Bringing Sisters Family to US

[Kashj 5]

Hello Members, 

 

I will be applying immigration for my (sister, 3 kids and brother in law) in few months.

Please help me with questions below:

 

1) Which form to file.

2) Do i need to file separately for each member or all members in one.

3) How much is the filing fee.

 

Please advise.

 

Regards,

Kj

[Jojo92122 1,924]

1.  I-130 with required supporting documents.  Follow the Guides tab at the top of this page.

 

2.  You file only for your sister.  Her husband and unmarried children under 21 would be her derivative beneficiaries.  If the children marry or turn 21 while waiting for visas, they will not be able to immigrate with their mom.  The current wait for visas is 13 years.  How old are the children?

 

3.  $535 for the I-130.  There will be more fees in approximately 13 years when they are eligible to apply for visas.

 

[geowrian 22,338]

You will need to file the I-130 petition for your sister. Her unmarried minor children and spouse can come with her as derivatives, so just 1 petition is needed.

 

This will fall under 4th preference, which will have a 15+ year wait for a visa to become available. It's more likely going to be closer to 18 years, but we're looking so far ahead that this is a bit of rough estimate. The category may also go away in the future.

 

I-130 filing fee is $535. There will be fees later for the actual visa, but those are very likely going to change by the time the visa becomes available.

Edited April 27, 2017 by geowrian

[uncrustables 7]

21 hours ago, geowrian said:

This will fall under 4th preference, which will have a 15+ year wait for a visa to become available.

What are the other preferences? I dont think family as in brothers and sisters should have to wait this long.... as a sister or brother, you've probably grown up with them every single day for many many years..... i dont find them any less important than a spouse.....

Edited April 28, 2017 by uncrustables

[Boiler 46,132]

13 minutes ago, uncrustables said:

What are the other preferences? I dont think family as in brothers and sisters should have to wait this long.... as a sister or brother, you've probably grown up with them every single days for many many years..... i dont find them any less important than a spouse.....

Interesting...

[Unlockable 7,315]

45 minutes ago, uncrustables said:

What are the other preferences? I dont think family as in brothers and sisters should have to wait this long.... as a sister or brother, you've probably grown up with them every single day for many many years..... i dont find them any less important than a spouse.....

It is much more to this. It is the rules immigration has made regardless of how important people think other family members are.

 

USCIS has to control and monitor the amount of immigrant visas. There has to be a limit otherwise it will completely overload the already overloaded system. As a result, there are categories. And some categories get preference over others. You wouldn't put migrating your adult brother over your wife and underaged children. Your brother can have his own life and family somewhere else. Heck, he could even become president of your home country. So your brother waits at the back of the line. And since that line is so long... it takes 15 years.

 

It is a privilege to be able to petition siblings. Not all countries allow this. And like someone mentioned, they are possibly looking to get rid of the sibling category all together.

Edited April 28, 2017 by NuestraUnion

[Jojo92122 1,924]

1 hour ago, uncrustables said:

What are the other preferences? I dont think family as in brothers and sisters should have to wait this long.... as a sister or brother, you've probably grown up with them every single day for many many years..... i dont find them any less important than a spouse.....

Google "family based preferences" and you will find them all.

 

There are limited number of visas.  Each country is limited to 7% in each visa category. The US can not let everyone who wants to immigrate here to come immediately or in a relatively short time.  The country could not absorb that many people socially and economically.

 

Would you prefer to let more brothers and sisters in at the expense of spouses and children?  Since you don't find brothers and sisters to be less important than a spouse, are you okay with averaging it out so that it takes 7 years for everyone?

 

There are trade offs are letting brothers and sisters come faster; it means it becomes slower for everyone else because of limited visas.

[geowrian 22,338]

2 hours ago, uncrustables said:

What are the other preferences? I dont think family as in brothers and sisters should have to wait this long.... as a sister or brother, you've probably grown up with them every single day for many many years..... i dont find them any less important than a spouse.....

1st, 2nd, and 3rd preference obviously. But they are for spouses, children, parents, etc. You can check out the list here: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/family/family-preference.html

 

That's fine and you're entitled to the opinion that they shouldn't have to wait that long or are any less important than a spouse. But that's not the law. Immigration of family members is based on needs. The decision is that there is a greater need for a spouse, your children, etc. to live in the same country as you as a permanent resident than that of a sibling.

 

Personally, I think the current system is fairly sufficient in terms of how they divvy up the available visas. There are some tweaks to be made (it's certainly not perfect), but overall it feels that the system puts those with the greatest need first in a reasonable manner.

 

As others noted, treating siblings the same as a spouse would result in shorter waits for siblings but many more years to wait to live with your husband/wife. That just seems cruel to me.

[Kashj 5]

Thank you for all your advices. 

[Atizaz 0]

Hi Kashj,

 

Kindly contact me I need your assistance regarding K-1 visa.

(deleted)

 

Thanks,

 

Atizaz from Pakistan

Edited May 24, 2017 by Ontarkie
Removed personal information.