What does it mean?

[Eric-Pris 1,602]

I have a question.

My neighbor came to the US on a tourist visa. After she arrived here, her brother mailed in an I-130 to sponsor her. It was approved. Is she a permanent resident? What is the next step? She is using a lawyer who seems to know less about immigration than she does.

Thanks.

[Black Velvet 4]

Although your friend's petition was approved, she does not automatically get a green card. It usually takes "years" for siblings to obtain a green card. I have copied and pasted the link regarding procedures.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/ussibpet

[aleful 1,905]

I have a question.

My neighbor came to the US on a tourist visa. After she arrived here, her brother mailed in an I-130 to sponsor her. It was approved. Is she a permanent resident? What is the next step? She is using a lawyer who seems to know less about immigration than she does.

Thanks.

that's just the first step. now they have to wait 10+ years until her priority date becomes current. the problem is that siblings cannot adjust status in the US, they go through consular processing in their country of origin.

she will need an immigration reform in order to get her GC, if she leaves after 1 year of being here, she will trigger a 10 year ban. there is no waiver for siblings.

[liz16 0]

I-130 is just the first step in petitioning the sibling. Because that person is in the US, she's got to file I-485

by herself (since she has a lawyer then the lawyer can do it for her). That's where the "real" processing begins...

[aleful 1,905]

I-130 is just the first step in petitioning the sibling. Because that person is in the US, she's got to file I-485

by herself (since she has a lawyer then the lawyer can do it for her). That's where the "real" processing begins...

incorrect,

she cannot file the i485, she isn't an immediate family member. she has more than 10 years of waiting, there is a waiting line for siblings and it takes a very long time.

they cannot adjust in country, siblings must go through consular processing unless they are covered by the 245i law.

meaning they have a petition filed for them before April 30th, 2001.

[liz16 0]

incorrect,

she cannot file the i485, she isn't an immediate family member. she has more than 10 years of waiting, there is a waiting line for siblings and it takes a very long time.

they cannot adjust in country, siblings must go through consular processing unless they are covered by the 245i law.

meaning they have a petition filed for them before April 30th, 2001.

oh.... thanks for correcting me i thought it's all the same when you're IN the country.

cause that's what i did, but i'm not in the sibling category, i'm in the spousal making me an immediate relative.

to Eric-Pris, sorry for giving you a false info.. but the best thing to do for that sibling is go back to

her country, and wait. rather than wait here and what would she do?

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

I have a question.

My neighbor came to the US on a tourist visa. After she arrived here, her brother mailed in an I-130 to sponsor her. It was approved. Is she a permanent resident? What is the next step? She is using a lawyer who seems to know less about immigration than she does.

Thanks.

lol she needs go home... hope she's still within the provisions of the visa,

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

incorrect,

she cannot file the i485, she isn't an immediate family member. she has more than 10 years of waiting, there is a waiting line for siblings and it takes a very long time.

they cannot adjust in country, siblings must go through consular processing unless they are covered by the 245i law.

meaning they have a petition filed for them before April 30th, 2001.

Adjustment of status isn't reserved only for immigrants who qualify as immediate relatives. It's for anyone who entered the US lawfully, has not violated their non-immigrant status, an immigrant visa number is immediately available, and who is not inadmissible. The exception for immediate relatives is that they aren't required to have maintained their non-immigrant status.

If her priority date was current, and her non-immigrant status hadn't expired, she'd be able to adjust status. Of course, the odds of finding a way to remain in the US while maintaining her non-immigrant status for 10+ years is pretty low, but the point is that it's possible to meet the requirements for adjustment of status without qualifying as an immediate relative.

[englishbunny 1]

She is using a lawyer who seems to know less about immigration than she does.

She needs a new lawyer. I know a lot about immigration but thankfully, my lawyer knows 100000 times more thank I do and if I thought that I knew more than my lawyer did, she wouldn't be my immigration lawyer for much longer.

[Eric-Pris 1,602]

I posted this some time back and got varying answers. However, there has been a development in the case, so I wanted to update you. There are some details that happened from 2005-2011 that I don't know since we've only been neighbors for a few years.

Background:

My neighbor came to the US in 1991 on a tourist visa. She had been in the US a few times before that as a tourist, each time returning within the 6 months allowed. This time, she overstayed her visa. (FYI-She has been in the US since that time- 22 years) Sometime after she arrived (I think it was around 2004), her brother (USC) mailed in a I-130 to sponsor her. The 130 was approved. But then nothing happened for years. She had a lawyer the whole time who kept sending her bills. She is pretty naive (read: dumb) and didn't question anything, just kept paying. In 6 years, from 2005-2011, she sent him about $48,000 in total. She had a good job and was filing her taxes, etc, but a good chunk of what she made went to him. Finally in 2011, her lawyer somehow got the case in front of an immigration judge and the judge awarded her a greencard. But before the greencard was actually sent, Immigration appealed saying that she entered with intent this last time and she is ineligible for a GC. To continue with this appeal, her lawyer wanted another $5K. I advised her to not send him another dime, that she was not eligible for a greencard since she was in the US; and also I felt this shyster was just bleeding her dry with false promises. So she didn't pay him anything and he notified her that he's no longer representing her and she needs to find new counsel. Well she was pretty much broke at this point, this guys basically cleaned her out, so she never went to the appeal and her case got closed. I figured she would be put into removal proceedings at this point, but nothing happened.

Fast forward 2 years to 2013. She was doing better financially and bought a small condo in Chicago (we live in NY and her immigration case was in NY). All her children live in Chicago and her brother. While she was out there closing on the condo in April 2013, she stopped by an immigration lawyer's office and explained everything and a lawyer took her case aying that she could get a greencard. I was skeptical and advised her to be careful and not throw all her money away again.

Since then she hasn't mentioned a word about it. Last night, she asks to come over to help her book a flight ticket. I figured she was going to Chicago again. Nope.... she says that she needs me to help her book a ticket to her home country. I said, "Are you leaving?" She says no, " Only for a vacation to see my mother" Her mother is turning 90 years old in a couple of weeks and they haven't seen each other in 22 years. As I'm standing there with a puzzled look on my face, she smiles and shows me her shiny new greencard that she just received a couple days ago.

Turns out her Chicago lawyer mailed in a I-485 in May and she had her biometrics in August and intreview in early September. Both in Chicago. She said the guy asked her like 3 questions and said you are approved. Lasted 2 minutes. The whole thing cost her about $6000 she said. A lot but her case was pretty complicated obviously.

Most people said she was not eligible and had to go back, but she had overstayed by 22 years, so she would face a huge ban. But she never left the US since 1991 and got a GC. This story is pretty crazy, I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't been involved in it (she had me translate some letters at times and even helped her write some emails to her first lawyer). I know I'm missing some details from the years in between, but everything that I wrote is factual.

1. How is that possible that she got a greencard?

2. Does she have any recourse to go after this lawyer who basically cleaned her out for 6 years and did nothing? She wants to get some of that money back. Can you sue a lawyer for malpractice?

Thanks.

Edited September 26, 2013 by Eric-Pris