Immigration Corner | What’s the quickest way to migrate to be with my mother?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I want to understand the expeditious pathways available for me to obtain legal residency in the United States. My situation involves two significant factors:

1. My child’s birth in America: My child was born in the United States in 2020, which I understand might influence my eligibility for certain immigration options.

2. My mother’s recent green card status: I am pleased to share that my mother, who is older, recently became a green card holder in the United States (2023).

Given these circumstances, my primary goal is to be able to work and assist my elderly mother in the United States. I am reaching out to you in the hopes of receiving expert guidance on the fastest and most suitable avenues to achieve this goal.

Additionally, is there a possibility of my current B-1/B-2 US Visa being cancelled while applying for a renewal, and what happens to my current visa if my renewal application is denied?

Thank you for your attention to my inquiry.

Warm regards.

SM

Dear SM,

Both family members, your permanent resident mother and your US citizen daughter, can provide a pathway to migration to the United States.

Your permanent resident mother is eligible to file a petition for you to migrate to the United States if you are unmarried. A green card holder parent cannot file a petition for a married son/daughter to migrate to America – only a United States parent can file for a married son/daughter. This applies even if your parent files for you as unmarried and you marry before the process is completed, i.e., you enter the US as an unmarried person.

Your mother’s filing would place you in the F2B preference category, and applications with a priority date of April 1, 2016 and earlier have visas available for them in June, 2024.

Your United States citizen daughter will be eligible to file a US residency petition for you when she is 21 years old and not before. Wanting to live with your American citizen child in America while she is a minor does not qualify you for your US residency. She can live with her parents anywhere in the world – there is no requirement that she must reside in America.

A B1/B2 non-immigrant visa can be cancelled at any time by the US government, and for any reason. When you apply for the renewal of the visa, please ensure that you are completely truthful on the application, even if you think the answers may not be in your favour. People get into the realm of immigration fraud when they answer questions in a light most favourable to them and, in the process, commit fraud. If you commit immigration fraud, you will need a waiver of that fraud in the future, if you plan to migrate. Only spouses and parents are qualifying relatives from which a fraud waiver can be derived – a son/daughter is not a qualifying relative from whom you can be granted a waiver.

Most likely you would be called into the embassy for an interview during the renewal process, and your current visa (if there is still a valid period) would be cancelled if and when the renewal is denied.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com