A person who entered the U.S. on a F1 visa has gone out of status. He's married to a permanent resident of the U.S., and has a child with her. Can his brother, who is an officer in the U.S. Army, help him gain legal status in the United States?
A person who entered the U.S. on a F1 visa has gone out of status. He's married to a permanent resident of the U.S., and has a child with her. Can his brother, who is an officer in the U.S. Army, help him gain legal status in the United States?
Under U.S. immigration law, an adult sibling is not considered to be an immediate relative and, thus, the brother cannot help his sibling get an immediate immigrant visa. The brother can file Form I-130 but can expect many be years of waiting for any such petition to be approved. The fact that the brother is in the military does not provide any advantage under these facts.
If the man has only recently gone out of status, he can consider leaving the country and having his spouse try to bring him back into the U.S. as a family member, although there are risks and waiting periods involved so that's something to discuss with an immigration lawyer. If the spouse is or soon will be eligible to naturalize, once the spouse is a U.S. citizen she can petition to adjust his status based on marriage. He is susceptible to removal in the interim, and thus should consider exploring his options with an immigration lawyer.