Does Your Family Live Outside the U.S.? Here’s What You Need to Know to Get Them Here.

Being physically located in the U.S. while your immediate family is still in another country can be extremely difficult, both for you and for your loved ones. Under the United States’ immigration policies, U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can ask the court for permission to bring their spouses, parents, and unmarried children under the age of 21 to the U.S.

In some cases, you can also petition the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to bring your siblings, married children or unmarried children over age 21.

If you are engaged and your fiancée is in another country, you may also be able to bring him or her to the United States with a non-immigrant visa so you can start your lives together here. There are some restrictions with this immigration program, including the requirement that you are both able to legally marry each other. With limited exceptions, you have to have met your fiancée at least once in person in the past two years, and your marriage must occur within 90 days from the date he or she enters the country.

Whether you want to bring an immediate family member or a fiancée into the U.S. to join you here, it’s important that the correct application forms and required supplemental materials be completed correctly and filed in a timely manner. Depending on the grounds you are using to bring your loved ones into the U.S., you’ll need to apply for either a Green Card, a fiancée visa, or a K-3/K-4 visa.

How We Can Help Clients with Family-based Immigration Needs

We’ll work with you as needed on petitions so your immediate relatives can join you in the U.S. We also help citizens living in the U.S. apply for non-immigrant visas so their foreign fiancé(e)s can join them here.

At The Immigration Law Center, we’re passionate about making the immigration process as straightforward as possible. We’re knowledgeable about handling a wide variety of immigration matters and are dedicated to advocating tirelessly for our clients’ rights.

We also know immigration can be a stressful and emotional topic, so we work hard to make sure our clients understand what to expect. If English isn’t your native language, that’s OK! In addition to English, our staff speaks Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Farsi and French.