Siblings Green Card Attorney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Do you intend to bring your siblings to the United States? One of the most drawn-out and frequently challenging bureaucratic procedures in the U.S. is a petition for a green card for your siblings. The process could take months or even years to complete because there are many factors to consider. Despite your geographical separation, a family based immigration process may be how you and your siblings can be together. For this reason, it is highly recommended that you contact a reliable siblings immigration attorney in Milwaukee for legal advice.
A Milwaukee sibling green card attorney can help with all aspects of the procedure, including ensuring the petition is properly filled out and submitting the relevant documents to the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS). You can save money and time and avoid needless delays in your immigration procedure by working with a reputable Wisconsin immigration law firm.
When it comes to the issue of legal immigration, Wisconsin residents have long relied on Miller & Miller Immigration Lawyers, LLC. Get in touch with us right away if you need assistance with a green card application for your siblings from our skilled Milwaukee immigration lawyers.
Why Do I Need a Sibling Green Card Lawyer in Wisconsin?
One protracted and challenging immigration procedure in the U.S. is getting a green card for your siblings. The process can take months or even years to complete. Family-based immigration makes it feasible to reunite with your siblings. Working with a knowledgeable Milwaukee, Wisconsin sibling green card lawyer who can assist you in resolving your immigration issue is strongly advised.
Additionally, there are three primary justifications to think about employing an experienced sibling immigration lawyer:
- the difficulty of the petitioning process for siblings’ green cards;
- a rise in the number of people being detained and deported; and
- the accessibility of waivers for specific non-US citizens who have committed minor offenses or have been present illegally in the country for a specific amount of time.
Each potential immigrant has particular challenges that call for in-depth research and knowledge. What could initially appear to be a barrier to migrating to the United States could open up with the correct assistance.
What is Immigration?
People can immigrate to another country to become a citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Immigration has historically provided states with significant social, economic, and cultural benefits. The history of immigration is lengthy and diverse, and it has frequently led to the emergence of multicultural communities. Many modern states are distinguished by a wide range of cultures and ethnicities brought by earlier waves of immigration.
Green Card for Siblings
For a green card holder in the United States with siblings born abroad, you can apply for a green card (legal permanent residence) on their behalf, also known as “fourth preference” or F4. You can also do so for their spouses and children (who are not yet married) below 21. You cannot petition them unless you are at least 21 years old. Be prepared to contribute to ensuring that your family can financially support themselves in the United States without needing any need-based government aid.
However, there’s a very long waiting list since there is a strict annual cap on this visa category.
Permanent residents cannot, however, file a petition to bring their siblings to live permanently in the United States. As soon as permanent residents are eligible, they should apply for U.S. citizenship if they want to help a sibling immigrate.
Long Wait for US Green Cards of Siblings
You should be aware that it will take an astounding amount of time for your siblings to finish applying for U.S. green cards. This is despite the preparation and submission of the visa petition that kicks off the process (on USCIS Form I-130).
According to the State Department’s Visa Bulletin, the average wait time in the sibling category is approximately 16 years for the majority of applicants. This can, however, be 23 years for those from Mexico, 19 years for those from the Philippines, and 17 years for those from India.
Depending on how many other people apply at the same time as your siblings and how long the backlog is before them, the wait time may have changed by the point your siblings are in the system. It will very certainly be a very long wait, though.
Temporary Visa Grant
Unless they successfully convince a U.S. consulate to grant them a temporary visa, like a student or visitor, they will not be permitted to reside in the country during this waiting period. However, consulates are hesitant to do that when a family-based visa petition is already on file because they are concerned that the applicant may abuse the visa to seek to enter the country permanently before receiving a green card.
Another issue is that the US Congress occasionally raises the possibility of doing away with the fourth priority category of visas. Given all of these concerns, it would be a good idea to submit the Form I 130 petition as soon as possible. For a thorough review, speak with a knowledgeable immigration lawyer.
Rules for Providing Financial Support to Siblings Who are Immigrants
Near the end of the application process, if you are eligible and want to have your sibling in the U.S. as well, you will need to demonstrate that your household income is greater than 125% of the US poverty level. This proves that you have enough money to support both your own family and that of your sibling. This helps to demonstrate that the petitioned individual won’t end up in the country as a “public charge.”
Filling out the Affidavit of Support on Form I-864, which is essentially a contract with the U.S. government, should enable you to do this. Your sign on this affidavit permits the government to contact you for payment of these amounts if your sibling ultimately applies for need-based government assistance.
Documentation Required
The sponsor, a United States citizen, must provide the following to complete the process:
- A completed Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130. You do not have to submit a separate Form I-130 for your sibling’s spouse or unmarried children under age 21;
- A copy of your and your sibling’s birth certificate, proving you share at least one parent;
- Proof of your citizenship, such as a copy of:
- Your current U.S. passport;
- Your U.S. birth certificate;
- Consular Report of Birth Abroad;
- Your naturalization certificate; or
- Your citizenship certificate.
How to Apply for a Green Card as a Sibling of a U.S. citizen?
