I Had My Green Card for More than 5 Years Now and I Applied for………….

Question:

I had my Green card for more than 5 years now and I applied for the citizenship since march 2014 and I didn’t get a date for an interview, and I want to apply for my parents to get the green card as they are here visiting so they can give their finger print I notice in the I-130 petition for alien relative form there is a question that if I was a lawful permanent resident alien, so my question is if I didn’t yet become a us citizen and I hold the permanent resident can I apply for my parents? Can they be accepted? and if I got the citizenship do I have to do any changes or does it affect the case?

Answer:

Green Card holders cannot sponsor their parents for immigration benefits. US citizens CAN sponsor their foreign citizen parents for immigration benefits. In your case you will need to wait until you have completed the N-400 (Naturalization) process and received your US citizenship. Once you have completed the Naturalization process you will need to provide your citizenship certificate to immigration when you submit the I-130 forms for your parents.

Good Luck!
George McCranie