PETITION FOR CHILDREN OF US CITIZENS AND PERMANENT RESIDENTS
 

PETITION FOR MINOR CHILDREN OF US CITIZENS

US Citizens may file a petition for their minor children and also step-children.  For immigration purposes, a minor child is a child under the age of 21.  This type of petition is an immediate petition.  This means there is no wait time to apply for the greencard.  If the minor child is inside the US, then we can file an adjustment of status simultaneous with the petition provided the child was inspected when the child entered the US.  If the minor child is outside the US, then the child would have to go through consulate visa processing.  In order for a US Citizen to petition a step-child, the step-child must have been under age 18 at the time the US Citizen married the parent of the step-child.

PETITION FOR SINGLE ADULT CHILD OF US CITIZEN

US Citizens may also petition their single adult child. This is not an immediate petition but a F1 preference category.  The wait time for the priority date generally is about 9-10 years unless you are from Mexico which is longer.  This type of petition works well where the single adult child is located in the foreign country.  In that case, the adult child can wait for his or her priority date to become current then proceed with consulate processing.  Any minor children of the adult child may also obtain a permanent resident visa as a derivative beneficiary.

If the adult child is inside the US, then the adult child would have to be covered by INA section 245(i) or apply for a I-601A provisional waiver of unlawful presence to allow them to go through consulate processing at their home country.

PETITION FOR MARRIED ADULT CHILD OF US CITIZEN

US Citizens may petition their married adult child as an F3 preference category.  The wait time for this priority date generally is about 20 years depending on the country of chargeability.  The advantage of this is any minor children of the adult married child can also immigrate as a derivative beneficiary.  Even if the child ages out by attaining 21 years of age, it may be possible to get the derivative treated as a minor if he or she qualified under the Child Status Protection Act.

PETITION FOR MINOR CHILDREN OF PERMANENT RESIDENT

US Permanent residents may petition their minor children (under age 21) .  This is an F2A preference category so they wait time to apply for permanent residency generally is about 2-3 years.  If the permanent resident parent becomes a US Citizen, then the petition automatically get reclassified to immediate and the minor child no longer has to wait to apply for permanent residency.

PETITION FOR SINGLE ADULT CHILD OF PERMANENT RESIDENT

US Permanent residents may petition single adult children as an F2B preference category.  Generally, the wait time for this is 9-14 years depending on the beneficiary’s country of chargeability.  If the permanent resident parent becomes a US Citizen, then the petition can be reclassified to F1 preference category which normally has a shorter wait time.

US Permanent residents cannot file a petition for married adult children.

DIVORCE AS A STRATEGIC MOVE TO SHORTEN THE PETITION WAIT TIME FOR MARRIED ADULT CHILDREN

1. Married Sons and Daughters of US Citizens

If you were petitioned for legal permanent residence by your US Citizen parent as a married son or daughter 21 years old or over, you are classified in immigration law under family sponsored third preference (F3) which usually carries a long wait time.  The wait time for Filipinos for example is currently 22 years. The priority date is normally the date the petition was initially filed by your US Citizen parents. If you get divorced, you revert back to single status and your category automatically becomes reclassified to first preference (F1) where the waiting time is substantially shorter.  For example, for Filipinos the wait time under F1 category is 10 years shorter than F3 category.    This means if your parents filed your immigration petition 12 years ago, then you can adjust to a green card now instead of waiting another 10 years.

1. Married Sons and Daughters of Legal Permanent Residents

If your parents are legal permanent residents, getting divorced will convert you back single status making you eligible to be petitioned by your legal permanent resident parents under the family based second preference (F2b) category if you are 21 years old or older or under the family based second preference A (F2a) if you are under 21 years of age. 

For those who married after they were petitioned by their LPR parents (F2A and F2B), the petition is automatically revoked under operation of law the moment you get married and cannot be reclaimed by a divorce.  In theory, it can be argued that filing a subsequent petition after your divorce under the same category inherits the previous petition’s priority date under 9 FAM 42.43 N10 and 8 CFR 204.2(h), Part 205.  However, success of such argument is not clear since the old petition was automatically revoked the moment you married.  The best thing that can be done in this situation is to have your LPR parent repetition you as an F2A or F2b even if you are unable to reclaim the previous petition’s priority date.

For more information on how we can help you resolve your immigration as effectively and quickly as possible, please contact our office without delay.