I-130 for my sister

[chulheekim]

I am a US citizen and want to submit I-130 for my sister already living in US illegally. I wonder if there's any problem doing it while she is living here. Just like a visa processing, does she need to be out of the country till she gets the greencard? I will appreciate your help on this. Thank you.

[newacct]

There's no problem filing the I-130 petition -- the I-130 petition only cares about establishing the relationship, not about whether the person can actually enter the US.

There's about a 15-year wait for visa numbers in the F4 (sibling) category (even longer if she was born in India, Mexico, or the Philippines). So it would be 15+ years after the filing of the I-130 that she might be able to do Adjustment of Status in the US or Consular Processing abroad. Only then would admissibility be an issue.

I hope you know that in this category, someone who is out of status is not eligible for Adjustment of Status, so she can only do Consular Processing abroad. But leaving the US would trigger a 3-year ban if she has accrued 180 days of unlawful presence, or a 10-year ban if she has accrued 1 year of unlawful presence. You have not given us enough information to determine whether she has accrued any unlawful presence (e.g. what status and date it says on her I-94, what age she is, whether she has/had DACA, TPS, etc., whether she has a pending Extension of Stay or Change of Status application, etc.). But if it is case that she has accrued enough unlawful presence to trigger a ban upon leaving, and if she is not going to immigrate through any other means than through your petition, then she might consider leaving the US early enough so that the ban will be over by the time a visa number becomes available.

[khan7i7878]

There's no problem filing the I-130 petition -- the I-130 petition only cares about establishing the relationship, not about whether the person can actually enter the US.

There's about a 15-year wait for visa numbers in the F4 (sibling) category (even longer if she was born in India, Mexico, or the Philippines). So it would be 15+ years after the filing of the I-130 that she might be able to do Adjustment of Status in the US or Consular Processing abroad. Only then would admissibility be an issue.

I hope you know that in this category, someone who is out of status is not eligible for Adjustment of Status, so she can only do Consular Processing abroad. But leaving the US would trigger a 3-year ban if she has accrued 180 days of unlawful presence, or a 10-year ban if she has accrued 1 year of unlawful presence. You have not given us enough information to determine whether she has accrued any unlawful presence (e.g. what status and date it says on her I-94, what age she is, whether she has/had DACA, TPS, etc., whether she has a pending Extension of Stay or Change of Status application, etc.). But if it is case that she has accrued enough unlawful presence to trigger a ban upon leaving, and if she is not going to immigrate through any other means than through your petition, then she might consider leaving the US early enough so that the ban will be over by the time a visa number becomes available.

hello sir, my brother got at least week i-130 approved still a long way to go is he eligible for Adjustment of Status and he is having a b1/b2 visa can he enter the US lawfully and apply for Adjustment of Status

[newacct]

hello sir, my brother got at least week i-130 approved still a long way to go is he eligible for Adjustment of Status and he is having a b1/b2 visa can he enter the US lawfully and apply for Adjustment of Status

I-130 approval doesn't allow him to do anything. He has to wait until a visa number is available for his category and priority date, which is probably still many years (maybe a decade) away, before he can immigrate. You have not provided enough information about his country of birth and priority date to know. And when a visa number becomes available many years later, he should not enter on a visitor visa with preconceived intent to file Adjustment of Status during that stay.