Filing I-130 for my sister, we have same father and same mother but our last names are different, would that be a problem?

[humtum487 0]

Hello everyone, I am having some trouble in understanding/filling out  form I-130, this is my first time petitioning. I need some help in that, I would appreciate any answers. I have 3 questions and I trying to explain as best as I can.

 

Question 1:

And I am US citizen and I am filling out form I-130 for my sister but the  problem I am seeing could be is that our last names are totally different, her last name is same as my father's first name( father's first name is used as middle or last name in my home country, Pakistan) but my last name is different( not all siblings have same middle/last name in my home country) I know here in United States every bro/sister take same last name. I was wondering if that would be a problem, on our birth certificates, we have same father Name and same mother name. Both my parents have passed away, We do have my mother's old ID card. And I am US citizen. I would appreciate any help.

 

Question 2: 

  On the form, the question about my employment history for last 5 years.

 I have not worked a job in last 5 years, my husband works and I am a house wife taking care of our two children.  (For Affidavit of support, my husband will sponsor that on his income when the time comes to file that.) I put down Unemployed, would that be a problem in getting visa approved for my sister if I don't have income of my own?

 

 

 

Question 3:

The question on the form I-130 there are two questions that I don't understand.

PART 4.

The beneficiary is in the United States and will apply for adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent resident at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services(USCIS) Office in 

61a. City or Town

61b. State

My sister lives in Pakistan , not in US so should I leave it blank?  Then the next question is 

The beneficiary will not apply for adjustment of status in United States but he/she will apply for an Immigrant visa abroad at the US Embassy or US consulate in:

62. a. City or Town

62.b.  Province

62.c. Country

 

What should I put down here?

 

Thank you so much for a site like this where people who can't afford a lawyer, can get help from experts .

 

Any help with these question would be much appreciated. 

 

Regards

 

 

[geowrian 22,338]

1) No, the different name won't be an issue. The important part is being able to establish her as your sibling. Having the same father on the BCs should suffice there.

 

2) No, unemployed is fine. When the PD becomes current and you need to submit the I-864 to show that you can support her (in about 15+ years from filing), you can either use your income/assets, combine them with your household members (such as a spouse) via an I-864A, or find a joint sponsor.

 

3) Yes, leave the AOS fields blank.

I believe Pakistan uses Islamabad as the only place to do immigrant visas. I would fill this in under that impression, but her physical residence and the embassy may change in the 15+ year wait...this can be updated at NVC once the PD is current.

[humtum487 0]

16 hours ago, geowrian said:

1) No, the different name won't be an issue. The important part is being able to establish her as your sibling. Having the same father on the BCs should suffice there.

 

2) No, unemployed is fine. When the PD becomes current and you need to submit the I-864 to show that you can support her (in about 15+ years from filing), you can either use your income/assets, combine them with your household members (such as a spouse) via an I-864A, or find a joint sponsor.

 

3) Yes, leave the AOS fields blank.

I believe Pakistan uses Islamabad as the only place to do immigrant visas. I would fill this in under that impression, but her physical residence and the embassy may change in the 15+ year wait...this can be updated at NVC once the PD is current.

Thank you so much for fast response! You are great! I really appreciate it. 

 

Couple more things, her birth Certificate is in her native language and she will get that translated and attested from Foreign Affairs , does she need to send me that tranlated attested version of the certificate original or  a copy would be enough and do we have send the one in native language too? 

 

She works in Islamabad and does not have permanent residency there she has changed apartment/flats and might change again , we have permanent address that's on her ID card too where rest of my family lives so  should I give her permanent address or where she is living now or both? 

 

Waiting time is 15+ years ? I thought it was 10+ years. Is there another way? 

 

With I-130 I send in supporting documents. 

 

My BC copy

My passport copy

My Naturalization Certificate 

My sister BC Copy or original

My sister's Passport Copy (Form of ID) 

 Is there anything missing?

 

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

 

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

  The sibling category is a very backed up line.   You have to wait what you have to wait.   Right now people at the front of the line have waited from  over 13 years to 25 years ( a couple of countries have separate slower lines because of their numbers )   Truthfully we can't say how long it will be before people entering the line will get to the front.  If the laws don't change 15 years is probably at the low end .  I would not be surprised if the line is actually closer to 30 years in length.   There is no way to speed this line up.  Can she find another visa path  ?   yes nothing stops a different filing. 

[geowrian 22,338]

1 hour ago, humtum487 said:

Couple more things, her birth Certificate is in her native language and she will get that translated and attested from Foreign Affairs , does she need to send me that tranlated attested version of the certificate original or  a copy would be enough and do we have send the one in native language too? 

A copy of the birth certificate along with the translation is necessary. I would assume a copy of the translation is also fine for USCIS, but to be honest, I'm not 100% sure so I will defer to any others that want to chime in.

The translation requirements at the USCIS stage are fairly simple (http://www.visajourney.com/content/translations). It's at the embassy stage where they tend to be more strict IMO.

 

1 hour ago, humtum487 said:

She works in Islamabad and does not have permanent residency there she has changed apartment/flats and might change again , we have permanent address that's on her ID card too where rest of my family lives so  should I give her permanent address or where she is living now or both? 

She doesn't need permanent residency. She just needs to list her current residency. People move all the time while waiting for their case to process. This can be updated at NVC.

 

1 hour ago, humtum487 said:

Waiting time is 15+ years ? I thought it was 10+ years. Is there another way? 

There's a lot of guesswork involved here. It all depends on how many people applied before you who actually obtain a visa. The more who apply and get a visa, the longer you must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available (since they are limited per year). The fewer people that apply, or if more than average end up not getting the visa (abandon the process or don't qualify for the visa), the faster the PD will advance.

