I got my U.S. Green Card/Citizenship. Now what?

One of the biggest advantages of U.S. citizenship and U.S. Green Card in some cases is that you can bring your family to the United States, to live with you, permanently. U.S. citizenship gives you an opportunity to invite your family members to immigrate to the United States and get a U.S. Green Card for themselves and their families. However, you cannot invite any family member. There are certain restrictions on who you can invite. Depending on your status i.e. if you are a U.S. citizen or a Green Card holder, and your relationship to the person you want to invite, that person will fall under a category. The category determines how soon the family member can move to the United States permanently and who s/he can bring along with them.

Immediate Family Members / Immediate Relatives (IR)

If a person qualifies as an Immediate Relative (IR), a visa is always available for them. This means, your family can come stay with you rather quickly, and if in case the family member is already in the United States, they may be able to simply adjust their status and do not have to leave the U.S. when their current visa expires. The following relationships qualify for an IR category:
a. Spouse of a U.S. citizen
b. Unmarried children (under 21 years of age) of U.S. citizen
c. Orphan adopted abroad or in the United States by a U.S. citizen
d. Parent of a US. citizen, where the citizen son or daughter is at least 21 years of age
e. Spouse of a deceased U.S. citizen, where at the time of the citizen’s death, the spouses have been married at least two years and were not legally separated.

Family Preference Categories

If you are not a U.S. citizen, or if you have determined that your relationship does not qualify in IR category, it is possible that the family member may qualify under one of the family preference categories. There are a limited number of visas available each year for these categories, but it only means that when you file a Petition for your relative, your relative will be put on a wait list. When their turn comes, they will be invited to apply for an immigrant visa and come to the U.S.
a. First Preference (F1): Adult unmarried sons and daughters (age 21 or older) of U.S. citizens
b. Second Preference A (F2A): Spouse and unmarried sons and daughters under age 21 of permanent residents
c. Second Preference B (F2B): Unmarried children of any age of permanent residents
d. Third Preference (F3): Married children of U.S. citizens
e. Fourth Preference (F4): Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens where the U.S. citizen is 21 years of age or older

If you have determined that your relationship qualifies for either the IR category or one of the Family Preference categories, you may be able to file a Petition for the family member. The very first step in bringing your family members to the United States is to file a Form I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative. The documentation requirement for each category is different, so you have to first make sure that you apply for the correct category and submit the documentation that pertains to your specific category. If you submit an incomplete form or incorrect documents, USCIS will return your application and therefore cause a delay that could have been easily avoided.

After the U.S. citizen or Green Card holder (Petitioner) file a Petition for their relative (Beneficiary), the Petition will get a decision by USCIS. If the Beneficiary is an Immediate Relative and is already in the United States, they may be able to simply adjust their status by filing a Form I-485 Adjustment of Status. However, if the Beneficiary is, either not an Immediate Relative or is not in the United States currently, s/he will have to go through Consular Processing.

Under Consular Processing, the Beneficiary simply finishes the process abroad and then come to the United States. Once you receive an approval from USCIS, USCIS forwards the file to National Visa Center (NVC), a part of U.S. Department of State. Once the file becomes current, i.e. a visa becomes available for your relative; NVC will get in touch with the Beneficiary as well as the Petitioner. At this point, Petitioner is required to submit sponsorship documents and file a Form I-864 Affidavit of Support. The Beneficiary is also required to pay certain fees to NVC and submit primary documents. Once NVC processes the payments as well as the documents from the Petitioner and Beneficiary, it forwards the file to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate that will adjudicate the Beneficiary’s application. Once the Embassy or Consulate receives the file, it will schedule an immigrant visa interview for the Beneficiary (and his/her family, if they qualify). The primary beneficiary and the derivative beneficiaries, if any, will be required to undergo a medical examination and then appear for their visa interview. If all goes well at the interview, your relative will get an immigrant visa stamp (I-551) on their passport and will soon be on their way to fly to the United States!

If you are interested in applying for a Form I-130 i.e. bringing your family to come live close to you or if you wish to discuss it in further details, please feel free to email us at info@davelawoffice.com to schedule a consultation.

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