Best path to immigration for Father and his wife

[Paul H 4]

Hi,

My wife has recently passed her citizenship test and will soon be a US Citizen. Her Father and his wife (her mother in-law) want to retire in Florida like many Canadians do. They have a choice to do the snow bird thing or immigrate and stay for good.

I can see that US Citizens can file an I-130 to start the process for a parent to immigrate, but then what about the mother in-law? Since she is not my wife's maternal mother I don't think see can file an I-130 for her right?

Would they have to wait until the Father is immigrated and he then would file for his wife?

Please advise.

[aleful 1,905]

hi

unless they married before your wife turned 18, she cannot file for stepmom

as you said, she will have to file for her dad and when he comes, he can file for his wife

[Paul H 4]

Okay, thanks for the info!

[Boiler 45,470]

I assume they are independently wealthy, even so Health costs can be a shock.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Your father-in-law's wife is your mother-in-law. She is your wife's stepmother. You got to get these terms down because it matters for immigration.

Your wife can only petition for her stepmother if your wife was under age 18 when her father married his wife.

If the marriage occurred after your wife's 18th birthday, then there is no way for her stepmother to immigrate at the same time as her father. She would petition for her father. Once he gets a green card, then he can petition for his wife which will take 2 years.

Your in-laws may want to check to see if their Canadian retirement benefits will continue if they leave Canada.