snake

Approximately how long would it be from application to green card for a citizen sponsoring parents. We live in California.

Noorah101

A lot depends on what country your parents are from. Probably about the same as for a spouse from that country.

Rene

snake

Would be from Peru (just interested in a rough estimate for planning). Also a question about the I-130. Why do they ask for the father's marriage certificate in addition to the child's birth certificate for the father?

Not the case for my spouse, but why does it matter if the mother and father were married when the child was born?

Noorah101

Peru, I don't know....but I'd plan on around 12 to 18 months, to be on the safe side.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Rete

Because illegitmacy and legitmacy matter to the USCIS. It has a bearing on whether or not the biological parent is indeed a "parent". In some cases an illegitmate child can still have the USCIS consider their biological parent a "parent" if the country recognizes it and if a relationship has been established.

snake

OK, but why do they ask for a birth certificate showing that the mother and father were married before the birth? Because they later talk about requiring more evidence of the father/child relationship if the child has not been "legitimated" (hate that word) before the 18th birthday. Shouldn't the instructions simply require a marriage certificate dated before the child's 18th birthday. Seems like it would be a more natural way of writing the instructions.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

"Child" is a defined term under the Immigration & Nationality Act. In order for your father to be your "father", you must have once been his "child" as that term is defined in the INA. If your parents were married when you were born, then your mother's husband is, by definition, your "father." If your mother was not married at the time of your birth, then things get complicated.

BTW, it is possible to have more than one "father" or one "mother" under the Immigration & Nationality Act. To give you an idea of how this can work, I once had a client who had a half-brother born in Texas. Client's biological father was the biolgical father of the half-brother and was married to brother's mother. Dad deserted his family and started a second family with a second "wife" [in quotes because he never divorced first wife, devil is in the details, no?] Under the US Immigration Laws at the time, dad was NOT the "father" of children by second "wife" -- BUT the legal wife was the "mother" of her natural son, and the "step-mother" of those two little bastards she'd rather see dead.

So, it is important -- and lawyers get to have some intellectual fun.

snake

Why not have the same requirement for the mother then. Example, mom has kid, abandons family. Father raises kid. Mom can apply for permanent resident.

Had Dad done the same thing, he wouldn't have the option.

ian-mstm

My stepson, an attorney in Texas, represented the mother in a custody battle - and won because of Texas' odd parental laws. Several years after divorcing the biological father, the mother remarried. After a while, the biological father sues for custody. The court rejected the biological father's claim because, under Texas law, the mother's husband was the de facto father of the child, and so ruled that the biological father had no standing in the matter. Truth is often stranger than fiction!

Ian

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I didn't write the immigration & nationality act. BTW, the Act was later amended to allow the father of little bastards to be a "father" is he acted as such. In fact, if I had that case today, I would have gotten an RFE for proof that dad had taken parental actions even though it wasn't necessary.

Folinskyinla

Ian:

I'm not going to be sure on this because I do NOT know Texas law, but I have a feeling you don't have the facts quite right.

ian-mstm

Well, that's always possible. I've emailed my stepson to get the straight poop!

Ian