1. The Immigration Process for a U.S. Citizen's Sibling

A sibling is a brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or adopted brother or sister. For the necessary sibling relationship to exist, each person must have been a child of at least one of the same parents. The siblings need not share the same biological parents as long as both became “children” at the appropriate time - before the age of 16 in cases of adoption, and before the age of 18 for stepchildren.

A legal immigrant is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of living and working permanently in the United States. There is a three-step process for your brother or sister to become a legal immigrant:

• The USCIS must approve an immigrant visa petition that you file for your brother or sister.

• The State Department visa bulletin must show that a sibling immigrant visa is available to your sibling, based on the date that you filed the immigrant visa application. 

• If your brother or sister is outside the United States when an immigrant visa number becomes available, your brother or sister will be notified to go to the local U.S. consulate to complete the processing for an immigrant visa. If your sibling is legally inside the U.S. when an immigrant visa number becomes available, he or she may apply to adjust status to that of a lawful permanent resident using the Form I-485. 

Depending on the relationship and the country involved, the wait for an available sibling visa number may be several years. You may refer to the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for current priority dates.

2. The Two Scenarios for Brothers and Sisters of U.S. Citizens to Apply for Immigration

To apply for a Green Card for brother or sister, a U.S. citizen must be 21 years of age. If you are a lawful permanent resident, you are not eligible to apply to bring your brother or sister to live and work permanently in the United States. A lawful permanent resident is a foreign national who has been granted the privilege of living and working permanently in the United States. 

There are two scenarios for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens to apply for immigration to U.S.:

1) The alien brother or sister is already in the United States: the first scenario is that the alien brother or sister is already in the United States in a nonimmigrant status or parole. In this case, the U.S. citizen may file an immigration petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the brother or sister first. 

The brother or sister has to wait for the immigrant visa number to become current before he or she may apply to adjust to permanent resident. During this waiting period, the brother or sister needs to independently maintain a valid nonimmigrant status. If a petition for a brother or sister has been approved, and the brother or sister is currently in the United States through a lawful admission or parole, he or her may file a Form I-485 - Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status.

2) The alien brother or sister is outside the United States: The second scenario is that the brother or sister is outside the United States. In this case, the U.S. citizen needs to file Form I-130 petition to USCIS, and the USCIS will notify a U.S. Consulate in the country where the brother or sister lives. 

3. The Immigrant Visa Number and Priority Date

U.S. immigration law limits the number of immigrant visas that are available every year. This means that even if the USCIS approves an immigrant visa petition for an alien, the alien may not get an immigrant visa number immediately. In some cases, several years could pass between the time USCIS approves an immigrant visa petition and the U.S. Department of State gives the alien an immigrant visa number.

In addition, U.S. immigration law also limits the number of immigrant visas available by country. This means an alien may have to wait longer if the alien comes from a country with a high demand for U.S. immigrant visas. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of visas available under a particular category, that category is considered oversubscribed.

The filing date of the petition is called the applicant's "Priority Date." A visa cannot be issued until the priority date is reached. This means that there may be a lengthy waiting period. Sometimes that period may exceed several years. 

4. Other Issues

If your U.S. citizen brother or sister is petitioning for permanent resident status for you on Form I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative, and you are married, your spouse and children do not require a separate visa petition. Your spouse and children can be included in the visa petition your U.S. citizen sibling is filing for you.

You will be notified by the USCIS if your I-130 petition is approved or denied. If it is approved, your brother or sister will be notified by the Department of State when a visa number is available. If your sibling is outside the country, he or she must then go to the local U.S. consulate to complete visa processing. 

If your sibling is legally inside the United States when a visa number becomes available and has not worked without authorization, he or she may apply to adjust to Permanent Resident status.