Sponsoring my sister: a few questions

[blue_ridge_brit 0]

Hi there,

I have recently acquired my 10 year green card on marriage to a USC (yay!!!!) and will be applying for my own US citizenship as soon as I can.

Once I am a US citizen I would like to apply to sponsor my sister to come to the US from the UK.

I have tried to read up on these issues but I have become confused! I have a few questions and I would be very grateful for any help you can give me, thanks

1. I understand I can apply for citizenship after 3 years of permanent residence in the US. Can I apply on the N400 before the 3 year date, e.g. in the 90 days before?

2. Once I am a USC on naturalisation, do I have to wait until I can start to sponsor my sister, or can I do it immediately?

3. I have read in various places that sponsoring a sibling can take like 10 years, yet when I look at the USCIS processing times for the I130 it says about a year? What am I missing here please??!!

4. If my sister is sucessful, will she get a two year conditional GC like me or will she get a 10 year one after adjusting status?

Thanks for any help you can give

Edited September 23, 2012 by blue_ridge_brit

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

You can apply after you have taken your oath of citizenship and get your naturalization certificate. Than is when you are a USC.

the I 130 will take about a year to be approved and then you wait on a visa number to be available. Under the current schedule it is at least a 10 year wait. Siblings DO NOT get an immediate visa like spouses and children and parents. She will get a 10 year card if she comes in 10 years. Many times siblings develop lives of their own and choose not to come.

[Ryan H 3,834]

Hi there,

I have recently acquired my 10 year green card on marriage to a USC (yay!!!!) and will be applying for my own US citizenship as soon as I can.

Once I am a US citizen I would like to apply to sponsor my sister to come to the US from the UK.

I have tried to read up on these issues but I have become confused! I have a few questions and I would be very grateful for any help you can give me, thanks

1. I understand I can apply for citizenship after 3 years of permanent residence in the US. Can I apply on the N400 before the 3 year date, e.g. in the 90 days before?

2. Once I am a USC on naturalisation, do I have to wait until I can start to sponsor my sister, or can I do it immediately?

3. I have read in various places that sponsoring a sibling can take like 10 years, yet when I look at the USCIS processing times for the I130 it says about a year? What am I missing here please??!!

4. If my sister is sucessful, will she get a two year conditional GC like me or will she get a 10 year one after adjusting status?

Thanks for any help you can give

1. No (someone can correct me if I'm wrong)

2. You can do it immediately

3. Visas for siblings of US Citizens is a numerically limited category. It can take 10 years or longer before a visa is issued. you will need to become familiar with the Visa Bulletin.

4. An immigrant visa holder never adjusts status. I don't know if your sister would have to go through the Removing Conditions on Residency process or not.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Just to clarify for #1. You must be a LPR AND married to the same USC for at least 3 years and you can file in the period 90 days before your 3rd year anniversity date of LPR or marriage which ever is later. For most it is the LPR as you get married first and then apply for the GC. As others have stated, it is a long wait for siblings. You might want to consider if you want to spend the money and time for something that will happen 10+ years in the future.

Good Luck,

Dave

[milimelo 4,561]

Just to clarify for #1. You must be a LPR AND married to the same USC for at least 3 years and you can file in the period 90 days before your 3rd year anniversity date of LPR or marriage which ever is later. For most it is the LPR as you get married first and then apply for the GC. As others have stated, it is a long wait for siblings. You might want to consider if you want to spend the money and time for something that will happen 10+ years in the future.

Good Luck,

Dave

Disagree with you Dave. Absolutely no problem to have someone's petition in line even if it is for 10 years. Sibling(s) and their family members can decide if they actually want to immigrate when the time comes. No reason to close off that option to them just because of the wait time especially if that's their only option to come over (country not eligible for DV, do not qualify for H1B..).

I filed for my sisters couple of months after I naturalized. One sister won DV lottery and once she moved to the US I withdrew the petition. The other sister's petition just got approved couple of months ago (took almost two years for I-130 to be approved). At this rate, the sister will be able to move to the US by the time she is 25.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi there,

I have recently acquired my 10 year green card on marriage to a USC (yay!!!!) and will be applying for my own US citizenship as soon as I can.

Once I am a US citizen I would like to apply to sponsor my sister to come to the US from the UK.

I have tried to read up on these issues but I have become confused! I have a few questions and I would be very grateful for any help you can give me, thanks

1. I understand I can apply for citizenship after 3 years of permanent residence in the US. Can I apply on the N400 before the 3 year date, e.g. in the 90 days before?

2. Once I am a USC on naturalisation, do I have to wait until I can start to sponsor my sister, or can I do it immediately?

3. I have read in various places that sponsoring a sibling can take like 10 years, yet when I look at the USCIS processing times for the I130 it says about a year? What am I missing here please??!!

