Q: Hello, I am a green-card-holder through marriage to a US citizen since December 2012.
My mom is in the US with a J1 visa but her contract ends at the end of July 2015. She wants me to sponsor her but I need to know:1. When will I be eligible to become a citizen in order to sponsor her? If I was granted the temporary green card on December 2012, and I am currently on a green-card one year extension (7/2015). 2. Should she overstay her work visa to wait until I can sponsor her in order to get her residence faster? Or what should she do? Come back with another visa (Student/work/tourism)? I read that if we apply to sponsor her and she is outside of the country it can take years until she receives her residence. So this is why I want to know how to approach that. Thank you!
A: If you wish to sponsor your mother you will have to become a citizen first. When you will be eligible depends on how you received your green card. There are a lot of ways people get temporary green cards. Once you find out when you are eligible to become a citizen you can think about the rest of the questions. If it is more than a year the best option would be for your to mom to go back and come back in with a different visa. All the best.
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