You've heard him on Greg Siskind's
national
teleconference series. Now Ari Sauer, the "Immigration
Answer Man" of Siskind Susser, has created a blog where he takes
your questions on immigration law and answers them here.
Have a question for Ari? Ask him at
immigrationanswerman@gmail.com!
Ari Sauer is an associate attorney with
Siskind Susser, PC. For Ari’s full bio, visit
http://www.visalaw.com/ari.html. You can schedule a consultation with
Ari or with one of Siskind Susser’s other attorneys at
http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html or by calling 1-800-343-4890 or
901-682-6455.
On this blog we answer questions as a service
to our readers, but we cannot assume any liability related to reliance on
anything herein, and responses to questions are not intended to establish an
attorney client relationship. Immigration laws and regulations are
constantly changing. Readers are cautioned to schedule a consultation with
an immigration lawyer before acting on anything stated in this blog. This
blog is not intended to substitute for a consultation with a qualified
immigration law attorney.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Can I become a Permanent Resident based on the fact that I have a minor U.S. citizen child?
QUESTION- I am a Canadian citizen who is in the U.S. in TN nonimmigrant status. My wife and oldest daughter are here in TD nonimmigrant status as my dependants. My wife and I recently had another daughter, who was born here in the U.S. and is a U.S. citizen. Can my family and I become Permanent Residents based upon the fact that we have a U.S. citizen child?
ANSWER- No. A U.S. citizen can petition for their parents to become Permanent Residents, but they must be 21 years old to do so. A U.S. citizen must be 18 years old to petition for a sibling. So you cannot receive Permanent Residence by virtue of having a U.S. citizen child who is a minor. If you become ineligible to maintain your TN status, and are unable to change or adjust to another status, you and your family will have to return to Canada. While your U.S. citizen daughter has the right to live in the U.S., that does not automatically grant you that right as her parent.
In certain circumstances, the parent of a U.S. citizen will be eligible for relief from removal by the government, called Cancellation of Removal, based upon meeting several criteria, one of which can be met by having a U.S. citizen child. However, that will be the topic of another posting.
If you wish to live in the U.S., I suggest that you speak with your company and an immigration law attorney about switching to an H-1B visa, which is a dual intent visa (which means you can have it even if you have shown an intent to live in the U.S. permanently), and having your company start the process of sponsoring you for a green card.
# posted by Ari Sauer the Immigratio Answer Man @ 8:06 PM
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