4. If my sister is sucessful, will she get a two year conditional GC like me or will she get a 10 year one after adjusting status?

Thanks for any help you can give

1. Yes, you can apply 90 days before 3 years of having a green card. To qualify, you must also have been married AND living with your spouse for the 3 years.

2. You can apply on the day you officially take your oath as a US citizen. However, you will need your Certificate of Naturalization or US passport to apply for your sister.

3. USCIS approval of the I-130 is only the first step. There are many more steps after that. After the I-130 is approved, your sister must get into the USC petitioning for a sibling (Family Based Category 4 = F4) line. Visas are limited for siblings. Since there are more beneficiaries than visas, the wait is 10-12 years for a visa.

4. She would get a 10 years green card.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

For your first question, yes, you can apply in that 90 day window, or anytime after the three year period has ended. However, the best strategy seems to be to apply within 30 days before your 3 year anniversary of becoming an LPR. The application cannot be approved until after your 3 year period has been completed, so the application gets processed to a point, then put on the suspended pile in the meantime, awaiting your anniversary date before it can be approved. It just seems in the case of filing the N-400, the earlier you file, the longer it takes to get approved.

[aaron2020 11,651]

For your first question, yes, you can apply in that 90 day window, or anytime after the three year period has ended. However, the best strategy seems to be to apply within 30 days before your 3 year anniversary of becoming an LPR. The application cannot be approved until after your 3 year period has been completed, so the application gets processed to a point, then put on the suspended pile in the meantime, awaiting your anniversary date before it can be approved. It just seems in the case of filing the N-400, the earlier you file, the longer it takes to get approved.

Also, the super-eager will miscalculate the 90 days mark and send it in a day early which can cause the application to be denied. The law states a person can file 90 days early, not 91 days. USCIS cannot approve the petition if it is filed early because the law does not authorize them to do it.

It's better to make sure that the 90 days mark has really past. Sending it in a week afterwards doesn't change much and eliminates the chance that a person sent in outside the 90 days mark.

[blue_ridge_brit 0]

Thanks to all of you for replying, it's really appreciated

Based on what's been said here, I think I'll wait until my 3 year LPR date is up, then apply for my citizenship. Another few months isn't going to make much difference when I'm likely to be waiting 10+ years for my sister's visa!!

So I apply for the I-130 once I have my citizenship.

The I-130 gets approved, then, as I understand it, the case gets sent abroad to the UK?

A few questions please:

At what stage will things like affidavit of support and the like kick in? Are they only asked for once my sister turn in the waiting line comes up? I can't find much info about that process.

The visa will be an F-4, is that correct?

I assume medicals and the like will all be needed?

Many thanks.

[milimelo 4,561]

Visa will be F4.

You will first get the NOA2 approval of I-130 which will then say that visa number is currently not available. You will also get an email from NVC saying the same thing - you have to wait for the visa number to become available and follow the visa bulletin. THe petition does not go abroad until NVC is done with it - first storage, then NVC then embassy in UK.

Probably a year before the visa number is available, you and sister will be notified to start submitting the paperwork. From your side that's I-864, from her side it's all the documents needed for immigrant visa - court/police records, birth certificates... they'll tell you. If she registers DS-3032 online/email and appoints you the agent you will both be emailed next steps.

I'd say do medical right before visa interview as it seems to last only 6 months. If her number is not current at that time she'd have to get a new one.

You don't HAVE to wait until you are LPR for 3 years before you send in your N400. I sent it on day 87 before 3 yrs - never had issues.

Thanks to all of you for replying, it's really appreciated

Based on what's been said here, I think I'll wait until my 3 year LPR date is up, then apply for my citizenship. Another few months isn't going to make much difference when I'm likely to be waiting 10+ years for my sister's visa!!

So I apply for the I-130 once I have my citizenship.

The I-130 gets approved, then, as I understand it, the case gets sent abroad to the UK?

A few questions please:

At what stage will things like affidavit of support and the like kick in? Are they only asked for once my sister turn in the waiting line comes up? I can't find much info about that process.

The visa will be an F-4, is that correct?

I assume medicals and the like will all be needed?

Many thanks.

Edited September 25, 2012 by milimelo

[blue_ridge_brit 0]

milimelo

Many thanks for your reply and great info

Edited September 25, 2012 by blue_ridge_brit

[blue_ridge_brit 0]

Hi,

I found this document whilst looking for more information.

Copying it here in case it might be useful to others.

Mods / admin - do you have a link already pinned to this document? If not, I think it might be worth doing.

Note: Opens as a PDF document

"I Am a U.S. Citizen How Do I… Help My Relative Become a U.S. Permanent Resident?"

http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Resources/A1en.pdf

Edited September 26, 2012 by blue_ridge_brit