By Debbie McGoldrick

“I WOULD like information on a green card for my brother and his family. They live in Ireland and were recently here on holidays. They would like to move here. What is their best way of getting green cards? I got mine through the lottery 10 years ago. I am now a U.S. citizen. What can I do to help them?”

NOT a lot, unfortunately. U.S. citizens can act as sponsor for their foreign siblings under the family fourth preference immigration category, which allocates 65,000 green cards per year for this purpose. 

However, the wait to receive a fourth preference visa is totally prohibitive. Those whose applications were filed on or before August 15, 1992 are now being processed, making in the waiting time in the region of 12 to 14 years.

The annual green card lottery will take place at the end of this year, so your brother should apply. Though the odds are long, perhaps he’ll be as lucky as you were.

Other than that, maybe there would be a way here for him through his employment skills. But as you don’t go into detail on his background, it would be best if you spoke further with one of the Irish advice centers here about the situation. The Emerald Isle Immigration Center in Queens can be contacted at 718-478-5502.