 

The current PD is Oct. 2004, which is just under 14 years ago. Historically, the PD advances less than 12 months every year. In recent years, the sibling category (F4) has advanced about 8-9 months per year, on average. This year it has advanced quite quickly (33 months so far), but that tends to precede very slow movement and/or retrogression in the following years.

So 15 years is a rough estimate I tend to go by. It could be closer to 10 years. It could be 20 years. Or 25 years. It's really hard to predict what will happen in the future with the very little data available.

 

Another way would be if there is a different relative able to apply for her (USC/LPR parent? Is she unmarried?). This would be in the ~7-10 year timeline.

Or she can try for other visas that eventually lead to permanent residency, such as an H-1B (assuming she would qualify for this kind of work visa and can find a US company to sponsor it). Or if she's well off, maybe an investor visa.

 

1 hour ago, humtum487 said:

With I-130 I send in supporting documents. 

 

My BC copy

My passport copy

My Naturalization Certificate 

My sister BC Copy or original

My sister's Passport Copy (Form of ID) 

 Is there anything missing?

Here's the guide for a sibling: http://www.visajourney.com/content/ussibpet

The exact requirements depend on various circumstances. The key aspect is showing 1) that you are related to her and 2) you are a USC.

Providing both the naturalization certificate + passport isn't needed (either shows that you are a USC), but it won't hurt to include both.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

I’d say, 15 years if you’re lucky. The F3 and F4 categories are really backlogged - I’ve been watching them for approx 10 years now and the wait time gets longer each year. I wouldn’t be surprised at a 20 year wait from now tbh. But definitely file now because if/when they do immigration reform, siblings will probably be the first category to be dropped.

[humtum487 0]

If I file I-130 now and then after a year or two my sister wants to come on a visit visa for couple months, can she do that or Can she apply for any other visa like, business visa while her I-130 is pending? 

[Unlockable 7,316]

She can certainly apply for tourist visa. Chances of her getting approved for one is another story.

[geowrian 22,338]

She can certainly apply. Whether or not she will qualify for one depends on her circumstances still.

A pending I-130 for a sibling probably won't hurt her case IMO, unlike certain other relatives. She cannot overstay or violate status and then qualify for AOS, so that's not a particular concern associated with a pending I-130 like some others face.

[humtum487 0]

On 4/20/2018 at 11:13 AM, geowrian said:

A copy of the birth certificate along with the translation is necessary. I would assume a copy of the translation is also fine for USCIS, but to be honest, I'm not 100% sure so I will defer to any others that want to chime in.

The translation requirements at the USCIS stage are fairly simple (http://www.visajourney.com/content/translations). It's at the embassy stage where they tend to be more strict IMO.

 

She doesn't need permanent residency. She just needs to list her current residency. People move all the time while waiting for their case to process. This can be updated at NVC.

 

There's a lot of guesswork involved here. It all depends on how many people applied before you who actually obtain a visa. The more who apply and get a visa, the longer you must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available (since they are limited per year). The fewer people that apply, or if more than average end up not getting the visa (abandon the process or don't qualify for the visa), the faster the PD will advance.

 

The current PD is Oct. 2004, which is just under 14 years ago. Historically, the PD advances less than 12 months every year. In recent years, the sibling category (F4) has advanced about 8-9 months per year, on average. This year it has advanced quite quickly (33 months so far), but that tends to precede very slow movement and/or retrogression in the following years.

So 15 years is a rough estimate I tend to go by. It could be closer to 10 years. It could be 20 years. Or 25 years. It's really hard to predict what will happen in the future with the very little data available.

 

Another way would be if there is a different relative able to apply for her (USC/LPR parent? Is she unmarried?). This would be in the ~7-10 year timeline.

Or she can try for other visas that eventually lead to permanent residency, such as an H-1B (assuming she would qualify for this kind of work visa and can find a US company to sponsor it). Or if she's well off, maybe an investor visa.

 

Here's the guide for a sibling: http://www.visajourney.com/content/ussibpet

The exact requirements depend on various circumstances. The key aspect is showing 1) that you are related to her and 2) you are a USC.

Providing both the naturalization certificate + passport isn't needed (either shows that you are a USC), but it won't hurt to include both.

Thank you for your answer. She is divorced and self employed and both of my parents have passed away, so this is the only category we can apply. Maybe she can try for work/business/investors visa while her I-130 is pending, I don't know it that's possible to do if I-130 is pending. 

[humtum487 0]

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

She can certainly apply. Whether or not she will qualify for one depends on her circumstances still.

A pending I-130 for a sibling probably won't hurt her case IMO, unlike certain other relatives. She cannot overstay or violate status and then qualify for AOS, so that's not a particular concern associated with a pending I-130 like some others face.

I didn't se your reply before I posted mine😊. So that's good if she can visit on visitors visa while her other application is pending. Is visitors visa obtained easily or not? 

[geowrian 22,338]

Yes, she can apply for another visa while the I-130 is processing. I wouldn't go overboard...you don't want to seem desperate to get to the US by any means, but if somebody wants top be a student, qualifies for a work or investment visa, etc. then they're fine to go for that instead.

 

Eligibility for a tourist visa depends on her circumstances. What country is she from (and where does she live now if it's not the same)? What ties does she have to return home (job, property, etc.)? Can she (reasonably) afford to cover the trip on her own? This is not extensive, but some things that the CO will take into account for a tourist visa.

Edit: Sorry, you said Pakistan before. Pakistan is quite difficult to get a tourist visa from (>49% refusal rate: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/RefusalRates/FY17.pdf).

Edited April 23, 2018 by geowrian