Q: I want to bring my parents and underage brother to the USA and need to know if they can come at the same time.
I am a USA citizen, 32 years old. My income is good and I am capable financially to sponsor my family to come to the USA. I have 3 family members in Russia: my dad, 73 y.o., mom 53 y.o. and my little brother who is 14 y.o.
Am I amble to sponsor all of them for a family based immigration visa and how long will it take from the time if the application until they can enter the United States?
To my understanding my parents classify as a first category of preference and my brother is the fourth category. Does this mean they won't be able to come to the USA at the same time, or am I wrong? If I am anywhere near of being correct, this would make the entire immigration process impossible for my family, I cannot have my parents here in the USA and my underage brother left alone in Russia. Can someone, please, clarify this for me.
A:
Here's a potential plan to discuss with the immigration lawyer you will need to see about this:
(1) File a permanent residence case for one of your parents. (BTW, parents of a US citizen are your "immediate relatives," not first preference. There is no waiting line or limit on IR-based PR.)
(2) Continue processing for one of the parents until he/she is approved for the immigrant visa and comes to the USA as a permanent resident.
(3) He or she will then file F-2A (family-based 2nd preference "A") for the spouse and child who remained behind in Russia. They will be able to come to the USA, together, after going through a waiting line, perhaps a year or more.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck.
Stephen Arnold Black agrees with this answer
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