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You finally fulfilled your life-long dream of achieving residency or becoming a citizen of the U.S. Now it’s time to make that dream come true for your children as well. Immigration laws here in the United States make it possible to help your children with this dream, depending on your residency status.
As you can read on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website, it matters if you are a citizen or permanent resident when it comes to petition for your children to acquire visas for permanent residency status.
To petition as a citizen
Citizenship in the United States allows you to petition for your children regardless of their age and marital status. If your children are married, you can also include their spouses in the petition. Fortunately, you can also include any of your children’s own children in the petition in case they have children of their own.
To petition as a permanent resident
You might not have become a U.S. citizen just yet and petitioning as a permanent resident has more limitations compared to a citizen. You can petition for children at any age, but they cannot be married in order to qualify. However, if your children are unmarried but have children of their own, your grandchildren can be included in the petition!
Additional requirements for your child
The U.S Citizenship and Immigration services defines children as purposes of immigration for anyone born in or out of marriage or through any assisted reproductive technology, provided that legally the child can be recognized as your own. Adopted and stepchildren can also be recognized under specific circumstances. For example, if your step-relationships started before the stepchild became 18. Or for example, if your adopted child is under 16. If your adopted child is 18 but they meet the requirements under the U.S. family-based petition process, they can also be included.
If you are unsure of any qualifications, you can reach out to one of our Immigration experts for a consultancy and help with your petition case.
