F4 Underage Brother

[AlfieSandoval 0]

Hello

I am a US citizen and will file for both my parents and little brother (turns 18 this September) through DCF in Juarez, Mexico. I live and go back and forth from Juarez to El Paso, my parents and brother live in Juarez.

My question are these

1-My brother being a dependant of my parents (under 18) will also go through automatically with my parent applications? I dont want him to wait years and years for a visa.

2- Do I need to file a separate I 130 for my brother or only list him as a dependant on my parent I130s?

3- What other info do I need to know about filing for my brother?

Also any tips you might have about doing the DCF in Juarez Mexico would be greatly appreaciated.

Thank you very much.

Alfie Sandoval

[Hypnos 6,578]

You would be filing immediate relative I-130 petitions for your parents; these types do not permit derivative beneficiaries, so you would need to submit a third I-130 on behalf of your brother.

Unfortunately, it would be approximately an 18 year wait for your brother's priority date to become current and be eligible to receive a visa, because siblings of a US citizen are the lowest priority in the family-based immigration system.

After one or both of your parents enter the US and become LPRs they then could file an I-130 for him under the F2A preference. The bad news here is it would be unlikely his priority date would become current prior to him turning 21, at which time he would age out into the F2B category which would give him a 20 year wait. F4 (sibling) sponsorship would actually be faster than F2B sponsorship in this case.

Sorry, but your brother won't be immigrating anytime soon.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Hypnos

[alexpdx 0]

Hello people, I have the same question regarding if my brother, who is under 21, can get a green card as my parents do.

Thank you

[AlfieSandoval 0]

That's sad to read.

Well then, do you think that it would be better to bring him to the US anyways and then file the I485 for an AOS instead? Will that hold off any deportation procedures?

Thank you very much for your help.

[Ian H. 207]

Ok as already mentioned above your brother won't be able to come with your parents because your parents are immediate relatives of a USC and anyone with an IR visa cannot bring other family members, even minor children.

The best thing you can do is file as soon as possible for your mother and father so that they can enter as LPR's as soon as possible. If your brother has family he can stay with, otherwise petition one of your parents first, the mom would be best. Again only if your brother can't otherwise stay alone or with someone else.

When your parents are LPR's, your mom can petition him (mom is easier) and your brother would be able to come as an F2A. The priority dates for this category for Mexico is 3 and half years right now so your brother may be 21 by the time a visa is available.

However, under the Child Status Protection Act, your brother may be able to have his age "freezed" as long as he is petitioned before turning 21.

I wouldn't bother petitioning him as your brother because that is taking way too long. Your parents would be his best bet since the F2A category is more favorable. As long as he doesn't get married or otherwise become ineligible for a visa he can immigrant under that category.

If he doesn't qualify for the CSPA when he applies for the visa, he would be downgraded to F2B which is taking much longer, but not as long as a sibling.

Here is a link about the CSPA and the visa bulletin:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-the-child-status-protection-act-cspa-helps-immediate-relatives-us-citizens.html

http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/child-status-protection-act/child-status-protection-act-cspa

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin/2014/visa-bulletin-for-august-2014.html

[Ian H. 207]

Also you can't do AOS because that's only for the immediate relatives of USC. Unfortunately, that only includes a spouse or minor children or a parent.

That's sad to read.

Well then, do you think that it would be better to bring him to the US anyways and then file the I485 for an AOS instead? Will that hold off any deportation procedures?

Thank you very much for your help.

[kzielu 1,149]

That's sad to read.

Well then, do you think that it would be better to bring him to the US anyways and then file the I485 for an AOS instead? Will that hold off any deportation procedures?

Thank you very much for your help.

It makes absolutely zero difference - if he is isn't eligible to get green card through petition due to priority date, he will not be eligible to AOS (being immediate relative has nothing to do with (in)ability to AOS as somebody above suggested). There is not workaround along the long wait.

[Ian H. 207]

What I meant to say was that he would be unable to qualify for AOS based on not having a visa available to him. Since only IR's of USC's can apply for AOS without the need to have a visa available because visas are always available. The OP suggested having his brother enter the US and then do AOS.

Yes, AOS isn't only for IR's however in this case, he can't do AOS for his brother because a visa would not be available any time soon. In order to file for AOS the visa has to be immediately available, meaning the his brother's PD date has to be current at the time of filing AOS.

[Ian H. 207]

Also, yes there are a couple of legal workarounds in this case, as I suggested above. It all has to do with timing. The faster his parents can get here and petition his brother, the better his chances of immigrating before turning 21 and/or meeting the requirements for the CSPA.

Even if his category gets downgraded, it would still be much better to come as F2B, than F4 because of the wait.

[AlfieSandoval 0]

Ok as already mentioned above your brother won't be able to come with your parents because your parents are immediate relatives of a USC and anyone with an IR visa cannot bring other family members, even minor children.

