Soledad, CA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

You will be able to help your parents only under certain conditions: a) if they came to the U.S. legally (it does not matter if they overstayed their visas); b) if someone, a relative or an employer, had filed an immigrant petition or a labor certification for one or both of your parents before April 30, 2001; or c) if you are so impaired that you cannot live without your parents' care. If any one of these conditions apply, and if you are single, you would need to show income of no less than $24737 a year (probably, a bit more: this is the 2014 poverty guideline; since you will be filing petitions for your parents after December, 2015 guidelines will apply; and the numbers go up a couple of hundred dollars every year.) If you have a spouse, a child, or any other dependent, add $5075 for each. If you don't have that level of income, you should start looking for a co-sponsor. It can be any U.S. citizen or permanent resident who earns enough to be able to support your parents in the U.S. above the poverty level. If your parents did not have a visa when they came to the U.S., and nobody filed papers for them before April 30, 2001, and they have no U.S. citizen child who would suffer extreme hardship if separated from them - then, most likely, they cannot get legal status even if you file immigrant petitions for them when you turn 21. The law, as it stands today, does not allow for legalization of such persons. You might want to file immigrant petitions for your parents anyway, in hope that the Congress might pass an immigration law reform. It is impossible to be sure, but most immigration attorneys believe that person with an approved immigrant petition will have better chances to receive some relief from the reform.

If your wife is on a legitimate H1b in the US, the consulate should give her the H-1B visa provided she did not have the intention to change her status before she entered the US. She will want to bring the entire H pack, letter from employer and current paystub. There is no guarantee with any US consulate however as long as there is not fraud/misrepresentation, they should issue that visa or the H-4, as it will still be available to her.

The I130 will take about 6-7 months to get approved, once it is approved there are couple of other steps with the National Visa Center before an interview will be scheduled for you at the US Consulate in Canada to obtain an immigrant visa to come to the US as a spouse of a US citizen.