Keith Mack
If you are a US citizen, you can apply for a green card for your brother-in-law. The process is known as the family-based fourth preference immigrant visa category (F4). However, this process is lengthy and can take over ten years due to the limited number of visas available each year. To apply, you must be over the age of 21 and submit Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, along with birth certificates and proof of US citizenship. If your brother-in-law is a half-sibling, you will need to provide additional documentation, including your father's marriage certificates and proof of legitimation. You will also need to demonstrate that you can financially support your brother-in-law and their family during their stay in the US.
Characteristics and Values
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Who can apply for a brother-in-law's greencard? | A US citizen can petition for a brother-in-law's greencard through their business. A US citizen's spouse can also petition for their brother's greencard if they are a US citizen. |
| Who cannot apply for a brother-in-law's greencard? | A US citizen cannot personally petition for a brother-in-law's greencard. A permanent resident of the US (greencard holder) cannot bring a sibling to the US legally. |
| What is the process for applying for a sibling's greencard? | The US citizen petitioner must submit Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, along with copies of their birth certificate and their sibling's birth certificate, showing at least one common parent. They must also provide proof of US citizenship. |
| What is the waiting time for a sibling's greencard? | The waiting time for a sibling's greencard can be extremely long, up to 12-13 years or more, due to limits on the number of visas issued in this category each year. |
| What are the financial requirements for sponsoring a sibling's greencard? | The petitioner must demonstrate that their household income exceeds 125% of the poverty level in the US and that their sibling will not become a "public charge". They may need to fill out an Affidavit of Support on Form I-864. |
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What You'll Learn
Sponsoring a brother-in-law through a business
Sponsoring a brother-in-law to get a green card through a business is a complex process. While a US citizen cannot sponsor their brother-in-law personally, they may be able to do so through their business. However, it is important to note that this process is not a simple one and requires careful consideration and consultation with an experienced immigration attorney.
The PERM labor certification process for employment-based green card sponsorship requires an employer to test the US labor market to determine if there are any qualified and available US workers to fill an open position. This process must be conducted in good faith, and the employer must evaluate applicants, for example, by interviewing them. When the sponsored employee is related to the owner of the business, the burden of demonstrating good faith recruitment is even greater, as the US government may believe that the company owner will be biased toward the family-member applicant.
The Department of Labor (DOL) has a broad definition of which relationships qualify as family, including those established by blood, marriage, or adoption, even if distant. This means that in-laws are considered family members for the purposes of green card sponsorship.
To sponsor a brother-in-law through a business, the business owner must be a US citizen and will likely need to fill out Form ETA-9089, which includes a question about whether there is a familial relationship between the owners and the sponsored person. The business owner will also need to demonstrate that they can financially support their brother-in-law and that he meets all health-related criteria and has a clean legal record.
It is important to note that the process of sponsoring a family member through a business can be complex and time-consuming, and there may be long wait times due to visa backlogs. Consulting with an experienced immigration attorney is highly recommended to ensure that all necessary steps are taken and to navigate the intricacies of US immigration law.
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Requirements for a US citizen petitioner
To petition for a brother-in-law to live in the United States as a Green Card holder, you must be a US citizen and your brother-in-law must be a foreign national. Permanent residents may not petition to bring their siblings-in-law to live in the US.
To start the immigration sponsorship process, you'll need to file a petition on USCIS Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, and accompany this with a fee payment, proof of your US citizenship, and proof that you are related to your brother-in-law. This last requirement involves making copies of your birth certificate and your sibling-in-law's birth certificate, showing at least one parent in common. If you or your sibling-in-law has changed their name, you will also need a document that proves it, such as a marriage certificate. If the document isn't in English, you should also provide a complete translation. If you and your sibling-in-law are related only through your spouse, you will also need your spouse's marriage certificate from their marriage to your sibling-in-law's sibling.
You must also be willing to help guarantee that your sibling-in-law and their family will be financially supported in the United States and not require any need-based government assistance. This means that your household income exceeds 125% of the poverty level in the US. You can prove this by filling out an Affidavit of Support on Form I-864, which is essentially a contract with the US government. If your sibling-in-law does end up claiming need-based government assistance, your having signed this affidavit allows the government to come to you for reimbursement of these amounts.
After USCIS has reviewed and approved the I-130 petition, your sibling-in-law will receive a "priority date" based on the day USCIS first received your petition. Then the long wait begins. Because of limits on the number of visas given out in this category every year, there is an extremely long waiting list. It is typically at least ten years for people from most countries, but applicants from certain countries, such as Mexico, India, and the Philippines, may wait even longer, sometimes up to 25 years. When the dates shown on the family-based visa chart for the 4th preference category start to get close to that of your sibling-in-law's, then start looking for letters coming from the National Visa Center (NVC).
