Wife (Green Card Holder) wants to petition parents

[Arnold Porche 1]

My wife came here April 2007 and received her Green Card on August 2007

It is September 2008, her 1st year as a Green Card Holder.

I know she still has to wait another 2 years (2010) to file for US Citizenship or Naturalization so she can bring her parents as well (2011 to become US Citizen and file for parents; 2012 for parents to come to US *hopefully*).

I was doing a research and found out that the same form (I-130) we used to petition my wife is actually the same form we can use for her parents. I was reading the FAQ's for I-130:

- "What is an I-130 petition??"

- "An I-130 petition is an immediate relative petition that will allow immediate relatives of US citizens or permanent residents to immigrate into the US"

Based on this sentence, it sounds like a Permanent Residents (Green Card Holder) has the power to petition for an immediate relative to immigrate into the US.

Has anyone done this? If so and IS possible, will it be better to do it now or wait until she becomes a US Citizen? How long does it normally take to process a Lawful Resident (Green Card Holder) to petition parents (Immediate Relatives) to US?

Can this apply to brothers and sisters as well?

Thanks for your answers.

Arnold

[Abby-Ron 8]

I-130 if the form to petition family members...

[R de la R 2]

My wife came here April 2007 and received her Green Card on August 2007

It is September 2008, her 1st year as a Green Card Holder.

I know she still has to wait another 2 years (2010) to file for US Citizenship or Naturalization so she can bring her parents as well (2011 to become US Citizen and file for parents; 2012 for parents to come to US *hopefully*).

I was doing a research and found out that the same form (I-130) we used to petition my wife is actually the same form we can use for her parents. I was reading the FAQ's for I-130:

- "What is an I-130 petition??"

- "An I-130 petition is an immediate relative petition that will allow immediate relatives of US citizens or permanent residents to immigrate into the US"

Based on this sentence, it sounds like a Permanent Residents (Green Card Holder) has the power to petition for an immediate relative to immigrate into the US.

Has anyone done this? If so and IS possible, will it be better to do it now or wait until she becomes a US Citizen? How long does it normally take to process a Lawful Resident (Green Card Holder) to petition parents (Immediate Relatives) to US?

Can this apply to brothers and sisters as well?

Thanks for your answers.

Arnold

As Permanent Resident she can petition for parents but it will take longer than waiting for ther to become US Citizen.

If she applies as PR, they would have to wait until a visa number comes available, the gov assign every year specific amount of visas for relatives of PR, but they are not enough and the list is loooongggg. It would be quicker if she gets the US Citizenship then she applies for them, it would take a around 1 year.

Yes, it is the correct form I-130

Yes, she can apply for sister and brothers as well

I hope it helps.

[Abby-Ron 8]

Once you get your PR, you will most likely have a conditional 2 yr green card, (if you married within the past 2 years) then when you get your conditions removed and get a permanent green card, you apply for USC after a year. Total years to wait to become elligible to apply for USC is 3 years, starting from your entry date in the US. USC takes about 12 to 16 months to process according to USCIS as of the moment. You are probably be looking at 3 to 4 years before your wife can petition anyone as everything will be dependent once you get your PR.

[Boiler 43,597]

Permanent Residents can not petition parents.

[britty 1]

Only citizens can petition so your wife will have to wait until she is a US citizen before she petitions her parents. She can then also petition any siblings, however the wait for siblings is very long, anything from 6 - 10 years I believe depending on country of origin. Parents will be quicker.

[PrinceandPrincess 0]

Once you get your PR, you will most likely have a conditional 2 yr green card, (if you married within the past 2 years) then when you get your conditions removed and get a permanent green card, you apply for USC after a year. Total years to wait to become elligible to apply for USC is 3 years, starting from your entry date in the US. USC takes about 12 to 16 months to process according to USCIS as of the moment. You are probably be looking at 3 to 4 years before your wife can petition anyone as everything will be dependent once you get your PR.

Hi Abby-Ron,

You are not going to count from your entry date. It's the date in your GC. In the third year anniversary then the GC holder is elligible to apply for USC.

Yes, you can petition siblings but the waiting time is approximate 20 years. I have friends here in Texas her husband's brother petition them (family of five) they told me that they've been waiting for 20 years. Her brother in-law is USC and he is a doctor and his wife is nurse USC also. The Philippines processing really sucks! It is one of the most difficult USEM office to process in the world.

[moonhunt 1]

My wife came here April 2007 and received her Green Card on August 2007

It is September 2008, her 1st year as a Green Card Holder.

I know she still has to wait another 2 years (2010) to file for US Citizenship or Naturalization so she can bring her parents as well (2011 to become US Citizen and file for parents; 2012 for parents to come to US *hopefully*).

I was doing a research and found out that the same form (I-130) we used to petition my wife is actually the same form we can use for her parents. I was reading the FAQ's for I-130:

- "What is an I-130 petition??"

- "An I-130 petition is an immediate relative petition that will allow immediate relatives of US citizens or permanent residents to immigrate into the US"

Based on this sentence, it sounds like a Permanent Residents (Green Card Holder) has the power to petition for an immediate relative to immigrate into the US.

Has anyone done this? If so and IS possible, will it be better to do it now or wait until she becomes a US Citizen? How long does it normally take to process a Lawful Resident (Green Card Holder) to petition parents (Immediate Relatives) to US?

Can this apply to brothers and sisters as well?

Thanks for your answers.

Arnold

For LPR, immediate relatives is restricted to spouse and children.

but when she becomes US citizen, she can petition for her parents and brothers/sisters.

You use same form.

For US citizen's parents, they don't have to wait for visa number since it is considered as immediate family.

USCIS will take about 6 months to 12 months to approve the case, and her parents can come to U.S after going through US embassy immigration interview by consular officer.

[Jeremy12095 8]

As a green card holder you may not apply for your parents.

You may petition for your Spouse and Un Married children under 21.

See uscis linkGreen Card Holder Info

Once you become a USC then you can apply for anyone basically. That includes parents, step parents, siblings.

See USCIS link Family of US Citizens

So that should basically answer your question. As per a tourist visa it cant hurt to apply. You need to prove you have strong ties to your country and you intend to return.

My in laws will be applying for their tourist visa soon in Guayaqyil, Ecuador. They own several houses, a car, money in the bank, military pension, and strong ties to the community, credit card with no limit. I know a few people who got green cards and their parents were given tourist visa's.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Please note - this topic is over 3 years old. It isn't always useful to resurrect older topics - especially if you are just responding to them. The situation has moved on and in many cases the original poster is not even active on Visa Journey anymore.

As this topic has been addressed, I am going to lock it to prevent further unnecessary discussion.