Immigration Corner | How can this work?

Dear Walker-Huntington,

I need your help in explaining how to petition for a father, his girlfriend and biological son who is 16 and another son belonging to the girlfriend, who is 20 years old.

The daughter submitted an I-130 form for the father. Does the father need to marry his girlfriend and then submit another I-130 form.

Please let me know.

Thank you.

NM

Dear NM,

An adult (over 21-year-old) US citizen can petition for their parent – including a step-parent. However, to petition for a step-parent, the marriage that created the step-parent relationship must take place before the child is 18 years old. In this situation where the beneficiary father is not yet married to his girlfriend, the US citizen daughter would not be able to file for her stepmother as she would have to be at least 21 years old to have filed for her father and cannot have an immigration relationship with her stepmother.

Theoretically, the US citizen petitioner can also file for her 16-year-old biological brother. That petition is taking more than 15 years for a visa to become available, so it would be impractical in this scenario.

Dad can marry his girlfriend without any negative impact on his daughter’s petition on his behalf. When Dad becomes a US permanent resident, he can file for his then wife and their minor son. However, he would not be able to file a petition for his 20-year-old stepson to accompany them to America, because his marriage to the mother will take place after the stepson is over 18 years old.

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