The best thing you can do is file as soon as possible for your mother and father so that they can enter as LPR's as soon as possible. If your brother has family he can stay with, otherwise petition one of your parents first, the mom would be best. Again only if your brother can't otherwise stay alone or with someone else.

When your parents are LPR's, your mom can petition him (mom is easier) and your brother would be able to come as an F2A. The priority dates for this category for Mexico is 3 and half years right now so your brother may be 21 by the time a visa is available.

However, under the Child Status Protection Act, your brother may be able to have his age "freezed" as long as he is petitioned before turning 21.

I wouldn't bother petitioning him as your brother because that is taking way too long. Your parents would be his best bet since the F2A category is more favorable. As long as he doesn't get married or otherwise become ineligible for a visa he can immigrant under that category.

If he doesn't qualify for the CSPA when he applies for the visa, he would be downgraded to F2B which is taking much longer, but not as long as a sibling.

Here is a link about the CSPA and the visa bulletin:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-the-child-status-protection-act-cspa-helps-immediate-relatives-us-citizens.html

http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/child-status-protection-act/child-status-protection-act-cspa

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin/2014/visa-bulletin-for-august-2014.html

I think this will be my best bet, Hopefully I can reach the F2A. Right now he does have a Mexican Visa so he can come to the US and since we live in the border there shouldn't be any problem with him crossing almost every day.

So right now I must not submit anything for my brother right, only for my parents so they can then petition for my brother ASAP right?

Your info was a life saver thank you very much.

[Ian H. 207]

Yes. Filing for your parents ASAP is your best bet so that they can petition for him as F2A. It would be a waste of $420 to file for your brother due to the long wait since he would get here faster based on his parents.

Also, I wouldn't have him crossing the border everyday or otherwise staying here longer than necessary, because they may assume immigrant intent.

That could cause him problems down the road. Something like visiting on weekends is good, but not everyday since that would be the same as living here.

I think this will be my best bet, Hopefully I can reach the F2A. Right now he does have a Mexican Visa so he can come to the US and since we live in the border there shouldn't be any problem with him crossing almost every day.

So right now I must not submit anything for my brother right, only for my parents so they can then petition for my brother ASAP right?

Your info was a life saver thank you very much.

[Ian H. 207]

Just to let you know, Mexico's PD dates are a little different because the F4, currently is about 3 years ahead of the F2B. Therefore, if you can spare the extra $420, you can still petition for your brother separately.

The reason I say is because just in case your brother isn't able to come as F2A and is pushed down to F2B, he may wait a little longer based on that category.

Having two petitions won't affect him or the petitions themselves. You can file for him as your brother and still have one of your parents petition him. Whichever one comes first, would be the winner. Again, that's if you can spare the extra $420 for the petition. I would file both petitions for him that way he can always have a backup.

Here is the current PD dates:

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin/2014/visa-bulletin-for-august-2014.html

[Boiler 45,872]

You would be filing immediate relative I-130 petitions for your parents; these types do not permit derivative beneficiaries, so you would need to submit a third I-130 on behalf of your brother.

Unfortunately, it would be approximately an 18 year wait for your brother's priority date to become current and be eligible to receive a visa, because siblings of a US citizen are the lowest priority in the family-based immigration system.

After one or both of your parents enter the US and become LPRs they then could file an I-130 for him under the F2A preference. The bad news here is it would be unlikely his priority date would become current prior to him turning 21, at which time he would age out into the F2B category which would give him a 20 year wait. F4 (sibling) sponsorship would actually be faster than F2B sponsorship in this case.

Sorry, but your brother won't be immigrating anytime soon.

The only thing I would add to the above is that there is no harm in his parents petitioning as well, with such long times you never know what might happen,

He should also be careful not to abuse his Visitor Visa privileges.

Edited August 5, 2014 by Boiler

[Hypnos 6,578]

His chances of slipping in under F2A are slim, simply because it's going to take a year or so before his parents become LPRs. If he is about to turn 18 then a year away from that makes him 19, meaning he'd have only two years to receive a visa under F2A before he aged out into F2B, and if that happened then F4 may be faster than F2B by a couple of years.

Certainly if you can afford to file for him too as Boiler said then it cannot hurt, just be aware that the most likely scenario is him having a very long wait to be able to immigrate.

[aaron2020 11,651]

That's sad to read.

Well then, do you think that it would be better to bring him to the US anyways and then file the I485 for an AOS instead? Will that hold off any deportation procedures?

Thank you very much for your help.

The AOS will be denied because he does not qualify to adjust. He will immediately be put into deportation.

This is a stupid plan. It makes him an illegal in the US. Furthermore, his unlawful presence will not be forgiven and he will not benefit from any immigration petition filed by you (a USC sibling) or your LPR parents.

Extremely bad idea.