How to Bring Parents to Live in the United States

 

If you are a US citizen, you can bring your parents to live in the United States. While sponsoring immediate family members like children or spouses is a familiar process, sponsoring parents may appear unfamiliar. If you are wondering how to sponsor your parents to move to the United States, we are here to help you. With our help, you can successfully bring your parents to the US and reunite with your loved ones.

 

The first thing you should know is that the process of sponsoring parents for US citizens is similar to sponsoring the spouse or child. Parents of US citizens are also considered immediate family members under US immigration laws, and there is no quota and there are no visa caps.

 

If your parents are already in the United States, you can file for their adjustment status together with the petition here in the US. This means that they can remain in the US while the process is pending. However, they will have to wait in the US until they receive travel authorizations. The process in the US takes approximately one year or less, and the USCIS has been trying to approve the adjustment of status cases without interviews. This results in faster approval of these cases.

 

On the other hand, if the parents are outside of the United States, then the process goes through three stages:

  1. The petitioner files the petition with the USCIS in the US. Once the USCIS approves that petition, which currently takes approximately 8-12 months (but can vary significantly), the USCIS will forward the case to the State Department National Visa Center. 
  2. The National Visa Center will then request additional documents and forms, which must be uploaded to the National Visit Center’s portal before forwarding the case to the US Council. 
  3. A US consulate will schedule an interview and notify the petitioner and the beneficiary. Additional documents need to be prepared for the interview, and a medical examination report must be obtained. Once these steps are completed, the beneficiary goes through the interview process. 

 

After the interview, the beneficiary will receive an immigrant visa stamp in their passport, valid for 6 months. They can use this visa to enter the United States, where they automatically become permanent residents. The Green Card will arrive in the mail within several weeks after the arrival in the US.

 

To ensure a successful sponsorship process for your parents, we highly recommend scheduling a consultation with an experienced immigration lawyer who can guide you through the process in detail. Our team has extensive experience in assisting families with family-based immigration cases. To schedule a consultation, please click the following link: Schedule a Consultation – I.S. Law Firm, PLLC.