It's a Family Affair: Does It Help That Your Brother is Married to a U.S. Citizen?

The short answer is "no"; a longer answer follows.

Only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can petition on behalf of their relatives, and only certain relationships qualify. Some relative petitions are subject to numerical restrictions; others are not. In all family-based cases, the procedure is the same: the U.S. citizen files a petition with the Immigration Service establishing the relationship, and then once the petition is approved, the foreign relative makes his or her own application, either with the Immigration Service in the U.S. or with a consular officer abroad. In some cases, the petition and application are filed simultaneously with the Immigration Service.

Put differently, green cards (or immigrant visas) are not automatically granted upon marriage to or adoption by a U.S. citizen.

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are not subject to any numerical restriction: any spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21, or parent of a U.S. citizen. This means that, once the petition has been approved, the foreign relative can immediately apply for an immigrant visa (abroad) or adjustment of status (in the U.S.).

Other relatives of U.S. citizens are eligible for a green card, but are subject to numerical restrictions that create a backlog: brothers and sisters and married children of U.S. citizens are all subject to waiting periods of several years. Unmarried children who are 21 or older are also subject to numerical restriction, but this has not resulted in a backlog, so they can apply immediately to immigrate.

Spouses of lawful permanent residents and their unmarried children under 21 are also eligible for a green card, but are subject to numerical restrictions. Here, too, there is a waiting period of several years.

So, does it help if your brother is married to a U.S. citizen? Not immediately, because your sister-in-law cannot petition on your behalf. However, if you can wait for several years - until your brother becomes a U.S. citizen (spouses of U.S. citizens can generally naturalize after three years of lawful permanent residence in the U.S.), and then again until the backlog that applies to siblings has been worked down - then your brother's marriage may in fact be helpful.

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