Clermont, FL asked in Immigration Law for Florida

Q: I'm under the DACA law and my brother is a US citizen whom wants to apply for me to get status under him.

Would you recommend it and is it worth it since sibling to sibling takes about 8 yrs. would I stay illegal and unable to work because of change of status

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1 Lawyer Answer
Kevin D. Slattery
Kevin D. Slattery
Answered
  • Immigration Law Lawyer
  • Tampa, FL
  • Licensed in Florida

A: Assuming your U.S. Citizen brother is 21, then he can certainly file a family-based Petition for Relative on your behalf. Depending on where you are from (Mexico? India? Philippines?), the line may be much longer than 8 years. In my opinion, even 8 years for someone who is not from one of the 3 countries I just identified is an inaccurate estimate. A decade or longer is more likely to be the case. See the F-4 category in the upcoming June 2017 Visa Bulletin, available online here: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin/2017/visa-bulletin-for-june-2017.html

Because your brother filing for you does nothing for you in the short term, but because you also do not know what your future may hold, I would suggest that he file a petition for you and you seek, to the extent you remain eligible and to the extent that the DACA program remains intact, renewal of your DACA as it draws closer to expiring. I would also highly recommend that you schedule a consultation with a competent immigration attorney who can ask you many questions to flush out other possibilities that you may not even have thought of. Some attorneys offer online Skype consultations or telephone consultations for those who are unable to attend in-person.

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