Please Help - I need advice

[Cathi 5,794]

This reply is not just meant for the person who is quoted above... I was trying to Reply to both comments I received and try to clarify my situation...

First please understand that he (our Canadian born, unmarried & over 21yr old son) had a serious girlfriend for several years who wanted to live in Canada - we would not have expected him to come here because his life, job, friends & girlfriend were there in Canada... There was no reason to think that he would want to move to the USA when he was 18 or 20... But life changes... He is growing up, he is no longer with his girlfriend, and he is now realizing that he wants to be here... Yes the timing sucks!!!!! It totally sucks!!! I sure as heck wish that he would have decided this before he was 21... But when he was younger (before 21) his life was pointing in a different direction...

The problem I see with a student visa is that USCIS doesn't want it to be a path to permanent residence. The Government wants it to be specifically for schooling only & then a prompt return to their home country... They specifically want to ensure that the student is not planning on staying more than a few years in the USA... This could maybe turn into an opportunity if he were to meet a ice gal, fall in love & decide to get married - but that is not a guarantee is it?

I have thought about a work visa - which would be an option, but from what I have read, it sounds as though the only ones who can come on work visa's are people who are considered "professionals" such as Dr's - Lawyers, Engineers, Professors etc. ---- He is a blue collar worker - he has worked in construction mostly with a few other non professional jobs as well... So it seems that a work visa is impossible too...

He's not a baby - he is a Man... But from what I read, as his family, we need to apply on his behalf with an I-130 and then sponsor him as well... So I'm not sure where the Blunt comment about him "being a man & finding his own way here" from the first reply I had even makes sense... We love him & we want him here... Simple as that... Of course I am trying to help my son to join us here - now that he has finally made this decision to come here...

I am just blown away that it takes like 8-10 years to bring a close (1st priority) family member here... The system is totally messed up & that's what I am seeing... By having waiting times this insanely long, they are encouraging illegal aliens to come here, and encouraging fake "immigration only" marriages... People in the first priority group should have visa's available within 6 months... Not 10 years... This system is broken from what I am seeing...

I'm feeling extremely disappointed by the system... I came here to this forum for advice (not criticism)... Please understand that I seriously thought that our son could legally come here within the next few months --- I never, ever, ever, in my worst nightmares would have imagined how long the wait realistically is... I have never dealt with immigration from this starting point before... The only experience I have is from me immigrating to Canada when I first married my husband (fairly easy & quick) and then when we decided several years later to move to the USA, I dealt with my husbands immigration here (a pain in the butt, but fairly quick)... This just seems wrong & I'm sorry if my inexperience bothers any of you... But I just need someone to be kind to me & really help me... I'm the one who is going to need to tell my 8yr old son who is so excited about his brother coming that he wont quit talking about it, that our Government wont allow him to come... The decision of our son Joe to come here, made us so happy - our entire family... And for nothing it seems...

Can someone please give me any relevant advice? Please...

Are there any Visa types that would allow him to move here quicker? (Months - not years) ---- Allow him to eventually apply for Citizenship?

Please be kind in your comments to me & remember that I am a complete rookie at this stuff & it's all extremely confusing...

Thank you

What you need to understand that as an adult he is not a "first priority" family member, children who are young and depend on their parents are first priority. And being blunt like others have been, USCIS does not care that when he was younger his life was on a different path and he didn't decide until now that he wanted to move here.

[HFM181818 750]

Each of the different family based immigrant visas has a limited number allocated to it, a number established by Congress...which favors parents and minor children, not adults. That's just the way it is and the way it will stay, fair or not (by whose standards??). Of the number of visas allotted to each category, each country can only obtain about 7.5% of that total number annually...and with more people in the queue, the queue grows longer...another fact of life. None of this is justification for people breaking our immigration laws, though that's what they try to tell us when they are caught. It like justifying robbing banks because their office hours aren't long enough.

Adults are (generally) not dependents any longer of their parents. He's a big boy....he can figure it out. A student visa may be possible, but a CO will wonder why he doesn't or hasn't taken full advantage of the relatively inexpensive educational opportunities in Canada....and will quickly put two and two together.

[JFH 12,191]

As far as I can see, the US is one of the only countries that allows immigrants to subsequently bring family members into the country. In most (if not all) other countries, each immigrant must apply on their own merits and will not get a visa because they have a brother/father/son who married a citizen many years ago. My brother brought his wife to the UK from Mexico. Her sisters, brothers, parents have no hope of being able to emigrate here. That's just how it is. There is no such visa category for them here.

You have been given the correct advice. I'm sorry it's not what you wanted to hear. It was perhaps not a good idea to tell your young son that his big brother will be coming to live soon before you got the facts. Every single one of us here knows the pain of family separation. You are lucky your son is only in Canada and has the health and the means to visit you and you likewise to visit him. There are people here from Africa and Asia whose family members are very unlikely ever to be able to visit them due to the very strict criteria regarding tourist visas and the costs involved. A plane ticket to the USA could be more than a year's salary in some parts of the world.

I understand you are upset about this but it is not a closed door. Perhaps this will give him a chance to change direction and discover something new if he trains for a job that is included on the list for TN1. He might even enjoy it more than his current job. Immigration is all about starting afresh.

If you really cannot bear to live apart from him, you could always return to Canada. Your position is arguably more favourable than many posters here.

Edited February 14, 2016 by JFH

[HollywoodNorth 22]

It's a trade off with the F1-F5 preference categories. You are pretty much guaranteed to get a green card through the process as long as the beneficiary is admissible [no criminal record, has affidavit of support, etc]. However its a multi-year wait, and in some categories it can be as much as 20 years. So it could be worse.

Another upshot with the family immigrant based petitions is that it's not dependent on visa status or employment.

The "faster" method is to get a merit based green card [eg. EB1, EB2, etc] but the criteria is very high, subject to interpretation of the individual immigration officer reviewing the case, and is dependent on your current work visa status and job security. There's a lot of folks who get close to obtaining their work based green card but they get laid off, and they have weeks to find a new job sponsor and green card sponsor which can be very difficult timing wise. The end result is you lose your green card petition and you have to leave the US and have to start all over again.

However, you can do both routes at once and have a "plan B" that most people can't get. File for the family based card, grow their career outside the US to the point where they can get the US job offers and visas and also apply for a work based green card in addition to the family petition.