World Journal Weekly Q & A - January 12, 2014
Q & A 1. 2.
Q&A 1.
U. S. Citizen Son Wants to Sponsor His Overstayed Parents – Can He Do It Since He Is Now 18?
A son asks:
I finally turned 18 in November and I want to sponsor my parents for the green card. They came to the country 20 years ago under visiting visas and never left. They have never committed any crimes, been here a long time, supported me and my younger sister to the best of their ability, and are loved by our neighbors. What forms do I fill out and where do I send the application?
Dear reader,
Unfortunately you are premature in your desire to sponsor your parents. Although the age of 18 represents the age of majority for many purposes, it does not for purposes of U. S. immigration. A U.S. citizen child must be 21 to sponsor his or her parents for permanent residence. Congress passed the law in 1976 to raise the age limit to 21 as it thought it incongruous that infants could continue to sponsor parents for permanent residence who chose to have their babies in the U.S. A good argument can of course be made that the age should be 18 since that is the age that we send soldiers to fight our enemies overseas when we have the draft, but 21 was the age that was decided upon at the time and has never been changed.
Q&A 2.
U. S. Citizen Wants to Know How to Help 24-year-old Husband Who Sneaked into the Country that She Has Known for the Past 9 Years.
A wife asks:
I met my husband 9 years ago; we were married 2 years ago; we have a one-year-old child; and he is now 24 years of age and working to support us. He illegally came to the States when he was 15. How can I help him straighten up his immigration papers? What are his options?
Dear reader,
As you have known your husband for nine years, he entered the country illegally at the age of 15, and you are married for two years with a one-year-old child, there is a good possibility that he entered the country by June 15, 2007 (assuming that you met him in this country). He may be able to qualify for the deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) program if such occurred, he has been in the U.S. continuously since such time, was physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, graduated from high school or has the GED or is currently in school or served in the armed forces or coastguard honorably, and has not been convicted of a felony or significant misdemeanor or three other misdemeanors. If approved, he would receive a two-year period of deferred departure time and if able to prove financial hardship, employment authorization during that time.
Application is on Form I-821D Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, I-765 Application for Employment Authorization, and I-765 WS (worksheet) with a $465 fee made out to "Department of Homeland Security". With President Obama’s re-election and the changing climate on immigration, your husband may be able to take further steps towards staying here permanently. If he does not qualify under DACA, he may either wait to see what will happen with Congress and the President in terms of comprehensive immigration reform for the 11-12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., or he may decide to apply under the new I-601A provisional waiver program through which you would file a relative petition (I-130) on his behalf and when approved, he would request U.S.C.I.S. for a waiver of the 10 year bar on return through form I-601A based on extreme hardship to you if the waiver is not granted. The waiver application would be adjudicated while he is here in the States. Upon approval, he would then complete immigrant visa processing at an American consulate or embassy, and be interviewed over there. As the waiver application would have already been approved, the immigrant visa interview would likely be granted.
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