Attorney Dallas Immigration | Lawyer Dallas,
Texas, Plano | Petitioning Family Members
GENERAL
INFORMATION ON PETITIONING FAMILY MEMBERS
A lawful
permanent resident is a foreign national who has been
granted the privilege of permanently living and working in
the United States. If you want to become a lawful permanent
resident based on the fact that you have a relative who is a
citizen of the United States or a relative who is a lawful
permanent resident, you must go through a multi-step
process.
First,
the USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition, I-130
Petition for Alien Relative for you. This petition is filed
by your relative (sponsor) and must be accompanied by proof
of your relationship to the requesting relative.
Second,
the Department of State must determine if an immigrant visa
number is immediately available to you, the foreign
national, even if you are already in the United States. When
an immigrant visa number becomes immediately available to
you, it means that you can apply to have one of the
immigrant visa numbers assigned to you. You can check the
status of a visa number in the Department of State's Visa
Bulletin.
Third,
if you are already in the United States, you may apply to
change your status to that of a lawful permanent resident
after a visa number becomes available for you. This is one
way you can apply to secure an immigrant visa number. If you
are outside the United States when an immigrant visa number
becomes available for you, you must then go to the U.S.
consulate servicing the area in which you reside to complete
your processing. This is the other way in which you can
apply to secure an immigrant visa number.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to
sponsor a relative to immigrate to the United States you
must meet the following criteria:
-
You must be a citizen or a lawful
permanent resident of the United States and be able to
provide documentation proving your status, and
-
You must prove that you can support
your relative at 125% above the mandated poverty line.
If you are a US
Citizen you may petition for the following foreign national
relatives to immigrate to the United States; however you
must be able to provide proof of the relationships:
-
Husband or wife;
-
Unmarried child under 21 years old;
-
Unmarried son or daughter over 21;
-
Married son or daughter of any age;
-
Brother or sister, if you are at least
21 years old; or
-
Parent, if you are at least 21 years
old.
If you are a
lawful permanent resident you may petition for the following
foreign national relatives to immigrate to the United
States; however you must be able to provide proof of the
relationships:
-
Husband or wife; or
-
Unmarried son or daughter of any age.
To be eligible
for lawful permanent residence based on a family
relationship you must meet the following criteria:
-
You must have a relative who is a
United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident of
the United States who can provide documentation proving
their status and is willing to sponsor you for lawful
permanent residency by filing the I-130, Petition for
Alien Relative.
-
Your relative must prove they can
support you by providing documentation that their income
is 125% above the mandated poverty line for their
family, including you and all other sponsored family
members. If your relative is a US Citizen and they can
legally prove you share one of the following
relationships, you may be eligible for lawful permanent
residency, please see below for preference category
information.
PREFERENCE CATEGORIES
The relative you
wish to immigrate must obtain a visa number that is based on
the preference category in which they fall.
People who want
to become immigrants are classified 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 visa
petition filed for them is approved by the USCIS. An
immigrant visa number will be immediately available for
immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. The relatives in the
remaining categories must wait for a visa number to become
available according to the following preferences:
-
First Preference: Unmarried,
adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. Adult means 21
years of age or older
-
Second Preference: Spouses of
lawful permanent residents, their unmarried children
(under twenty-one), and the unmarried sons and daughters
of lawful permanent residents.
-
Third Preference: Married sons
and daughters of U.S. citizens.
-
Fourth Preference: Brothers and
sisters of adult U.S. citizens.
Once USCIS
receives your visa petition, I-130, Petition for Alien
Relative, it will be approved or denied. USCIS will notify
the person who filed the visa petition if the visa petition
is approved. USCIS will then send the approved visa petition
to the Department of State's National Visa Center, where it
will remain until an immigrant visa number is available. The
Center will notify you, the foreign national, when the visa
petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number
is available. You do not need to contact the National Visa
Center, unless you change your address or there is a change
in your personal situation, or that of your alien relative,
that may affect eligibility for an immigrant visa, such as
reaching age 21, marriage, divorce, or death of a spouse.
