Petition for parents and under 18 brother

[AlexDang 0]

Hi! I am an U.S citizen, and my wife came to U.S through our marriage. She was on conditional residency and now in progress of getting the permanent residency. She has been here about 2 years, and so she should be able to apply for citizenship in about another year.

We want to petition for her parents and her brother (currently 15 years old) to come here. Two questions here.

1). I thought that in order for her to petition for her parents, she must become citizen first before submitting the form. But recently someone told me that she can start the petition (I-130?) application first while still waiting to be citizen. Even though the application might get turned down due to the citizenship eligibility, that application can be resumed/reactivate once she becomes the citizen, and hence shorten the processing time in some ways? Is there any truth to this method? I was confused by it.

2). When the petition for her parents are approved, can her parents bring her brother over together as a child under 18 years old? Or do her parents have to come here first for 2 years, and then petition for their son if he stays under 21 and single?

Thanks for any help provided.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

She must be a USC to file. If she files before the govenment will keep the fees and deny . You will have to file and pay a second time.

No the parents can't bring anyone with them. The brother will need a separate petition

You can petition both parents at once they will get approved about a year after she petitions . So if you are at ROC you are looking at about 2.5 years

Bother will have to stay behind alone. Parents can file as soon as they arrive and it will take a couple of years for a visa number. Hopefully brother will be under 21 still. If not the wait jumps to 8 years.

You wife can also petition for her brother when she is USC , wait is about 10 -23 years

[aaron2020 11,651]

1. She must be a US citizen in order to petition for her parents. She cannot file as an LPR and then continue it after she becomes a US citizen. There is no such thing as resuming or reactivating the petition after she comes a citizen.

If she files as an LPR for her parents, the petitions will be denied. She will lose the fees. And she will have to start over when she's a US citizen.

2. When a US citizen petitions for a parent, only the parent gets a immigration benefit. Minor children do not get to immigrate with the parent.

A parent must immigrate first and becoming an LPR. Once the parent is an LPR, the parent can file for unmarried children of any age.

Edited July 31, 2012 by aaron2020

[phopho06 0]

i have a question when am i eligible to apply for a US citizen? im divorce and i have my 10 yrs green card and ive been here for 3 years now?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

i have a question when am i eligible to apply for a US citizen? im divorce and i have my 10 yrs green card and ive been here for 3 years now?

You need five years as a permanent resident, and 30 months of physical presence in the previous five years.

[khmerguy 1]

Once my wife become a US citizen, she would like to bring her family over. What is the best way? Do it for her mom first then after her mom become a PR, then have her mom sponsor her kids and husband at same time? No one is in the country to look after the kids. Or should my wife sponsor all her family(parents & siblings) same time. Sorry, Is ROC mean remove condition? thx

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Once my wife become a US citizen, she would like to bring her family over. What is the best way? Do it for her mom first then after her mom become a PR, then have her mom sponsor her kids and husband at same time? No one is in the country to look after the kids. Or should my wife sponsor all her family(parents & siblings) same time. Sorry, Is ROC mean remove condition? thx

Best approach is to petition for one parent. After that parent comes to the US and gets a green card then that parent can petition for the other parent and children. The process for the first parent should take less than a year. The process for the remaining parent and children will probably take about 3 years, starting from when the LPR parent files the petition. If any of the kids are within a few years of 21 years old then there's a chance they'll age out before the process is finished.