I was 15 when my parents took me to live in Mexico, Grew up, got married and had a child. Still live in Mexico, What can I do, I want to go back with my family.
You can petition for your husband and child for permanent residence using forms I-130 petition for alien relative. You should check with the American consulate or embassy whether it will accept the petitions over there rather than your having to file the petitions with USCIS in the States. Your husband and child will then be consular processed, but you will have to show domicile in the US through actions such as registering to vote, opening a US bank account, acquiring a residence in which to live, and/or obtaining a US job, etc. You will also have to show the ability to support your family financially by submitting an I-864 affidavit of support and, in the event of not being able to sustain the support obligation, having a joint sponsor of viable means do the same. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.
As a U.S. citizen you have the right to immigrate your family. You have not lived for 5 years in the US so your child is not a derivative US citizen, except that if one of your parents is and he or she lived here 5 years before your child was born, there is a chance that the child derived US citizenship. Regardless, I would suggest you consider filing to immigrate your wife and your child at the same time. If the child enters the US to live in your physical and legal custody (can be with his mom as well) while under the age of 18, then he will automatically become a US citizenupon entry as a permanent residnet. Your wife will not, she will enter as a permanent resident, or green card holder, and when she has been here for three years, can apply to naturalize.
The process to immigrate your family should take an average of 10 months, give or take a little, depending on the government's work load. If you want to discuss this in person or by phone, please call me at (619) 291-1112 and we can either discuss it on the phone or schedule an appointment.
Sincerely,
Jan Joseph Bejar, Esq.
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