Helping your parents gain status as lawful permanent residents is a tremendous accomplishment that provides peace of mind for everyone in your family. However, the process can be challenging, particularly when you have concerns about your parents’ immigration status.
At N400 Harbor Immigration Law, our team is committed to helping individuals and families reach their immigration goals through the most efficient means possible. We can help you avoid problems and overcome challenges to enable your parents to find their best path forward to gaining a Green Card.
Assessing Your Qualifications
To sponsor your parents for a Green Card through the family immigration process, you must be at least 21-years-old and you must be a U.S. citizen. If you are a lawful permanent resident, your first step would be to naturalize as a U.S. citizen, and our team can assist with the process.
The parent or parents that you want to obtain a Green Card for must be your parents by birth or adoption. You may be able to petition for a stepparent if your stepparent married your biological parent before you turned 18 and you can prove that you have an ongoing relationship with your stepparent. If your parents were not married at the time you were born, you may need to present evidence to show that you have a genuine relationship with your biological father.
Your parents will need a financial sponsor to obtain a Green Card. If you plan to serve as sponsor, you will need to demonstrate that your income meets required levels to be able to support your parents so that they will not need to rely on government assistance. It may be possible to use a third-party sponsor if you will not be able to serve as the financial sponsor.
Assessing the Qualifications of Your Parents
To obtain a Green Card for your parents, it will be necessary to determine whether they meet the standards for admissibility. If they do not, then our team can work to develop a strategy to seek relief from this requirement or to overcome the problem that is interfering with admissibility.
Potential problems include situations where a parent:
- Entered the U.S. lawfully but overstayed a visa so legal status has expired
- Entered the U.S. without authorization
- Committed an action in the U.S. that could cause them to be considered inadmissible, such as an act of fraud or a crime
- Is suffering from a communicable disease or lacks proof of certain vaccinations
In some cases, inadmissibility may be waived. In other situations, we may need to adopt a different strategy to overcome the difficulties.
Steps in the Process of Obtaining a Green Card for Your Parents
Parents of a U.S. citizen are classified as “immediate relatives” for the purposes of family immigration. This means they do not have to wait for a visa to become available because immigrant visas can be issued in unlimited numbers for individuals in this category.
The adult child starts the immigration process on behalf of their parents. You begin by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, also known as USCIS. You will also need to submit additional information demonstrating your qualifications and the relationship with your parents. We work to ensure that all the appropriate evidence is submitted right from the start to avoid unnecessary delays.
After USCIS approves the petition, the next step in the process begins. If your parents are already in the U.S. and they have valid immigration status, they may be able to file an Adjustment of Status application through USCIS to become lawful permanent residents with a Green Card.
If your parents are not currently in the U.S. they will need to apply for an immigrant visa through the U.S. embassy or consulate in their home country. For parents currently in the U.S. without legal status, we will need to assess the particular situation to determine the best course of action. It is a good idea to consult an immigration attorney before taking any action. For instance, if a parent enters the U.S. on a temporary visitor visa with the intent to apply for Adjustment of Status, that can be considered a visa violation.
Find Out How N400 Harbor Can Help You Gain a Green Card for Your Parents
Even in the best of circumstances, it can be difficult to understand and comply with the requirements of U.S. immigration law when you are trying to obtain a Green Card. Mistakes can lead to delays or even cause an application to be denied.
When you work with the team at N400 Harbor Immigration Law, we work to keep the process as streamlined as possible. We know the evidence that immigration officials want to see so we can help you put together submissions that demonstrate eligibility or persuasively show why relief should be granted in your situation.
To discuss the Green Card process and how we can assist your family, contact our team today.