Let’s suppose that you are a Green Card holder – a lawful permanent resident of the United States. Now, you want to help your family member come to the United States and become a lawful permanent resident as well. How do you accomplish this?
To help your relative become a Green Card holder like you, you’ll have to do two things:
1) you must sponsor your family member, and
2) you must be able to prove that you have enough income and assets to support your relative when he or she comes to the United States.
So, if you are unemployed at this point in time and have little to no assets, you’ll need to work on that before you can sponsor your relative. On the other hand, if you’re financially capable of supporting your relative and you can prove that to the USCIS, you’re halfway there. Next, you’ll need to file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. “Can I petition for any relative?” No, you cannot. As a Green Card holder, you can only file a petition for a husband or wife, or an unmarried child, regardless of their age. If you become a U.S. citizen, then you can petition for married children.
What an I-130 Does for a Relative
When you file an I-130 petition for a qualifying relative and you’re able to prove that he or she is eligible, what happens is your relative receives a place in line for a visa number. Your family member will be placed in line with other relatives based on the same type of relationship from the same country or area. For example, if you’re from Mexico and you’re trying to petition for your wife to join you in the U.S., she would be placed in the same category as spouses from Mexico who are married to permanent residents. In this scenario, your wife’s place in line would be based on the date the Form I-130 was filed.
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