IMMIGRATION
Family Petitions
Currently, the immigration laws of the United States allow citizens and residents to help their spouses, children, parents and other family members to migrate to the United States legally. An American citizen or legal resident has the legal right to apply for a family petition to obtain legal residence.
At the Law Office of Valdez, Monarrez & San Miguel, we help families with these processes. We can help you with your family request and always be by your side to make sure that everything goes successfully.
What members of my family can I ask for?
If you are a US citizen, you can ask the following members of your family:
- Spouse
- Children under 21 years of age.
- Children over 21 years of age and their spouses and children under 21 years of age.
- Parents (As long as the American citizen is over 21 years of age)
- Siblings and their spouse as well as unmarried children (under 21 years of age).
If you are a permanent resident of the United States, you can apply to:
- Spouse
- Unmarried children or children over 21 years old
HOW CAN I ORDER FROM A MEMBER OF MY FAMILY?
An American citizen or legal resident can petition for a family member as mentioned above by filling out Form I-130, Petition for a Relative. Each member of the family mentioned above belongs to a different type of category. Depending on the category to which the family member belongs, he or she will have to wait until their VISA is available.
For example: The spouse of an American citizen is considered an immediate relative and can have his visa available immediately. Meaning that you can apply for residency as soon as the I-130 form is approved. However, a resident’s spouse falls under the F2A category, which means he or she has to wait for the VISA to become available to apply for residency.
Once the I-130 form is approved, the family member can obtain residency, either through adjustment of status or consular processing. Adjustment of status is the process in which a relative adjusts their status as a Resident of the United States. Consular processing is a process by which the relative obtains residency in the United States through an American consulate in their country of origin.