Atlanta, GA family & immigration law attorney Judith Delus Montgomery explains when and how a US citizen can sponsor a family member. When confronted with inquiries regarding the sponsorship of family members, legal professionals often respond with a nuanced “maybe,” a characteristic approach in legal consultations marked by inherent uncertainties. Attorneys navigate these uncertainties, emphasizing that the capacity to sponsor relatives hinges on the classification of the familial relationship by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Immediate relatives, encompassing spouses, parents, children, and stepchildren, find themselves eligible for sponsorship, benefiting from the availability of unlimited visas that facilitate prompt immigration. Nevertheless, delving into the sponsorship of siblings, nephews, or similar relatives introduces intricacies, with the USCIS scrutinizing factors such as the relative’s age, marital status, and parental status.

For instance, sponsoring a single, unmarried sibling without children might present a more viable pathway, while sponsoring a married sibling with children could entail a lengthy waiting period spanning 15 to 20 years. The USCIS employs a strategic management of immigration quotas, tying the sponsorship process to specific criteria and affecting the timeline for visa availability. Consequently, the response to the sponsorship question remains nuanced, contingent on the immediate relative’s status and the unique nature of the familial relationship at hand.