petitioning an adult step child

FAMILY SPONSORED VISAS - PETITIONING ADULT STEP CHILDREN

1. You just married the love of your life who also happens to have an adult daughter. Can you petition the daughter as your step-daughter? Short answer, yes. But the waiting times will vary depending on the petitioner’s status. Let’s assume that you are a legal permanent resident (LPR) and you marry a US citizen (USC). You have a 30 year old daughter in Mexico who is married with children. What is the best recourse to get her to the U.S. as quickly as possible? Who should petition the daughter in Mexico, the LPR mother or the USC step-father? Let’s break this down. 
2. Immediate family members. A USC can always petition “immediate family members” (IFM) without having to wait for a visa to become available. An IFM falls under one of three categories: (1) USC spouse; (2) USC child (under 21 and unmarried); or (3) parent of an adult USC (21+). Here, the 30 year old Mexican daughter does not qualify as an immediate family member because she is not a “child” under immigration law; meaning she’s over 21 and married. 
3. Family-Sponsored Preference. Family preference categories are any categories that do not fit the definition of an IFM. The State Department has defined four categories. 
   1. First (F1): Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens. This does not mean minor sons and daughters. It refers to any son or daughter who is over 21 years old BUT unmarried. “Unmarried” is defined as (i) never married, (ii) divorced, or (iii) widowed. USCIS allows 23,400 of these visas every year plus any visas not used by the fourth preference. Here, the Mexican daughter would not qualify because she is married. However, if she were divorced she could qualify as an unmarried step-daughter of a USC. As of the writing of this article the waiting period for an unmarried daughter from Mexico is about 22 years. 
   2. Second (F2A): Spouses and Children of Permanent Residents: This category refers to spouses of LPRs and currently there is no wait time. But here, the Mexican daughter does not quality. 
   3. Second (F2B): Unmarried Sons and Daughters of LPR. The son or daughter would have to be over 21 and unmarried. Here, the Mexican daughter does not qualify because she’s married. But if she was divorced she would qualify. As of this writing the wait time for this category is about 21 years.
   4. Third (F3): Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens. This category is self explanatory. Here, the Mexican step-daughter would qualify for the USC stepfather to petition her, but the wait times are even longer than the above. As of this writing the wait time is about 25 years.
   5. Fourth (F4): Brothers and Sisters of Adult U.S. Citizens. This category is also self explanatory and the wait times equally long. Here, the daughter would not qualify As of this writing the wait times are about 21 years.
4. Ignoring any other factors, the fastest recourse for the daughter would be for her stepfather to petition her, but that will still take 22 years. Alternatively, if the daughter divorces her husband, the LPR mother could petition her and the wait time would be around 21 years.