Sibling Sponsorship

Hi there,

I have been trying to find this info out and no such luck! I have a sibling that is a US citizen! My questions are if my sibling sponsors me can I go to the US upon my application and legaly work while it is in process? I realize that it can take forever, but what can I do in the meantime??? Oh I also have a Spouse and a child. My child would need to attend school.

Thanks to anyone with any info!

A

Essentially it's a two-step process, they file the I-130 for you and many years later when the visa number comes up then they can sponsor you for the visa, which is pretty similar to people who get married, i.e. you list your dependents, they show they can support you on I-864, do the medicals, pay the fees etc.

It confers no benefits on you at all until you get the visa. You can enter and work in another category, e.g. TN-1, and if the petition is approved while you are in the US, instead of applying for a visa, you apply for AOS on I-485.

Because it takes so long to get a visa number (typically, 9-12 years) then it's perfectly legitimate to have non-immigrant intent while waiting, because you might enter and then leave again before the visa number comes up.

There is a plan to scrap fourth preference applications, so if you're going to do it, do it now. The plan was to scrap various family-based categories and process them all in eight years, so if you applied now, you would be among the last. So figure eight years plus seven months to get the visa, minimum.