese 0]

A few details needed to understand this case.

How old is step daughter?

Is Uncle a US Citizen?

If step daughter is under 21, before visa issuance, then treated as unlimited class visa.

Biological parent needs to be a US-Citizen, if daughter is over 18 when marriage took place.

If older than 21 then classified as F-2 preference, and again only biological parent can file for this visa, so biological parent needs to be a US Citizen.

You may want to read I-130 instructions page 1 it tells you who may and who may not file the petition.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf

My uncles step daughter is 27, and her own daughter is 5.

Uncle is in U.S. Military, served in Germany, and US citizen.

Biological mother lives in states, but is a legal alien and has her green card.

So it sounds like since her mother is not a legal citizen and this 27y/o girl is not married, she will have real trouble getting a chance to be with her mother in America.

Can someone fill me in on if she was to marry a US Citizen? It wouldn't be a problem then would it?

[YuAndDan 153]

My uncles step daughter is 27, and her own daughter is 5.

Uncle is in U.S. Military, served in Germany, and US citizen.

Biological mother lives in states, but is a legal alien and has her green card.

So it sounds like since her mother is not a legal citizen and this 27y/o girl is not married, she will have real trouble getting a chance to be with her mother in America.

Can someone fill me in on if she was to marry a US Citizen? It wouldn't be a problem then would it?

You are correct, Step daughter's Mother must file for her.

Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their children, if any. (23,400)

Family Second Preference (F2): Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters (over age 20) of lawful permanent residents. (114,200) At least seventy-seven percent of all visas available for this category will go to the spouses and children; the remainder will be allocated to unmarried sons and daughters.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/ty...types_1306.html

Can file for daughter as LPR but this gets F-2 (B ) pref, can get pref upped to F1 after naturalizes.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin...letin_3897.html

Edited January 2, 2008 by YuAndDan