Who may a stepchild file for?

Good day Mrs Walker-Huntington:

Just want to know if a stepchild can file for a father, step mother and two siblings under the age of 21. If, so what are the steps and the timeline.

Thanks

LS

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Dear LS:

A stepchild can only file for their stepfamily if the marriage between the biological and stepparent took place before the stepchild was 18 years old. If that is the case, the stepchild can file two separate petitions for their biological parent and stepparent. If the petitioner is a USC, the parents will be considered immediate relatives and that process can take nine months to two years. If the stepchild is a Green Card holder, the process will be longer as the parents will be in the F2B category and that process can take two years or more to completion.

If the marriage took place after the petitioner stepchild was over 18 years of age – the Petitioner can only file for their biological parent. Again, depending on whether the petitioner is a US citizen or Green Card holder – the processing times above would apply. Once the biological parent becomes a permanent resident, he/she can file for their spouse and unmarried children.

As a Green Card holder filing for a spouse, dependent minor children can be on the same petition as their biological beneficiary parent. Once the filing is approved at US Citizenship & Immigration Services and is transferred to the National Visa Center, the petition would split into the required number of files to correspond to the number of all the beneficiaries. Please keep in mind that if the biological father’s children with his wife are over 21 years old, they will require their own petition by their father.

At no point would the step siblings be able to ride on their parent’s US petitioner stepsibling’s petition because they are siblings, they need individual petitions. As the category for sibling petitions has the longest waiting period, it is advisable for the parent to file for the stepsiblings once the parent has lawful US residency status. If the stepsiblings are married, a sibling petition can be filed for them by their US citizen stepsibling since the waiting period may be about the same as an American citizen filing for their married son/daughter, and a person can have more than one immigrant petition pending.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq. is a Jamaican-American attorney who practices Immigration law in the United States; and Family, Criminal & International law in Florida. She is a Mediator and Former Special Magistrate & Hearing Officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com