Immigration of parent and blind sibling to the US

[CCG1991 5]

Hello everyone,

I am considering sponsoring my mother and sister to come live with me in the US. I am a citizen. I work all the time and I can't travel to see them very often. We hate the distance and I need them to be with me, mostly my blind sister, for obvious reasons.  I am reading horror stories online, about petitions for siblings being denied.

Is this something feasible that I can pursue? If this doesn't work out, I will have to move back overseas and take care of my family.  

 

Thanks!

[Boiler 45,476]

I would be hard pushed to recollect a sibling petition being denied, where are you reading this?

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

 

It will take about 12-24 months to petition your mom.  Only your mother will get a visa.  Derivative beneficiaries are not allowed, so she can not bring your sister.  

 

It will take 14 years for you to petition your sister.

 

Once your mom becomes an LPR, she can petition for your sister if she is single.  It will take 2-7 years depending on whether your sister is under or over age 21.

 

Sibling petitions are treated like any other petition.  As long as you can prove having a common parent, it's fairly easy.  An reason for a denial would apply to other types of cases; not meeting the I-864 requirements, criminal past making a person inadmissible, prior US immigration issues, etc.  

Edited May 8, 2021 by aaron2020

[JFH 12,190]

The only sibling petitions that I have known to be denied were ones that were rightfully denied - the petitioner could not demonstrate to the satisfaction of USCIS that they and the beneficiary shared a common parent.

 

Visas being denied are a separate matter. Visas can be denied in any category due to all manner of reasons - criminal history, contagious diseases, mental health issues, substance abuse, previous ban, misrepresentation, etc, etc. In that respect a sibling visa is no different from any other. The same laws on admissibility apply. 

[SalishSea 17,820]

3 hours ago, CCG1991 said:

Hello everyone,

I am considering sponsoring my mother and sister to come live with me in the US. I am a citizen. I work all the time and I can't travel to see them very often. We hate the distance and I need them to be with me, mostly my blind sister, for obvious reasons.  I am reading horror stories online, about petitions for siblings being denied.

Is this something feasible that I can pursue? If this doesn't work out, I will have to move back overseas and take care of my family.  

 

Thanks!

I would definitely look into the costs for your sister's care here, as she will not be eligible for any of the services or benefits for the blind as a new immigrant, unfortunately, and you will need to take care of her anyway.

[CCG1991 5]

16 hours ago, Boiler said:

I would be hard pushed to recollect a sibling petition being denied, where are you reading this?

Various immigration threads, such as Reddit.

[aaron2020 11,651]

14 minutes ago, CCG1991 said:

Various immigration threads, such as Reddit.

How old is your sister?

[CCG1991 5]

8 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

How old is your sister?

40.

[African Zealot 1,455]

Your sister is not coming to the USA via an immigrant visa you petitioned for her anytime soon.

[aaron2020 11,651]

39 minutes ago, CCG1991 said:

40.

It's going to be a long time before your sister can immigrate to the US.

 

It will take 14 years for you to petition for her in the F4 family preference category.

 

It will take 12-24 months for you to petition for your mother.  Once she is an LPR, she can file another petition for her unmarried daughter in the F2b family preference category where the wait is 7 years.  Your mother can get a Re-Entry Permit that allows her to stay outside the US for up to 2 years without losing her green card as long as she maintains ties to the US (you will need to Google maintaining legal permanent residency).  She can renew it once, so it will be a total of 4 years.  She can not be outside the US longer than that.   And being outside the US for more than half the time will mean she can not get US citizenship.  At some point, she will need to live in the US and not be able to take care of your sister.

The above are the only ways to do this.  There are no other ways.  I am sorry.

[CCG1991 5]

22 minutes ago, African Zealot said:

Your sister is not coming to the USA via an immigrant visa you petitioned for her anytime soon.

Got it. I was hoping that the fact that I will be her primary care giver would make a difference, since she can't live on her own. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

1 minute ago, CCG1991 said:

Got it. I was hoping that the fact that I will be her primary care giver would make a difference, since she can't live on her own. 

If she can't live on her own, she would probably be deny an immigrant visa for likely to be a public charge.  Even though Biden has gotten rid of Trump's DS-5540, the old public charge standard still exists.  

[CCG1991 5]

8 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

If she can't live on her own, she would probably be deny an immigrant visa for likely to be a public charge.  Even though Biden has gotten rid of Trump's DS-5540, the old public charge standard still exists.  

What about a tourist visa for 10 years? Is this an option? At least they would be able to visit me more often until I have to go back. 

[Boiler 45,476]

They can certainly apply for a B Visa. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

28 minutes ago, CCG1991 said:

What about a tourist visa for 10 years? Is this an option? At least they would be able to visit me more often until I have to go back. 

Your sister can apply for a tourist visa.  It may be hard for her to get one since you said you would need to take care of her.  She will be to show ties to her home country.  If she doesn't work or have property, it may be hard for her to get a visa.