Immigration Corner | How long will my sister’s petition for her mother take?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

My sister is a US citizen, and she would like to file for her mother. How long would it take for the filing to come through? Also, how long after the mother enters the US can she file for her husband as a green card holder, and how long would it take for that filing to come through?

J.C.

Dear J.C.,

The parent of an American citizen is considered an immediate relative. This means that a petition for residency for the parent would be processed as quickly as possible. Unlike, for example, if the parent was the American citizen filing a residency petition for their adult son or daughter, they would have to wait on a visa to become available. In the immediate relative scenario, there is no waiting period.

Pre-pandemic, an immediate relative filing would take nine months to a year to an interview. However, during the pandemic, processing of all immigrant visas has slowed down and a backlog has been created. I would venture that it may take a year to 18 months. It could be longer or shorter. No one knows for sure.

Your sister’s stepfather may be eligible to be filed for residency by your sister if the marriage to your sister’s mother took place before your sister was 18 years old. In that instance, the stepfather would also be considered an immediate relative, and the filing would proceed the same as her mother.

If the marriage happened when your sister was 18 or older, she would not be eligible to file a residency petition for her stepfather. If your sister cannot petition for her stepfather, her mother would need to first become a permanent resident and then file for her husband. The mother can file immediately upon entering the United States – there is no waiting period. The husband would be in the F2A preference category, and that category is current, which means that as soon as the paperwork is processed and there is an available appointment, he would be scheduled for his interview at the US Embassy.

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