Adult daughter of permanent resident to visit

[heliotrope]

My wife has a 22-year-old daughter in Thailand that was over 18 when we got married. Therefore I can't sponsor her using my stepfather status like we did for her 9-year-old. We were told it would be better to wait until my wife becomes a citizen (still one more year before we can start that process) to apply to get her older daughter over here because it could be many years to wait if doing it based on my wife's status as a permanent resident.

How can we get the daughter over here to visit in the meantime? Our lawyer said that she would be considered to be an intending immigrant, so we couldn't get a tourist visa for her. Are there any options? Should we start the family based greencard process now before my wife becomes a citizen? Then is there any way to get the daughter here to visit before the immigration application is processed? (someone said it could take many years.)

My wife says that many permanent resident (or even permanent resident applicant) acquaintances of hers have had family members come over to visit and that it was easy.

[inadmissible]

Please read http://travel.state.gov/contenthttps...june-2015.html
According to the visa bulletin, the wait time for F3 children of citizens is longer than the wait time for F2B children of permanent residents.

Your wife really ought to file ASAP to get the clock running.

Tourist visas are given to folks who are likely to return to their homeland. Having US relatives is not a dealbreaker if consular officers are convinced that she will return. Young people often face an uphill battle because they themselves have no family ties to their homeland (folks are unlikely to abandon their spouse+kids), and they don't have great jobs (folks are unlikely to abandon a lucrative career). They are also seen as more mobile, because they don't have entrenched cultural and social ties to their homeland.