Brother in law in EU illegally, possible to bring him to the US legally?

[motoperpetuo 3]

I am a US citizen. My wife is originally from Honduras. She got her US citizenship last year. 

 

Her brother is in his early thirties. About five years ago, he got in some kind of a fight with a guy who apparently has ties to organized crime. The criminals issued death threats and her brother fled to Spain which, at least at that time, didn't require a visa for Hondurans to enter as a "tourist." He overstayed his visa and has been in Spain illegally since, working off and on. 

 

It's not going well for her brother in Spain and my wife's family says that it would still be unsafe for him to return to Honduras. So their idea is to somehow bring him to the US. 

Would this be possible? Back in 2018 when we were in the process for my wife's residency we asked our lawyer about bringing the brother here and the lawyer mentioned waiting times of over a decade for visas for siblings. She suggested a student visa would be much faster, although this obviously wouldn't be a permanent solution and I wouldn't want to be a party to helping my wife's brother overstay his visa here in the US.

 

Another detail that might be relevant, my wife's brother was arrested once years ago in Honduras for something minor like disturbing the peace and spent a night in jail. That's his only arrest as far as I know, but it could show up on his police record, which I imagine US immigration will ask for if he applies for any kind of US visa. 

Thanks!

[nastra30 2,284]

Your wife has to sponsor him with sibling petition, and just as the lawyer said it will take 17+ years for a visa to be available to him. Could try luck with DV lottery.

[Boiler 45,449]

What is his skill set, what does he want to study?

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

there still is the need to be a legal resident to interview for US visa

he has several years to work on this to be able to get Spanish criminal report and be able to  interview

[SalishSea 17,804]

12 hours ago, motoperpetuo said:

I am a US citizen. My wife is originally from Honduras. She got her US citizenship last year. 

 

Her brother is in his early thirties. About five years ago, he got in some kind of a fight with a guy who apparently has ties to organized crime. The criminals issued death threats and her brother fled to Spain which, at least at that time, didn't require a visa for Hondurans to enter as a "tourist." He overstayed his visa and has been in Spain illegally since, working off and on. 

 

It's not going well for her brother in Spain and my wife's family says that it would still be unsafe for him to return to Honduras. So their idea is to somehow bring him to the US. 

Would this be possible? Back in 2018 when we were in the process for my wife's residency we asked our lawyer about bringing the brother here and the lawyer mentioned waiting times of over a decade for visas for siblings. She suggested a student visa would be much faster, although this obviously wouldn't be a permanent solution and I wouldn't want to be a party to helping my wife's brother overstay his visa here in the US.

 

Another detail that might be relevant, my wife's brother was arrested once years ago in Honduras for something minor like disturbing the peace and spent a night in jail. That's his only arrest as far as I know, but it could show up on his police record, which I imagine US immigration will ask for if he applies for any kind of US visa. 

Thanks!

He's not going to get a student visa.

 

The wait time for a sibling visa is 20+ years.  Having a criminal background and an overstay in another country doesn't bode well at all.

[motoperpetuo 3]

On 6/3/2024 at 7:03 AM, Boiler said:

What is his skill set, what does he want to study?

He's moderately skilled at basic construction jobs, things like installing drywall. I suppose ideally, if we could get him to the States I'd suggest he work on his English (he only knows a little) then try to get certified as a plumber or electrician or something like that. Lots of demand for that kind of work, and there are very few people under 50 years old who are qualified to do it. 

[motoperpetuo 3]

On 6/3/2024 at 7:09 PM, SalishSea said:

He's not going to get a student visa.

 

The wait time for a sibling visa is 20+ years.  Having a criminal background and an overstay in another country doesn't bode well at all.

I appreciate your answer. That makes sense to me and it's pretty much what I thought when my wife first asked me about this.

 

I feel like it would have been best for him to flee to another part of Honduras, but it's too late for that. Maybe I'll suggest to my wife and her relatives in Spain that he apply for asylum there. 

 

Thanks  to you and everyone else for taking the time to reply. All these responses were helpful. I really appreciate it. 

Edited June 7 by motoperpetuo

[Boiler 45,449]

3 hours ago, motoperpetuo said:

He's moderately skilled at basic construction jobs, things like installing drywall. I suppose ideally, if we could get him to the States I'd suggest he work on his English (he only knows a little) then try to get certified as a plumber or electrician or something like that. Lots of demand for that kind of work, and there are very few people under 50 years old who are qualified to do it. 

He has no obvious way of moving to the US.