Immigration Corner | Can I still be added to my mother’s petition?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I have a question, but first I’m going to explain something. I was 20 years old when my sister started filing for my mother. They said I couldn’t be added to the filing because filing for siblings takes many years. However, since I was under age, 20, when they started the filing (I am now 21), can there be an adjustment to add me to the filing? Will that process be long?

– T.M.

Dear T.M.,

Many persons believe that every time a person is filed for to migrate to the United States that their children can be “added” to the petition. This is not so. It depends on who the petitioner is, their immigration status, and who the beneficiary is

In your case, if your sister is filing for her mother, I assume that your sister is an American citizen. In that situation – US citizen filing for parent – children of the beneficiary parent are not eligible to be “added” to the filing for green card purposes. The applications do ask for the names of all children of the beneficiary, but it does not mean that the children would be processed for a green card.

You are a sibling of your sister’s, and there is a category for sibling petitions. Your sister is eligible to file a separate petition on your behalf. The waiting period in that sibling category is approximately 12 years to an interview. However, your mother, once she is a permanent resident, can file a petition for you, her daughter – as long as you remain unmarried. A permanent resident cannot file for a married daughter. It takes about five years for the unmarried daughter of a green card holder to be interviewed for an immigrant visa.

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