Legal Question in Immigration Law in Massachusetts
Sponsoring Sibling to immigrate to USA
My bro wants to immigrate to the US.He's currently in Sri Lanka,studying for the Chartered Engineering(UK)exams & has completed the certificate stage(=to 2nd yr bachelors).Age 28.He's working fulltime.I am trying to help him in this regard.
I relocated to US in Apr 06 frm Bahamas. I'm a perm.resident thro g.card.I received perm.residency on 09/06/03 but have lived in United kingdom until 2004 as a student and then moved to Bahamas for work. I travelled almost once every 3-4 months to the US while in the bahamas.most of my travels was for the w/kends.I am currently working in a consultancy firm as an accountant. I would like to know how i can get my citizenship ASAP as from what i gathered thats the only way to sponsor my brother.I was also thinking about helping his come to the US as a student and then trying for a work permit, for which i can pay, to join a firm. Please also suggest alternative ways and any costs involved.I am able financially suport him to a certain extent if needed.I would really appreciate your help as i am desperate to help my brother as he is the one who helped me getting my green card thro the lottery.
Lawguru's service has helped me a lot and thank you for all the support.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Sponsoring Sibling to immigrate to USA
One generally must be a permanent resident for five years before being eligible for citizenship. As such, it appears that you will not be eligible until 2008. In addition, one generally must be physically in the U.S. for 2 1/2 of the five years, which also may be an issue for you.
Vincent Martin
Re: Sponsoring Sibling to immigrate to USA
First, we would need to know how did you obtain your permanent residence (through marriage/work?). Generally, if you received your residence through marriage and are still married to the U.S. citizen spouse, you could become a U.S. citizen after 3 years. Otherwise, you would need to wait 5 years. You also have the issue of your prolonged absences from U.S., which can be a problem not only when you apply for naturalization, but for maintaining your lawful permanent residence status as well. Assuming you do end up becoming a U.S. citizen and you apply for your brother, he would be subject to the numerical limitation of visas. Since he would be a fourth preference beneficiary, you have to take into consideration that it would take a considerable amount of time for him to be able to emigrate to the USA (currently the wait is approximately 10 years for beneficiaries on this category).
You and your brother should consider exploring other types of visa options (employment, or student, for example) but we would have to know more about your brother's educational background and credentials.
Please contact me if you would like more information about the available visa options for your brother or if you have other questions.
Good luck!
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