QUESTION

I am a U.S. citizen. I filed an I-130 petition for my 2 year old child. I am not married to my child’s mother yet. Can my child’s mother come to the U.S. as a derivative beneficiary to accompany my child?

IMMIGRATION ANSWER MAN

As the unmarried child of a U.S. citizen who is under 21, your child is your Immediate Relative. Beneficiaries under the Immediate Relative category cannot have derivative beneficiaries. Also, a parent cannot be a derivative beneficiary.

If you are already planning on marrying your child’s mother, you can marry her and petition for her as your Immediate Relative spouse.

Warning: U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents should never marry a foreign national solely to obtain an immigration benefit for the foreign national. There are dire consequences for doing this.

If you do not wish to marry the mother of your child, you should speak with an immigration law attorney to determine if there are other options to bring her to the U.S.

Visit my blog, The Immigration Answer Man at www.immigrationanswerman.com

Join me on Facebook at http://bit.ly/3iM38W

Connect with me on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/arisauer

Connect with me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VisaLawAnswers

Ari Sauer is an attorney with Siskind Susser, PC. For Ari’s full bio, visit http://www.visalaw.com/ari.html. You can schedule a consultation with Ari or with one of Siskind Susser’s other attorneys by calling 1-800-343-4890 or 901-682-6455. 

* On this blog we answer questions as a service to our readers, but we cannot assume any liability related to reliance on anything herein, and responses to questions are not intended to establish an attorney-client relationship. Immigration laws and regulations are constantly changing. Readers are cautioned to schedule a consultation with an immigration lawyer before acting on anything stated in this blog. This blog is not intended to substitute for a consultation with a qualified immigration law attorney.