Good morning All! I am a US citizen and my husband is a Permanent resident. He has a daughter of a previous marriage who is 18 and we want her to come a live with us. What paperwork do we need? Do we both file the petition for her or is it only my husband? Is there an advantage that I am a citizen? How long is the process? Thank you in advance!!
Green card for stepdaughter
- Thread starter Pam_Doleo
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Then you (the US citizen stepparent) should petition your stepdaughter. If you petition her, she will be in the Immediate Relative category, with no wait for visa numbers. If your husband (a US permanent resident) petitions her, she will be in the F2A category, which has a wait for visa numbers of around 2 years.Yes. She just turned 18 earlier this month and we have been married since 2011
Assuming she is applying from abroad, you would start by filing I-130, with a copy of her birth certificate and your marriage certificate. The whole process may take around a year.
On this last part: my stepdaughter has tourist visa, could she come and live with us while the process is ongoin? Could we do an Adjustment of Status? What would you think is best?
Sm1smom
Super Moderator
Nope, she cannot do that. Entering the US on a NIV with the mind of processing AOS is considered to be a fraudulent use of that specific visa.
File the I130 and have her process from the home country or where she’s currently based and attend her interview at the applicable US embassy.
Great, thank you for the clarification.
Hi everyone! We just filed the I130 petition for my husband's daughter, as mentioned before she lives outside the US. Does anyone knows what is the process? For what I have read, the I130 will get approved, sent to the local US Embassy in our home country and then? Is there an interview? Do we need to go with her to such interview? I will appreciate if anyone can explain the process and/or what to expect.
Thank you! Pam
Thank you! Pam
She will need e medical examination. I copied and pasted
“Generally, all applicants filing for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident must submit Form I-693 completed by a designated civil surgeon. Form I-693 is used to report results of a medical examination to USCIS. The examination is required to establish that an applicant is not inadmissible to the United States on public health grounds.
A list of those health grounds can be found in section 212(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
My stepmom at the time petitioned for me and my brothers. My Dad wasnt a citizen at that time
My Grandmother took us to the interview because we were minors. I dont know how it would work for an 18 year old tho
I do know. If you arent a Citizen of the USA
And dont have an appointment with any US Embassy. You wont even make it pass the front gate
So as far as someone going with her to the interview it might be who ever is a US Citizen. To even make it into the building. But physically Being in the actual interview!! I cant comment on that part!!
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
You quoted the rules for adjustment of status. The stepdaughter is doing consular processing, not AOS. Yes she will need a medical, but she shouldn't do it before she has notification of her interview date because medicals expire after 6 months and that affects the expiry date of the visa.
pam_doleo, this site explains the immigrant visa process from outside the US. Go through the site and the links on it. It will probably answer most of your questions. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process.html
She will have to interview as she is over 14, but the petitioner is not required to be at the interview. Under the circumstances of your case the interview should be pretty much a formality - collecting biometrics and confirming the info on the petition re who she is, relationship to petitioner (which is established by the documents you will have submitted) etc.