Family Immigration (Green Cards)

• Be a citizen or lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder) of the US and
• Prove the ability to support the relative poverty line with an Affidavit of Support ( alone or with another financial sponsor).

A lawful permanent resident can file a petition for:

• Husband or wife
• Minor unmarried children (under the age of 21)
• Unmarried adult son or daughter of any age

Any age U.S. citizen (by birth or by naturalization) can file a petition for:

• Husband or wife (Immediate Relative / IR)
• Minor unmarried children (under the age of 21 (Immediate Relative / IR)
• Married son or daughter of any age
• Unmarried adult son or daughter (21 or older)

A U.S. citizen who is 21 years or older can file a petition for:

• Brother or sister, If the sponsor is at least 21 years old.
• Parent, If the sponsor is at least 21 years old (Immediate Relative / IR)

Grandparents, aunts, uncles in-laws, and cousins cannot sponsor a relative for immigration. Oddly, children of applicants in Category F2 benefit from their parent's I-130 petition. But they become stand-alone cases once the Sponsor upgrades from Legal Permanent Resident to U.S. Citizen and then these children must file an I-130 petition of their own, as they will no longer benefit from being a derivative of their parent’s petition. 

Documents Required for Filing

There are two stages to a family-based case involving the I-130 anchor sponsor’s case and the I-485 or IVP green card case:

1) Form I-130: Petition for Alien Relative (filed by the U.S. Relative). Proof of the relationship must be included along with other required documentation.

2) Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status)or AOS or Consular Processing (CP or IVP)for the foreign relative. If already in the U.S., they can choose to file for the green card on U.S. soil called Adjustment of Status (AOS). But Consular Processing the method which gets the green card at a U.S. consulate. This is an important and often complicated decision especially for business visitors.

Status within the United States 

The I-130 petition alone does not provide the beneficiary with status to stay in the U.S.  To remain in the U.S. while waiting to file the AOS under a current Priority Date, the beneficiary must have valid non-immigrant status or TPS or a different (business) Green Card application pending. But once the beneficiary files AOS petition pending with the USCIS*, they will be eligible to stay in the U.S. while it is being adjudicated.   

*A spouse of U.S. Citizen may be out of status and file a green card on US soil. But everyone else must be in status to file a green card on U.S. Soil

Preference Categories

Depending on the category and country of birth, there are backlogs in visa numbers for most family-based categories. The Priority Date is the date the I-130 was received by USCIS for processing. Immediate relatives do not have to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available once the I-130 visa petition filed for them is approved by USCIS. But other relatives in the limited family-based categories must wait for their Priority Date to "come current" on the Visa Bulletin for an immigrant visa number to become available. 

Our Priority Date Checking method is to go to the monthly Visa Bulletin issued by U.S. Department of State. Find the first chart for family-based cases (sometimes USAS lets us use the second chart). Find your country in the top-row and cross-reference it with your left side preference category. If your I-130 Priority Date (filing date) falls on/before the date listed, you can (a) file the I-485 AOS or (b) the consulate should prompt you to start a CP case.

Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens 

Immediate relatives of US Citizens (spouses, unmarried children under 21 including orphans, and parents) have no backlog on visa availability. You can file the I-130 and I-485 AOS petitions concurrently if the beneficiary is already in the U.S. If Consular Processing in the home country, the National Visa Center (NVC) activates a Green Card case once the I-130 is approved. Please note, children of U.S. citizen must each be sponsored.

Limited Family-Based Immigrants with Priority Date (in a Queue)

Under immigration law, there are fiscal year numerical limitations on family preference immigrants as explained below.

• Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their children, if any. (23,400)
• Family Second Preference (F2): Spouses, minor children (F2A), and unmarried sons and daughters (21 and older) of lawful permanent residents (F2B). (114,200) 
• Family Third Preference (F3): Married adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and children. (23,400)
• Family Fourth Preference (F4): Brothers and sisters of United States citizens,and their spouses and children, provided the U.S. citizen sponsors are at least 21 years of age. (65,000)

Please note, a child does not have derivative status in an immediate relative (IR) petition. Unlike Family second preference (F2) petition where a child is included in his/her parent's F2 petition. 

Conditional Permanent Resident Status for Spouses of U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

If a new spouse receives Green Card approval before the two-year anniversary of their marriage, they will receive Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR) status and the CPR card is valid only for two years. Within the 90-day period before the CPR card expires, the CPR must complete and file Form I-751 Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence. The purpose of this form is to fraud check conditional residents for using a U.S. citizen for marriage fraud.

USCIS will require proof that the marriage was entered in "good faith" and not for the purpose of skirting immigration laws. Any evidence that shows the U.S. Citizen and CPR are still in a legitimate relationship can be submitted. Proof of divorce for valid reasons is ok on an I-751 too, as long as you can prove the original marriage was real. Also, spousal abuse (physical or mental) is always a basis to validly self-file an I-360, and leave CPR status. 

If this petition is not filed, the CPR will automatically lose their permanent resident status and they will then become removable (deportable) from the U.S.

Affidavit of Support

While there is no required minimum age to file a family-based petition (except as specified for a particular category), the sponsor must be at least 18 years of age to file the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864. The Affidavit of Support is required to show that the U.S sponsor can financially support the relative(s) for whom they are petitioning so they do not go on the government’s dole.

If the Sponsor cannot prove they meet 125% of the poverty guidelines for their household size, a co-sponsor must commit to providing the required financial support.

Ineligible Relatives

Certain conditions and activities may make a relative ineligible for U.S Permanent Residence, such as:

• Drug trafficking

• Diseases

• Overstaying a previous visa

•  Practicing polygamy

•  Advocating the overthrow of the government

•  Submitting fraudulent documents

A relative may also be refused a visa if the Petitioner or Applicant willfully misrepresented a material fact, i.e. committed fraud.

Medical Examination and Vaccinations

Before becoming a permanent resident, each applicant must have a medical exam completed by a USCIS Certified Civil Surgeon (or Consulate approved doctor if filing through Consular Processing). The medical will include any vaccinations required by U.S. immigration laws. In consular processing, the Green Card applicant is directed to a country-specific doctor who is listed to work on these cases.

When a Legal Permanent Resident Becomes a U.S. Citizen while a Family-Based Petition is Pending

If an I-130 petition was filed for a relative when the Sponsor was a Legal Permanent Resident, the petition must be upgraded once the Sponsor becomes a U.S. Citizen. This can benefit many family-based petitions, because the retrogression affecting relatives of Legal Permanent Residents is usually longer than that affecting relatives of U.S. Citizens.