Who Can Bring Siblings to the U.S.?
United States citizens may sponsor their brothers or sisters from other countries to come to the United States. Non-citizen permanent residents are not allowed to sponsor their siblings. Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens may be granted an F-4 Preference Relative visa/green card and permanent residency status. After five years of permanent residency, they may apply for U.S. citizenship.
As of May 2024, only 65,000 F-4 visas are granted each year. The approximate wait time before your siblings may enter the United States is around 14 years. Due to differing details, siblings from India may wait around 16 years, siblings from Mexico may wait around 22 years, and siblings from the Philippines may wait around 21 years.
Wait times are determined by a complicated formula based on the annual quotas of all “green cards” and how a specific country has used up the quotas over the years, as well as used and unused quotas in various categories. The Department of State publishes the wait time monthly in the Visa Bulletin.
General Details:
- A U.S. citizen sponsor must be age 21 or older to sponsor their siblings.
- A sponsor must have the financial means to support their siblings until they start working.
- A sponsor must live in the United States, have a U.S. address, and show proof of citizenship.
- A sponsor must include a copy of birth certificates to prove the relationship between the sponsor and siblings.
- If your sibling is in the U.S. without valid immigration status, he/she can still be issued a green card without leaving the U.S. as long as they entered the U.S. legally.
- All visa applicants must complete a medical exam and may also be required to have certain vaccinations.
