How long does it take to sponsor a family?

No, it takes about 10-12 years for a sibling of a US citizen petition to become current so that the sibling and family can get immigrant visas.

Assuming you are a US citizen 21 years of age or older you may sponsor a sibling/sister who will be classified as an F4 for purposes of the availability of an immigrant visa under the DOS Visa Bulletin. The length of time it takes for the availability of a visa for your sister and her derivative family members will depend on her nationality and the date that she actually acquires a "priority date" (which is provided by USCIS when you have satisfied the petition requirements and they have issued an official receipt and, ultimately, an Approval Notice for her case). Under the current Visa Bulletin, immigrant visas in F4 classification are available to those individuals who have priority dates of 22 January 2001 or older (except that in the case of Chinese it is 08 January 2001; in the case of Mexican nationals it is 08 June 1996; in the case of Philippine nationals it is 01 February 1989). Under the current system, the wait for the availability of an immigrant visa under your sponsorship will be a minimum of 12 years, assuming you file shortly for her and receive a priority date and assuming that the US Congress makes no changes in the future to the number of available visas on an annual basis for family-related classifications.

How long it takes depends on your family's contry of origin and the relationship, ie mother, sister, etc. You can see the visa wait periods for the current visa bulletin here, http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html. To receive a priority date (get in the line) you must first start the sponsorship process here in the US through USCIS. You may want to consult with an immigration attorney to assist you with this matter.

Sponsoring a sibling could take up to 20 years. They should try an employment based visa. *PERM Labor Certification* A Labor Certification is an application filed by your future employer. Labor Certification is now known as PERM and moves through the system much faster than before. In fact, if everything goes smoothly, after filing the Labor Certification, it could take only 60 days. This is years faster than before. It is an offer of employment that will allow you to work for that employer when you get your Green Card. My office prepares the paperwork and application and then sends it out for signature to you and your employer. We guide both of you through the entire process so that you will never wonder what to do next. Please note that even though the Labor Certification process is much faster, that it is still taking years for the visa number to become current.

No, it isn't true. If you are a U.S. citizen, and the immigrant petition that you are going to file will be approved, your sister will not get an immigrant visa for quite a few years. Only 65000 immigrant visas are given every year to brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Since many more people apply, there is a backlog. Besides, since a disproportionately large numbers of immigrant petitions are filed for citizens of China, India, Mexico, and Philippines, these citizens of these countries have their own, separate queues. Now, brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who filed visa petitions in February 2001 are getting their visas (the queue for Mexicans is backed up to June 1996, for Philippines - to February 1989). So, if you file a petition for your sister tomorrow, she will have to wait for her visa about 11 years (or 16 years if she is a citizen of Mexico, or 23 years - if she is from the Philippines).

Petitions for brothers and sisters of US citizens take about at least 10 years.