Petition my mom and 2 brothers now? OR Wait for my mom's eligibility to petition my 2 brothers, herself?

[RedPepper 9]

Hello everyone! I am a conflicted with a decision I have to make, asap. Would appreciate your advice on this case. 

 

I am a US Citizen looking to petition my 63 yo mom and two 30+ yo brothers over.  I know which is the faster petition route, but unsure if I should take it due to my mother's age and declining health. My 2 brothers are still single and over 30 yo. My mother is 63 years old with health fast declining due to diabetes and depression. I am a single-parent of four, sending 1 child to college, and another following suit in a year.

 

Short Route: Petition my 63 yo mother first, and wait for her to petition my two 30+ yo brothers later. If this is the route we take, it will take my mom 1-3 years to complete immigration process and become a permanent resident, and it will take an additional 5-10 years (or even more) for my brothers to get their visas. My apprehension? I am unsure if my mom will live long enough to complete the process. If she lives long enough, that's great! Otherwise, we'll be back to square one--which I cannot afford. Should I take my chances?

 

Long Route: Petition my mom and 30+ yo brothers at the same time. I have no worries about my mom's petition. I can have her here in a year or two. However, it will take my brothers at least 15 years (and in most cases 26 years on average) to wait for their visas. That's a long wait. By the time they get here, they'd be 60+ years old and starting over with their careers, with not enough retirement savings. 

 

My goal is to empower my mom and brothers, so  they can stand on their own two feet.

 

If you were me, which route will you take and why? Thank you in advance!

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by RedPepper

[Aluvaboy 62]

Health care is expensive in USA. Since you are the petitioner for your mom and signing the affidavit of support, you will be responsible for her health care costs (until she becomes a citizen)! So think twice before you commit to this situation! Regarding your brothers, your mom can definitely file for them as unmarried sons over 21 years! But how long are they planning to live unmarried? 

[mymarriagejourney 113]

I would petition everyone at once now, and then when your mom is able to petition your brothers, she can petition them at that time.  You can see which comes through first.  But, by petitioning your brothers now, there is no lost time in case your mom is unable to petition your brothers in the future.

 

Make sure you can afford your mom's medical care!

[Pinkrlion 2,695]

31 minutes ago, RedPepper said:

Hello everyone! I am a conflicted with a decision I have to make, asap. Would appreciate your advice on this case. 

 

I am a US Citizen looking to petition my 63 yo mom and two 30+ yo brothers over.  I know which is the faster petition route, but unsure if I should take it due to my mother's age and declining health. My 2 brothers are still single and over 30 yo. My mother is 63 years old with health fast declining due to diabetes and depression. I am a single-parent of four, sending 1 child to college, and another following suit in a year.

 

Short Route: Petition my 63 yo mother first, and wait for her to petition my two 30+ yo brothers later. If this is the route we take, it will take my mom 1-3 years to complete immigration process and become a permanent resident, and it will take an additional 5-10 years (or even more) for my brothers to get their visas. My apprehension? I am unsure if my mom will live long enough to complete the process. If she lives long enough, that's great! Otherwise, we'll be back to square one--which I cannot afford. Should I take my chances?

 

Long Route: Petition my mom and 30+ yo brothers at the same time. I have no worries about my mom's petition. I can have her here in a year or two. However, it will take my brothers at least 15 years (and in most cases 26 years on average) to wait for their visas. That's a long wait. By the time they get here, they'd be 60+ years old and starting over with their careers, with not enough retirement savings. 

 

My goal is to empower my mom and brothers, so  they can stand on their own two feet.

 

If you were me, which route will you take and why? Thank you in advance!

 

It will take your mom 1-3 years to get her Green Card, 5 years to get her citizenship, and then another 10 - 15 years for your brothers to get their visa, if the category is still available.  So you are still looking at 25 years for either.  

[RedPepper 9]

24 minutes ago, Aluvaboy said:

Health care is expensive in USA. Since you are the petitioner for your mom and signing the affidavit of support, you will be responsible for her health care costs (until she becomes a citizen)! So think twice before you commit to this situation! Regarding your brothers, your mom can definitely file for them as unmarried sons over 21 years! But how long are they planning to live unmarried? 

Thank you for the response, @Aluvaboy, I have thought about the healthcare, too. I have a very good health insurance plan at work, and if I lose that job, could easily find another one doing Cybersecurity. I have no issues putting my mom on as my dependent and taking care of her. Lucky for me, my mom was truly devoted being a mother to us. I will do everything in my capacity to take care of her. 

 

My brothers have no girlfriends. Had relationships in the past that did not work out. At the back of my mind, that too, was a concern because they could potentially find a partner in life in a few months or years--and screw things up. The only fix is for them to not get married for a while until they're eligible to petition their partner. I did the same route with my ex-husband. We were not married for 11 years, until his petition came in. We got married after he became a US citizen. Sad, but true.

 

Other than that, I have not considered the repercussions on my brothers petitions if they ever get married. I will have to plan it out after I have made the decision of which petition route to take.

Edited November 15, 2022 by RedPepper

[mymarriagejourney 113]

You cannot add your mother to your health insurance.  Please talk to your employer to confirm this.  Dependents are limited to your children.

[RedPepper 9]

@Aluvaboy and @mymarriagejourney You are right about the healthcare and dependents. I don't know why my mind kept thinking otherwise, and confused it with a benefit I had abroad--so many years ago. Duh! Thank you for pointing that out. Definitely something to consider.

 

@mymarriagejourney That is a good idea. I did not know I could petition my brothers and mom at the same time, with my mom petitioning them again later on. That option didn't even cross my mind. THANK YOU!

