Green Cards for my parents and their young adopted son

[absorbtion]

I became a US citizen in last year. My parents adopted a child a few years ago (a very special case). My brother through this adoption is 14 now.

Question, If I apply for the Green Cards for my parents, will my brother belong to 'Family 4th preference' (just like normal brother & sisters) or 'Immediate Relative' (the same as my parents)? He is not an adult yet, so my parents would prefer to bring him here together with them after they get immigration visa.

How do you guys think of it? Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[BigJoe5]

I became a US citizen in last year. My parents adopted a child a few years ago (a very special case). My brother through this adoption is 14 now.

Question, If I apply for the Green Cards for my parents, will my brother belong to 'Family 4th preference' (just like normal brother & sisters) or 'Immediate Relative' (the same as my parents)? He is not an adult yet, so my parents would prefer to bring him here together with them after they get immigration visa.

How do you guys think of it? Thank you in advance for your help.

No, it does not work the way you want. Once a parent gets a greencard, (s)he can file an I-130 for their minor child in the F2A preference category or for the other spouse and the child together on one I-130.

 

[absorbtion]

No, it does not work the way you want. Once a parent gets a greencard, (s)he can file an I-130 for their minor child in the F2A preference category or for the other spouse and the child together on one I-130.

So you mean that my minor brother won't be able to get green cards together with my parents? It is a little bit confusing as I know that American Cicizen's brothers and sisters can add their spouse and minor children for immigration visa in F4 preference.


It takes about 1 year for my parents to get immigration visa now. By that time, my brother would be 15, still not an adult yet and can not take care of himself. It looks like I will need to postpone the immigration process for my parents until my brother is about 18 at college age. Then file I-130 for him so that he can come to US after graduating from college.

 

[Jackolantern]

Parents of USC don't get to add their children as derivatives.

It is true that brothers and sisters of USC can bring their children as derivatives, but they also must wait 10-11 years for that privilege. Whereas parents of USC typically complete the immigration process within a year.

You should file for your brother ASAP, so his 10+ year wait starts now. If your parents immigrate a few years in the future when he's 18 or 19, they should also file for him. Then he can immigrate on either your petition or your parent's petition, whichever one becomes "ripe" first based on the visa bulletin movements.

Meanwhile, they should take care to preserve the adoption papers, and also maintain documents to show that he has been living with them since the adoption (e.g. school records, medical records), because USCIS has stricter requirements for adopted children and siblings.

 

[BigJoe5]

On adoption issue....

The adopted child is OK for immigration as long as the child resided with the adoptive parent(s) for two full years (in the aggregate--sum total). You indicated a "few years" which to me usually means 3 or more.

IF they can handle it, ONE parent could come as a parent of as USC much quicker and then file one I-130 for the other parent and the child who could then immigrate together.

Once the first parent gets the greencard he or she can get a re-entry permit and go back for a period of two years and can return to the U.S. and get another re-entry permit good for another two years. This would speed the process for the entire family and little brother would probably be ready to enter college as a greencard holder in the U.S. (resident tuition rates) and the parents and little brother could remain a family unit most of that time.

 

[absorbtion]

Thank you BigJoe5 for your suggestion!

The adopted child is OK for immigration as long as the child resided with the adoptive parent(s) for two full years (in the aggregate--sum total). You indicated a "few years" which to me usually means 3 or more.

IF they can handle it, ONE parent could come as a parent of as USC much quicker and then file one I-130 for the other parent and the child who could then immigrate together.

Once the first parent gets the greencard he or she can get a re-entry permit and go back for a period of two years and can return to the U.S. and get another re-entry permit good for another two years. This would speed the process for the entire family and little brother would probably be ready to enter college as a greencard holder in the U.S. (resident tuition rates) and the parents and little brother could remain a family unit most of that time.