Home  Immigration IMMIGRATION Q&A
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Sunday, 23 November 2008 |
Question: My dad, a US citizen, filed an I-130 petition for my single 23 year-old sister in 2005. She lives in Jamaica and just got married last week. I just realized that now we could have a problem with her immigration to the U.S. Does this mean everything is lost because she got married? We are all so worried now!
Answer: That is a great question. As long as the I-130 petitioner (sponsor) parent is a U.S. Citizen, the marriage of an adult child does not cancel out the petition. The only difference in the case when an adult child of a U.S. Citizen marries is that the child goes into a longer immigration waiting line, from the original category of Family- 1st Preference (with visas available for I-130 petitions filed in May 2002) to the slower Family – 3rd preference category line, (with visas available for I-130 petitions filed in July 2000). So if the I-130 was filed for your sister in 2005, she must now wait approximately 5 or more years. The good thing is that her husband (and children) will be included once it is time to immigrate, so they can immigrate to the U.S. all together. This is in contrast to immigration regulations regarding the children of Permanent Residents. In the same scenario above, if an adult child of a Permanent Resident marries, the petition is lost, since there is no immigration category for the married child of a Resident.
Question: I have a question about American Citizenship. My brother was born in America when my parents were there attending school many years ago. Once they graduated they moved back to Trinidad when my brother was 3 years old. Now, my brother is 24 and wants to move back to the U.S., but doesn’t have any American passport only an old birth certificate. Is he still an American Citizen or did he lose that once he moved to Trinidad? If he is still an American, can he get his U.S. Citizenship and American passport? Also, if he can and he moves to the U.S., will he be able to immediately petition for my parents to get their Green Cards?
Answer: If your brother was born in the U.S. he is and remains a U.S. Citizen, even though he lived outside the U.S. for most of his life. In order to obtain a U.S. passport, he will need to obtain a certified copy of his U.S. Birth Certificate (with the original stamp/seal on it) and have two passport photos taken. He will need to apply for his passport through the U.S. Embassy. You can go online to the U.S. Embassy website in Colombia at: http://trinidad.usembassy.gov/ and click on US Citizen Services for documentary requirements and procedures. It takes about 10-14 days for the passport to be issued. Once your brother moves back to the U.S., he can sponsor both parents separately for residency. The process is currently taking about one year. If your parents have U.S. visas, once they come to the U.S. for a visit with your brother, if they decide to, they could choose to adjust status inside the U.S., rather than waiting outside to process through the consulate.
Question: I am married to a US citizen, but I got my residency through my mom who is a naturalized US citizen. I want to know when does the counting of residency period of 'three years' to be eligible to apply for naturalization start on my case. Is it the date I acquired my permanent residency or the date I got married. I was approved for the green card in January 2005 - When can I apply for citizenship?
Answer: The date you got your permanent residency approved is the relevant date for purposes of beginning the count of days of residency in a naturalization case, not your marriage date. If you are married to a US citizen, you can apply for naturalization after 2 yrs and 9 months from the date you got your Residency, as long as you have been married to a US citizen for at least three years and continue to do so. And as in your case, it is not necessary that your marriage be the basis of the original green card application. Anyone who obtains residency and has been married to a US citizen for 3 yrs is eligible. It is called the “3-3-3” rule. You must be married to a U.S. Citizen for at least 3 years, the U.S. Citizen must have actually been a U.S. Citizen for at least 3 years and finally, you must be a U.S. Resident for at least 2 years and 9 months.
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