Legal Question in Immigration Law in Oklahoma

Re: American citizens can sponsor Married son from NewZeland??

A US citizen may submit an immigrant (I130) petition on behalf of his or her married son or daughter. If the I130 petition is approved, the son or daughter would be granted the family based third preference classification.

The problem is that the wait to actually apply for the green card is considerable. The timing of this filing is based on your priority date, which is the date your I130 petition is filed. Each month, the US State Department issues a Visa Bulletin that shows what priority dates are "current." If your priority date is on or earlier than the date listed on the Visa Bulletin, your priority date is current and you may apply for an immigrant visa (or if you are in the United States, an adjustment of status).

The latest Visa Bulletin shows that for the family based third preference category, the priority date of May 15, 2000 is current. So, those who filed their I130 petitions on May 15, 2000 or earlier (and had their petitions approved), may now apply for a green card. This is a very long wait.

As far as a change of status is concerned, you are not permitted to enter the United States as a temporary visitor with the intent to apply for a green card.

You may wish to speak to an attorney about the filing of an I130 petition and your ability to travel.