Family Reunification in the USA

This type of immigration implies that you have a family member residing in the United States who holds a GREEN CARD or U.S. citizenship, and therefore is a taxpayer.

USCIS allows filing the I-130 family reunification petition online. On the USCIS website you need to register a profile with which you can fill out the form, pay fees, track the status of your case, as well as respond to requests or communicate with USCIS more securely and quickly.

The main advantage of such filing is that you can do everything yourself and your relative in the U.S. does not need to go anywhere or pay the fee through a bank.

All family immigration can be roughly divided into two types:

• Immediate Relative Immigrant Visas,
• Family Preference Immigrant Visas.

The first group includes close relatives of U.S. citizens, namely spouses, unmarried children under 21 years old, children adopted abroad and in the U.S., and parents of U.S. citizens if the latter are already 21 years old. By the way, the number of visas in the first group is not limited by quotas and is processed first.

The second group includes more distant family relations with U.S. citizens and some categories of relations with Green Card holders.

Different Family Preference groups:

• Family First Preference (F1): unmarried children of U.S. citizens and their children.
• Family Second Preference (F2): spouses, minors, and unmarried children 21 years and older of Green Card holders.
• Family Third Preference (F3): married children of U.S. citizens, their spouses and children.
• Family Fourth Preference (F4): brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, their spouses and children.

Relatives of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can bring their spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old with them.

Example. You are a U.S. citizen and wish to reunite with your biological father who lives outside the States, but he has his own family. In this case, he will be able to move them with him based on legal rights.

Reunification Procedure

The procedure for reunification is exactly the same. First, the sponsor in the U.S. must file an I-130 petition. After that, the sponsored family member must file for a visa at the U.S. embassy.

To obtain a visa you need to:

• fill out the DS-260 form,
• undergo a medical examination,
• gather a package of documents,
• confirm the relationship with the sponsor in the U.S.,
• confirm the sponsorship guarantee, the affidavit of support. That is, that your family member in the U.S. is truly ready to take responsibility for their relative.

Requirements for the sponsor

There are fairly strict requirements for the sponsor. To be a sponsor, a U.S. citizen or lawful resident must be at least 18 years old, and to file a petition for certain relatives (parents, brothers and sisters, for U.S. citizens) – at least 21 years old. The main condition is that the sponsor must reside in the United States. There are also certain requirements for the affidavit.

Cost

To process family immigration to the USA you need to pay:

1. Petition filing fee – $535.
2. Consular visa fee from $265.
3. Medical examination and required vaccinations from $200.
4. Other expenses. These usually include travel to the embassy, document translation, flight to the USA, issuance of the Green Card and others.

Common mistakes

Family immigration is quite complex. It is like an intentionally tangled legal tool. Difficulties often arise in correctly filling out the petition. Quite often people come with cases where applicants, having made a mistake, did not include all family members in the petition, thereby limiting their ability to immigrate. It would be very unpleasant to learn about such an error after 5 years, and in some cases after 7 years of waiting.

Another issue we often encounter is applicants’ mistakes when filling out the DS-260 form. The form must be completed very accurately, without omissions or errors.

After successfully passing the interview, you will be issued:

• an immigrant visa (usually valid for six months),
• an immigration packet that must not be opened under any circumstances; it must be presented to the officer at the border.

Conclusion

Note that having a visa does not guarantee direct entry into the United States. The decision remains with the border officer. Do not make any drastic life changes until you receive the visa. Very often these types of visas are subject to administrative processing. This is a process in which your application is sent for additional checks in the U.S. Due to the volume of immigration applications this check can be quite lengthy and sometimes may last a whole year. The embassy has no influence over such checks and will only recommend waiting for the decision.