Overview: Family immigration begins with the 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’s citizenship or permanent residence and the precise legal relationship. Those facts determine the category, whether a visa-number wait applies, and whether family members can derive status or need separate petitions. A petition approval is only one stage: the relative still needs a visa or an adjustment approval before becoming a permanent resident.
The petitioner and relationship
A U.S. citizen may petition for a qualifying spouse, child, adult son or daughter, parent or sibling, with age and other conditions. A permanent resident may petition for a qualifying spouse or unmarried child, son or daughter, but not a parent, sibling or married son or daughter.
Immediate relatives include qualifying spouses and unmarried children under 21 of citizens, and parents of citizens at least 21. They are not subject to a family preference numerical cap, but still undergo processing.
Family preferences cover the remaining relationships and require attention to the Visa BulletinA monthly State Department publication showing which family and employment visa categories currently have visas available.See it in the glossary:
- F1: unmarried sons and daughters, 21 or older, of U.S. citizens.
- F2A: spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents.
- F2B: unmarried sons and daughters, 21 or older, of permanent residents.
- F3: married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.
- F4: brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who are at least 21.
A petition approval establishes a stage of eligibility, not an immediate right to enter or remain.
K-1 concerns qualifying unmarried couples planning a U.S. wedding. Marriage before immigration generally brings the spouse framework into consideration instead. Permanent residents cannot sponsor K-1 fiancés. K-3 does not guarantee faster spouse processing.
Separate petitions and derivative family members
Legal relationship, birth date, marital status, location and immigration history determine each person’s family-based requirements. Stepchildren, adopted children and biological relationships have specific definitions and documentation rules.
Immediate-relative 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 cases do not carry derivatives: a citizen’s spouse case generally needs separate petitions for qualifying children. Preference categories often permit derivatives, but an unmarried F1 or F2B principal cannot have a derivative spouse while remaining in that category.
NaturalizationThe process by which a permanent resident becomes a U.S. citizen, generally after three or five years of residence, by filing Form N-400.See it in the glossary, marriage, divorce, births and deaths can change categories or require different filings. A child’s age can affect eligibility; age protection is not a blanket freeze from the first petition date.
The process in order
- Identify the category. The legal relationship determines the category and any required separate petitions.
- File the petition. The petitioner files Form I-130, or the appropriate category-specific petition, with supporting records. USCIS lists the I-130 fee at $675 on paper or $625 online on its fee schedule, and explains the filing steps on its I-130 page.
- Wait for petition adjudication. USCIS approval and any visa-number wait are distinct stages. The date USCIS receives a family petition normally sets the 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.
- Choose the final route. The relative either completes Immigrant visaA visa issued at a consulate to a person intending to live permanently in the United States. On admission the holder becomes a permanent resident.See it in the glossary processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate, or applies for Adjustment of statusThe process of applying for a green card from within the United States, rather than through a consulate abroad. Filed on Form I-485.See it in the glossary inside the United States if eligible.
- Complete the final application. Consular cases use Form DS-260, civil documents, the Affidavit of supportForm I-864, in which a sponsor promises to financially support an intending immigrant so that the immigrant is not likely to rely on public benefits.See it in the glossary and a medical exam by an authorized physician, followed by an interview. Adjustment cases use Form I-485 with a medical report (Form I-693), the affidavit of support and an interview if USCIS schedules one.
- Receive the visa or approval. A consular applicant is admitted as a permanent resident on arrival, and the green card follows by mail. An adjustment applicant becomes a permanent resident on approval.
State’s family immigration page describes the consular steps in more detail, including the National Visa Center’s role in collecting documents and fees after USCIS approves a petition.
Proving the relationship and preparing documents
Every family case rests on records. The exact list depends on the category and on where the case is processed, but the same kinds of documents appear again and again:
- Valid passports and, where required, civil documents such as birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates for every relevant person.
- Proof of the petitioner’s citizenship or permanent residence.
- For spouses, evidence that the marriage is genuine and that earlier marriages of either spouse legally ended.
- Police certificates and military records where the consulate or USCIS instructions call for them.
