US citizen applying for Mom and 16yo sister...

[aoshiryuki]

Hi all, It's been a while since I posted here, 3 years in fact. Now I'm a U.S. Citizen!
Soon I'll be trying to do an application for my mom... and hopefully sister. I'm a little confused as to how this will work, will I be able to apply for my mom with sister as a dependent, or will I have to file for my sister separately? Do you guys know which forms would be involved?

I've been trying to read the information available online, and have utterly confused myself...

Thanks in advance!

[newacct]

I'm assuming you are 21 or over? Your mom is in the Immediate Relative category, which cannot have derivative beneficiaries. So you will petition your mom with I-130. You can petition your sister directly (with another I-130), but it will be in the F4 category, which has a 14.5 year wait for visa numbers (longer if she was born in India, Mexico, or the Philippines). Your mom, once she immigrates, can immediately petition your sister as an unmarried under-21 child of a permanent resident in the F2A category, which currently has no wait for visa numbers. Your mom can file the I-130 as soon as she enters the US with her immigrant visa, and it should take no more than 1 or 2 years after that for your sister to immigrate via this route.

[aoshiryuki]

I'm assuming you are 21 or over? Your mom is in the Immediate Relative category, which cannot have derivative beneficiaries. So you will petition your mom with I-130. You can petition your sister directly (with another I-130), but it will be in the F4 category, which has a 14.5 year wait for visa numbers (longer if she was born in India, Mexico, or the Philippines). Your mom, once she immigrates, can immediately petition your sister as an unmarried under-21 child of a permanent resident in the F2A category, which currently has no wait for visa numbers. Your mom can file the I-130 as soon as she enters the US with her immigrant visa, and it should take no more than 1 or 2 years after that for your sister to immigrate via this route.

Thank you for a clear and extremely comprehensive answer! I don't know why I didn't come here for help in the first place, it would have saved me a lot of headache...