Immigration Corner | Can my mother file for my son and me?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington.

My mom is a US citizen since 2022; a filing was done through my big brother. I am 26 years old and I have a five-year-old son. I reside in Jamaica.

I was wondering if it is possible for my mom to file for me and my son, or just me, and what length of time it would take for everything to come through?

SJ

Dear SJ,

I am reading your question that your brother filed a petition for you to get your green card and to migrate, but your mother has not filed a petition on your behalf.

Let me state clearly that a green card holder can file for their spouse, their minor children (under 21 years of age), and their unmarried adult son or daughter. Many people mistakenly assume that only US citizens can file for family members. This assumption causes unnecessary delays in the reunification of families.

As soon as a parent obtains permanent residence (green card), they can immediately file for their minor children and unmarried adult son/daughter.

A sibling petition must be filed by a US citizen and that category of filing takes the longest. Currently, it is taking approximately 17 years for a visa to become available in the sibling (F4) category. The waiting period varies, and this is among the longest waiting period I have seen in my 26 years of practising law for the F4 category.

By contrast, a US citizen parent can file a petition for her unmarried, adult daughter and that petition would be in the F1 preference category. It is currently taking about nine years (October 2015) for a visa to become available in the F1 category. A green card holder parent filing for their unmarried adult son/daughter takes a little more than eight years (May 2016). Yes – currently, visas are available faster in the green card parent category than the US citizen parent (unmarried son/daughter) category – it happens sometimes.

In either case, with a parent (green card or US citizen) filing for their adult son/daughter, there is a provision for a grandchild to be a derivative beneficiary of the initial filing and the grandchild can be added to the petition.

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