Both my wife and I have siblings who are US citizens - can both our siblings file I-130 petitions simultaneously?

[ab216 0]

Both my wife and I have siblings who are US citizens. My question is, can both our siblings file for I-130 petitions on our behalf at the same time? I assume that when the first visa number becomes available, we can withdraw the second petition.

I personally don't see a point in this, but my brother-in-law is suggesting we do this so we can just go with whichever visa number is the first. Any opinions on this?

[aleful 1,905]

Both my wife and I have siblings who are US citizens. My question is, can both our siblings file for I-130 petitions on our behalf at the same time? I assume that when the first visa number becomes available, we can withdraw the second petition.

I personally don't see a point in this, but my brother-in-law is suggesting we do this so we can just go with whichever visa number is the first. Any opinions on this?

they can file if they want to, but the waiting period will still be the same, over 10 years.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

yes you can do this. I think it is a good idea if they have the funds for the petition, just in case something happens to either of them.

[aaydrian 479]

yes you can do this. I think it is a good idea if they have the funds for the petition, just in case something happens to either of them.

So right. Since the wait is so long esp now when its 12 yrs+ depending on the country, its best to have at least 2 petitioners if you can. Its is very very difficult to, if anything happens to your petitioner (if 1), to get a substitute petitioner and that within itself may even add more years to your waiting time.

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Both my wife and I have siblings who are US citizens. My question is, can both our siblings file for I-130 petitions on our behalf at the same time? I assume that when the first visa number becomes available, we can withdraw the second petition.

I personally don't see a point in this, but my brother-in-law is suggesting we do this so we can just go with whichever visa number is the first. Any opinions on this?

Having more than 1 petion is a good idea.

It takes 10-12 years to petition a sibling. For any case, there is only one petitioner and one beneficiary.

If your brother files for you; he is the petitioner and you are the beneficiary. Your wife would be a derivative beneficiary . If you or your brother die during the wait, the case is automatically revoked (it's dead). This leaves your wife in a bad spot. To bring her over, her family would need to file a new case and she restart the 10-12 years wait. Not a good result.

If your wife's brother files a separate petition at the same time, then there is a backup petition in case the other case is automatically revoked due to a death. No need to start all over and repeat the waiting time.

Search for death of petitioner on this forum, you'll see a number I people who wished ther was a backup petition.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

So right. Since the wait is so long esp now when its 12 yrs+ depending on the country, its best to have at least 2 petitioners if you can. Its is very very difficult to, if anything happens to your petitioner (if 1), to get a substitute petitioner and that within itself may even add more years to your waiting time.

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

True. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that getting a humanitarian reinstatement in the OP's case would border on impossible.

ab216, a decade is a long time, and almost anything can happen. If a petitioner passes away after a petition has been approved and before a visa has been issued then the petition approval is automatically revoked. Immigration law allows the beneficiary to request that the approval be reinstated for humanitarian reasons. If the request is accepted then a qualified relative in the United States has to step in as a substitute sponsor. However, the most compelling reason for humanitarian reinstatement is if the goal of family reunification can still be met by allowing the beneficiary to immigrate. When the beneficiary is married then USCIS almost always determines that the beneficiary's spouse and children are now their family, and any family living in the US are now distant relatives. They almost always deny humanitarian reinstatement when the beneficiary is married.

It's perfectly legal to have more than one petition filed, as long as they're not the same type of petition from the same petitioner for the same beneficiary. In your case, it would be an insurance policy in case something tragic should happen.