How to Sponsor a Non-Citizen
- 1). Determine whether you are a family-based sponsor or an employment-based sponsor. The vast majority of immigrants into the United States come in under two categories: immigrants who are being allowed to reunite with family members already in the country or employees who are being brought into the country to perform work for an American company. If you are trying to sponsor a family member to move to the United States permanently, you will need to fill out an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. If you are sponsoring an incoming employee, the petition is the I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. The forms are available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services website (uscis.gov).
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Employment immigration requires additional certification before an international worker can be recruited.John Foxx/Stockbyte/Getty Images
Obtain necessary certifications. In the case of employment-based immigration, many categories of workers will require a certification from the U.S. Department of Labor that the immigrant will not displace a lawful resident from the job. This certification process requires the employer to describe the job that the immigrant will do, receive a determination of the prevailing wage from the Department of Labor, advertise the position for a set period of time, and explain why any American applicant for the job is not qualified. These procedures take time and must be completed before the employer files the I-140 petition. The help of an immigration lawyer is often necessary for these types of petitions. - 3). File the petition and provide answers to any questions from the Citizenship and Immigration Services. Once the petition is ready, you must file it along with any supporting documents listed in the instructions. The role of USCIS is to make sure that the legal requirements are met by the filing of the petition. The officer will review the employment information, in the case of an employment-based petition, or will review the evidence of family relationship in the case of a family-based petition. Often the USCIS officer will have questions and will issue a request for evidence. Respond to those requests in a timely manner, because there is often no requirement for the USCIS officer to grant extensions.
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After the petition is approved, the wait for a visa might last for years.Digital Vision./Photodisc/Getty Images
Get in line for a visa. After USCIS approves the petition, the future immigrant is not always able to immigrate immediately. Visas are controlled based on quotas for each year depending on the category of visa and the region of the world where the immigrant is coming from. Visas are issued based on the date, called a priority date, when the application was put in the queue. In some cases, the priority date might allow for immediate immigration. In other cases, the wait for a visa might be as long as ten years. The Department of State publishes a visa bulletin every month that lists the current priority date for each category of immigrant. - 5). File a form I-864 if necessary. In many cases, especially for family-based immigration, the government will want to be sure that the immigrant will not become a "public charge" -- a person who will be living off public assistance for low income people. It is a requirement in the law that the State Department not issue a visa to somebody who will be dependent on the government. In those cases, the petitioner might be asked to file an affidavit that he will provide support for the immigrant until the immigrant has accumulated a history of working for pay. If this affidavit is necessary, USCIS or the State Department will notify you or the immigrant.
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