Few questions need answers please

[tusty 1]

Hello,

I will be filing for citizenship this week and I want to file I130 for may parents, should I file the I130 now or wait till I get my citizenship ? another question, I have one sister which is 15 and two brothers one is 22 and one is 19 , can I file for them too ? or my parents should file for them ?

Thank you so much for your help.

[UK_Fan 192]

not 100% sure, but i think it asks for a copy of Naturalization certificate

[ceadsearc 516]

You need to wait until naturalization is approved. Only USCs can file for parents and until your oath ceremony you aren't one. It is not the same as other categories where a petition can later be upgraded.

[Delta5 9]

Hello,

I will be filing for citizenship this week and I want to file I130 for may parents, should I file the I130 now or wait till I get my citizenship ? another question, I have one sister which is 15 and two brothers one is 22 and one is 19 , can I file for them too ? or my parents should file for them ?

Thank you so much for your help.

As pointed out by ceadsearc, you will not be able to file an I-130 for your parents until you are officially a USC and not before.

In regards to your questions about petitioning your siblings or your parents petitioning them after they get their green card .... the short answer is "Yes, you both can".

If you petition your siblings the wait will be quite long. According to the Visa Bulletin for April, the wait for a sibling petition is more or less around 12 years at the moment. However, the waiting time if your parents were to petition for them will be much shorter for some and a bit longer for others, but not as long wait as your petition. Again, according to April 2012 VB, if your parents were to petition them is around 3 years for your 15 year old sister which will be under the F-2A preference category. Your 22 years old brother will be on a preference category of a F-2B of which the wait time at the moment is around 8 years. Your 19 year old brother on the other hand will depend on his exact age once his petition is filed by your parents. Under 21 he will be under F-2A like your sister, 21 years or older under the F-2B category like your other brother.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello,

I will be filing for citizenship this week and I want to file I130 for may parents, should I file the I130 now or wait till I get my citizenship ? another question, I have one sister which is 15 and two brothers one is 22 and one is 19 , can I file for them too ? or my parents should file for them ?

Thank you so much for your help.

Only US citizens are allowed to petition for a parent. An LPR can never petition for a parent. You are an LPR until you take your US citizenship oath. You are not a US citizen until you take your oath.

BE VERY CAREFUL. If you file the I-130 for your parents by claiming to be a US citizen before you take your citizenship oath, your naturalization will be denied. Read this sad story about a guy who naturalization application was denied because he claimed to be a US citizen on a job application the night before his citizenship interview; http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/358739-denial-of-citizenship/page__p__5241043__fromsearch__1#entry5241043

File the I-130s for your parents only AFTER the US government tells you that you are a US citizen. You will need either a copy of your US passport or your Certificate of Naturalization to prove US citizenship when sending in the I-130s.

Your parents and you can all file for your siblings. It is okay for a beneficiary to have more than one I-130 petition from different petitioners. If there are a hundred qualifying relatives, then each of them can file an I-130 for a single beneficiary.

Since you have not indicated which country your family is from, I will give you a short outline of how long the entire process will take (if you are from India, mainland China, Mexico, or the Philippines - the wait can be years longer). There are no shortcuts to the wait, so don't ask if it can be done faster - the answer is no.

You (US Citizen) filing for;

• Two separate I-130s for your parents. It will take about 6-12 months for them to get immigration visas. Derivative beneficiaries are not allowed so your parents will not be able to bring any child with them - no exceptions for minors. So, only the parents get to immigrate.
  
• Separate I-130s for your siblings. It will take about 12 years. They can get marry. They can also bring their spouses and children under age 21 (age at the time to immigrate, not current age).
  

Once your parents have green cards, they can file for their children;

• It will take about 6-12 months for you to obtain your US citizenship. It will take about 6-12 months for you to petition for your parents. So, I will add a year or two to your siblings' current ages to reflect their ages when your parents may file.
  
• An LPR can only file for unmarried children. An LPR can never have a petition for a married child. If a sibling gets marry after LPR parent files, then the petition is dead forever.
  
• Your sister who will be 17 years old when your parents get their green cards. It will take 2-3 years to petition for her. She must stay unmarried.
  
• Your brothers who will be 24 and 21 years old when your parents get their green cards. It will take 7-8 years to petition for them. If they get married, the petitions filed for your LPR parents will die. An LPR cannot file for a married child, so marriage automatically void the petition, and there is no way to undo it.
  

Edited April 26, 2012 by aaron2020