Step One: Form I-130
The first step in obtaining your sibling’s permanent residency in the United States is for you to submit a petition on Form I-130. That is available for free download from the USCIS website and is submitted with the fee payment, documentation confirming your U.S. citizenship, and evidence of your siblingship.
- Sibling’s Birth Certificate. Making copies of your and your sibling’s birth certificate, which demonstrates that you share at least one parent, is typically required for the last requirement. If you or your sibling has changed your name, you will also want a proof-of-name-change document, such as a marriage certificate. You should also include a thorough translation if the document isn’t in English. The same applies to any other non-English papers.
- Father’s Birth Certificate. You’ll also need your father’s marriage certificate from his marriage with your mother and the one from his marriage with your sibling’s mother if you and your sibling are exclusively linked via your father.
- Death Certificate, Annulment, or Divorce Order. To demonstrate that the first marriage was lawfully dissolved, you will also need a death certificate, an annulment or divorce order, or both. You or your sibling will require proof of legitimation, which is evidence that a financial or emotional tie was created with the father at some point before age 21 if the parents were never married.
Step Two: USCIS’ approval of the I-130 and next steps in the application
Your sibling will be given a “priority date” depending on the day United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) first received your petition after it has been examined and authorized by them for the I-130 petition. The lengthy wait then starts.
Postponing Marriage Before Immigration
You can advise your sibling and their children to postpone getting married before immigrating to the U.S. if they wish to go with them on this visa. That may complicate the application for them, aside from the risk of losing eligibility for their children when they turn 21.
The fourth preference category’s priority dates need to be monitored for progress. You can do this by following the Visa Bulletin published by the State Department. Start watching for letters from the National Visa Center (NVC) when the dates on the family-based visa chart for the 4th preference category begin to resemble those of your sibling.
Priority Dates
If you begin to notice priority dates on the chart that are later than those of your siblings, get in touch with the NVC. Perhaps you failed to notify USCIS of your address change, or their letter got lost.
When the priority date becomes current, your sibling should be able to adjust status here if, by some rare chance, they are already in the country with a valid visa (obtaining a green card without leaving to process through a United States consulate). However, that does not mean that your sibling should obtain a tourist visa and arrive in this country just before the priority date becomes current in the hopes of modifying status. That would be a fraudulent use of the tourist visa and might result in the green card application being rejected.
Consular Processing
Your sibling will most likely engage in “consular processing,” which entails speaking with a U.S. consulate in their country of origin and undergoing a visa interview there. Your sibling and family will be given American immigrant permits if everything goes according to plan. They will be granted permanent residency as soon as they arrive in the country, and a few weeks later they will be given their official green cards.
Sponsorship of a Half-brother or Half-sister by a U.S. Citizen
A U.S. citizen who is 21 years of age or older may, under certain conditions, file a petition to have their siblings immigrate to the country. The term “sibling” as used in immigration law in the United States encompasses those who shared at least one parent, or half-blood sibling.
Suppose you are “paternal half-siblings,” which means that your father is your common parent. In that case, you must show USCIS proof that your father was once married to your mother and that their marriage has been legally ended. You must also provide proof that the father married the mother of your half-siblings and that, if she was ever married, that marriage has also been legally ended.
Sponsoring a Stepsibling as a U.S. Citizen
Again, a citizen of the United States above the age of 21 may file a petition for siblings. Under certain conditions, stepbrothers and stepsisters are also considered siblings, in addition to biological brothers and sisters.
The critical thing to remember is that you and your stepsister or stepbrother formerly qualified as “children of a common parent” under the law. It makes no difference if you’ve never shared a house.
The concept of “stepchild” under U.S. immigration law requires that the child had not yet turned 18 when the parents’ marriage took place; Therefore, one of you will need to meet this requirement.
Additional Supporting Documentation for Adopted, Step, or Paternal Half-Siblings
Supplement the following document if you and your sibling are connected through adoption:
- A copy of the adoption decree/s proving that you or your adopted sibling were adopted before turning 16 years old.
Also, submit the following if you and your sibling are linked to each other through a stepparent:
- Copies of the paperwork proving that the stepparent’s and/or natural parent’s previous marriages were ended officially; and
- A copy of the stepparent’s marriage certificate given to the biological parent. There are age requirements to qualify as a stepchild.
If you and your sibling are paternal half-siblings, meaning you share a biological father but different mothers, include the following supporting documents:
- Copies of the father’s and each mother’s marriage certificates, and
- Copies of the legal documents proving the termination of your parents’ previous unions.
Call our Sibling Green Card Lawyer in Milwaukee Now!
Green card lawyers from the law office of Miller & Miller Immigration Lawyers, LLC treat their clients professionally. We take the necessary time with each customer to understand their particular citizenship requirements.
Our sibling green card attorneys are fully aware of the steps and supporting evidence required to file a successful petition. We’ll help you properly prepare your petitions and other paperwork to save time and money.
Get in touch with Miller & Miller Immigration Lawyers, LLC right immediately to find out more about how we can help you get your siblings’ green cards.
