Wife wants to bring her mom over to the U.S.

[rsm113 0]

Hi all,

My wife is now a US citizen and wants to bring her mom here (most likely to visit). I read the instructions and by my assumption (keep in mind that I am not too bright, lol) I need the following:

Check for $355.00

I-130 for her mom

copy of her Birth certificate with her mom's name on it

copy of her passport and naturalization certificate

Do we need anything else?

Thanks

[Zee Bee 61]

If its just for a visit her mom would just need to apply for a tourist visa.

What you have described is for immigrating here (IR5 visa).

[rsm113 0]

If its just for a visit her mom would just need to apply for a tourist visa.

What you have described is for immigrating here (IR5 visa).

She is undecided if she wants to live here so if we go the route that I have explained then it will cover all bases or am I wrong

[aaron2020 11,651]

If its just for a visit her mom would just need to apply for a tourist visa.

What you have described is for immigrating here (IR5 visa).

She is undecided if she wants to live here so if we go the route that I have explained then it will cover all bases or am I wrong

If she becomes a LPR, there are several things she may want to know;

1) She will have to file US tax returns obligating her to pay taxes on her worldwide income; possibly including pensions in her home country.

2) If she spends more time in her home country and makes trips over the next few years, she may be denied entry into the US on some future trip for abandoning her LPR status; this is a case-by-case and fact specific determination at the POE.

You should look into getting her an extended tourist visa - I think it is possible to get one for 10 years. This eliminates the two problems above.

[Mononoke28 135]

Well, if she does get permanent residency she would have to stay living in the US. The right way to do it would be for her to live here and visit Colombia, not the other way around. My aunt spent 6 months here and 6 months in Colombia but towards the end each time she would come back to the US, Immigration would give her a hard time of why she did not live in the US. They would eventually let her go through but without fail she would spend 2-3 hours with them explaining why she split the year in half between the two countries.

Food for thought.

Other than that, that's pretty much all your wife needs to file for her mother. The entire process should take between 9-12 months.

Diana

[rsm113 0]

We tried to get her a tourist visa when my wife first came here but she was denied, that's why I figured this would be a better way. Was she denied because my wife was not yet a citizen?

[Zee Bee 61]

We tried to get her a tourist visa when my wife first came here but she was denied, that's why I figured this would be a better way. Was she denied because my wife was not yet a citizen?

Her denial has nothing with your wife being a citizen. She needs to show that she has no intent to immigrate (property, business, job, etc).

[motu 6]

US consulate in Colombia is horrible in giving out visitor's visas to family members - because they have a horrible history of visitors coming on visitor's visa and staying here.

So, you are right to explore the immigrant visa but it has it's problems. However, taxes are not going to be her problem - most people in that age category do not make enough money to require filing taxes - unless she is very rich and all the income is in her name. For a single person - they must make $8950 for the entire year to be required to file taxes (unless they want other benefits or have refunds due etc). $8950 is about 22 million Colombian pesos (per year).

My parents were LPRs and never filed a tax return. My sister and her husband are US citizens living in India but make very little in their SS pension and do not file tax returns. Most foreigners (I am talking moms and dads of LPRs) do not make the kind of money required to file taxes in USA.

I would suggest that you try one more time for her to get a visitor's visa - it's multiple entry and allows 6 months visit and is good for 5 years - so once she has it, she can visit every year for up to 6 months. If she can't get it, then you can file for residency which is a convoluted way to achieve the same thing, but if she is interested in living here then it may be a good move. Good Luck