Expediting visa approval for a minor sibling whose only parent is already in USA

[Denise]

My fiance is a US citizen from Pakistan. When he got his citizenship 2 years ago he applied to bring his widowed mother and minor sister to the US. His mother's visa was approved relatively quickly, but his minor sister's visa application is still pending approval. Looking at the uscis site, it looks like there is still about 13 months to wait until he hears if his sister's application will be approved. His mother recently arrived here in the US as she needed to enter before the end of this month. The concern for his family is that now his 15 year old sister is in the care of her 20 something single brothers who are not necessarily the most responsible of caretakers. Now that my fiance's mother is in the US, is there a way to speed up the approval process for his sister? Thank you for any information you can share.

[rayb]

You may be misreading the F4 category of visa, siblings of U.S. citizens. Although the petition may be approved anytime (now at 2 years from submittal), the waiting period for a sibling visa slot is 12 years. When the mother of your fiancee arrives in the U.S., the mother should immediately petition the child, and the resulting visa eligibility will be in about two years.

--Ray B

My fiance is a US citizen from Pakistan. When he got his citizenship 2 years ago he applied to bring his widowed mother and minor sister to the US. His mother's visa was approved relatively quickly, but his minor sister's visa application is still pending approval. Looking at the uscis site, it looks like there is still about 13 months to wait until he hears if his sister's application will be approved. His mother recently arrived here in the US as she needed to enter before the end of this month. The concern for his family is that now his 15 year old sister is in the care of her 20 something single brothers who are not necessarily the most responsible of caretakers. Now that my fiance's mother is in the US, is there a way to speed up the approval process for his sister? Thank you for any information you can share.

[Denise]

Rayb thank you for your response. Fiance's mom is here in US. She arrived on 9/11. She does not yet have a green card. Can she petition for her daughter anyway? Or must she have a green card first? Also, what form will she need to use in order to petition for her daughter? Thanks.

[rayb]

If mom is here on an immigrant visa and has the I-551 annotation is in her passport, she can turn around and petition the daughter with form I-130.

--Ray B

Rayb thank you for your response. Fiance's mom is here in US. She arrived on 9/11. She does not yet have a green card. Can she petition for her daughter anyway? Or must she have a green card first? Also, what form will she need to use in order to petition for her daughter? Thanks.

[Denise]

Rayb
Thank you again for your help. Fiance's mom does indeed have an I-551 annotation on her passport so we will file the I-130 and required documentation asap. Will the petition by the mother take the place of the petition filed by the brother, or can we expect some confusion?

[rayb]

There is no conflict between the two petitions. Do not cancel the first petition until mom's new petition results in a visa issuance.

--Ray B

Rayb
Thank you again for your help. Fiance's mom does indeed have an I-551 annotation on her passport so we will file the I-130 and required documentation asap. Will the petition by the mother take the place of the petition filed by the brother, or can we expect some confusion?