My parents and younger brother recently got their Visa through EDV. I am 23 years old, and saw that if I am not 24 and not married, they can sponsor me. Anyone has experience with how long it takes for me to get a GC or even work authorization?

Currently, I have a very good paying job and working under OPT. I still have more than 2 years to actually worry about any sponsorship, and then probably go to grad school. But if I can get the EAD early, it would help.

Thanks.

Please see this link:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4252.html

FAMILY-SPONSORED PREFERENCES

First:  Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Citizens:  23,400 plus any numbers not required for fourth preference.

Second:  Spouses and Children, and Unmarried Sons and Daughters of Permanent
Residents:  114,200, plus the number (if any) by which the worldwide family preference level exceeds 226,000, and any unused first preference numbers:

A.  Spouses and Children:  77% of the overall second preference limitation, of which 75% are exempt from the per-country limit;

B.  Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older):  23% of the overall second preference limitation.

Third:  Married Sons and Daughters of Citizens:  23,400, plus any numbers not required by first and second preferences.

Fourth:  Brothers and Sisters of Adult Citizens:  65,000, plus any numbers not required by first three preferences.

 

Your parents (any one of them) can sponsor you for residency.  you will fall under Preference 2B :  Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older)

Fam-ily	All Charge- ability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPP-INES
1st	15MAR02	15MAR02	15MAR02	22JUL92	15MAR93
2A	01AUG03	01AUG03	01AUG03	U	01AUG03
2B	15SEP99	15SEP99	15SEP99	08APR92	01MAR97
3rd	08JUN00	08JUN00	08JUN00	08AUG92	01APR91
4th	01SEP97	15FEB97	15FEB97	22DEC94	08MAR86

At present, people who got sponsored before 15Sep1999 are getting GC.  So there is a wait for 9 years which will be even longer as the petitions keep on piling up.  This is the fastest time you can get residency by your family sponsor. 

If you marry a green card holder, your preference moves to 2A, whch has a wait of 5 years, still not very exciting!

Marry a citizen, GC will fall in your lap right away!

 

Disclaimer:  I am not an attorney .. this is not legal advice!

 

 

Thank you for the link to visa bulletin and explaining me things. I am not desperately looking for a green card. However, I heard that once you file a petition, you get your EAD (Employment Authorization Document) card soon. That happened to my friend who got married too, although his green card came in like 4 months. If any of you guys know how long the EAD takes to come, that'll be great to know.

Thanks for sharing.