khai ko

I hope to get some advice on this from this knowledgeable forum.

I am a USC and currently petitioning I-130 for my parents who are in my home country. My brother who is 16 lives with my parents. When I filed for my parents' I-130, I had thought of petitioning for my brother as well, but since it can take decades for a USC's brother's petition to approved, I dropped the idea. It will probably be faster if my parents, after they immigrate and naturalize as a US citizen, file for his I-130 petition (about ~6 years).

However, I do not like the idea of leaving him behind. I really want him to get his college education here in the US and be with the rest of the family.

If I go ahead and petition a I-130 for him now, will he have trouble getting a student visa if he applies in a year or two to study in the US? Will he have any option open at all to travel to US in the mean time (after I start his immigrant visa petition) or will he basically be stuck back home until his case is approved and a immigrant visa is issued to him, which may take about 10 years?

Thanks for any advice.

Noorah101

I'm curious why your brother can't be included with the parents' I-130? I thought a child under 18 can be included? I'm not sure, but you might want to look into that.

Otherwise, having an I-130 for him in the system shouldn't affect his ability to get either a student or visitor visa in the future, that I know of.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Joe Feise

Noorah101 wrote on 08/29/07 20:57:

> I'm curious why your brother can't be included with the parents' I-130?
> I thought a child under 18 can be included?


Not in the case of sponsoring parents.
8 CFR 204.2(f)(4):
(4) Derivative beneficiaries. A child or a spouse of a principal alien who is
approved for classification as an immediate relative is not eligible for
derivative classification and must have a separate petition approved on his or
her behalf.

> Otherwise, having an I-130 for him in the system shouldn't affect
> his ability to get either a student or visitor visa in the future,
> that I know of.


Yes it does. It indicates immigration intent, and has to be listed on
non-immigrant visa applications.

-Joe
--
I am not a lawyer.
For reliable advice, consult a competent immigration attorney.

Noorah101

Thanks for the corrections. Obviously not my best post.

Rene

a2rjh

On Aug 29, 8:56 pm, khai ko <[email protected]> wrote:
> I hope to get some advice on this from this knowledgeable forum.
>
> I am a USC and currently petitioning I-130 for my parents who are in my
> home country. My brother who is 16 lives with my parents. When I filed
> for my parents' I-130, I had thought of petitioning for my brother as
> well, but since it can take decades for a USC's brother's petition to
> approved, I dropped the idea. It will probably be faster if my parents,
> after they immigrate and naturalize as a US citizen, file for his I-130
> petition (about ~6 years).
>
> However, I do not like the idea of leaving him behind. I really want
> him to get his college education here in the US and be with the rest of
> the family.
>
> If I go ahead and petition a I-130 for him now, will he have trouble
> getting a student visa if he applies in a year or two to study in the
> US? Will he have any option open at all to travel to US in the mean time
> (after I start his immigrant visa petition) or will he basically be
> stuck back home until his case is approved and a immigrant visa is
> issued to him, which may take about 10 years?
>
> Thanks for any advice.
>
> --
> Posted viahttp://britishexpats.com

since your parents are IRs of a USC, their GC will be faster. maybe
they can petition for your minor sibling afterward. of course the
petitioner/s may have difficulties with the I-864. don't know (have to
look) if you can help with the I-864.

Mary23

I think the best option of keeping the family together is to continue with the petition for the parents, and have the brother get into an American university.
This way he can come here on an F1 visa which lasts for 6 years; he can choose to do so prior to his parents arrival. And one good thing that will come out of this option is having parents who are PR's he will get the federal financial aid. One more thing if you choose this option when your brother goes to the US Consulate for his F1 interview under NO circumstances he must mention that his parents are waiting on GC because he will be denied F1. But the good thing is he can adjust his status here because of his parents status.

So leave the brother completely out of the I-30 petitioning, and get him here prior to his parents interviews at the us consulates, and take care of him when they are here in the US. Hope this helps my sister went through the same thing she came here on F1 then her dad came here and fixed her up.

khai ko

Thanks a lot for the response everyone.

He is only 16 years old and has just finished grade 10. If I were to have him apply for American colleges now while my parents' I-130 is pending, are there colleges/schools that accept students like him who wish to continue here from grade 11? What educational opportunities will he have here at this age/grade? Again, I appreciate any advice.

khai ko

I'll have him look into and apply for an F-1 visa. But I am also wondering, how long do you think it will take for his GC application to be approved if my parents apply for his GC once they enter the US as permanent residents?

I was looking at the following link for 2007 July Visa Bulletin:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...etin_3258.html

But I am a bit lost on the idea of 114,200 visas available to family based 2nd preference..What does this mean? Are only this many visas available for such categories every year? What does this mean in terms of the probability of someone receiving this visa in a certain year (say 2008, if applied in 2008)? How many months or years might it take for someone to actually receive an immigrant visa through this category?

khai ko

Can anyone clarify?

Ray

The latest bulletin ..
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bu...etin_3761.html

shows about a 5 year wait ..

khai ko

I am still a bit uncertain here. As I mentioned, he just finished grade 10 and if he applies for a F-1 visa (before my parents interview at the consulate) to continue his education in a US High School (Grade 11), I am under the impression that this will raise flag at the embassy since F-1 students do not usually apply for education in US high schools (rather undergraduate or graduate studies). This will likely make them look at his application thoroughly and will probably catch that his brother(myself) is a US citizen so he probably has "some" immigrant intent and that's probably why he's applying to high schools until waiting for college.

And worse (option 2) if he waits to finish grade 12 there and then applies for a F-1 visa, he will likely not be able to show ties to his homecountry since my parents will already have immigrated to the US.

What would be the best option here? Am I being too pessimistic about option 1? Should I stop worrying too much about it and give option 1 a shot anyway?

ian-mstm

There is no risk in applying. If it works, great... if it doesn't, you look at trying something else.

Ian

khai ko

Doesn't my brother himself have to be a permanent resident first to be eligible/apply for federal aid? Or do they somehow look at the parents immigration status first?

Even if he comes to US on F-1 before my parents immigrate --- and then they file a petition for him to adjust status, it will take about 5 years (according to the visa bulletin) for him to get his permanent resident status. I was under the impression that he can only apply for federal aid/grant after he becomes a PR after those 5 years. I'd love to be corrected here!

ian-mstm

Federal aid isn't necessarily the best or only way to go. I was not a PR when I applied for and received a TERI loan (http://www.teri.org/). Further, many non-US organizations will provide student loans to their citizens studying in the US. All you have to do is search online for this stuff.

Ian