Bringing Your Family to the US Permanently

Getting a green card is relatively easy. U.S. immigration law allows U.S. Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) to bring their spouses, children, and parents to the US and to help them to gain LPR status–and eventually, Citizenship. In certain cases you may also bring your siblings; the waiting list for siblings, however, is quite long. Of course, the process does require some time and effort, and that is where many do-it-yourself aids can be especially helpful.

Filling in the I-130 form is the first step, but be advised: you must be careful to fully understand the words used on the form! This and other immigration documents are written to apply to anyone who wishes to immigrate to the U.S.-anyone from around the world. Such documents can be very difficult to understand, even for native English speakers. So do you need an attorney’s help? No, not if you are willing to spend time and effort. And you must also spend money: the filing fee that you must submit with each completed I-130 form is $355.00, that is, Three Hundred and Fifty-Five U.S. dollars. Be prepared to spend about $1,500–which is One Thousand Five Hundred U.S. dollars–in filing fees to complete the immigration process for each family member.

In addition to the filing fees, you must agree to support each family member at 125% of the U.S. poverty rate, unless your relative can support him- or herself. Why is this? The U.S. government wants to be sure that your family will not become a financial burden to it, through excessive use of government services. What else will you need? Patience! Working through the government’s process is slow. But imagine the reward: you and your family will be re-united!

Can you complete the paperwork yourself? Yes, but only if neither you nor your family member has ever been arrested. However, if either of you has any history of legal problems, you should consult an attorney. If your family member was ever arrested in his or her home country, or detained by U.S. Immigration or by Law Enforcement, then you must be very careful to completely disclose this information on the application. It’s crucial that you seek the help of an attorney to be sure this is handled properly. If the problem has been completely resolved in court, then immigration for your family member is still possible.