Bring Wife's Sister and Son to America from Phillipines to live

[pmjackson 0]

Hello,

I am happily married to my Filipino bride for sixteen years. She became a US citizen about 2005. We would like for her sister and 12-year old son that currently live in the province near Manila to live with us here in the United States. I just started looking into this with the posting of this question and have many questions which are:

Is it even possible to bring these two people to the US to live permanently with us?

Can someone point me to an informative document to learn about the process?

What forms will I need to fill out?

Will I need an attorney?

And appreciate answers to any other pertinent questions, I did not know enough to ask!

Look forward to reading your responses and coming up to speed and maybe someday soon enjoying my wife's sister and son's company!

Regard,

Paul Jackson

[teeak 224]

1) Yes, she may petition for them and they would be in the F4 category (petition for brother/sister). Due to retrogression, people who filed in 1993 and are in the Philippines are currently receiving visas. Therefore, it's about a 23 year wait. https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin/2016/visa-bulletin-for-july-2016.html

At this point, her son will most definitely age-out and will not be eligible. Do they perhaps have dual citizenship of another country?

2) VJ has some info here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/ussib

3) Here's a guide on how to do it: http://www.visajourney.com/content/ussibpet

4) If you can follow instructions clearly, then no need for an attorney. My dad petitioned for his siblings about 18 years ago, and took about 11 years for them to arrive. My mom petitioned approximately 13 years ago and they just entered the US a couple of months ago. Both times, my dad filed the forms without any issues and he's not even a proficient English speaker, so I think you'll be fine.

Edited June 24, 2016 by teeak

[Unlockable 7,314]

Yes, it is possible.

But it is going to take a long time. The sister's son will be an adult and will not be able to join her when she comes.