Immigration Corner | Can my grandmother file for me?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I’m 14 years old, and I would like to know if my grandmother can file for me. She was filed for by her daughter, a soldier and US citizen.

NS

Dear NS,

First of all, at age 14, this is way too much for you to handle as a child. I suggest that you have your mother, aunt and or grandmother read this response and seek legal advice.

A grandmother cannot file a petition for a grandchild. She may file for her son/daughter and if the grandchild is under 21 at the time the immigrant visa becomes available, the grandchild my be able to migrate as a derivative beneficiary of the son/daughter.

It is not clear where your mother is and whether you reside with your grandmother. It is possible that if you have been living with your grandmother, that she can adopt you and then you would become her legal daughter. After your grandmother becomes a green card holder, she could then investigate filing for you as her child. Your grandmother would need to have legally adopted you and you would need to have lived with her for two years – before or after the adoption, in order for her to be successful with your application for a green card.

This is a complicated area of immigration law and needs several things to align for this to be successful – including that any adoption must take place before you are 16 years old.

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