Form I-130 Mother German Son US Citizen

[USBOY 0]

Hello,

I have a Question regarding the Form I-130.

I’m a US Born Citizen and my Mother is German, the thing is I’m living in Germany now for the last 17 Years and my Mother (all so in Germany) would like to go back to the States where she has worked 35 Years but she fortified her Green Card status seeing that she has been out of the States for 15 Years now with out renewing it.

Is there a Problem filling out the Form seeing that I’m a resident here in Germany? I still have my US Passport.

My Father is still in the US (Mom’s Ex-Man) I can give his Address as my Address.

How long does the Process take?

Can she go legally to the States and live till the Process is done?

Any thing else I have to think about? Or will this not work?

Thanks for your answers and God Bless you.

Thanks,

Marc

[jula 0]

well USBOY, the meaning of petitioning a family member is to unite families. There wouldn't be a problem if you live in the USA... but just "sending" your mother there? That wasn't the original idea...

Here is the main issue: as a petitioner, you need a domicile in the USA. Look at the form I-864. Maybe you'll need to relocate to the USA for a while to make this work.

I assume you have been filing US taxes all this years, correct?

The whole process may take from a few months to a year. Your mother may visit the USA (on VWP) but not stay there longer then 90 days at the time until she receives an immigrant visa.

Edited January 12, 2009 by jula

[USBOY 0]

Hello Jula thanks for answering,

(re-unite families) that’s true, her Sister lives over there for the last 50 Years with here Green Card but has never submitted the Form to become a permanent Resident of the US, she could do that but after that Mom would still have to wait I think 4 Years to get here Green Card again.

Taxes I have not paid for the last 17 Years in the States, is that a problem? You think they would look for that?

I can give my Fathers Address as my second Residence or not? Would that help?

Any further Help would be grateful

Marc

[aaron2020 11,651]

Marc,

You have several problems that you will have to overcome before your mother can immigrate to the US.

First, reuniting adult siblings is very low on the priority list of reuniting family. It's more important to reunite husband and wife and minor children. So they have priority for immigration purposes. That is why reuniting adult siblings take 9 years for most people. Siblings from the Philippines have to wait 23 years to get immigration visas. So the fact that your mother has a sister in the US is not an immediate help. Further, only US citizens may petition for foreign siblings.

Second, you must have a resident in the US to petition for someone. The premise is that you are vouching for the foreign person and taking an economic responsibility for that person if the the person turns out to rely on public benefits. Why would a country allow someone in who could be a financial burden. The person petitioning should carry the risk that the foreign person will need economic assistance. Easier for the gov't to take a US resident to court than a US person who has been living in a foreign country for the last 17 years. Also, as a US citizen, you are obligated to pay taxes on your worldwide income. If you want the benefits of US citizenship, you must pay the taxes that runs the country. Since you have not filed taxes, it will be very problematic to show that you will meet your obligation in the US. So it will be deemed that you are unlikely to help mom economically and that if she needs public assistance, she will be a burden on the US taxpayers.

Listing your father's resident in the US as yours opens you to obligations to that residency. As a US citizen of the state where your father lives, you are obligated as a citizen to pay your federal and state taxes. Not paying taxes is a big flag for USCIS.

The bottom line is that you will not be deemed to be a good petitioner until you become a US resident, have a good income and pay all overdue taxes.

Edited January 12, 2009 by aaron2020

[taj'samericanwife 0]

sorry this is out of the topic but i sort of have the same situation. i lived in the philippines for about 24 years but i was born in the united states and i have returned to the united states july 2008. i have been working for almost 6 months now...and i am putting my papers together for my husband (IR-1, IR-2) whom i married in the philippines...

this is my first year to file for taxes...i have come back to become a resident here in the united states but when you said this: "Listing your father's resident in the US as yours opens you to obligations to that residency. As a US citizen of the state where your father lives, you are obligated as a citizen to pay your federal and state taxes. Not paying taxes is a big flag for USCIS.

The bottom line is that you will not be deemed to be a good petitioner until you become a US resident, have a good income and pay all overdue taxes." --- does that mean i have overdue taxes too? and i am not going to be a good petitioner? i was a student in the philippines and i have never worked in the philippines. i worked in small jobs here in america when i use to come visit family for summers but they were only small summer jobs and of course the taxes were cut out of my paychecks but that was almost 5 years ago....i didnt even bother to file to tax returns because i went back to the philippines and i know my refunds wasnt that much anyway...

obviously since i am working again and i am consideres a professional...i pay my taxes now...ever since i got my new job...

[aaron2020 11,651]

sorry this is out of the topic but i sort of have the same situation. i lived in the philippines for about 24 years but i was born in the united states and i have returned to the united states july 2008. i have been working for almost 6 months now...and i am putting my papers together for my husband (IR-1, IR-2) whom i married in the philippines...

this is my first year to file for taxes...i have come back to become a resident here in the united states but when you said this: "Listing your father's resident in the US as yours opens you to obligations to that residency. As a US citizen of the state where your father lives, you are obligated as a citizen to pay your federal and state taxes. Not paying taxes is a big flag for USCIS.

The bottom line is that you will not be deemed to be a good petitioner until you become a US resident, have a good income and pay all overdue taxes." --- does that mean i have overdue taxes too? and i am not going to be a good petitioner? i was a student in the philippines and i have never worked in the philippines. i worked in small jobs here in america when i use to come visit family for summers but they were only small summer jobs and of course the taxes were cut out of my paychecks but that was almost 5 years ago....i didnt even bother to file to tax returns because i went back to the philippines and i know my refunds wasnt that much anyway...

obviously since i am working again and i am consideres a professional...i pay my taxes now...ever since i got my new job...

Hi Taj,

Since you did not have income in the Philippines, you don't have to file a tax return for those years. Also, there is a threshold for filing federal income taxes. If you are below the exemption amounts, currently$7-8K, you do not have to file a federal tax return. I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Now that you are in the US, file your taxes. Petitioning for a husband is much easier than petitioning for a parent. Generally, a person is legally obligated to financially support his/her spouse and unmarried minor children while a person is not legally obligated to financially support a parent. So, what applies to Marc does not apply to you. So long as you meet the minimum financial support required by USCIS, you should not have a problem at all.

Aaron

P.S. Marc, you only have to worry about paying taxes in years that you have income from any source worldwide. If you didn't have income in particular years, then you did not have to file tax returns in those years.

[taj'samericanwife 0]

thank you aaron...best wishes! (p.s. i didnt even put my last jobs in the united states because that was way back in 2003 and it has been 5 years ever since...)