- Certified English translations of any document in another language.
Names, dates and places should match across every document. Unexplained differences are a common reason for requests for more evidence.
The affidavit of support (I-864)
Most family immigrant cases require Form I-864, a contract in which the sponsor promises to support the immigrant if needed. Under USCIS instructions, a sponsor must be at least 18, domiciled in the United States, and show income of at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the household size. A sponsor on active duty in the armed forces who is sponsoring a spouse or child needs 100 percent. USCIS publishes the yearly figures on Form I-864P.
- A joint sponsor can be used when the petitioner’s income falls short, and household members can add income by signing Form I-864A.
- The petitioner must sign an I-864 even when a joint sponsor also files one.
- The obligation is legally enforceable. It generally ends when the immigrant becomes a citizen, is credited with 40 quarters of work, permanently leaves the United States or dies.
- State charges $120 to review an affidavit only when the review is done domestically, according to its fee page.
- USCIS’s instructions say the 10/17/24 editions of the I-864 and I-864EZ will not be processed if postmarked or submitted on or after October 1, 2026. The accepted edition is 08/24/26.
Waiting for a visa number
Immediate relatives can move straight to the final application once the petition is approved. Family preference cases wait until the priority date is reached in the Visa Bulletin for the relative’s category and country of chargeability. The bulletin has two charts. USCIS announces each month which chart adjustment applicants may use, and a date that allows filing is not the same as the date that allows approval. The Visa Bulletin tracker shows the current tables.
Waits differ enormously by category and country, and they move in both directions. A published date is a snapshot, not a schedule, so it cannot tell a family when a particular case will be reached.
Conditional residence after a recent marriage
A spouse admitted or adjusted less than two years after the marriage receives conditional permanent residence for two years (the CR-1 or CR-6 category). To keep permanent residence, the couple generally files Form I-751 during the 90 days before the conditional card expires, unless a waiver applies. The CR-1 vs. IR-1 comparison explains the difference between the two spousal categories.
Status and safety issues
A pending family petition does not provide status or work permission. Immediate-relative exceptions to some adjustment bars do not eliminate every entry, fraud, criminal or removal problem. Departure for a consular interview can have consequences and does not necessarily resolve an in-country eligibility problem.
Qualifying abuse may support VAWA self-petitioning without the abuser’s cooperation. Someone already holding conditional residence may need an I-751 waiver analysis instead of assuming a new family petition is required.
Costs across the process
- Petition: $675 on paper or $625 online for the I-130.
- Consular processing: State charges a $325 immigrant visa application fee per person for family-based cases.
- Adjustment: the I-485 costs $1,440 for most applicants, with a lower fee for certain children under 14 filing with a parent. Work permits and travel documents filed with it have their own listed fees.
- Separate costs: medical exams, translations, document fees and travel add to the total for each family member.
A quick first-stage approval does not predict the total cost or timing of the whole process, or the family’s work and travel permissions while waiting.
What changed in 2026 for family cases
- Public charge. DHS rescinded the 2022 public charge rule effective September 18, 2026. USCIS guidance applies to Forms I-485 postmarked or submitted on or after that date, and a new I-485 edition is tied to it. The affidavit of support remains a separate requirement.
- Immigrant visa pauses. A federal court vacated State’s 75-country immigrant visa issuance pause on August 21, and a September 10 State cable tells posts the pause is no longer in effect. Interview scheduling and refusals based on other grounds can still affect individual cases.
- Deadlines. From October 23, 2026, USCIS moves a weekend or holiday deadline to the next business day only when the period is stated in days. Age-based deadlines, such as a child’s 21st birthday, do not move.
The dated policy guide tracks these items with their sources and current status.
Common mistakes to watch for
- Assuming a pending petition allows a relative to stay, work or travel.
- Missing a change in category after a marriage, divorce, birthday or naturalization.
- Filing with an outdated form edition or the wrong fee, which USCIS can reject.
- Leaving the United States during a pending application without understanding the effect.
- Paying anyone who promises to shorten a visa-number wait. No one can buy a place in line.