I am a US citizen, what is processing time and cost to sponsor parents to U.S.? 9 Answers as of December 28, 2010

It will take about 6 months to a year, after the initial filing of the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, to obtain a permanent legal residency visa for your parents, as a petitioning American citizen. The typical cost for all the applications involved is more than $3,300 in government fees for the both of your parents, and at least $4,000 for the attorney's fees (though some like myself can do it for much less in the contract fee). If you wish to have help from an attorney to accomplish, feel free to call to set up an in-person or phone consultation. Best to you.

The process involves USCIS filing fees as well as attorney fees. I would be happy to discuss both with you, as well as the process itself and the timelines.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns you might have.

I believe the cost is $1100.00 to get them a Visa

You file the necessary forms and it takes some time because the system is backed up.

Parents of US Citizens qualify as immediate relatives and are not subject to any waiting lists. However, the processing time can somewhat lengthy if the parent is not in the US in legal status. If the parent is here and did not enter the US with the intention of applying for
permanent residence, they can typically be processed in about four to six months and the filing fees with medical exam fee is approximately $1,700. Legal fees typically add $2,000 or more depending upon the attorney you use. If the parent is outside the US, then you have to first file a relative petition for them, which costs $420 to file and then wait for that to be approved by USCIS, which typically takes about 4 to 6 months. Once approved USCIS sends the paperwork to the US Department of State which controls visa processing at the US Consulate in their home country. Immigrant Visa processing through the consulate will typically take anywhere from 6 to 12 additional months and cost approximately $500 plus the cost of medical exam to be performed locally in that country. Legal fees for this process are typically the same or sometimes a bit higher.

If your parents are in the US the processing time is a few months. If they are abroad it may take up to a year depending on their home country.