Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

My son has filed for me to live in the US and the filing has come through ... I now have an interview. However, I have two teenage daughters who I have never left to go anywhere. I am a single mother. I would like them to migrate with me to America. I added them on my form as follow-to-join, but how can I let them travel with me when I am going? I need your help.

Concerned Mother

Dear Concerned mother,

This is an area of immigration law, derivative status, that many people pursuing US residency do not understand, to their detriment.

In some instances, when a US citizen or permanent resident files a petition for a relative (primary/direct beneficiary) to migrate, family members of the direct beneficiary are allowed to also migrate (derivative beneficiary). Such instances are:

1. US citizen or permanent resident parent filing for adult son/daughter – if the son/daughter has a minor child, the minor is considered a derivative beneficiary and is allowed to migrate with the primary beneficiary.

2. Permanent resident filing for spouse – minor children are derivative beneficiaries and can migrate with the primary, if there is a legal relationship (for immigration purposes) to the permanent resident.

3. US citizen filing for a sibling – spouses and minor children of the primary sibling beneficiary can also migrate.

However, if you are a US citizen filing for your spouse and there are children – you must file a separate petition for the children (your offspring or stepchildren – if the marriage that created the stepparent relationship took place before the children were 18 years old).

Likewise, if an American citizen petitions for their parent, and that parent has other children (the petitioner’s siblings), the children cannot travel on their parent’s petition. The US sibling has to file a petition for their sibling. However, it is the category that has the longest waiting period and is not often practical. The new green card parent must then file for their minor child. This can result in separation of parent and child, and it is recommended that the parent files for a ReEntry Permit to allow them to remain with their minor child in Jamaica while the child’s green card petition is processed.

These anomalies often cause heartache and family separation, and it is important to plan accordingly.

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 [2]