How to Bring Your Brother or Sister to the USA
Author: New York Immigration Lawyer Alena Shautsova
A petition for a sibling to come to the US is something many wish to do. The process starts with filing of the I-130 petition for a relative. Unlike a marriage to a US citizen, or a child who is over 21 years of age petitioning for their parents, a sibling is not considered an immediate relative. Conservatives have tried to eliminate this category in the past, but so far their efforts were not successful. The average wait time for a petition of a sibling by a US citizen ranges from 7 to 12 years. The line moves on a first-come- first serve basis. As such, the sooner petition is filed, the sooner the priority date will become current (if, of course, 10 years can be regarded fast…).
The petitioning of a sibling does come with some drawbacks, worst of which is that your sibling will most likely not be able to enter the US on a nonimmigrant visa, whether for tourism or business, once the petition is filed. The reason for this is that once the petition is filed, your sibling is considered an intending immigrant. It is so even if the true purpose of the visit is to spend a couple of weeks in the U.S. One should discuss with a sibling the possibility of not being able to enter the U.S. for a period of at least 7 years.
Prior to filing, a person has to read instructions to the I-130 form. The filing address for the I-130 depends on which state the petitioner resides in. A list of required documents includes:
- Certificate of Naturalization, if applicable, for the US Citizen
- Birth Certificates for both US Citizen and sibling showing at least one common parent
- Adoption papers if either sibling was adopted ( both siblings must have been under 16 years of age)
For siblings with the same father but different mothers, USCIS requires marriage certificates and divorce decrees of the father. It is more common nowadays that this is impossible to obtain such documents as the father of a sibling may have never been married to the mother. In this circumstance, evidence of legitimacy or proof of relationship with the father will suffice. The easiest way to prove this would be to submit financial records if a father had given money to the sibling or the US Citizen. If this is not possible to obtain, one should speak with an experienced attorney to discuss the options available to prove the relationship to the common father.