Canadian student applying for US citizenship

I am studying in a US university. Am I allowed to apply for American citizenship (sponsored by my American brother), or is that forbidden due to my F or J status that I received when I started studying? I am a Canadian citizen. Does anyone know?
Thank you.

You cannot just apply for U.S. Citizenship if your brother has just started that sponsorship process for you. The expected wait time for this type of sponsorship is 8 - 10 years.

Seeing that you are on F-1 status, I assume the process has just started. You might want to pursue a work visa post graduation or do like the Romans do and get married to a US citizen.

Seeing that you are on F-1 status, I assume the process has just started. You might want to pursue a work visa post graduation or do like the Romans do and get married to a US citizen.

Since the brother is the one sponsoring the case, I don't think it would be a problem starting the family sponsorship process--and it wouldn't prevent you staying on F-1 status.

Yes it is indeed a long process but I'd recommend starting it. Knowing that it will eventually come through may reduce stress levels in the future and may make it easier to focus on other aspects (besides immigration) of both romantic and employment relationships.

It does have one advantage: boyfriends/girlfriends (and even husbands/wives) come and go; employers come and go; but your brother will always be your brother. Family sponsorship offers a certain long term security even if short term it doesn't help.

Since the brother is the one sponsoring the case, I don't think it would be a problem starting the family sponsorship process--and it wouldn't prevent you staying on F-1 status.

Yes it is indeed a long process but I'd recommend starting it. Knowing that it will eventually come through may reduce stress levels in the future and may make it easier to focus on other aspects (besides immigration) of both romantic and employment relationships.

It does have one advantage: boyfriends/girlfriends (and even husbands/wives) come and go; employers come and go; but your brother will always be your brother. Family sponsorship offers a certain long term security even if short term it doesn't help.

Yes true. BUT, in the event he does not get a work visa or able to transfer over to another status, he will have to go back to Canada until it is approved. A friend of mine waited 9 YEARS before he got his GC from his sister who sponsored him in the late 90's. It is a long process which is why I am suggesting he explore other visa options.

Yes true. BUT, in the event he does not get a work visa or able to transfer over to another status, he will have to go back to Canada until it is approved. A friend of mine waited 9 YEARS before he got his GC from his sister who sponsored him in the late 90's. It is a long process which is why I am suggesting he explore other visa options.

I guess I wasn't clear. Yes he/she may need work visa sponsorship from an employer but there may not be a need for GC sponsorship from the employer or potential spouse--which may reduce stress levels significantly. Depending on the stage OP is at with the educational process, 9 years might not be as long as you think. Throw in 4 years as an undergrad, 2 years in grad school, 29 months in post completion practical training--that's almost 9 years right there. OP might need a TN or H-1B briefly but wouldn't need to worry about GC sponsorship from the employer.

I know that if I'd had a brother to sponsor me when I first came to the USA in F-1 status, it would have made my life a LOT less stressful. Let's just say that the time from first entry in F-1 status to finally getting my GC was significantly more than 9 years in my case.

I think cal you are missing the point. Non-spouse GC sponsorship is slow, tyes, but the real problem is that it creates immig intent, so having an I-130 in the pipeline would have made your life much MORE stressful, as you would have been ineligible for F1, TN, etc. and would be back in canada waiting.

I think cal you are missing the point. Non-spouse GC sponsorship is slow, tyes, but the real problem is that it creates immig intent, so having an I-130 in the pipeline would have made your life much MORE stressful, as you would have been ineligible for F1, TN, etc. and would be back in canada waiting.

Well, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense--but immigration matters don't always make sense--so you could very well be right.

The reason it doesn't make sense is that it is well established that an I-140 doesn't create immigrant intent--since it isn't the potential immigrant's petition. Similarly an I-130 isn't the prospective immigrant's petition either--so similar logic should apply.

For a spousal I-130, where there is obviously an intimate relationship, I can see that the I-130 would create immigrant intent. Harder to see why that would be the case for other I-130's--but, again, immigration law doesn't always make sense.

The I-140 does create immig intent. Its simply that by CBP and CIS letter, they have decided that I-140 immig intent is forgivable (no doubt because it would hurt US businesses).
I-130 does not enjoy such forgiveness.

The I-140 does create immig intent. Its simply that by CBP and CIS letter, they have decided that I-140 immig intent is forgivable (no doubt because it would hurt US businesses).
I-130 does not enjoy such forgiveness.

Interesting. I did a web search and, yes, prevailing opinion is definitely that AGN is correct so I stand corrected.

It still surprises me because I see the I-130 and the I-140 as analogous documents but perhaps the risk of harm to US businesses is indeed the method to their madness in this case.

As such it would seem that it would be very rare indeed for a situation to arise where a Canadian citizen would benefit by sibling sponsorship.