Getting foreign adult children to U.S.

[BA2WA 5]

Hello. I've read what I could find about this and hope for any info and/or suggestions.

 

I'm U.S. born, wife is Argentina-born, we moved to U.S. with K-1 visa and married here 5 years ago. She is now a naturalized U.S. citizen.

 

She has 3 adult children still in Argentina (my step-children). All have spouses but none legally married, one has 3 year-old child. 

 

1) What is the best way for us to get our children to the U.S.? Would my wife have to file I-130 for each, or are there other (better) ways?

2) Would we have to prove our ability to provide support for all ($21k +/- times 3?). All three speak English but none have a college degree (though one is getting close and works for a multinational corporation)

3) Is there a best guess as to how long it would take for our children to actually be able to come to the U.S.?

4) Is there anything that can be done for our son-in-law and daughters-in law, and how long might that process take?

 

Any information, idea, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Many thanks...

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

 

1.  There is only one way for your USC wife to get her children to the US.  She file separate I-130 for each child.  Since they are not legally married, it will be the F1 family preference category where the wait is 7 years for immigrant visas.  The 3 years old will be able to immigrate with his/her parent.

 

2.  You and your wife would need to have an income that is sufficient for your household and the intending immigrants.  The 2 of you plus the 4 intending immigrants = 6.  You need to look at the I-864p to see how much income the 2 of you will need.  

 

3.  7 years in the F1 family preference category for immigrant visas.

 

4.  Since none of the kids are legally married, there is nothing that can be done for their partners.  They could immigrate with your wife's children if they were to legally marry.  However, it would be the F3 category, USC petitioning for a married child.  The wait there is 13 years for immigrant visas.  

 

One option is for the kids to immigrate as single in the F1 category.  Once they get their green cards, they can return to marry.  They could then petition for their spouses.  Historically, it can take 2-4 years for their spouses to immigrate to the US.

How old are the kids?  Any of them under age 21?

[milimelo 4,167]

If they qualify, enter diversity visa lottery in October? 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

15 minutes ago, milimelo said:

If they qualify, enter diversity visa lottery in October? 

Argentina is eligible. They should be careful not to list spouses on the entry if they are not legally married.

[BA2WA 5]

Thank-you all for the quick responses & information.

 

-Our Argentine children are 28-34 years old.

 

-All have high school diplomas, so it seems they would be qualify for the Visa Lottery. I don't know what else would eventually be required for successful completion though, should they actually be chosen..

 

-I looked at the  I-864p. Based on that, we would be unable to provide support for all 6 of them, unless the income figures are based on gross income (all our income is from Social Security and a pension, not taxable and therefore net).

 

Their need to leave Argentina is becoming more urgent by the day. Two of the three have lost their jobs, as have millions of others so work is nearly impossible to find. We support them but that does little good when even poor-quality food is becoming difficult to obtain. If our other son loses his job, we will be in a real bind.

 

Is 7 years a realistic figure for the I-130/F1 process? If so, does anyone here have any knowledge about emigrating to Uruguay, Chile, or Spain (no relatives in any of these)? They are all fluent in English, so other countries might be possible too. ANY suggestions are welcome.

 

Again, many many thanks for the help...

[aaron2020 11,651]

22 minutes ago, BA2WA said:

Thank-you all for the quick responses & information.

 

-Our Argentine children are 28-34 years old.

 

-All have high school diplomas, so it seems they would be qualify for the Visa Lottery. I don't know what else would eventually be required for successful completion though, should they actually be chosen..

 

-I looked at the  I-864p. Based on that, we would be unable to provide support for all 6 of them, unless the income figures are based on gross income (all our income is from Social Security and a pension, not taxable and therefore net).

 

Their need to leave Argentina is becoming more urgent by the day. Two of the three have lost their jobs, as have millions of others so work is nearly impossible to find. We support them but that does little good when even poor-quality food is becoming difficult to obtain. If our other son loses his job, we will be in a real bind.

 

Is 7 years a realistic figure for the I-130/F1 process? If so, does anyone here have any knowledge about emigrating to Uruguay, Chile, or Spain (no relatives in any of these)? They are all fluent in English, so other countries might be possible too. ANY suggestions are welcome.

 

Again, many many thanks for the help...

Winning the Diversity Visa lottery is the only possible chance for them to immigrate in the next few years.  

You can file the I-130 today - you don't need to worry about meeting the financial requirements of the I-864 when you file the I-130.  When it's time for them to immigrate, you will need to show the adequate income on the I-864.  If you can not meet it, you can get Joint Sponsors for them.  Joint Sponsors will have to meet the financial requirements for the I-864.

People who are getting their immigrant visas now in the F1 category, USC parent petitioning for an unmarried child over the age of 21, have been waiting for 7 years.  Historically, the wait has been 7-8 years.  This is about as realistic as you can get.  No one has a crystal ball, so there is no way to predict exactly how long your kids will have to wait for immigrant visas.

Best of luck.  

 

[BA2WA 5]

Many thanks for your clear and concise information aaron2020. We will have them apply for the DV lottery, while we will keep trying the Washington State Lottery (crossing fingers for both)

[Timona 3,931]

As others have said, apply for their I-130 now. Just make sure they remain unmarried because if they marry,  wait time doubles. 

 

They can come in, trigger the GC, go back to Argentina, marry and have their spouse with them in 1.5 years after filing.

[BA2WA 5]

Thank-you Timona.

[BA2WA 5]

Aaron (or anyone who knows), could you clarify something for me? The processing time stated on the USCIS website (California processing center) is "52 Months to 67.5 Months". Still a long time, but significantly less than 7 years (84 months). I realize times vary with many factors so...

