Immigration Corner | How long will my son’s petition take?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

If I get married in the United States and file for my 11-year-old son in Jamaica, how long do you estimate this would take to have him with me? Are we looking at years or months? I am 28 years old and my partner is financially stable.

Growing up, I’ve seen instances where the filing process took years, to the point where children being filed for became adults before the process has been completed. What is your take?

DW

Dear DW,

You did not specify who you are marrying – a US citizen or a green card holder. From your email, I will assume your spouse is an American citizen. If you enter the United States legally and marry a US citizen, you can remain in the United States and file to change your status after 90 days of arrival. Your US citizen spouse can also petition for your minor child (in this case under 18 years of age) to become a green card holder. If the child lawfully entered the United States, that child’s status can also be adjusted.

If the child remains in Jamaica, your spouse will have to file a two-step consular processing petition that would require the stepchild to appear for an interview at the US Embassy in Kingston. Since your son is 11 years old, he is considered an immediate relative of an American citizen (as you are), and the petition in the second phase would be processed as quickly as the State Department could handle the documents.

Pre-pandemic, this category of visas would take nine months to a year to be scheduled for an interview, but sadly, there are persons still waiting on interviews since 2020. The US government has promised that they are working on backlogs and that by the end of its fiscal year (September 30, 2023), backlogs should be cleared. That is promising news and would mean that if your son were to be filed for now, he might be in line for a one-year processing timeline.

Please be aware that no one can give you a definite time for the processing of your son’s petition by your US citizen spouse, and as always indicated by the State Department, no final preparations for travel should be made until the visa is actually issued after an immigrant visa interview.

Filings can take years and children ‘age out’ and become adults during the process. However, your son as an immediate relative, even if he were the stepson of a green card holder, would not take years.

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