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KEROSKY PURVES & BOGUE
Attorneys at Law
San Francisco Office
142
Sansome Street, Ste 500
San
Francisco, CA 94103
Telephone: (415) 777-4445
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8484
Wilshire Blvd.Ste 430
Beverly
Hills, CA 90211
Telephone: (323) 782-3877
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4040 Civic Center
Drive, Suite 200
San Rafael, CA 94903
Telephone:
(707) 433-2060
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Santa Rosa Office
131A
Stony Circle
Suite
475
Santa
Rosa, CA 95401
Telephone: (707) 433-2060
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1311
First Street
Napa,
CA 94559
Telephone: (707) 224-2722
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770
L Street
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950
Sacramento,
CA 95814
Telephone: (415) 777-4445
Attorney@KPBlawyers.com
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Please
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HOW
DO I SPONSOR MY FAMILY MEMBER TO IMMIGRATE TO THE U.S.?
An
introduction to the family preference system.
Much of the immigration to the U.S. that
occurs is through sponsorship by a family relative. Family-based immigration allows for close
relatives of U.S. Citizens and legal permanent residents to rejoin their
families here in the U.S.
However, the system is based on categories,
each of which has strict annual limits in the number of immigrants allowed each
year. This creates backlogs, some of them quite lengthy, in some of these
family categories.
The priority is given to “Immediate relatives”. This category does not have any limit or cap
on the number of visas and therefore, there is no “waiting period” other than
the amount of time the Department of Homeland Security (or the U.S.
consulate abroad) takes to process these visas.
These “immediate relative”
categories are:
·
Spouses of U.S. citizens;
·
Unmarried minor children of U.S. citizens;
and
·
Parents of U.S. citizens.
Obtaining a green card through marriage.
In the case of
marriage, an application must be submitted along with documents to prove the
validity of the marriage and an interview takes place at the DHS office, if
they are in the U.S. It generally takes
approximately six months to obtain conditional permanent residence for the
spouse. Conditional permanent residence
is granted for two years.
In the case of all
immediate relatives in the U.S., an application for a green card can be
processed here. It is not necessary for
the relative to be in legal status, but they must have come to the U.S. legally,
with a valid visa. If they crossed the border without a visa,
they do not qualify.
If the spouse is
outside the U.S., then an application is filed here and once approved, the
relative goes through “consular processing” back home in their home country.
Obtaining permanent residence through
family members other than spouses.
You can sponsor other members of your
family besides those in this “immediate relative” category, but in each case
there will be a long wait for them to get a green card. The other relative categories have limits on
the number of visas and therefore, there are waiting periods, which can run
from five to ten years or more. These
relative categories are:
·
Adult children (unmarried) of U.S. citizens
(1st preference category)
·
Spouses and minor children of legal
permanent residents (2d preference)
·
Adult children (married) of U.S. citizens
(3d preference category)
·
Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens ( 4th
preference category)
The waiting periods for each of these visas
can be determined (approximately) by checking the U.S. Department of State
website or the Visa Bulletin which they publish. The visa bulletin is available at http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html
The
U.S. Department of State visa bulletin
lists each category and the date on which an individual applied in each
category who is being processed for a green card currently. From this date, one can try to extrapolate
how long it will take for an application filed today to take before a relative
qualifies for permanent residence.
As you’ll see when you check this bulletin,
there are long waits for every category of family sponsorship. In
addition to per category limits to family-based immigration, there are also per
country limits.
Because of higher numbers of immigration to
the U.S., persons coming from the countries of Mexico, the Philippines, China,
and India have an even longer wait than those from the rest of the world.
While it may seem absurd to file to sponsor
your relative given that the wait is over five years, there still are good
reasons to do so. If the annual limits
per category are raised in the future, this waiting period will decrease.
In any case, the sooner you file to bring
your relative, the sooner the person will join you here as a green card holder.
****************************************************************
CHRISTOPHER A.
KEROSKY of the law firm of KEROSKY PURVES & BOGUE has practiced immigration
law for over 25 years. He graduated
from University of California, Berkeley Law School and was a former counsel for
the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C.
Mr. Kerosky has
been recognized as one of the top lawyers in Northern California for over 10
years by “Super Lawyers”. See https://profiles.superlawyers.com/california-northern/san-francisco/lawyer/christopher-a-kerosky/358dc9f1-b1c2-46b5-80cc-6e9610b1cd43.html
.
WARNING: The foregoing is a
summary generally discussing legal issues. It is not intended to be a
substitute for legal advice. We recommend that you get competent legal advice
specific to your case before filing any application or petition.