Wifes 21 yo son coming here?

[belarus1 0]

Ok, thought some of you visa experts could tell me what I would have to do to get my wife's 21 year old son here. He's a good guy, talented mechanic and truck driver and I know places he could work. Its a shame to see how hard he works for so little money and my poor wife is miserable without him. We have more than enough room for him with us so lodging is no problem. Do I need to adopt him (can you even adopt a 21yo?) or get a work visa? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Used to be broken 146]

Ok, thought some of you visa experts could tell me what I would have to do to get my wife's 21 year old son here. He's a good guy, talented mechanic and truck driver and I know places he could work. Its a shame to see how hard he works for so little money and my poor wife is miserable without him. We have more than enough room for him with us so lodging is no problem. Do I need to adopt him (can you even adopt a 21yo?) or get a work visa? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

no you cannot adopt a 21 year old. Work VISA might be tough, but worth looking into. Student VISA also might work.

Is your wife citizen yet? Is the child married or single? Definitely find out if his job is under Diversity Lotto and file one for this year it it hasn't closed yet. ..

Not sure what the deal is on LPR vs US Citizen unmarried child visa category ..but someone will chime in soon with that answer..

Edited October 19, 2010 by brokenfamily

[Dave-n-Oksana 49]

Since your wife's son is 21, your wife will have to file a petition for him. If she is an LPR expect a very long wait before her son can join you, or wait for her to become a US citizen and then the wait will be considerably shorter. Either way expect at least a 4 year wait.

Dave

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Ok, thought some of you visa experts could tell me what I would have to do to get my wife's 21 year old son here. He's a good guy, talented mechanic and truck driver and I know places he could work. Its a shame to see how hard he works for so little money and my poor wife is miserable without him. We have more than enough room for him with us so lodging is no problem. Do I need to adopt him (can you even adopt a 21yo?) or get a work visa? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

You cannot adopt a 21 year old. After your wife becomes a citizen she can petition him.

[SMR 368]

Here is a link to an explanation of priority categories. Basically, your wife can petition now or she can petition once she become a citizen. Because her son is 21, in neither case does he qualify for an unlimited category for immigration, meaning he will have to wait in line. However, his priority will increase if or when your wife becomes a citizen. In any case, you are talking about a wait of some years.

If you want to try and get him here in the meantime, you have options of work visas, student visas, and tourist visas (obviously only good for visits, perhaps up to 6 months). Your mileage with any of these options may vary. If you can get a company to invite him and he is a skilled professional, for instance, he may be able to get a long term work visa and if he stays long enough he may be able to adjust from that. It's pretty difficult to give you general advice on the subject. Research the different types of visas. See which one you think fits.

[slim 1,514]

Get him a tourist visa to come visit. See what happens with that first.

[eekee 182]

You actually CAN adopt an adult: http://www.adopting.org/adoptions/adopting-an-adult-how-to-adopt-an-adult-person.html

But I'm not sure how it would work internationally.

[Used to be broken 146]

Since your wife's son is 21, your wife will have to file a petition for him. If she is an LPR expect a very long wait before her son can join you, or wait for her to become a US citizen and then the wait will be considerably shorter. Either way expect at least a 4 year wait.

Dave

looks like the gap between LPR and Citizen on this has closed considerably.. see recent VISA bulletin. Best bet to apply as soon as possible and if I am not mistaken the priority date will remain the same if you change the type of application. So getting in the cue as soon as possible is key.

VISA Bulletin

[1HappyGuy 45]

You are looking at a long process to bring him here, no matter what, with one exception. When he's here, he might find a woman willing to marry him. That could be good or bad depending upon the situation, but that is still the quickest method. At 21, probably not a great way unless you know some nice young Russian speaking ladies and you can co-sponsor.

[slim 1,514]

You are looking at a long process to bring him here, no matter what, with one exception. When he's here, he might find a woman willing to marry him. That could be good or bad depending upon the situation, but that is still the quickest method. At 21, probably not a great way unless you know some nice young Russian speaking ladies and you can co-sponsor.

Or he can just stay. Happens every day. Not condoning that, but it does happen.

[belarus1 0]

Thanks for all the replies everyone! Im not really sure what to do, I wish he would have taken the opportunity to come here before he turned 21 and within the one year time frame that we got the K1 visa

By the way, he is 21, single and has a crappy job so Im sure the tourist visa is out of the question. He is a mechanic/truck driver so really no special skills so even a work visa seems unlikely?

[slim 1,514]

he is 21, single and has a crappy job so Im sure the tourist visa is out of the question.

I disagree. They've been pretty friendly with tourist visas lately. Give it a shot. Worst they can do is say no.

I recommend having him "in school" when he applies. Have him come here for holiday visit and then "back to school." Also show he has a nice place to stay and good program of study that he MUST return to. Documents such as these are easy to "find" in FSU. Find them, and he has a pretty good shot at getting the tourist visa.

[belarus1 0]

the bad thing about belarus is that he would either have to go to moscow or kiev to have the interview. he took the exam to try and get in to university and missed it by a few points so he will wait until next year to give it a go again. thanks for the tips slim.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You actually CAN adopt an adult: http://www.adopting.org/adoptions/adopting-an-adult-how-to-adopt-an-adult-person.html

But I'm not sure how it would work internationally.

In the sense that the US government would accept him as your "son" and issue a visa to him on that basis...you cannot.

[slim 1,514]

the bad thing about belarus is that he would either have to go to moscow or kiev to have the interview. he took the exam to try and get in to university and missed it by a few points so he will wait until next year to give it a go again. thanks for the tips slim.

Going to Moscow or Kiev for the interview wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing - it shows he has the means to travel. And the means to get back!

He doesn't have to be in school to be "in school." Or, he could have a pretty important job back home that he needs to get back to. Either way, he HAS TO come back, and that's what they want to see. Show it to them and he stands a decent chance of getting the visa.

Also, is your wife wanting him to come here because she misses home and him by extension? Or does she want her baby boy to be with her? He's 21 so it's not like she's going to have him here. He's going to be busy doing his own thing here too. Perhaps meeting him in a third country would help with missing him so much.