Permanent Resident Spouse Would Like To Bring Her Children

[Nahathai_Ike 0]

Good afternoon,

I have questions for one of my good friends. I could not locate any answers anywhere. Perhaps the pundits on this board can assist.

A friend of us, also from Thailand, is currently carrying a 2-year green card. Her conditional status will be removed by next year. She marries with a US citizen. She has two children from her previous marriage.

She informed us that she would like to bring her children to the US. I did some researches on the web page and found some information that I could not clearly understand.

Her oldest son has just turned 20 last month. He is still a student at the university, unmarried. Her youngest one has just turned 12 this month.

She travels back and forth from the US to Thailand to see her sons and her aging parents. She does not work in the US. Her husband can support her with his current income.

My questions are the following:

1. Can she, herself, petition her children or she needs to ask her husband to petition them? I looked into I-130, the form did not indicate anything regarding stepchildren. The parents were married two years ago. During the time that they were married, the eldest son was 18 when the relationship was established.

2. Can she, herself, petition her children while she is still under Conditional Status? I told her that she could not because she needs to have the condition removed first. I might be wrong on this one. Please comment or confirm.

3. If she can file the petition herself, this year or after she has her condition removed, in what Preferencial categories that her children will fall into? Category 2, Preference A/B or something? Please assist.

Thank you for your time and response. I do appreciate your contributions toward these questions.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Good afternoon,

I have questions for one of my good friends. I could not locate any answers anywhere. Perhaps the pundits on this board can assist.

A friend of us, also from Thailand, is currently carrying a 2-year green card. Her conditional status will be removed by next year. She marries with a US citizen. She has two children from her previous marriage.

She informed us that she would like to bring her children to the US. I did some researches on the web page and found some information that I could not clearly understand.

Her oldest son has just turned 20 last month. He is still a student at the university, unmarried. Her youngest one has just turned 12 this month.

She travels back and forth from the US to Thailand to see her sons and her aging parents. She does not work in the US. Her husband can support her with his current income.

My questions are the following:

1. Can she, herself, petition her children or she needs to ask her husband to petition them? I looked into I-130, the form did not indicate anything regarding stepchildren. The parents were married two years ago. During the time that they were married, the eldest son was 18 when the relationship was established.

2. Can she, herself, petition her children while she is still under Conditional Status? I told her that she could not because she needs to have the condition removed first. I might be wrong on this one. Please comment or confirm.

3. If she can file the petition herself, this year or after she has her condition removed, in what Preferencial categories that her children will fall into? Category 2, Preference A/B or something? Please assist.

Thank you for your time and response. I do appreciate your contributions toward these questions.

She can petition the children as an LPR but that will take at least 5 years. They would be in the F2a category until they turn 21 years old. Once they reach that age, they will be placed in the F2b category.

The quickest way for the children to get immigration visas is for her US citizen husband to petition the kids as his step-children. So long as the marriage occurred before the kids' 18th birthdays and they are not married, it should only take about a year. The husband needs to file an I-130 petition for each child. File the petition before the oldest one turns 21 years old. If the application is received after his 21st birthday, he will not qualify as an Immediate Relative and have to wait about 5 years for a visa.

Good luck to your friend and her family.

P.S. If the marriage occurred after the oldest son turned 18, then his stepfather cannot petition for him.

Edited May 21, 2009 by aaron2020

[Nahathai_Ike 0]

She can petition the children as an LPR but that will take at least 5 years. They would be in the F2a category until they turn 21 years old. Once they reach that age, they will be placed in the F2b category.

The quickest way for the children to get immigration visas is for her US citizen husband to petition the kids as his step-children. So long as the marriage occurred before the kids' 18th birthdays and they are not married, it should only take about a year. The husband needs to file an I-130 petition for each child. File the petition before the oldest one turns 21 years old. If the application is received after his 21st birthday, he will not qualify as an Immediate Relative and have to wait about 5 years for a visa.

Good luck to your friend and her family.

P.S. If the marriage occurred after the oldest son turned 18, then his stepfather cannot petition for him.

Thank you for your response.

I come up with some additional questions:

1. So, do you mean that her first child, who is currently 20 years old, will not be possible to qualify for an Immediate Relative if the USCIS receives the I-130 application after his 21st birthday? (Their marriage occurred after his 18th birthday.)

2. I heard that the US Citizen could not petition more than two (2) Immediate Relatives toward his/her lifetime. Is it true? If it is, in this case, the husband who is a US citizen, cannot petition more than one stepson because he had already petitioned his wife.

3. Does it make any different if she does not work in the US? Can her husband co-sign or sign the affadavit of support for the children, in case she has to file the I-130 petition herself?

Thank you for your response.

[aaron2020 11,651]

She can petition the children as an LPR but that will take at least 5 years. They would be in the F2a category until they turn 21 years old. Once they reach that age, they will be placed in the F2b category.

The quickest way for the children to get immigration visas is for her US citizen husband to petition the kids as his step-children. So long as the marriage occurred before the kids' 18th birthdays and they are not married, it should only take about a year. The husband needs to file an I-130 petition for each child. File the petition before the oldest one turns 21 years old. If the application is received after his 21st birthday, he will not qualify as an Immediate Relative and have to wait about 5 years for a visa.

Good luck to your friend and her family.

P.S. If the marriage occurred after the oldest son turned 18, then his stepfather cannot petition for him.

Thank you for your response.

I come up with some additional questions:

1. So, do you mean that her first child, who is currently 20 years old, will not be possible to qualify for an Immediate Relative if the USCIS receives the I-130 application after his 21st birthday? (Their marriage occurred after his 18th birthday.) His stepfather cannot petition for him because a US citizen stepparent can only petition for a stepchild if the marriage occurred before the stepchild's 18th birthday. His LPR mom can petition for him and it will probably take 8 years so long as he does not get married. An LPR cannot petition for a married child, so his marriage would result in the automatic denial of his petition. If his mother gains citizenship, he can subsequently get married and bring his family to the US with him.

2. I heard that the US Citizen could not petition more than two (2) Immediate Relatives toward his/her lifetime. Is it true? If it is, in this case, the husband who is a US citizen, cannot petition more than one stepson because he had already petitioned his wife. Not true, a US citizen can petition for as many relatives who qualify as his or her Immediate Relative. Immediate Relative has a legal meaning - spouse, parent and unmarried children under 21 years of age.

3. Does it make any different if she does not work in the US? Can her husband co-sign or sign the affadavit of support for the children, in case she has to file the I-130 petition herself? When an immigration visa is about to become available, the sponsoring parent will be required to send in an Affidavit of Support (AOS). If the younger son is being petitioned by his stepfather, then he will submit his tax return. If mom petitions for the kids, she will have to file one. Since she has no income, she will need a co-sponsor to file a second Affidavit of Support (Dad or anyone else who is willing). The AOS for the older son will not be necessary for many more years.

Thank you for your response.

Edited May 21, 2009 by aaron2020