 

1)Are there other considerations I need to take into account when estimating the time for the total process (I-130 application submitted to son entering U.S.)?

 

2) Also, I read that once the I-130 is submitted, an I-129F can be submitted for a K-4 visa. This allows the applicant "child" to be in  the U.S. while the I-130 is in process. The time stated for that is 5.5 - 7.5 months. Is this reasonable and/or correct?

 

Thanks and best wishes to all...

Edited May 1, 2021 by BA2WA
transposed form number

[SalishSea 16,746]

24 minutes ago, BA2WA said:

2) Also, I read that once the I-130 is submitted, an I-129F can be submitted for a K-4 visa. This allows the applicant "child" to be in  the U.S. while the I-130 is in process. The time stated for that is 5.5 - 7.5 months. Is this reasonable and/or correct?

No.  For immigration purposes, they are adults.

[aaron2020 11,651]

39 minutes ago, BA2WA said:

Aaron (or anyone who knows), could you clarify something for me? The processing time stated on the USCIS website (California processing center) is "52 Months to 67.5 Months". Still a long time, but significantly less than 7 years (84 months). I realize times vary with many factors so...

 

1)Are there other considerations I need to take into account when estimating the time for the total process (I-130 application submitted to son entering U.S.)?

 

2) Also, I read that once the I-130 is submitted, an I-129F can be submitted for a K-4 visa. This allows the applicant "child" to be in  the U.S. while the I-130 is in process. The time stated for that is 5.5 - 7.5 months. Is this reasonable and/or correct?

 

Thanks and best wishes to all...

USCIS approving the I-130 is only the first step in the immigration process.  In the family preference categories, there is an annual limits on the number of available visas.  There are significantly more people waiting for an available visa than there are visas.  A beneficiary has to wait for their Priority Date to become current in the monthly Visa Bulletin before they are eligible to apply for a visa.  In the F1 category, the guesstimate is that there is around a 7 years wait for a current PD.  How long it takes USCIS to approve an I-130 is not relevant to the overall wait.  Once USCIS approves an I-130, the case is sent to the NVC where the beneficiary must wait for a current PD before they can apply for an immigrant visa.  

1.  The only consideration in estimating the time for the total process is to look at the monthly Visa Bulletin.  You can see how long people who are not eligible for visas have been waiting.  Then you can use that as a guesstimate on how long a person who gets an I-130 filed for them today may have to wait.  It's only a guess.  It could end up being a few years shorter or a few years longer.

 

2.  A K-4 is not available to your kids.  In order for them to get a K-4, their mother would have to have entered on a K-3 and they are under age 21.  

Not trying to be mean.  Just being real.  You are working under a few rookie misconceptions.  1) USCIS approving the I-130 means a person can immigrate.  They can't.  It's only the first step and they must wait for a current PD to be eligible to apply for an immigrant visa.  2) There's a way to live and work in the US while waiting to go through the immigration process.  There isn't.  It's not possible for adult sons and daughters to do that.  

 

There is no faster way than what we have told you.  If there was a faster way, we would have told you.  No reason for us to hide a faster way.  
 

Edited May 1, 2021 by aaron2020

[Boiler 43,397]

The time lines mentioned are looking back, what they will be looking forward who knows, historically they increase as more people apply.

 

Best to avoid the term spouses as that could confuse issues

 

As far as the 3 children are concerned the amount to sponsor will be whatever the figure is when they interview many years in the future.

 

DV is obviously a very long shot, all 3 of them coming up is well beyond likelihood.

 

There are of course work visas but they seem to have limited qualifications and maybe too old to look at Student visa's?

[aaron2020 11,651]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

The time lines mentioned are looking back, what they will be looking forward who knows, historically they increase as more people apply.

 

Best to avoid the term spouses as that could confuse issues

 

As far as the 3 children are concerned the amount to sponsor will be whatever the figure is when they interview many years in the future.

 

DV is obviously a very long shot, all 3 of them coming up is well beyond likelihood.

 

There are of course work visas but they seem to have limited qualifications and maybe too old to look at Student visa's?

Student visas are not going to work.  

 

Student visas are non-immigrant visas that requires the visa applicant to show they intend to return home after finishing their degrees.  The OP wants his kids to immigrate here.

 

Money seems to be a problem too.  OP and his wife are concerning with making enough to sponsor their kids.  The kids are in financial trouble themselves.  It's doubtful they can show funds to pay international student tuition and living costs.  

[BA2WA 5]

19 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

Not trying to be mean.  Just being real.  You are working under a few rookie misconceptions.  1) USCIS approving the I-130 means a person can immigrate.  They can't.  It's only the first step and they must wait for a current PD to be eligible to apply for an immigrant visa.  2) There's a way to live and work in the US while waiting to go through the immigration process.  There isn't.  It's not possible for adult sons and daughters to do that.  

 

There is no faster way than what we have told you.  If there was a faster way, we would have told you.  No reason for us to hide a faster way.  
 

Aaron, your honesty and knowledge are tremendously appreciated. It is my rookie assumptions I'm trying replace with accurate information, my reason for asking questions. I felt no meanness, only honesty. Thanks-you!

 

I have looked at other avenues, such as student visas etc., especially since a high school diploma doesn't go far anymore. Education will need be pursued but after getting here, not as a way to immigrate.

 

As it now stands, we will most likely aid one son to eventually come live with us. For the other son, Canada is a much better prospect (he's nearing completion of B.S. in accounting, has years experience in the field, and his company has offices there with a job transfer possible). Our daughter will most likely stay in Argentina with her husband and son, and as long as their problems are only financial, we will help them survive.

 

Again, many thanks to all who took the time to offer ideas, information, and suggestions.