Parents or Siblings of U.S. Citizen

A U.S. Citizen may petition his or her parents and siblings. If you are a U.S. Citizen and would like to start the process of bringing them to the U.S. permanently please contact our office for a free consultation.

The CA immigration attorneys at our firm feel that no child should be separated from their parents because of immigration hassles. A family separated by international borders is kept from one another by long distances, financial issues, and bureaucratic red tape. However, there should not be any problems because of immigration policies that are confusing to the average person. If you are a US citizen, you are allowed to file for your parents to receive permanent residence in the United States.

Our immigration lawyers from the Beverly Hills firm are highly knowledgeable and experienced in filing for a variety of family visas. They are eager to hear your story and provide you advice based on your particular circumstances. An experienced Los Angeles immigration lawyer from our firm will go over the immigration options that you have when filing for your parents, and this will set your mind at ease about your plans for the future. Allow one of our immigration lawyers to look into the facts of your case and we will be able to give you a complete rundown of what to expect throughout the journey that is immigration to the United States.

Please note that you have to be a US citizen to apply for permanent residence of your parents based on a family relationship. A green card holder is not eligible for this type of application. However, there may be other options for your parents, and you should talk to one of our immigration lawyers about their chances for meeting the requirements of another immigrant or worker classification. That type of information is simply beyond the scope of this article.

For citizens of the United States, you would simply need to prove your citizenship. Your immigration attorney will advise you of the different options for proving your citizenship. You may present your birth certificate, a certificate of naturalization, a copy of your US passport or a consular report of birth abroad. Any of these would serve to qualify you for this application.

As you might expect, there are more evidentiary requirements for your parents. Most of the evidentiary proof is closely related to the idea that an immigration official must be able to verify that there is a legitimate parent-child relationship between you and the beneficiary. If you are filing for your mother, all that would be needed is the base requirements: proof of US citizenship and your birth certificate. On the other hand, if you are filing for your father, our immigration attorneys would also need your parents’ marriage certificate, along with proof of US citizenship and a birth certificate.

There are clients who were born out of wedlock. If your parents were not married at the time you were born, then there is an issue of legitimacy for the purposes of the immigration application. There are cases where the parents got married by the time you turned 18. If you are filing for your parents who were married by the time you turned 18, to establish a connection with your father you would need to provide your birth certificate, proof of US citizenship, and a copy of your parent’s civil marriage license. On the contrary, if your parents were never married, you would need to provide your birth certificate, proof of US citizenship, and also a summary of the emotional or financial bonds between you and your father before you were married or reached the age of 21, whichever came first.

If you wish to file on behalf of a step parent or to file on behalf of adoptive parents, the evidentiary requirements are slightly heightened. To file for a step-parent, you have to provide proof that your birth parent got married to the step parent by the time you were 18 years old, and proof of the dissolution of the marriage between your birth parents. On the other hand, to file for an adoptive parent, you would have to provide your birth certificate, proof of US citizenship, the adoption certificate, and a summary of the places and dates where you have lived together with your adoptive parent.

Finally, some of our clients are also interested in whether their parents may obtain employment while the application for permanent residence is pending. The answer to that question depends on whether your parents are already in the United States, or if they are outside the United States. If your parents are in the United States, then your immigration lawyer will advise you to file a form that changes their status from its previous immigration status. That adjustment form should be filed with the initial petition to grant them permanent residence. Your immigration lawyer will tell you that if they are outside the United States at the time you file for their permanent residence, they will receive a stamp on their passport which will be proof that they are allowed to be gainfully employed. This stamp will serve as an employment authorization until your parents receive their green cards.

It can seem daunting to file for parents to become permanent residents. Not only are the laws perplexing, but the very idea of applying with a federal agency can be a difficult task. Our immigration lawyers are very experienced and helpful. We get a sense of real accomplishment when children are reunited with their parents living abroad. The American dream seems so tempting across international borders that the demand to come here has forced our government to institute complex laws to avoid a surplus of legal immigrants. Let one of our experienced immigration attorneys help guide you through the process and ensure that your loved ones reach here in the most efficient route possible.

 

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