If you're a U.S. citizen hoping to bring your brother or sister to the United States permanently, you can file a sibling petition (I-130). However, sibling petitions are subject to long wait times and strict rules. U.S. citizens can also sponsor parents for a green card and children for a green card, both with shorter wait times. Once permanent residents, your siblings can later pursue U.S. citizenship requirements. Contact our office to review your sibling's case and timeline. At Sakhniuk Immigration Law, led by Attorney Oksana Sakhniuk, we offer strategic, caring legal guidance to help you navigate this complex journey.

• Sibling petitions are subject to family-based preference rules and visa quotas, resulting in long wait times.
• There's usually a significant priority date backlog, depending on country of origin.
• Accurate evidence of the sibling relationship is essential (birth certificates, shared parent documentation, etc.).
• Proper document review and legal strategy can reduce delays or denials.
• Consular processing is generally required. Your sibling may need to apply from abroad.

In order to keep control over the quantity of aliens that come to the U.S. every year, the federal government issues a certain number of immigrant visas for family members who live in foreign countries. Since the quantity of immigrants that want to reunite with their family members in the U.S. is significantly large, USCIS developed the "family preference categories list," which divided all foreign relatives into two categories: immediate family members and other family members. Immediate family members include spouses, parents and children under 21 years old of U.S. citizens. Other family members include unmarried sons or daughters over 21 years old, married sons or daughters, and siblings. The main purpose for creating two categories was to expedite the process of bringing immediate family members to the U.S.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, siblings of the U.S. citizen are classified as family members, not as immediate relatives, and are placed at the bottom of the family preference list (F4 category). As soon as you start the immigration process for your sibling, he or she will be assigned a "priority date" and placed on the waiting list for an immigrant visa. You will need to start tracking the progress of priority dates in the F4 category by monitoring the State Department's Visa Bulletin to determine when an immigrant visa number for your brother or sister becomes available. But because so many people have already applied under this category in the past, the wait is considerably long. Typically, the average wait time for most countries is 12 years. Furthermore, because the U.S. limits the number of immigrant visas available by country for this category, your siblings may have to wait longer if they come from India, China, Mexico, or the Philippines (average wait is 25 years).

Even after the wait is over, processing a green card application may take several months. That's why it is important to have an experienced immigration attorney on your side who can assist you in this long-expected process, as even a small mistake made at the stage of filing an immigration petition on behalf of your sibling can cost you several years of wait.

There are two scenarios for brothers or sisters of the U.S. citizen to get a green card:

1. The first scenario is that the brother or sister is already in the United States in a nonimmigrant status. In this case, the U.S. citizen may only file an immigration petition on behalf of their brother or sister and wait for the immigrant visa number to become current. During this waiting period, the brother or sister needs to independently maintain a valid nonimmigrant status in the U.S. (e.g. on a student or business visa). If by the time the immigrant visa number became available, the brother or sister of the U.S. citizen is still in the U.S., he or she may apply to adjust nonimmigrant status to permanent resident (Form I-485).
   
   Brothers or sisters who are illegally in the U.S.? If your brother or sister is illegally in the U.S. (overstayed their visa or failed to maintain their nonimmigrant status) at the time the immigrant visa number became available for them, they will not be able to get a green card. Living in the U.S. without authorization can lead to accruing "unlawful presence," preventing them from adjusting their status to permanent resident.
2. The second scenario is that the brother or sister is outside the United States. In this case, the U.S. citizen and sibling need to go through the following steps to get a green card:
   1. I. Filing the immigration petition by the U.S. citizen on behalf of his sister or brother (I-130). To start the process of immigration for your sibling, you will need to file Form I-130 with accompanying documents. It will take a few years for USCIS to approve the immigrant petition depending on the sibling's home country.
   2. II. Obtaining an Immigrant Visa Number. If the immigrant visa petition is approved, your brother or sister must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available according to the preference system. Because the number of immigrant visa numbers available each year is limited, several years could pass between USCIS approval and the State Department providing a visa number. Because U.S. law limits the number of immigrant visas available by country, they may have to wait longer if they come from a country with high demand.
   3. III. Case Processing and Interview Preparation. Once the immigrant visa number becomes available, the petition will be forwarded to the U.S. Consulate or Embassy in the sibling's home country for processing. The sibling will be instructed to file an application for an immigrant visa at the consulate or embassy. After applying, the sibling must appear for a visa interview. If the interview is successful, an immigrant visa will be issued enabling him or her to enter the U.S.
   4. IV. Entering the U.S. An immigrant visa is valid for a maximum period of six months from the date of issuance. The sibling must travel and apply for admission to the United States within that six-month period. On the day that the brother or sister enters the United States on an immigrant visa, he or she becomes a permanent resident.

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