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1. The Fourth Preference
for Brothers and Sisters of U.S. Citizens
The close family members of a U.S. citizen can
qualify to immigrate to the United States, but they are subject to a
numerical limit of immigrant visas available to them each year.
Generally, the higher the preference, the quicker the alien will be
eligible to receive a Green Card. The relatives in most categories must
wait for a visa to become available according to the following
preferences:
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Third Preference: Married
sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, including their spouses and their
minor children. (23,400 per year, plus unused visas from the First and
Second Preferences);
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Fourth Preference: Brothers
and sisters of U.S. citizens, including their spouses and their minor
children. (65,000 per year, plus unused visas from the First, Second,
and Third Preferences).
If an applicant does not qualify as an
immediate relative, they may apply under one of the four
preferences above as a relative. Since numerical
caps apply to these categories, visa petitions are ranked
chronologically based on a "first come, first serve basis." Also,
because of the numerical cap, there are long waiting periods to obtain
a visa in most of the family-based immigrant categories.
It is important for people to know what family
members they might be able to bring to the United States permanently.
U.S. permanent residents may sponsor neither their parents nor siblings
for a Green Card. Only U.S. citizens may do this. However, even U.S.
citizens may not bring siblings to the U.S. without an extended waiting
period.
Parents
of U.S. citizens are regarded as "immediate relatives",
and
they are not
subject to numerical limitations. They only have to wait for the
necessary
paperwork processing. This includes the Form I-130 in the immediate
relative category
and consular processing for immigrant visa, if the parent is abroad. If
the U.S.
citizen's parent happens to be in the U.S., then it may be possible to
file the
Form I-130 and Form I-485 at the same time, and obtain permanent
residence in the U.S.
The
situation for siblings (brothers and sisters), however, is far
different. They
have to wait for years before the Priority Dates in the sibling
category of
family-based fourth preference become current. Immigration benefits are
only
available if the priority date is current. The visa dates on the Visa
Bulletin of
the U.S. Department of State
are updated monthly, usually around the 10th of each month.
2. The Green Card
Application for U.S. Citizen's Brothers and Sisters
Family-sponsored immigration has an overall
quota of about half million per year, plus unused numbers from
employment-based preferences. Each
preference is given a numerical quota per year to limit the number of
immigrants admitted into the United States.
People who want to become immigrants are
divided into categories based on a preference system. The immediate
relatives of U.S. citizens, which includes parents, spouses and
unmarried children under the age of 21, do not have to wait for an
immigrant visa number to become available once the application filed
for them is approved by the USCIS (United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services).
To
apply for a Green Card for a U.S. citizen's brother or sister, a U.S.
citizen must be 21 years of age. Also, to qualify as a brother or
sister of a U.S. citizen, both the brother or sister and the U.S.
citizen must have been children of the same parent. The annual visa
allotment available for this preference is 65,000, plus any visas not
used by the first three preferences.
More
distant relatives, such as aunts/uncles, cousins, and grandparents
cannot be
sponsored for a Green Card. Even U.S. citizens cannot petition for
these
relatives. It may be possible to invite them for a temporary visit on a
visitor's visa, depending upon whether they have sufficient ties to
their
respective home countries to show that they have no immigrant intent.
Of course,
they may also be sponsored if they are qualified and the sponsoring
relative
owns a business, or is able to find employment for the foreign national
relative
under the employment-based preference categories.
3.
The Immigration Visa Application for Brothers or Sisters, and the Long
Waiting
Time
For
a U.S. citizen with brothers or sisters in their home country, the U.S.
citizen has the right to apply for immigrant visa for the brothers or
sisters to come to United States to live and work, in the status of
lawful permanent residence or Green Card, along with their spouses and
unmarried children under the age of 21.
To
apply for immigration visa for brothers or sisters, the U.S. citizen
must be 21 years of age or older, and should be able to guarantee that
the sibling and their family will be financially supported in the U.S.
by the U.S. citizen, not require any government assistance.
U.S.
citizen's brothers or sisters immigration is in the family-based fourth
preference (F4) category, which is the slowest immigration category.
After starting the immigration process by filing an immigration visa
petition on USCIS Form I-130, the U.S. citizen's brothers or sisters
will be placed on the waiting list for an immigrant visa.
The
immigrant visa waiting time is very long, may be more than 10 years for
some countries, such as Mexico, India, China, and Philippine. After the
waiting time is over, getting the actual immigrant visa and green card
can take another several months.
4. The Sibling
Relationship for Immigration Petition
The
sibling of U.S. citizen category enables U.S. citizens to sponsor their
sister,
brother, half-sister, half-brother, stepsister, stepbrother or adopted
brother
or sister living abroad or already residing in the United States to
live and
work in the U.S. on a permanent basis. If
applying while the foreign sibling is in the U.S., the foreign sibling
must have
entered the U.S. legally and continue to maintain a lawful status. If
applying
while the foreign sibling is outside the United States, the foreign
sibling must
remain outside the U.S. until the immigrant visa is granted.
