Green card for Mother and Sibling

[Greeshma1206]

I am a U.S Citizen (married age 31) and have applied with separate petitions for a green card for my mother (age 59) and younger brother (age 18). My mothers petition is already approved (since she is in the immediate family member category) but my brother’s petition is still pending. They both currently reside in India.

I am currently working on my mothers NVC application. Can my brother also join her at the interview as a derivative since he is under 21 years of age? No where in the NVC application for my mother is he mentioned (the NVC application didn’t ask for any info on family of the applicant) but he was listed as a family member in the original petition I submitted for my mother.

Please advise and/ or let me know if I can provide any further details. I am trying to understand what the process is for immigration of minors (under 21 years of age).

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Donald_Trump]

Greeshma1206 What is your brother's priority date (Date when your petition was approved as per the letter sent by USCIS). If it is more recent, then your brother is not yet eligible as his priority date will be different than your mother's. Your brother falls in F4 category of family sponsored immigrant visa which has a wait of 15 years for India currently. As per current visa bulletin, the priority date that is current right now for India is 22 Nov 2005.

That means, if your brother's petition was approved before 22 Nov 2005, then you can start his visa process through NVC.

[newacct]

No. Your mother is in the Immediate Relative category, which cannot have derivative beneficiaries.

Your petition for your brother is in the F4 category, which has a wait for visa numbers of 15+ years for people born in India. Even if your petition for him were approved today, he still cannot do anything about it more than a decade.

As soon as your mother enters the US with her immigrant visa, she becomes a permanent resident, and she can file her own petition for your brother. (She doesn't need to wait for her physical green card; she can file with her immigrant visa, stamped upon entry, which turns into an I-551.) As an unmarried under-21 child of a permanent resident, this petition would be in the F2A category, which currently has no wait for visa numbers, so he should be able to immigrate on it in about a year (and even in times when it had a wait, it was less than 2 years). Depending on how long it takes your mother to immigrate, it's possible that he will age out into the F2B category (unmarried over-21 child of a permanent resident), which has a wait for visa numbers of around 5 years (but he can't get married during this time).

[Greeshma1206]

Greeshma1206 What is your brother's priority date (Date when your petition was approved as per the letter sent by USCIS). If it is more recent, then your brother is not yet eligible as his priority date will be different than your mother's. Your brother falls in F4 category of family sponsored immigrant visa which has a wait of 15 years for India currently. As per current visa bulletin, the priority date that is current right now for India is 22 Nov 2005

That means, if your brother's petition was approved before 22 Nov 2005, then you can start his visa process through NVC.

Thank you for your time and response. Yes his priority date is very recent ( in 2020)

[Greeshma1206]

No. Your mother is in the Immediate Relative category, which cannot have derivative beneficiaries.

Your petition for your brother is in the F4 category, which has a wait for visa numbers of 15+ years for people born in India. Even if your petition for him were approved today, he still cannot do anything about it more than a decade.

As soon as your mother enters the US with her immigrant visa, she becomes a permanent resident, and she can file her own petition for your brother. (She doesn't need to wait for her physical green card; she can file with her immigrant visa, stamped upon entry, which turns into an I-551.) As an unmarried under-21 child of a permanent resident, this petition would be in the F2A category, which currently has no wait for visa numbers, so he should be able to immigrate on it in about a year (and even in times when it had a wait, it was less than 2 years). Depending on how long it takes your mother to immigrate, it's possible that he will age out into the F2B category (unmarried over-21 child of a permanent resident), which has a wait for visa numbers of around 5 years (but he can't get married during this time).

Thank you so much for your response. This is very helpful. Appreciate your time.