How long does the process take for a USA citizen to petition his sibling? 11 Answers as of January 16, 2012

It is taking about 10-12 years for most countries. It is a long process.

Wait times depend on the country of birth of the sibling but it's around 12 years plus.

Like 10 years. Google visa bulletin state department and look at category F-4.

This is the fourth preference category on the visa bulletin. It takes years. 11 years for Mexicans for example.

The answer is - it depends. It should take somewhere around 6-8 months for your petition to be approved, but because of a backlog in the visa numbers available in this category, it could take over a decade for most people to receive their immigrant visa or green card, although those from Mexico and the Philippines will have to wait even longer. Sibling petitions for Mexico are current and visas are available for people who applied in May 1996, while those in from the Philippines who applied in September of 1988 are just now able to immigrate. If your sibling is a half-sibling (meaning you don't have the same mother or father) then it may be a bit more complicated to get your petition approved.

Eleven years, unless the sibling was born in Mexico, then it's 15 years, unless born in the Philippines, then it's 23 years. Which seems messed up to me, because, of all the aliens we might wish to keep from immigrating to the US, Filipinas just ain't on that list. If the US citizen was originally petitioned by way of adoption, then it's a no go.

The immigrant visa petition is typically adjudicated in 6 months so long as there is sufficient proof of the sibling relationship. The problem is that a sibling petition is considered a preference petition and you must wait for an immigrant visa to be available. This is where the years of delay take place. Depending upon what country you are from, immigrant visas take 10 or more years to be current.

A U S citizen can file an I-130 visa petition for his sibling, but the wait before they person can apply for an immigrant visa is approximately 15 years, depending upon their nationality.

An I-130 immigrant visa petition may be filed by the US citizen sibling, but it will be years (perhaps a decade or longer) before an immigrant visa number becomes current. You can review the US Department of States visa bulletins at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_1360.html. That will give you some idea as to the variations and wait times.

This depends on what country your sibling is from. At minimum, however, it takes about 12-14 years before an immigrant visa will be available. Look up the US Department of State's Visa Bulletin and check the current times for "4th Preference" petitions for more information.