I am a U.S. citizen. I want to petition for my parents and my brother. I know I must file separately for my brother, and that he will have to wait abroad for many years. However, he is mentally disabled and totally dependent on my parents. They cannot leave him behind. Does the law provide for any way for my brother to come here when my parents get their immigrant visas?

A: In rare and especially deserving cases, the USCIS will allow someone not immediately eligible for a visa to come to United States under a status called "humanitarian parole." When your parents get called for their immigrant visa interviews, that they speak to a U.S. consular officer about the matter. If the officer would not help, they can apply for your brother directly to the USCIS

Your parents should include a detailed letter explaining your brother's situation, with evidence from a doctor about his condition. They should also document that they have the resources to care for him. Humanitarian parole allows someone outside the United States to enter without a visa. It is available only in very unusual circumstances, where a particularly deserving person either doesn't qualify for a visa or doesn't have time to get one.

Though the USCIS discourages use of humanitarian parole to bypass normal visa processing procedures, in very rare cases the agency grants parole to individuals who cannot care for themselves when their parents immigrate.