Immigrating to the United States without your family can be challenging, to say the least. At times, it can feel isolating to acclimate to an American way of life and American culture on your own, and you may struggle to maintain your sense of purpose and identity without your loved ones with you. You might also fear for your loved ones’ wellbeing when they remain overseas, both because they aren’t with you and because of the dangers posed by the country of their current residence.
Fortunately, the immigration system provides opportunities for you to bring your family members to the United States. In the remainder of this post, let’s look at what you need to do to effectively secure a green card for your parents, thereby allowing them to come to the United States to live and work.
How to navigate securing a green card for your parents
There are a lot of steps involved with securing a green card for a parent. To successfully navigate the process, you’ll have to do the following:
- Demonstrate that you’re a U.S. citizen: Green card holders and those who are present in the U.S. on a visa cannot petition to have their parents admitted into the country as green card holders. So, before you start the process, you’ll have to be able to demonstrate your citizenship.
- Complete the I-130 application: This is a general application to bring a foreign resident into the country. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you might have to submit additional documentation with this application, including a birth certificate establishing your relationship with your parent, an adoption decree, your marriage certificate if you’re petitioning to bring your step-parents to America, and even your parents’ birth certificate. What you have to submit depends on your circumstances, so be careful here so that you don’t overlook something.
- Appeal if your application is denied: I-130 applications are denied all the time. A denial could occur if insufficient information was provided, the requisite relationship doesn’t exist between you and the family member you’re seeking to bring to the United States, you fail to demonstrate that you’re a U.S. citizen, or you fail to satisfactorily prove your relationship to your family member. Prior illegal stays in the United States could affect an application, too. When you’re subjected to a denial, you should consider seeking an appeal or moving to reopen the evidence. If you do the latter, you can submit new or missing information that could lead to a favorable outcome for your petition.
Given the complexities of the immigration system, it’s imperative that you enter the process with a full understanding of the law and how it applies to your circumstances. If you don’t, then you could be denied the relief that you want simply because you made what you thought was a harmless error.
Do you need help navigating your immigration law issues?
If so, now is the time to start developing your legal arguments and pursuing the answers to any questions that you might have. We know that can be daunting to think about, but you have limited opportunities to secure the immigration relief that you want for your loved ones. So, be diligent, be thorough, and seek out any guidance that you may need along the way. By doing so, you’ll hopefully be able to reunite with your parents in the United States.
