QUESTION
Can I bring my dad, his wife and their child to the US?
Asked on Apr 12th, 2011 on Immigration - California
More details to this question:
I am over 21, a US citizen and my father is in Spain, he married his wife(step-mom) before I was 18 and they had their child(step-sister) before I was 18 as well. Can I bring them? Will they come together at the same time? More or less how long wil it take? My step sister is 9.
3 ANSWERS
Immigration Law Attorney serving Costa Mesa, CA
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Law Offices of Louis M. Piscopo, APLC
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You can petition your father and step-mother for their Green Cards and they would be able to immigrant to the US in about 9 months. While you can petition your step-sister, she will have to get a visitor visa to come with your parents. Then once your parents have their Green Cards they can petition her and will be able to get a Green Card in about 3 years.
Answered on Apr 15th, 2011 at 9:55 AM
Immigration and Naturalization Attorney serving San Francisco, CA
at
The Law Office of Christine Troy
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Because you are over 21, you are allowed to immediately able to petition for your father and step mother (since married before 18.) Their processing will take about 9-12 months. However your sister is not yet eligible. You can file the I-130 petition for her but it is currently taking about 10 years for that case to move to the green card stage. You are not able to file her as a derivative on their applications because you are a USC. You can also file your sister's case now and when her filing date is "current" ie she can file for the green card, then you can also start the process for your parents.
Answered on Apr 14th, 2011 at 9:00 AM
Immigration Attorney serving Torrance, CA
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Marie Michaud, Attorney At Law
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You can bring your dad + step mom. The process will take about 10-16 months and is not extremely difficult (unless they have issues, such as crimes or previous deportation.other issues might complicate matters). First you file the family petition. Once approved, the USCIS will transfer the file to the National Visa Center to start the consular processing. You can start the consular processing for both of them as soon as you get the "Fee Bill". For your step sister, things are a little more sad and will take longer. You first file the family petition, as you did for your mom and dd. You can do so at the same time. Once the petition is approved, the USCIS will also forward the file to the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will keep the file until a visa is available. The current estimated waiting time for a visa (through a American sibling, beneficiary from Spain) is about 11 years. Some other ideas to get your step sister a little faster: Your parents should request humanitarian parole for her (a somewhat complicated process / paperwork but it would allow your step sister to be "Paroled" into the US because she is too little to be by herself. As soon as your step mom or dad arrives in the US, they could file for her a family petition. This process takes about 4 years. Better get an attorney to avoid pitfalls for your little step sister. Not so simple here. Good luck.
Answered on Apr 13th, 2011 at 11:23 AM