What will happen to my daughter?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I JUST got through with my US filing which was done by my US citizen son and I will be leaving the island shortly. The process was started in 2021 when my daughter was just 19 years old. He didn’t put her on the application due to the length of time that siblings filing takes.

Is there a way we can start the process for her now? I anxiously await your response.

SW

Dear SW,

When a US citizen files a petition for a parent to migrate to America, they cannot add a sibling to the petition. They must list all the children and spouse, if any, of their parent, but that does not equate to filing for their sibling. The American citizen is required to file a separate petition for their sibling.

While the parent is considered an immediate relative of the American citizen, the sibling is placed in the F4 preference category and must wait until a visa becomes available in that category. The F4 preference category is the one that has the longest wait time. Currently, visas are available for persons who were filed for prior to June 8, 2007.

From your email, it appears that your daughter is now 21 years old. As a US permanent resident, you are eligible to file a petition for your adult daughter to migrate – as long as she remains unmarried. A permanent resident cannot file for a married son/daughter. Your daughter will be in the F2B preference category and visas are available for those who were filed for before November 22, 2015.

Waiting times go up and down, so once her petition is approved and forwarded to the US Department of State, keep checking the Visa Bulletins to monitor the progress.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and i nclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com