Good day Mrs Walker-Huntington,
I would like some clarity on this situation. From I was, say, 10 years old, my mother’s sister put in a filing for her (in addition to my brother and me). Her case number begins with KNG2010.
The scenario is that my brother got married and went over already. I am now 30 years of age, with a child that is American. My mom just received mail as to do the necessaries for preparation. However, I was not on the email as person fit to travel with mom. Secondly after my mom received the mail, my aunt died a month after the pandemic started.
1. Could you say how far away she is for consideration?
2. Will I be able to go with my mother?
3. If yes, how do I get in the petition?
4. Any other questions that came up while picturing the scenario.
Dear S.M.,
A US citizen sister filing for her sibling is in the F4 preference category and it is currently taking almost 15 years for a visa to become available for a beneficiary in that category. About a year before a visa becomes available, the US Department of State will contact the beneficiary to pay the visa fees and begin processing the paperwork for the final leg of the visa process.
When the State Department contacts the immigrant, all eligible dependents are listed on the communication. In this case, you indicated that you are 30 years old, and you were not listed on your mother’s communication. This indicates that as far as the State Department is concerned, you have ‘aged out’ of the filing – you are over 21 and no longer considered a child for immigration purposes. Once the visa actually becomes available, a calculation under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) can be made to determine if you could qualify to migrate as a dependent with your mother. The US Embassy in Kingston makes the final determination if you qualify under the CSPA. When your mother appears for her interview, she can request that the US Embassy perform the calculation or she can do it before, and if the results indicate that you qualify, she can ask the embassy to consider her calculation.
If you do not qualify under the CSPA, your mother would be able to file a petition for you to migrate to the United States once she becomes a green card holder. However, if you marry while your mother is a green card holder, the filing will become void – a green card holder cannot file for a married son/daughter.
Dahlia Walker-Huntington is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United State and family, criminal, & international law in Florida. She is a mediator and former special magistrate & hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. Send feedback to info@walkerhuntington.com [2].