Q: Hi, my parents' petition is already approved and waiting for the interview. Can my 20 years old sibling join my parents?
I'm a US citizen and filed a petition for my parents. Their petition is approved and all the fees and documents are submitted. My parents are currently waiting for their interview to be scheduled. The question is about my 20 years old sibling that wants to join my parents. Can you please advise whether my sibling can join my parents' approved petition or not? And if it is possible what should I do to add my siblings to my parents' case so they can get visas all together?
Thank you,
Khos.
A: There are no derivatives allowed on immediate relative petitions, so there is no way for your sibling to be added to the petitions you filed for each of your parents. You would have to file a separate sibling petition to immigrate your sibling. You should be aware that this will take much longer than it took for your parents’ cases, as this is a preference category, which is governed by the Visa Bulletin. Your parents were immediate relatives, which means a visa is always available to them, and they did not have to wait for a priority date to become current. You can check the visa bulletin here to see how long the sibling petition would take: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html
A: Unfortunately, no you can't add your 20 year old sibling to your parents' approved I-130 petition as there are no derivatives in an immediate family based petition. Your parents are immediate family members and have a visa immediately available to them upon approval of the I-130 petition. Your sibling would fall into the F4 preference category, which means they would have to wait several years, possibly 15 years (note: wait times vary by country), for a visa to become available to him/her.
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