Q: My sister's son (US Citizen, living here in the United States) petitioned for mom However minor child was not petitioned
My sister's son is a US Citizen, adult living in the United States. he petition for his mother currently living in Chile. But he didn't petition for his sister which is a 14 year old minor. the attorney said that since he just makes enough money to petition for his mother that petitioning for 2 people would cause the risk of getting denied for not making enough money. However, my sister can't leave her 14 year old daughter alone in Chile. What can she do? the process is already in it's final stage, I think she is having an interview soon and all back in Chile. She doesn't want to leave her daughter alone in Chile.
A:
Once your sister receives her immigrant visa, she will need to enter the United States within 60 days. Then once she gets her green card she can file an I-130 petition for her daughter. Your sister can also apply for a re-entry permit to protect her residency, which would allow her to remain outside of the United States for a period of up to two years, while her daughter’s case is being processed.
Also, even if her son had filed a separate petition for his sister, there is a backlog on sibling petitions so she would not have been approved at the same time as her mother. According to the June Visa Bulletin, the current priority date for fourth preference petitions (for siblings) is March 22, 2007.
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