To
be eligible for a Green Card as a sibling of a U.S. citizen, the
applicant must
be the sister, brother, half-sister, half-brother, stepsister,
stepbrother or
adopted brother or sister of a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years of
age. This
must be proven through the use of the following relevant documents:
birth
certificates, adoption papers, marriage certificates. Applicants must
meet
certain health and character requirements.
As a U.S. citizen, you can petition for:
1) brother or sister, and you have the same
mother;
2) brother or sister, and you have the same
father BUT different mothers;
3) brother or sister, you are related through
your father, and one of you was born out of wedlock and legitimated;
4) brother or sister, you are related through
your father, and one of you was born out of wedlock but not legitimated;
5) stepbrother or stepsister, and you now share
a common parent;
6) stepbrother or stepsister, you now share a
common parent, and one of you was born out of wedlock;
7) stepbrother or stepsister, you are related
through your father, and one of you was born out of wedlock but not
legitimated.
The
legal definition of sibling includes step-brothers and step-sisters, if
you were both 18 or under when your parents married, and your parents
remained married. It also includes adopted siblings, if you both were
under age 16 when adopted and meet other legal conditions for a valid
adoption.
Your brother or sister will not receive the right to immigrate to the
U.S. immediately, your siblings may wait a long time for the right to
apply for U.S. permanent residence. In many instances, depending on the
country they are from, it may take 10 years.
The first step in getting permanent residence in the U.S. for your
sibling is to file a visa petition on Form I-130. If your sibling is
living abroad, he or she will have to wait until the I-130 is approved,
and his or her “priority date” becomes current before
starting the green card application.
5.
Other Important Issues for Brother/Sister Relationship
If
either you or your sibling were born out of wedlock (your birth parents
were not married when you were born), you must provide evidence that
you took the actions necessary to satisfy the
legitimating law of the birth country of the person born out of wedlock
while the individual was under 18 years of age and unmarried.
Legitimating laws require fathers to legally acknowledge their
children.
Other
important issues that you need to know include:
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If you and your sibling have same mother, you
need to file Form I-130, with your birth certificate and your siblings
birth certificate with your mother’s name on it, along with
your proof for citizenship and affidavit of support.
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If you and your sibling have same father but
different mother, then you will have to file Form I-130 with your birth
certificate with your father’s name, and your siblings birth
certificate with your father’s name, a copy of divorce decree
or any documents to prove your fathers previous marriage were ended.
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If you are applying for a step sibling who is
sharing a common father, then you will need to submit your birth
certificate with the name of your father. The marriage certificates
between your father to both your natural mother and your step siblings
natural mother, and proof of termination of marriage to your natural
mother or your siblings natural mother.
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If you are applying for a step sibling and you
share a common mother, then along with Form I-130 you will have to
submit a copy of your birth certificate with that of name of your
mother, a copy of your siblings birth certificate with that of name of
your mother.
6. The Processing Time and Steps during the Family-Based Green Card Application
If you are planning on
acting as a green card sponsor for a family member, various factors can
stretch the process into months, depending on how long it takes you to
gather documents and prepare the appropriate paperwork; who you plan to
sponsor; whether there is a limit on immigrant visa numbers given out
in that category; and how backlogged the various USCIS offices that you
will deal with are at the time.
First, you will need to
fill out USCIS Form I-130, and attach your U.S. citizenship or Green
Card evidence, as well as proof of your relationship to your family
member. USCIS' process for the petition can take several months.
Usually later, you will need to prepare an Affidavit of Support on Form
I-864, together with documents proving that you are able and willing to
support the immigrant at an amount that is at least 125% of the U.S.
Poverty Guidelines.
In addition, your family
member will need to prepare various documents as his or her own
application for a green card. The exact forms and process depend on
whether your relative will be adjusting status in the U.S. or going
through consular processing from another country. Your relative will
also need to undergo a medical exam, and get the doctor's report to
submit with the green card application. At every step of the way, you
will be dealing with a government agency that is backlogged with other
applicants. The typical processing steps you may encounter include:
- waiting a receipt notice after submitting Form I-130;
- if your relative
will be coming from abroad and going to consular processing, awaiting
transfer of the case to a U.S. consulate and correspondence from the
National Visa Center;
- if your relative is
in the U.S. and will be adjusting status inside U.S, awaiting a receipt
notice and then a fingerprinting appointment waiting for the FBI to
process your relative's fingerprints;
- waiting an interview with the U.S. consulate or USCIS office.
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Family Green Card Application
Service, www.greencardfamily.com