Immigration Corner | Will I be granted a visa to see my ailing dad?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I hope this letter finds you well. I saw your article in The Gleaner and I am seeking your assistance regarding my petition. Can you give me some advice on the next steps forward?

My dad filed the I-130 petition for me. However, he is not in good health and I don’t know how to proceed. He is confined to a rehab centre, suffered multiple strokes, and was even diagnosed with cancer.

I am currently located in Jamaica and my petition was filed on April 10, 2020. I am afraid that he may pass away before the filing process is completed and I won’t be able to see him and say goodbye, or even to tell him that I love him.

Do I need to get an immigration lawyer to speed up the process for me? I await your timely response.

– A.T.

Dear A.T.,

I am sorry to hear that your father is gravely ill in the United States. You did not indicate your marital status or your father’s immigration status.

If you are unmarried and over 21 years of age and your father is a US citizen, it is currently taking a little more than six years to get an interview. If you are married and your father is a US citizen, it takes approximately 12 and half years. If you are unmarried and your father is permanent resident, it takes about five and half years to get an interview in Jamaica.

Unfortunately, if your father passes away before you have received your US residency status, the petition is terminated. However, there is a mechanism to move forward with a substitute financial sponsor and making a humanitarian request if your father passes away after the initial I-130 petition is approved. If he should die before the petition is approved, there is no way to continue the green card process with his petition.

If your desire is to see him soon, you can make an emergency application for a non-immigrant visa appointment with the US Embassy in Kingston. You will have to convince the consular officer that you have enough ties to Jamaica and that you will return if they grant you a visa, and produce evidence of your father’s grave medical condition with the request.

An immigration attorney cannot help to make the permanent resident filing go any faster because in any scenario, in this situation you are subject to a mandatory waiting period.

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 mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com