Choosing the best path (Sister is US Citizen)

[ElGeorge 0]

Hello all, I'm so glad to have found this forum. I'll try to make things as short and right to the point as possible (I'm famous for writing long forum posts)

My sister became a US Citizen back in December of 2010, and obviously I'm pretty interested in obtaining a US Green Card and having the opportunity to move to the US with my wife and two kids. We are originally from Venezuela and I'm a 37 years old skilled professional engineer(Information Technology). Back in 2010 I was in the process of obtaining a sponsorship from a US company (I worked for them in the past as a consultant), but those plans fell through due to management changes at that company.

I'm still in the pursuit of an employment offer in the US, but since my sister became a US citizen I also want to start moving forward with the process of obtaining a permanent residence through her (since I know the process take years).

My specific questions are as follows:

1) Should my sister petition for my parents first (I know that processing for parents is immediate and not restricted to the long queues of other petitions for other family members) and then my parents would make the petition for me?, or should we move forward and file the petition directly for me as her brother?. I don't know if that would make a difference in terms of making the process a bit faster for me. I've gotta say that my parents don't have an immediate need to move to the US yet (although they will eventually in the future).

2) If my sister files for my petition would that affect my eligibility to renew my US Tourist Visa (B1/B2)?. I think I heard from someone here in Venezuela who got denied a student Visa because her mother (a US Citizen) had filed a petition for her (she is married and older than 21). I think she had to cancel the petition in order to be able to obtain the student Visa (She needed to travel to the US to study and obtain a Master's degree). My current Tourist Visa is valid thru 2015.

3) What could be the current expectations in terms of time of this process?. I've heard comments that range from about 3-4 years up to a whooping 8-10 years.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Edited May 2, 2011 by ElGeorge

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

For your sister to file it is over 10 years wait. Because you are married if she files for your parent there is no path until your parent is a USC so that makes it about a year for the parent to enter the US , 5 more years until they can become a USC and then time ( about 10 years ) for a visa in the F3 catagory. So no quick route to the US

[Harsh_77 718]

Even if your sister files for your parents and then they file for your family, if everything goes perfect and as per the present timeline, you will still have to wait for 10 years, before you will be able to immigrate.

Do you want to move to US and start all over again when you are 47?

You will fall in F3, so even when your parents file for you, you cannot immigrate right away. You will have to wait until your F3 date becomes current, which can keeps on changing.

[ElGeorge 0]

Ok... it seems that my sister filing for my petition right away is the best "worst option" right? hehe. Well I guess that's still fine for me 'cause I don't lose anything by filing (except of course the $$$ for the filing). The other important matter is regarding question #3... having my sister file for my petition would affect in any way my eligibility for renewal of my US Tourist Visa (B1/B2). I've renewed my Visa two times in the past with no trouble and my current Visa is valid thru 2015, but it's important for me to be able to renew it with no trouble 'cause I travel to the US regularly.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

As long as you have a strong history of short infrequent trips you should be ok. Where you are asking for trouble is if you start looking like you are spending "too much" time in the US.

[Harsh_77 718]

There is no right or wrong answer on your question #3, some CO would not be comfortable to issue you another visa as when you apply for visa it is implied that you have no immigration intent.

On your case it will be contradictory coz you do have intent to immigrate, after your sis files on your behalf, you might even have some hardship even on using the current visa.

Officer at POE might may / may not let you enter its upto him.