Pharr, TX Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

If you are a U.S. citizen 21 years old or older petitioning for your parent, then any unlawful presence that she might accumulate after her visa expires will be forgiven. The reason for this is because she is considered an immediate relative. It takes about 6 months to process these applications. You should know that if you are just a legal permanent resident then you are not able to sponsor a parent, only U.S. citizens 21 years old or older can sponsor parents.

You can not petition her until you are legally married. You cant get married until she is legally divorced. In certain circumstances, the US Immigration laws will recognize a divorce if it is obtained in the USA. This is not a Do It Yourself Project. You should retain counsel to file and work on the case. Counsel anywhere in the US can represent you. 

The current priority date for minor children of permanent residents is June 2011, which means that the USCIS only now processes those petitions that were filed back then. Thus, the wait time is approximately two years. If you become a U.S. citizen, the immigrant visa will be immediately available to your child, so USCIS can be notified. But even so, it takes approximately a year, give or take, to process immigrant petition, and given that the child is a minor, the second parent would have to consent to the child's departure and sign the appropriate documents. Either way, it takes time and you need to be patient.