Father of US citizen seeks to join daughter in the US.

[shaneos 0]

Greetings everyone!

My daughter (aged 5) is a US citizen and currently lives in the US along with her mother. I am the signatory on her passport and she was born in the US while I was on an F-1 visa. My wife is a green card holder and has had one for about 18 years and did not apply for her citizenship. We left the US about five years ago so I could take up employment overseas. However with the ailing economy in the region I worked we decided to move back to the US. My wife was able to reestablish her green card upon entry into the US with our daughter.

Our present situation is that my daughter (US citizen) and my wife (green card) are in the Florida while I have been separated from them for almost six months now. I had to stay behind to look for jobs and the second reason being I did not have a visa to go there. I now wish to join my family, live and work in the US. How do I proceed? I have positive developments in jobs there but all those opportunities require work authorization and they do not provide sponsorship.

I thank you in advance for your guidance and support on this matter. Thank you for your consideration.

Shane

[aaron2020 11,651]

Greetings everyone!

My daughter (aged 5) is a US citizen and currently lives in the US along with her mother. I am the signatory on her passport and she was born in the US while I was on an F-1 visa. My wife is a green card holder and has had one for about 18 years and did not apply for her citizenship. We left the US about five years ago so I could take up employment overseas. However with the ailing economy in the region I worked we decided to move back to the US. My wife was able to reestablish her green card upon entry into the US with our daughter.

Our present situation is that my daughter (US citizen) and my wife (green card) are in the Florida while I have been separated from them for almost six months now. I had to stay behind to look for jobs and the second reason being I did not have a visa to go there. I now wish to join my family, live and work in the US. How do I proceed? I have positive developments in jobs there but all those opportunities require work authorization and they do not provide sponsorship.

I thank you in advance for your guidance and support on this matter. Thank you for your consideration.

Shane

A US citizen has to be at least 21 years of age to petition for a parent so immigrating to the US through your daughter will not work for you in the immediate future.

The quickest way for you to gain immigration benefits through your family is your wife. To naturalize as a US citizen, she has to "have resided continuously in the United States, having been lawfully admitted for permanent residence, for five years immediately preceding the date you filed your application for naturalization." So your wife may not be able to apply for 5 years as she has reside outside the US for the last 5 years. You may want to retain an immigration lawyer to see if there is someway for her to qualify to naturalize. If she becomes a US citizen (takes about a year), she can then petition for your (another year). If she remains a LPR then it will take 5 years for her to petition for you.

[Dakine 26]

Have your wife submit a i-130 to get things moving. She can upgrade when she gets her USC. My friend just got her USC in 45 days from start to finish. Not normally that fast tho.