A U.S. citizen who wants to bring a brother or sister to live in the United States has exactly one route: the F4 family preference category. There is no faster visa for siblings, no waiver for a long-separated family, and no way to convert the case into a quicker category later. Understanding what that wait actually looks like changes how a PetitionerThe person or employer who files a petition on behalf of a beneficiary, such as a relative filing an I-130 or an employer filing an I-140.See it in the glossary should think about filing.
Only a citizen can start this case, and only after turning 21
Sponsoring a sibling requires the petitioner to be a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old. A lawful permanent resident cannot petition for a brother or sister at all, under any category; that option only exists once the petitioning sibling naturalizes. The petitioner files Form I-130Petition for Alien Relative, filed by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to establish a qualifying family relationship with an intending immigrant.See it in the glossary for each sibling separately, establishing the family relationship and setting the case’s Priority dateThe date a petition was filed, or a labor certification was submitted, used to determine an applicant's place in line for a visa category with limited annual numbers.See it in the glossary, which is simply the date USCIS receives the petition.
Why the F4 wait is measured in decades, not months
F4 is a numerically limited preference category, so approval of the I-130 does not mean a visa is available. The sibling waits in line behind everyone else in the same category from the same country of ChargeabilityThe country an applicant's visa number is counted against for per-country limits, normally the country of birth rather than citizenship or residence.See it in the glossary until their priority date is reached on the State Department’s Visa Bulletin. Because F4 receives a small annual allocation and every country faces the same per-country cap regardless of population, the wait is long for everyone and dramatically longer for the handful of countries where demand is heaviest.
The September 2026 Visa Bulletin illustrates the spread clearly. On the Final Action DatesThe Visa Bulletin chart showing the priority dates for which a visa number can actually be issued or a green card approved in that month.See it in the glossary chart, F4 cases are currently being processed for petitions filed by these dates:
| Country of chargeability | F4 priority date being processed |
|---|---|
| All other countries, China | October 22, 2011 |
| Philippines | August 22, 2007 |
| India | December 15, 2006 |
| Mexico | April 30, 2001 |
In practical terms, a citizen filing an F4 petition today should expect the wait for most countries to run well beyond a decade, and for Mexico specifically, beyond two decades. These dates move every month and are not guaranteed to move forward; the bulletin itself warns that any category can retrogress if demand outpaces the annual limit.
What the priority date actually buys you
The priority date only marks a place in line. It does not guarantee the sibling will eventually qualify, since general eligibility, admissibility and the family relationship itself must all still hold up when a visa number finally becomes available. It also does not entitle the sibling to live in the United States, work, or travel here while waiting; F4 beneficiaries abroad remain abroad unless they separately qualify for a different visa.
What moves with the sibling, and what does not
A sibling’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 can be included as derivative beneficiaries on the same petition and generally immigrate together with the sibling once a visa number is available, without needing separate petitions. A married child who is 21 or older, however, does not qualify as a derivative and would need their own case.
Why filing now still matters, even with a decades-long wait
Because the priority date is fixed at filing, delaying the I-130 only pushes the eventual wait further out; it does not shorten it. A citizen with a sibling who wants to immigrate eventually should generally file as soon as they are eligible rather than waiting for a more convenient moment, since every year of delay is a year added to the back end of an already long line. For a broader look at how F4 compares with other family categories, see our comparison of F3 and F4, and for how sibling cases fit into the family-based system as a whole, see immediate relative versus family preference categories.