How to Obtain a Green Card For a Parent
This article is an overview of how a U.S. citizen can obtain a green cards for his or her parents.
First, in order to obtain a green card for your parents you must be a
U.S. Citizen who is at least 21 years old. (Remember, as a U.S. Citizen, while you can help your parents, spouse or children to immigrate to the United States quickly it is much harder to get green cards for your brothers or sisters. You are not able to bring over other relatives such as grand parents and aunts and uncles. These relatives would have to be petitioned by other relatives.)
There are other important things to consider – you must show that you have enough income or assets to support your parents during their stay in the US at a level that is 125% of the US poverty rate – apart from supporting your own family. The reason for this is to ensure that the government is not obliged to provide for your parents once they immigrate to the USA.
Also, it is important to note that your parents can be denied permission to immigrate to the United States and not be given green cards if, among other things, they have criminal convictions in the past in their home countries or elsewhere, have violated immigration norms or carry a disease which is a definite health risk to the public. Also, if they have physical or psychological issues that are dangerous to the public, they will be denied green cards. You should speak to an
Immigration Attorney if you have questions in this area.
Typically your parents won’t have to wait long to get green cards since they are immediate relatives. Wait times change and can vary. Feel free to contact us about current wait times.
The process for obtaining a green card for your parents is as follows:
First, you will need to fill out a form called the I-130, which is called Petition for Alien Relative. This is issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). The purpose of this petition is to prove the parent-child relationship that exists between yourself and your parent, as well as your status as a bona fide US citizen.
So, you will be asked for a copy of your naturalization certificate, US passport, and any other proof of citizenship. You will have to submit your birth certificate, documents that prove your parents’ identities and their relationship to you. Remember – always send the copies of these documents, and never the originals, because you won’t get them back. If you want green cards for both, your father and mother, then you should apply for two separate I-130 petitions.
Once the visa petition is approved by the USCIS you will receive an approval notice (this does not mean that the overall case has been approved but only that the USCIS portion of the case has been approved. Your case will be forwarded by USCIS to the National Visa Center (NVC). Once the NVC is done processing it they will send it to the US consulate in your parents’ country for their visa interview. If the interview goes to plan and no discrepancies are found, their immigrant visa will be approved and they will be given the permission to enter the United States and get their
Green Cards so that they can become lawful permanent residents
