Reader’s question

Question: How should we go about petitioning my brother who is based in the Philippines? He is 30 years old, married, and with three minor children. My father is a 65-year-old US citizen and has some medical issues of his own. I am a US citizen as well as my other sibling.

Answer: In a family-based immigration system, there are preference categories that allow a US citizen to file a petition for a family member, including that of the family member’s wife and minor children. Specifically, there is First Preference (F1) where a US citizen petitions his unmarried sons and daughters who are 21 years of age or older. There is the Third Preference (F3) where a US citizen can petition their married sons and daughters, their spouses and their children and the Fourth Preference (F4) where siblings can be petitioned by US citizens, and their spouses and minor children.

In the question posed here, applying the preference categories, all three US citizens mentioned can file a petition for the son/brother left in the Philippines. There is no prohibition for multiple filings. The good thing about the three of them filing individually is that it prevents a visa to be automatically voided because of death or withdrawal by the petitioner.

Thus in this case the father dies, there are still two petitions left filed by the siblings. Or if one of the siblings decides not to continue the petition, there is still the other petitions left still pending. For the Philippines, it takes more than 20 years for a sibling petition to have a visa available, we would not know exactly, when that time comes if the sibling petitioner is still alive. So if there are two sibling petitioners, and the other one dies before a priority date becomes current, the other sibling’s petition can still continue. There are, of course, remedies for the revoked petition to be reinstated but that would be another difficult and challenging hurdle to go through. It may be costly to file all three separate petitions but it would still be worth it in the long term.

This column is not a substitute for professional legal advice obtained from a US licensed immigration attorney. The information contained herein does not constitute a warranty or guarantee or legal advice regarding a reader’s specific immigration case. No attorney-client relationship is and shall be established with any reader.

For any questions, comments and observations, please contact Atty. Marco Tomakin at [email protected]