Bringing my Mom to the States!! Please Help!

[moe1985 8]

Hello Everyone ,

I became a permanent resident since 01/21/2009, i will be eligible for the citizenship in 2 years from now But I just recently Had twins and My mom wants to see my kids so bad and plus me and my wife both work and we need help with the kids since we dont have family members here. so, should my mom apply for a visitor visa or should i file immigration applications for her? I am not a US citizen yet so how long will it take while having a 10 yrs Green card?

I will Greatly appreciate any Help.

regards,

Moe

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello Everyone ,

I became a permanent resident since 01/21/2009, i will be eligible for the citizenship in 2 years from now But I just recently Had twins and My mom wants to see my kids so bad and plus me and my wife both work and we need help with the kids since we dont have family members here. so, should my mom apply for a visitor visa or should i file immigration applications for her? I am not a US citizen yet so how long will it take while having a 10 yrs Green card?

I will Greatly appreciate any Help.

regards,

Moe

As an LPR, you cannot petition for your mom. Only a US citizen can petition for a parent. You will have to wait until you are a US citizen to file an immigration petition for her. Your US citizen wife cannot file for her because no one can file for an in-law.

Your mom have to apply at the US Embassy for a tourist visa. She has to qualify on her own. See the many other posts on this site about helping a relative get a visa. Aside from writing a letter inviting her to visit and the reason is to see her grandchildren and offering to pay her way, there is very little that you can do. Your mom has to overcome the presumption that she intends to illegally immigrate to the US. She has to show ties to Jordan that indicates she will return to Jordan after a visit to the US.

[moe1985 8]

Thankyou so much for the valuable info !! I will make my Mom do that and hopefully she gets approved!!

[Boiler 43,848]

She is not allowed to work on a visitor visa.

[Nasturtium 500]

She is not allowed to work on a visitor visa.

Watching grandchildren is not considered work unless they were paying her. Work=wage labor.

Moe--my husband and I just went through a rash of petitioning for his sisters and brothers and only one got the visitor's visa... but I think it bodes well for you. It was one of his oldest sisters, who is in her 50s. She has children of her own, houses, cars, money, a husband, etc. If you look at the embassy site in Amman, they have a section on the visitor's visa forms and what you need. it was 90-something JD last fall when we did it. Your mother should try to be sure that they understand she is going to see her grandchildren and that she has reasons to stay (which are financial, land, husband, other kids) in Jordan. You have space on the petition to list your activities, etc-- make sure you put that she is going to spend time with the grandchildren, and things to that effect. You'll schedule an interview when you submit the forms online at the embassy.. and the interviews are about one month behind when you submit your stuff which gives you enough time to DHL the paperwork you printed out manually (they have you submit the forms online and then print and sign copies) to your mother. You can fill the stuff out for her, no problem, and then send it to her to sign. There is a place for signing that you filled it out for her. The process isn't bad at all and worth trying. I know Nawal did this recently with her MIL from Egypt and it went fine...

[Boiler 43,848]

Nope

Doing a job that could be paid is work, and last time I asked child minders want to be paid.

[Nasturtium 500]

You absolutely cannot be serious. You are telling people that they are not allowed to have their foreign relatives and inlaws come over and visit their grandchildren and other young relatives because that is considered work????? I mean, G-d forbid when grandma comes over the baby poops in its diaper and she changed it (the HORRORZZZZZ) while the mother fed the other twin. ZOMG call the feds!

Also we had better make sure the gov't knows that they have been granting visas for this reason all erroneously because people keep saying it's to visit and help out with their grandchildren and stuff which is completely crazy.. everyone knows you should just totally not want to ever see them until they are completely self-reliant and possibly have a job at a fortune 500 company.

They are not hiring a nanny. This is the grandmother.

[Boiler 43,848]

me and my wife both work we need help with the kids since we dont have family members here.

Not normal grandparents duty

[Justine+David 218]

Citation?

Grandparents come in all different shapes and sizes.

My own grandmother routinely watches her younger grandkids when parents go out of town or are at school. Nobody pays her; she just loves being there with them.

[aaron2020 11,651]

From the US embassy in Moldova; http://moldova.usembassy.gov/visitor-visa.html

Foreign nationals in the United States on B-2 status are allowed to visit family and friends and travel throughout the United States. However, as tourists, they are not allowed to engage in any skilled or unskilled labor. This means that they may not perform any sort of activity for which an American resident would be paid. This could include working at a construction site, helping out at a friend or relative's place of business, or even babysitting a relative's children. A foreign national on B-2 classification who engages in any of these activities may have a difficult time qualifying for a tourist (or any other type of visa) in the future.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

The difference is watching the children for a few hours/days on an irregular intervals and being relied on to provide the same attention M-F while the parents are employed. If she was to stay with the kids while you have a romantic night out you are probably OK but it is the use of her services while you work that is against regulation.

[Boiler 43,848]

Citation?

Grandparents come in all different shapes and sizes.

My own grandmother routinely watches her younger grandkids when parents go out of town or are at school. Nobody pays her; she just loves being there with them.

Looks like somebody beat me to it.

Perhaps it is just me but there seem to be an awful lot of posts recently from people making bold statements on things they do not have a clue about that could get other people into serious trouble.

Think before you post should be the mantra.

[Nasturtium 500]

Citation?

Grandparents come in all different shapes and sizes.

My own grandmother routinely watches her younger grandkids when parents go out of town or are at school. Nobody pays her; she just loves being there with them.

Looks like somebody beat me to it.

Perhaps it is just me but there seem to be an awful lot of posts recently from people making bold statements on things they do not have a clue about that could get other people into serious trouble.

Think before you post should be the mantra.

You mean like assuming from a post that someone's purpose for having their mother come to visit her grandchildren is to preform the services of a daycare in violation of a B2?

ETA: it should be noted that in the OP, it says NOTHING about the grandmother watching the children in any capacity, it only states that she wants to see her grandchildren and that they would like some help. That may not, in any way shape or form, involve her being alone with the grandchildren at any time. It could be as simple as her cooking or doing laundry. Lots of assumptions going on....

Edited November 1, 2009 by julianna

[aaron2020 11,651]

It's a matter of degrees. It is natural for grandmother to want to come over to help in the first few months after her daughter gives birth. It's not a violation of the B2 for grandmother to help out. It is a violation if she is expected or agreed to or provides M-F care while mom goes to work. That is something, we as Americans normally pay someone else to do (no all of us - just a common practice here in the US) which is to pay someone else to provide childcare while the parents are at work. If grandmother has to do this work that a US person would normally get paid to do, it is a violation of the B2 even if she does not get any money for her work. She is still working regardless of any money changing hands.

Where is the line between helping out and work? No one can give anyone an answer on that. Be aware that too much help could be a violation of the B2. However, who is going to inform USCIS or ICE of any violation? Most likely, no one. ICE is not looking for B2 visa holders who might be violating the terms of the visa by babysitting a relative's child.

It's a difference between the law and what is actually practiced.

[sandinista! 1,816]

me and my wife both work we need help with the kids since we dont have family members here.

Not normal grandparents duty

since he and his wife both currently work, and grandma isn't even here yet, indeed her application to visit has not even been sent in, it would seem safe to say they already have arrangements for their children to be cared for while they are both at work. that part was covered by the OP in their initial post. all the warnings posted after seem pretty superfluous in light of that. they don't apply to them.