If you’re a U.S. citizen wondering how to invite your brother to the USA, you have two very different options. For a short trip, he applies for a B-2 visitor visa (or uses the Visa Waiver Program if his country qualifies), and he can usually be here within weeks. For a permanent move, you file a family-based green card petition — but brothers and sisters sit in the most backlogged category in the immigration system, with current waits running from about 10 years to more than 20. Most families end up doing both: filing the green card petition to start the clock, and using visitor visas for reunions in the meantime.
Inviting Your Brother for a Visit
A brother coming for tourism, a family visit, or medical treatment needs a B-2 visitor visa.1U.S. Department of State. Visitor Visa The paperwork is the easy part. The hard part is convincing a consular officer that he actually intends to go home. U.S. immigration law presumes every visa applicant is an intending immigrant until they prove otherwise, and that presumption drives most B-2 denials.2U.S. Department of State. Visa Denials
To overcome it, your brother has to show strong ties to his home country: stable employment, property, family obligations, financial commitments — a pattern of life that makes overstaying illogical. A verbal promise to return is not enough. Evidence is.
You can help by writing an invitation letter that explains the purpose of the visit and confirms where he’ll stay. The letter is context, not a legal guarantee. Your brother should also carry proof he can pay for the trip and documentation of what he’s going home to.
How He Applies
He completes Form DS-160 online, pays the $185 application fee, and schedules an interview at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.3U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services The interview is where the decision actually happens. Processing usually runs from a few days to several weeks, depending on the post.
The Visa Waiver Alternative
If your brother is a citizen of one of the 42 Visa Waiver Program countries, he can skip the B-2 entirely and apply online for an ESTA authorization, which allows visits of up to 90 days without an interview.4U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Visa Waiver Program The 90-day limit is firm and cannot be extended. Anything longer requires a B-2.
Sponsoring Your Brother for a Green Card
Only U.S. citizens can sponsor siblings. A green card holder cannot file for a brother or sister — that option is reserved for citizens only.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Bringing Siblings to Live in the United States as Permanent Residents You also have to be at least 21 years old to file.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
Half-siblings count. The legal requirement is that you and your brother share at least one parent, which you’ll prove with birth certificates showing that common parent.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part B Chapter 2 – General Eligibility Requirements Step-siblings with no biological parent in common do not qualify.
The Wait Is the Whole Story
Before anything else about the green card process, you need to understand the timeline. Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens fall under the fourth family preference category (F4), which has strict annual visa limits.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants Demand vastly exceeds supply, and the backlog is measured in decades.
The Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin shows which priority dates are currently being processed. As of April 2026, F4 final action dates are:9U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for April 2026
- Most countries: March 22, 2005 (about a 21-year wait)
- China (mainland born): March 22, 2005 (about a 21-year wait)
- India: December 22, 2010 (about a 15-year wait)
- Mexico: February 1, 2016 (about a 10-year wait)
- Philippines: February 1, 2016 (about a 10-year wait)
Those are the priority dates of petitions just now becoming eligible for visa processing. If you file today, your brother’s priority date is today, and he joins the back of a line that moves at the pace above. Filing early at least locks in that priority date, which is why many families file knowing the wait will be long. But no one should plan a life around a timeline this unpredictable.
How the Green Card Petition Works
You start by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with USCIS.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative This establishes the qualifying relationship. You’ll submit proof of your U.S. citizenship (birth certificate, passport, or naturalization certificate) along with birth certificates for both of you showing a common parent.
Once USCIS approves the I-130, the case transfers to the National Visa Center for pre-processing, which collects fees and documents and eventually schedules an immigrant visa interview at a consulate in your brother’s country.11U.S. Department of State. NVC Processing None of it moves forward until a visa number is available for his priority date.
The Affidavit of Support
When the case reaches the visa stage, you’ll file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. It’s a legally binding contract with the U.S. government committing you to support your brother financially so he doesn’t rely on means-tested public benefits.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affidavit of Support If he receives such benefits after arriving, the government or your brother can sue you to recover the cost. The obligation generally lasts until he becomes a U.S. citizen or is credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work.
You have to show household income of at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. For 2026, that’s $27,050 for a household of two, with the threshold rising for each additional member.13U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines If your income falls short, you can use assets or bring in a joint sponsor (a citizen or permanent resident) who takes on the same legal obligation.
Medical Exam and Vaccinations
Your brother will need an immigration medical examination by a physician authorized by the Department of State, including proof of required vaccinations.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Vaccination Requirements Missing vaccinations makes an applicant inadmissible. He should bring any existing records so prior shots can be credited.
What It Costs
For a visit, costs are simple: $185 for the B-2 application, or $21 for an ESTA authorization.3U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
For a green card, the fees stack across stages:
- I-130 filing fee: $625, paid to USCIS when you file the petition.
- NVC processing fees: an immigrant visa application processing fee and an affidavit of support fee.
- Medical exam: varies by country, typically several hundred dollars, paid to the physician.
- Immigrant visa application fee: paid at the consulate before the interview.
- USCIS Immigrant Fee: paid after visa approval to cover green card production.
Hiring an immigration attorney is optional. Flat fees for a sibling petition typically run from $1,500 to $6,000.
If You Die Before Your Brother Gets a Visa
Given how long F4 cases take, this is a real concern. Under INA section 204(l), if you pass away after filing the I-130, your brother may still pursue permanent residency if he was residing in the United States at the time of your death and continues to reside here.15U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part A Chapter 9 – Death of Petitioner or Principal Beneficiary If he’s abroad when you die, he can request humanitarian reinstatement of the petition, though approval is discretionary.
Choosing Between the Two, or Doing Both
The two paths answer different questions. A B-2 lets your brother stay for up to six months at a time; he cannot work, and he must plan to leave. A green card, once he finally has one, lets him live and work in the U.S. indefinitely, eventually apply for citizenship, and bring a spouse and unmarried children as derivative beneficiaries. But the wait is what it is.
The processes are independent. A pending I-130 does not prevent your brother from applying for a visitor visa, though a consular officer aware of the pending immigrant petition may look harder at whether he really intends to return home after the trip.2U.S. Department of State. Visa Denials For most families, the practical move is to file the I-130 now to lock in a priority date, and rely on visitor visas for reunions while the years pass.