Here is another edition of "Dear Sophie," the advice column that answers questions related to labor immigration in tech companies.
"Your questions are critical to the dissemination of knowledge that enables people around the world to push boundaries and pursue their dreams," says Sophie Alcorn, a Silicon Valley immigration attorney. "Whether you are in people ops, a founder or looking for a job in Silicon Valley, I would love to answer your questions in my next article."
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Dear Sophie: I just got American citizenship! My husband and I want to take my mother and her husband to the United States to help us take care of our preschooler. My biological dad passed away several years ago when I was an adult and my mom has remarried ever since. Can they get green cards? - Appreciation in AptosDear appreciation:
Congratulations on becoming a citizen! This is a long way and you have done it. 🙂 For everyone out there awaiting citizenship, good news: it's a priority for the Biden administration to speed up processing times. More good news: the Muslim ban has been lifted! And USCIS will make things much better for Dreamers looking for DACA.
We can definitely come up with a plan to support your mom and stepfather to get green cards in the US. Since your mother married your stepfather after you turned 18, you cannot sponsor him directly. You must first sponsor your mother for a green card, and then she can sponsor him as her husband. My colleague, Anita Koumriqian, a family immigration expert, and I discussed getting green cards for parents and siblings in a recent podcast. Take a look for more details. To set clear expectations, this is a multi-step process that will likely take a few years. So you might want to consider hiring a nanny if you need childcare before that! 😉
Alternatively, to speed things up for your stepfather, if he has a daughter, son, or brother who is a US citizen, each of them can sponsor him for a green card. If your mother ends up sponsoring it once she is a permanent resident, she is faster than a US citizen sibling sponsoring a sibling, for example, but generally not as fast as a US citizen child sponsoring a parent.
Because your mother is overseas, she won't be able to come to the United States until the U.S. embassy or consulate in her home country reopens and resumes processing routine visa and green card applications. However, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are currently open.
You can start sponsoring your mom for a green card right away, and you can work with a lawyer to streamline the process. You must be at least 21 years old and be a US citizen. As its sponsor, you will also need to accept legal responsibility for its financial support.
You will initially need to submit documents such as your birth certificate and proof of US citizenship to USCIS and make sure that all foreign language documents have certified English translations. Currently, the USCIS California Service Center takes approximately seven months to process green card applications for parents.