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Filling out Form I-130
To begin the process of applying for a green card for your brother-in-law, you must fill out Form I-130, also known as the "Petition for Alien Relative". This form is used by U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to prove they have a family relationship that makes their relative eligible to immigrate to the United States.
The U.S. citizen or green card holder who files the I-130 petition is officially called the "petitioner" or "sponsor", and the person seeking a green card is the "beneficiary". It's important to note that you cannot file an I-130 petition to sponsor certain relatives, including grandparents, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, cousins, or parents-in-law.
When completing Form I-130, you must select one option in Part 4 (Question 61 or 62) to indicate whether the beneficiary is requesting an adjustment of status inside the United States or consular processing outside the United States. Do not complete both questions and do not leave this section blank. If the petition is approved but Part 4 is not completed accurately, USCIS will use its discretion to decide the next steps.
Make sure you fill out all sections of the form and sign it, as USCIS may reject it if any parts are incomplete. Once USCIS approves your I-130 petition, your relative will receive a priority date, and the long wait begins. Your relative will still need to apply for a green card, and there are annual limits on green cards in this category, so it may take a while. During this time, you should advise your relative that if they have children who want to come with them, they must not get married before entering the United States, as this could affect their eligibility.
You will also need to show that your household income exceeds 125% of the poverty level in the U.S., demonstrating that you can financially support your relative and their family without requiring need-based government assistance. This can be done by filling out an Affidavit of Support on Form I-864, a contract with the U.S. government.
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Checking the status of a petition
To petition for a brother-in-law green card, one must be a US citizen. Permanent residents cannot petition for green cards for their brothers-in-law. A US citizen can petition for a green card for their brother by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. The petitioner must be 21 years of age or older and must be able to provide financial support or an affidavit of support to their brother-in-law, ensuring that he will not become a public charge. The brother-in-law must also be admissible to the US, meaning he should not have a criminal record or history that makes him inadmissible under US immigration law.
To check the status of a visa petition, one can refer to the My Case Status page on the USCIS website. After USCIS has reviewed and approved the I-130 petition, the sibling will receive a "priority date," based on the day USCIS first received the petition. The long wait then begins. One must advise their sibling to warn their children that if they want to come along on this visa, they must not get married before entering the United States. Turning 21 can also make them ineligible. One will need to start tracking the progress of priority dates in the fourth preference category by monitoring the State Department's Visa Bulletin. When the dates shown on the family-based visa chart for the 4th preference category start to get close to that of the sibling's, one should start looking for letters from the National Visa Center (NVC). If one starts seeing priority dates on the chart that are later than those of their sibling's, they should get in touch with the NVC.
If one's family member falls into the preference category and they have adjusted to permanent residency in the United States, they may submit a completed Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition. If one is in the United States and has not yet filed to adjust their status to permanent resident, they can file Form I-824 for their spouse and/or child overseas with their Form I-485.
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Appealing a rejected petition
It is important to note that you cannot sponsor your brother-in-law for a green card based solely on your familial relationship. If your husband is a US citizen, he can petition for his brother's green card by filing Form I-130, but the wait time for a visa could be up to 20 years, depending on his citizenship.
If your brother-in-law's petition is rejected, generally, only the petitioner may file an appeal or motion for a denied or revoked visa petition. If you are the beneficiary, you cannot file an appeal or motion unless you are both the petitioner and the beneficiary. However, if you are the beneficiary of a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, and the employer has filed it for you, you may be able to file an appeal or motion in a revocation proceeding only.
To be able to file an appeal or motion, you must meet the following requirements:
- You had an approved Form I-140 that USCIS later revoked
- You filed a Form I-485 based on a valid Form I-140, and the Form I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more
If the underlying application or petition was denied due to abandonment, you may file a motion to reopen if you can show that the request for evidence or appearance was not sent to the address of record. A motion to reconsider is a request to the office that issued the unfavorable decision to review its decision based on an incorrect application of law or policy. The motion must establish that the decision was incorrect based on the evidence of record at the time of that decision.
In most cases, you must file your appeal or motion within 30 calendar days of the date of service of the adverse decision. However, if you are appealing a decision to revoke the approval of an immigrant petition, you must file the appeal within 15 calendar days. Filing an appeal does not delay any decision in your case from going into effect or extend a previously set departure date.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, if you are a U.S. citizen and your brother-in-law is your spouse's unmarried minor brother, he may be included in your spouse's application.
Your brother-in-law must pass a medical examination and meet all health-related criteria. He must have a clean legal record, meaning no criminal history or immigration violations. He must not be living in the U.S. illegally, and he must be willing to go through the application process, which includes interviews.
The process can take more than ten years due to the high number of applicants and the limited number of visas available each year. The current annual limit is 65,000, resulting in a waiting time of at least 12 to 13 years. Sponsoring a sibling born in Mexico or the Philippines can take over 20 years due to country quotas.
