Advice on I-130 Petition for Parents and Sibling Under 21 soon to be 21

[sc_queens 14]

Hello everyone,

 

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm about to be a US citizen and I will be applying for I-130 for my parents. My brother, who is turning 20 in January is in F1 visa and currently lives in the United States. Initially, I thought my brother would be included under my parents as a dependent when I applied for I-130 for them. However, it seems I need to file separately for him which would take years as per my understanding.

 

Based on some research, the best route is to apply for his I-130 after my parents' approval. But given that the initial process takes more than a year, he will be over 21 by then, which could lengthen the process significantly.

How can I best navigate this situation? Can I expedite my parents' case so they can petition for him as soon as they receive their Green Card?

 

We are also planning to consult a lawyer but I wanted to gather some insights beforehand. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

Edited November 13, 2023 by sc_queens

[Lil bear 3,833]

13 minutes ago, sc_queens said:

Hello everyone,

 

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm about to be a US citizen and I will be applying for I-130 for my parents. My brother, who is turning 20 in January is in F1 visa and currently lives in the United States. Initially, I thought my brother would be included under my parents as a dependent when I applied for I-130 for them. However, it seems I need to file separately for him which would take years as per my understanding.

 

Based on some research, the best route is to apply for his I-130 after my parents' approval. But given that the initial process takes more than a year, he will be over 21 by then, which could lengthen the process significantly.

How can I best navigate this situation? Can I expedite my parents' case so they can petition for him as soon as they receive their Green Card?

 

We are also planning to consult a lawyer but I wanted to gather some insights beforehand. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you!

There is no practical way to get him here via  your parents visa.. the waiting periods will apply once He v is over 21 .. which will happen before they are able to apply for him. 

[OldUser 4,874]

17 minutes ago, sc_queens said:

However, it seems I need to file separately for him which would take years as per my understanding.

 

My research suggests that the best route is to apply for his I-130 after my parents' approval.

That's correct. I wouldn't file I-130 for your brother just yet. The problem with that - an immigrant intent is shown and it may affect getting any non-immigrant visa.

 

Your parents should sponsor him. However, he's probably going to wait a while. And probably has to leave the US when his current status runs out, unless he gets another avenue.

 

A different route your brother should consider is getting OPT, then H-1B, then employment based GC.

Edited November 13, 2023 by OldUser

[sc_queens 14]

Hi, thanks for your response. So, can try to expedite the parents I-130 hoping that theirs will be approved before he turns 21?

 

And would CSPA apply in this case? 

[Lil bear 3,833]

10 minutes ago, sc_queens said:

Hi, thanks for your response. So, can try to expedite the parents I-130 hoping that theirs will be approved before he turns 21?

 

And would CSPA apply in this case? 

This is not a reason that will result in a successful expedite 

[appleblossom 1,331]

1 hour ago, sc_queens said:

Hi, thanks for your response. So, can try to expedite the parents I-130 hoping that theirs will be approved before he turns 21?

 

And would CSPA apply in this case? 

 

If he's almost 20 and you haven't applied for your parents yet, then even with an expedite he's unlikely to have his app processed in time.  And as above, that's not grounds for an expedite anyway, so I'd assume he'll be around 22 by the time your parents can apply for him, possibly 23 or 24 as it seems you've only just applied for citizenship a couple of weeks ago?

 

When does his F1 expire?

Edited November 13, 2023 by appleblossom

[sc_queens 14]

5 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

If he's almost 20 and you haven't applied for your parents yet, then even with an expedite he's unlikely to have his app processed in time.  And as above, that's not grounds for an expedite anyway, so I'd assume he'll be around 22 by the time your parents can apply for him.

 

When does his F1 expire?

He's on F1 visa. His visa expires on 2027. 

[appleblossom 1,331]

1 minute ago, sc_queens said:

He's on F1 visa. His visa expires on 2027. 

 

OK, so let's assume you get citizenship in a year or so, then sponsor your parents. Not sure which country they're in, but it's currently around 2 years to sponsor parents for most countries, so your parents may get PR mid 2026 to mid 2027 as a very rough guide. Figure a 10 year wait for your brother to be sponsored by them from that point (again, a very rough guide as nobody knows how things will change between now and then or how much the backlog will grow by). 

 

So he'll need to either be prepared to leave the US to wait, or to find another visa option to stay in the US for that time. 

 

And I'd strongly suggest you also apply to sponsor him as soon as you've got citizenship as well, as a back up plan just in case. That will probably take longer than it would for your parents to sponsor him, but at least then he could marry if he wants to.

 

 

[sc_queens 14]

5 hours ago, appleblossom said:

 

OK, so let's assume you get citizenship in a year or so, then sponsor your parents. Not sure which country they're in, but it's currently around 2 years to sponsor parents for most countries, so your parents may get PR mid 2026 to mid 2027 as a very rough guide. Figure a 10 year wait for your brother to be sponsored by them from that point (again, a very rough guide as nobody knows how things will change between now and then or how much the backlog will grow by). 

 

So he'll need to either be prepared to leave the US to wait, or to find another visa option to stay in the US for that time. 

 

And I'd strongly suggest you also apply to sponsor him as soon as you've got citizenship as well, as a back up plan just in case. That will probably take longer than it would for your parents to sponsor him, but at least then he could marry if he wants to.

 

 

Hi, how would the scenario turn out if I apply for him right after getting citizenship? Isn't the processing time around 15 years?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the processing time when parents apply for their unmarried son/daughter would be 5 years, right? 

 

Thank you so much for explaining these scenarios to me. This whole situation is so complicated. 

[appleblossom 1,331]

24 minutes ago, sc_queens said:

Hi, how would the scenario turn out if I apply for him right after getting citizenship? Isn't the processing time around 15 years?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the processing time when parents apply for their unmarried son/daughter would be 5 years, right? 

 

Thank you so much for explaining these scenarios to me. This whole situation is so complicated. 

Current processing for unmarried children of LPR’s is for those with Priority Dates of Sept 2015, so over 8 years ago. But it’s not linear, it’s been on the same date and hasn’t moved at all for over a year. 
 

So given how slow it can go, I’d be prepared for a lot longer (my 10 year guess above is likely to be on the optimistic side) - ditto sibling sponsorship, the current 16.5 yrs isn’t likely for anybody applying in the future, that timeline will only go up. 

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by appleblossom

[Boiler 43,513]

I prefer to have as many applications in play as possible when dealing with categories involving long wait times as you never know what might happen.

 

I do remember the case of one lady on a F1, she had a child in the US, and was still on a F1 when the child hit 21 so she could adjust. I am not saying that is normal but there are some odd timelines out there.

[manyfudge 273]

You have received good answers on this thread.

 

The most realistic way is for him to find a U.S.C. spouse.

 

Failing that, STEM major to get a 3 year OPT and do well enough to get GC sponsorship as well as trying the H1B lottery.

 

What is his major?

 

 

11 hours ago, sc_queens said:

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the processing time when parents apply for their unmarried son/daughter would be 5 years, right? 

More like 10 years at this point and growing.  

[Crazy Cat 39,316]

11 minutes ago, manyfudge said:

The most realistic way is for him to find a U.S.C. spouse

But for love, rather than just for immigration benefits, right? 

Edited November 14, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[manyfudge 273]

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

for love, ra

Of course.

[Boiler 43,513]

Always