Need help deciding if I should file for F4 for my sibling & family

[OhMyGosh1 0]

Hey All,

I've recently become a US citizen & would like to file for F4 for my brother, his wife & 2 children (current age - 17 yrs. & 10 yrs.). Citizens of India.

I tried looking online for relevant information on a few my questions but am not getting the clear answers. I'd greatly appreciate any help from the community to help me decide if it's worth to invest the time, money & hope in this case.

To begin with, after learning about the wait time, The whole purpose of applying for them will be more so for the sake of children as by the time they are approved my brother & his wife will be around 60 yrs.

1. How much does it really cost from applying to getting the GC, I know the fee for form I-130 is $420. Is that going to be for the whole family or individually?

2. Is there any other costs involved?

3. I believe the wait time is approximately 13yrs, please correct me if wrong.

4. Considering the wait time as 13 yrs the kids are going to be around 30 yrs & 26 yrs. I've read about 'aging out' but am not very clear on that . How do I know if they will be aged out & be approved for the GC too if they are over the age of 21 yrs?

5. If the kids get married before the approval I assume they will automatically be declined the GC even if the family is approved for it. Please correct me if wrong.

6. I have read somewhere that.... 'You need to show that your household income exceeds 125% of the poverty level in the U.S., meaning that you can financially support your own family as well as your sibling's. You will do so by filling out an Affidavit of Support on Form I-864, which is essentially a contract with the U.S. government. If your sibling does end up claiming needs-based government assistance, your having signed this affidavit allows the government to come to you for reimbursement of these amounts.'

I am not comfortable with the part highlighted in red, if true. Has anyone experienced this situation?

Thank you experts for any input.

[aleful 1,905]

hi

their children will most likely have aged out, the oldest for sure, the farthest the child is away from 21, CSPA won't cover the child, the child won't be considered as a minor under 21

plus if they ever wanted to marry someone, they will be out of the petition,

so think about that the only ones who would be immigrating is your brother and his wife

the i130 is for the whole family, then at the NVC the ds260 will be individual

so far I haven't seen the government make the petitioner pay for means tested benefits that the beneficiary has incurred, it can happen, but I haven't heard of any experience so far

[aleful 1,905]

the i130 is only the first form

at the nvc stage when the priority date becomes current, you will have to pay for the affidavit of support, one per family and the ds260 for each person immigrating

and they will have to pay for the medical and vaccination in their country and the fingerprints I believe

[OhMyGosh1 0]

Thanks aleful for the prompt reply.

[Boiler 43,434]

No harm filing, who knows what the rules will be in 15 years.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

1. You can only file an I-130 for your brother. His wife is an eligible derivative beneficiary on the I-130. His unmarried children under age 21 are also derivative beneficiaries, but likely to age out. So, only one $420 fee and one I-130 for your brother.

2. There are lots of other fees. Look at the Guides. You have medicals, visa application fees, I-864 fee, green card fees, etc.

3. The current wait is 13 years.

4. When they turn 21, they will age out. However, the time that USCIS takes to approve the I-130 is not counted against them. For example; it takes 2 years and 4 months for USCIS to approve the I-130. Then they will not age out until they turn 23 years and 4 months (21 + wait time for I-130 to be approved). There is no way to know or predict this untils it happens. There is nothing you can do about it. Approval of the I-130 is only the first step, your brother still has to wait for his Priority Date to become current in 13 years in order to be eligible to apply for a visa.

5. Marriage disqualifies them since married children can not be derivative beneficiaries.

6. If you want your family here, then you need to take responsibility for them. US taxpayers should not and will not support them. If you don't trust your brother not to apply for welfare while the I-864 is enforceable, then don't petition him. You bring him here, then you are responsible for him.

IMHO - you have to be realistic about what will happen in 13 years. How will your brother and his wife support themselves in the US? It's not easy for 60 years old to get jobs, even when they are natural born US citizens due to age discrimination. If they want to petition for their children after they get their green cards, then their children must stay unmarried and it will take another 7 years. Will the children be okay with not getting marry?

My advice is to file the I-130 for your brother for $420. Tell his family that it will be a long journey and only the parents will go in 13 years and the children will have to stay unmarried. In 13 years, you can decide whether to continue or not. You don't know what the future will bring. You are in control. They can not immigrate without your I-864.

Lots to think about.

Best of luck.

Edited May 24, 2015 by aaron2020

[Boiler 43,434]

perhaps they want to retire to the US, if they have the money why not.

[aaron2020 11,651]

perhaps they want to retire to the US, if they have the money why not.

Hopefully because they will not qualify for Social Security until they accumulate 40 quarters of work credit.

[OhMyGosh1 0]

No harm filing, who knows what the rules will be in 15 years.

Thanks Boiler, that's true no harm filing. All I have to lose is $420 some time & effort. You never know they might increase the quota.

[Boiler 43,434]

Who knows, more likely they will do away with the category.but then there might be a desire to process those in line.

[OhMyGosh1 0]

Hopefully because they will not qualify for Social Security until they accumulate 40 quarters of work credit.

Thank you aaron2020. Your detailed answers are a big help. Yes, lots to think about.

I was thinking instead of using up the time now, like Boiler said 'no harm applying'. All I lose is $420, time & effort. Then once the process has started & after a few years we decide not to go ahead with it we can stop the process by not filing the I-864 when the time comes.

The second scenario is, if we don't file now & after say 3 years we feel we should have applied. Then we've lost out on that time.

Still lot to think about. Will keep you guys posted on my decision.

[OhMyGosh1 0]

Hey all,

Just wanted to update ya'll, we've decided not to go ahead with filing for my brother. Thanks for all the input from the members, it really helped.