You can withdraw an I-130 petition after approval at any time before the beneficiary is admitted to the United States or granted adjustment of status. The request has to be in writing and signed by the petitioner, and once USCIS or the National Visa Center accepts it, the approved petition is revoked and cannot be reinstated.1eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests
When Withdrawal Is Still Possible
Federal regulations give the petitioner the right to pull the petition at any stage, from filing through approval and up to the moment the beneficiary becomes a lawful permanent resident.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Adjudication of Family-Based Petitions After the green card is issued, the petition has done its job and a withdrawal request has no legal effect on its own.
Two limits are worth understanding before you send anything. USCIS cannot refuse a valid withdrawal request. And once the agency accepts it, the regulation is explicit that a withdrawal may not be retracted.1eCFR. 8 CFR 103.2 – Submission and Adjudication of Benefit Requests There is no appeal. Only the petitioner can withdraw; the beneficiary cannot do it on their own.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual – Adjudication of Family-Based Petitions
How to Send the Written Request
The withdrawal is a signed letter. Where you send it depends on which agency currently holds the file.
If the Case Is Still With USCIS
If the approved petition has not been forwarded for consular processing, send the letter to the USCIS office that approved it. Include your full legal name and date of birth, the beneficiary’s full name and date of birth, and the receipt number from your I-797 approval notice. State clearly that you are requesting withdrawal of the I-130 petition. Send it by certified mail with return receipt requested, and keep a copy.
If the Case Has Been Sent to the National Visa Center
If the case has already moved to the NVC for consular processing overseas, submit your signed written withdrawal through the NVC’s Public Inquiry Form.3U.S. Department of State. Immigrant Visas Processing – General FAQs Use the same identifying information, add the case number, and include a reason for the withdrawal, which the NVC requires.
What Withdrawal Does to the Beneficiary
A written notice of withdrawal automatically revokes the approved petition.4eCFR. 8 CFR 205.1 – Automatic Revocation After that, the petition can no longer support any immigration benefit. What that means for the beneficiary depends on where they are in the process.
If the beneficiary has a pending Form I-485 adjustment application inside the United States, that application loses its underlying basis and will be denied. The beneficiary then begins accumulating unlawful presence and can face removal proceedings. This is where the damage is greatest, because the beneficiary may have already reshaped their life around the expectation of a green card.
If the beneficiary is overseas and going through consular processing, the immigrant visa application stops. No interview will be scheduled, any pending DS-260 is closed, and the beneficiary stays in their home country. The immediate consequences are lighter, but the path through that petition is over.
The Affidavit of Support Does Not Always Go Away
Petitioners who have already signed a Form I-864 sometimes assume that withdrawing the I-130 also ends their financial responsibility. That is only true if the beneficiary has not yet become a permanent resident. In that situation the I-864 never fully activates, because no immigration benefit was granted.
If the beneficiary already received a green card, you are bound by the I-864 regardless of what happens later. Only a limited set of events ends the obligation: the sponsored immigrant naturalizes, earns 40 qualifying quarters of work under Social Security (roughly ten years), loses permanent resident status and leaves the country, or either the sponsor or the immigrant dies.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1183a – Requirements for Sponsors Affidavit of Support Divorce does not end it. Neither does the sponsor’s financial hardship or bankruptcy.
Priority Date and Refiling
Withdrawing one I-130 does not prevent you from filing a new one for the same person or another eligible relative, provided you meet the requirements at the time of the new filing.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative A new petition means a new filing fee (USCIS fees are non-refundable, and the fee from the withdrawn petition is not returned), new forms, and current processing times.7U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part B – Chapter 3: Fees
The heaviest loss is the priority date. In family preference categories with long backlogs, the priority date sets your place in line. A withdrawn petition cannot be used to keep the original priority date, because withdrawal is treated as a form of revocation. A new petition starts fresh, which in categories like F4 (siblings of U.S. citizens) or F3 (married adult children of citizens) can add years or even decades. If the backlog matters to your family, this is the single strongest reason to pause before sending the withdrawal letter.
Events That Revoke the Petition Without a Withdrawal
Even without any letter from you, some life events automatically revoke an approved I-130 as long as the beneficiary has not yet been admitted or adjusted status.4eCFR. 8 CFR 205.1 – Automatic Revocation
- Death of the beneficiary revokes the petition.
- Death of the petitioner revokes the petition unless USCIS exercises humanitarian discretion to keep it alive; the beneficiary must request reinstatement and show a qualifying relative willing to serve as a substitute financial sponsor.
- Divorce automatically revokes an approved spousal petition. Abuse-based self-petitions are an exception.
- A child aging out at 21 loses the immediate relative classification, though the petition may still be valid in a lower family preference category if the child remains unmarried.
The divorce trigger catches people off guard. If a couple divorces while a spousal I-130 is pending or approved but not yet used, the petition dies on its own. No withdrawal letter is needed.