[Dashinka 24,225]

47 minutes ago, Pinkrlion said:

It will take your mom 1-3 years to get her Green Card, 5 years to get her citizenship, and then another 10 - 15 years for your brothers to get their visa, if the category is still available.  So you are still looking at 25 years for either.  

The mother does not have to become a USC to petition her adult sons.  The F2B category for the Philippines is about 11 years, so the OP's estimate 1-3 years to LPR and 10-11 years for F2B is accurate.  In fact it is actually worse in the F3 category which is about 20 years, but if the brothers marry, then the mother will need to naturalize and change to F3.

 

To the OP, there is nothing stopping you from taking both routes.  You can submit I130's for your brothers as F4's right now, and if your mother gets LPR status in a few years, she can also submit I130's.

 

Good Luck! 

[Boiler 45,074]

Mother is simple but the Brothers even assuming everything goes OK and Mother sponsors them will be close to 50 before they can move.

 

I agree with the everybody sponsors route.

Edited November 15, 2022 by Boiler

[carmel34 3,603]

45 minutes ago, RedPepper said:

You are right about the healthcare and dependents. I don't know why my mind kept thinking otherwise, and confused it with a benefit I had abroad--so many years ago. Duh! Thank you for pointing that out. Definitely something to consider

Check out the monthly premium rates for health insurance via the ACA so that you know the financial implications of your mother's declining health situation if she immigrates to the US.  A good plan with low deductibles is very expensive.

 

https://www.healthcare.gov/

[Aluvaboy 62]

3 hours ago, mymarriagejourney said:

You cannot add your mother to your health insurance.  Please talk to your employer to confirm this.  Dependents are limited to your children.

Dependents are limited to spouse and children below the age of 26 (if still in college)!

[MarryMe987654 244]

13 hours ago, RedPepper said:

Hello everyone! I am a conflicted with a decision I have to make, asap. Would appreciate your advice on this case. 

 

I am a US Citizen looking to petition my 63 yo mom and two 30+ yo brothers over.  I know which is the faster petition route, but unsure if I should take it due to my mother's age and declining health. My 2 brothers are still single and over 30 yo. My mother is 63 years old with health fast declining due to diabetes and depression. I am a single-parent of four, sending 1 child to college, and another following suit in a year.

 

Short Route: Petition my 63 yo mother first, and wait for her to petition my two 30+ yo brothers later. If this is the route we take, it will take my mom 1-3 years to complete immigration process and become a permanent resident, and it will take an additional 5-10 years (or even more) for my brothers to get their visas. My apprehension? I am unsure if my mom will live long enough to complete the process. If she lives long enough, that's great! Otherwise, we'll be back to square one--which I cannot afford. Should I take my chances?

 

Long Route: Petition my mom and 30+ yo brothers at the same time. I have no worries about my mom's petition. I can have her here in a year or two. However, it will take my brothers at least 15 years (and in most cases 26 years on average) to wait for their visas. That's a long wait. By the time they get here, they'd be 60+ years old and starting over with their careers, with not enough retirement savings. 

 

My goal is to empower my mom and brothers, so  they can stand on their own two feet.

 

If you were me, which route will you take and why? Thank you in advance!

 

I am on the same boat--next year, I will be a citizen and has been thinking about an immigration route for my mother and siblings. I concluded that it's best to petition my mother and my siblings as soon as I become a citizen, then have my mother petition my siblings too when she becomes eligible. Note that I have 2 married siblings and 4 unmarried ones so the immigration journey for us is going to be very long.

 

I understand the concern about the uncertainties about passing, and change on marital status in the future and it's just something that I just have to risk because I cannot buy that time needed for these petitions to run. As soon as I start the petition, I will tell my siblings the condition of the petition (not marrying, age, etc.) so they know what things mean. If they choose not to wait that long, that's fine too... at least, I told them what's up.

 

Regarding mother's insurance, my mom is 62 years old but she is still strong and energetic. She is excited about the idea of being able to work once she gets here. I will help her get a work that will enable her to get health insurance for her age. If this is not possible, then me and my husband are prepared to pay for the health insurance for her.

[Cathi 5,739]

33 minutes ago, MarryMe987654 said:

 

 

Regarding mother's insurance, my mom is 62 years old but she is still strong and energetic. She is excited about the idea of being able to work once she gets here. I will help her get a work that will enable her to get health insurance for her age. 

You said more than once that her health is declining and you also said that she is 63. Which is it? Even if she gets a full time job that includes health insurance, she is almost retirement age. What will she do for insurance after she can no longer work? 

[Lil bear 4,105]

29 minutes ago, Cathi said:

You said more than once that her health is declining and you also said that she is 63. Which is it? Even if she gets a full time job that includes health insurance, she is almost retirement age. What will she do for insurance after she can no longer work? 

This is not the OP. 

[marriedtomrg 141]

Think you also need to consider if your siblings are all on board with this plan. I get that you are anxious to help them - but just make sure they are committed to this process because if one or two of them are not, they have to let you know. I-130s alone will set you back $535 per person, and depending on timing, that fee increases over time. Not to mention costs that will be incurred for securing civil documents (in some cases, fixing them if there are errors), medical exams, more fees (AOS and IV fees for each person), photocopying or scanning (if they don't have their own peripherals), etc. (adding this) Needless to say, all of that adds up.

 

(I say all this because have a sister back home that I am concerned about - she lives with her common law partner and their son - and would like to discuss her options for either coming here or to Canada , where my brother is. For many years she has declined, and it is 12+ years later that she is now reconsidering her position.)

Edited November 16, 2022 by marriedtomrg