Planning to become a citizen and apply for mother. Doubts.

[craftercool 7]

Hi there community!

 

I'll try to make this the shortest possible: 

I'm currently a US resident that will be able to apply for citizenship next April (which I plan to do), now... after becoming a citizen I'd like to bring my mother with me but I'm wondering: Am I allowed to apply for her right after becoming a citizen or is there a time that I need to wait? 

 

Also, I've heard of people that have applied for their parents and it has taken them several years (sometimes more than 10), is there a particular reason for that to happen?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. 👍

[Georgia16 2,858]

Yes you can apply for her after you have become a citizen. 

It should take about a year to get her here. The other wait time you talk about could be if the person had a ban they have to deal with first.

[craftercool 7]

14 minutes ago, Georgia16 said:

Yes you can apply for her after you have become a citizen. 

It should take about a year to get her here. The other wait time you talk about could be if the person had a ban they have to deal with first.

 

I'm glad to know, thank you! 🙂

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

You can file for her with copy of your citizenship certificate, right after you take the oath. Good luck.

[Dalila Gonzalez 49]

It takes a long time because there is an order of priority. Unfortunately parents and siblings aren’t at the top of says priority list and there is a number cap on how many of those residencies can be given per fiscal year. It took my close friend who is a citizen 15 years of waiting to finally get the appointment for his mother and get her here as a permanent resident, hopefully that is not at all your experience. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

18 minutes ago, Dalila Gonzalez said:

It takes a long time because there is an order of priority. Unfortunately parents and siblings aren’t at the top of says priority list and there is a number cap on how many of those residencies can be given per fiscal year. It took my close friend who is a citizen 15 years of waiting to finally get the appointment for his mother and get her here as a permanent resident, hopefully that is not at all your experience. 

Actually, parents are at the top of the priority list. They are classified as immediate relatives so there is no cap on numbers and visa numbers are immediately available. The only wait is processing time/wait for interview to be scheduled at consulate.  
Whatever the issue with your friend’s mother was, it was not normal process for parents. I assume there was a ban or some other inadmissibility involved.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/family-based-immigrant-visas.html

 

Immediate Relative Immigrant Visas (Unlimited): These visa types are based on a close family relationship with a United States (U.S.) citizen described as an Immediate Relative (IR). The number of immigrants in these categories is not limited each fiscal year. Immediate relative visa types include:

• IR-1: Spouse of a U.S. Citizen - Learn More
• IR-2: Unmarried Child Under 21 Years of Age of a U.S. Citizen
• IR-3: Orphan adopted abroad by a U.S. Citizen - Learn More
• IR-4: Orphan to be adopted in the U.S. by a U.S. citizen - Learn More
• IR-5: Parent of a U.S. Citizen who is at least 21 years old

Edited January 29, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Dalila Gonzalez 49]

32 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

IR-5: Parent of a U.S. Citizen who is at least 21 years old

I wouldn’t consider that top priority. There’s a whole 4 groups above it with higher priority and sadly it does take a very long time, it’s best to be prepared and have all paperwork in order to avoid any delays. As I mentioned it took 15 years for my family friend and she had no previous offenses however I also can’t say if the delay had anything to do with something they did or failed to do. I mean hopefully it doesn’t take that long, maybe at the NVC stage the case can be expedited somehow. A lawyer should be involved in the case as to make it as quick and easy as possible

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

33 minutes ago, Dalila Gonzalez said:

I wouldn’t consider that top priority. There’s a whole 4 groups above it with higher priority and sadly it does take a very long time, it’s best to be prepared and have all paperwork in order to avoid any delays. As I mentioned it took 15 years for my family friend and she had no previous offenses however I also can’t say if the delay had anything to do with something they did or failed to do. I mean hopefully it doesn’t take that long, maybe at the NVC stage the case can be expedited somehow. A lawyer should be involved in the case as to make it as quick and easy as possible

You seem to be missing the point entirely. ALL of those categories have visas immediately available; none of them has any preference over the other. The numbers are simply there to differentiate type of immediate relative, because each has different qualifying proof of the relationship. If you go to the official link I posted with it, below the immediate relative categories you will see the family based ones - those are the ones that are numerically limited and take years. You may not be able to say if your friend's case had a problem, but I can tell you categorically that it did. Maybe your friend was too ashamed to tell you the truth about why the case took so long?

[Esya 18]

I'm in the same situation. When I become a citizen, I want to bring my mother over. But idk how much income I'm supposed to have to be able to bring her here? Or is there a certain amount of money that i need to have in the bank if I'm not gonna work? I might be studying and it might be just my husband working at that time. Please someone help me! I can't find info about how much our income is supposed to be.

[YESWECANDOIT 40]

1. Yes you can file for your mother after you become a us citizen. 

2. Parents are considered "IMMEDIATE RELATIVES " as spouses and Children. 

 

3. The long wait time has nothing to do with the NBC, but more to do with the local consulate because some consulates and embassies take longer to schedule a Immigrant visa appointment (a B2 tourist visa is quicker to get scheduled for).

 

4. Also as a sponsor, you'll need to prove that your income is above the "poverty guidelines " to financially support your mother so she won't become a public charge on the account of the US Government. But you can always use the help of a "Co-Sponsor". 

 

5. OTHER PEOPLE'S BAD  EXPERIENCES ARE NOT YOUR EXPERIENCE OR CONCERN as US IMMIGRATION VARIES DEPENDING ON THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN.  SOme countries are just not the easiest ones to easily deal with us immigration laws. 

 

Go head and take care of your Mother. Don't relate to other people's bad luck. 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Malauriea

[Crazy Cat 41,848]

On 1/29/2020 at 1:40 AM, Dalila Gonzalez said:

I wouldn’t consider that top priority. There’s a whole 4 groups above it with higher priority and sadly it does take a very long time, it’s best to be prepared and have all paperwork in order to avoid any delays. As I mentioned it took 15 years for my family friend and she had no previous offenses however I also can’t say if the delay had anything to do with something they did or failed to do. I mean hopefully it doesn’t take that long, maybe at the NVC stage the case can be expedited somehow. A lawyer should be involved in the case as to make it as quick and easy as possible

Parents are the same waiting time as spouses.......all immediate relatives go to the front of the line.....