Can US Citizen grandma sponsor her unmarried daughter AND her unmarried grandchild under age 21?

[Eternal Spring 10]

Hello, friends,

 

I am helping out a friend of mine. Her mother is a US Citizen and wants to petition for my friend to have I-601A. My friend is a single mom who has never been married, and she has a child who is under 21 (and is also unmarried). Can my friend's mom petition for both my friend and the grandchild?

[Umka36 781]

The daughter would fall under the F1 visa and currently the wait is over 7 years. How old is the grandchild? Depending on the age of the grandchild, they may have aged out by the time the visa is available.

 

"First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference."

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-for-september-2018.html

[Eternal Spring 10]

5 minutes ago, Umka36 said:

The daughter would fall under the F1 visa and currently the wait is over 7 years. How old is the grandchild? Depending on the age of the grandchild, they may have aged out by the time the visa is available.

 

"First: (F1) Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference."

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-for-september-2018.html

 

The daughter (my friend) is already in the country and has been here for over 15 years. My friend said that she was told (by a paralegal, so it may or may not be true) that her mother can also petition for the grandson, my friend's son. I forgot to mention that the grandson, my friend's son, has DACA (in case that has any bearing on this).

[Umka36 781]

5 minutes ago, Eternal Spring said:

 

The daughter (my friend) is already in the country and has been here for over 15 years. My friend said that she was told (by a paralegal, so it may or may not be true) that her mother can also petition for the grandson, my friend's son. I forgot to mention that the grandson, my friend's son, has DACA (in case that has any bearing on this).

The daughter will fall under F1 as she is not considered an immediate family member which allows one to adjust status within the US. Once the petition has been filed, the wait is over 7 years (being here 15 years illegally doesn't count toward the 7 years).

 

Other's who know more of the process can explain it better than I, but the daughter isn't going to get status in the US anytime soon. I recommend consulting with an immigration lawyer in her case.

[geowrian 22,337]

There's no way for the grandmother to petition for the grandchild. That's not a class covered by any family-based visas. Only spouses, children, adult sons/daughters, and siblings are covered...not grandchildren.

However, depending on her age, she may be able to be a derivative on the mother's petition.

Even if she were to be included as a derivative, she may or may not need an I-601A for her stay within the US if it was at least 180 days without status starting from age 18 (AFAIK, DACA coverage will not accrue unlawful presence as well).

[Boiler 45,664]

Timelines can depend on nationality.

 

But so far ahead who knows, file now and see what happens.