Permanent Residency How long to get a green card?

[tim6lynette]

My family has been applying for the Green Card for nearly 10 years. The lawyer was not doing his job properly, so we withdrew the case four months ago.

Here is my question:

My sister will become a US citizen on Feb. 2005 ... I want to know know how long will the INS take if my sister apply Green Card for my mom? (We are legally entered into the United State) Another question. If my mom obtains her Green Card; Is she able to apply Green Card for me? (I am 17 years old.) Can I know how long will the INS take if my mother apply Green Card for me? If I got my Green Card, How long should I wait to apply for US CITIZENSHIP ?

Thanks to those who help me and those who are concerned.

 

[NYClex]

Hm, this is a little complicated.

American citizens can "sponsor" their parents and their brothers and sisters to become Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs)=Green Card Holders.

LPRs can sponsor their unmarried children under 21 and over 21.

Now why do I list these different categories: because depending on which category you fit in, the time until you actually become a LPR varies dramatically and also the decision if you can wait for that in the US or not.

First things first:

Parents of citizens: Citizens can petition for their parents to become an LPR. It takes about 1-2 years until the parent actually gets the Green Card, depending on where you file the petition, and that depends on where you live. The good thing: During that time the parents can stay in the US if they have been legally admitted, are not out of that status yet and applied for an "adjustment of status." You can apply for AOS at the same time the citizen files the petition.

A lot more complicated is the question for brothers or sisters:

There are basically two ways in this case:

The citizen sister can file a petition for the alien sibling, regardless of that sibling's age. Sadly, this process takes now at least twelve years until the sibling gets the Green Card! And the sibling cannot wait that time in the US.!

The other way is, once the mother has become a LPR she can file herself a petition for her other alien children. Depending on their age, as long as they are unmarried, they will get a green card in either about 4 years or 10 years!

So, to repeat this, first the mother has to be a LPR, that might take about 1-2 years. Then she files for the alien child. If that child is under 21, it will take from that day about 4 years. If the child is over 21 it will take about 10 years, in which case it is no big difference from filing a petition by the citizen sister. The child cannot wait in the US for the visa.

So there are some serious time limits involved. Therefore I advise you to seek a competent immigration attorney to handle this.

Once someone is a LPR it takes another 5 years until he can apply for US citizenship if he fulfills all other requirements (spouse of citizens need only to wait 3 years). This counts from the day you have the Green Card on.