F2A Green Card: Eligibility, Filing Steps, and Costs

The F2A green card is the family-based immigration category that lets a lawful permanent resident sponsor a spouse or an unmarried child under 21 for a green card of their own. It runs on annual visa caps rather than the unlimited “immediate relative” allocation available to U.S. citizens, but as of early 2026 the category is “current” for every country, meaning qualified applicants can move forward without waiting for a priority date to be reached.¹

Who Can Be Sponsored

The petitioner must be a lawful permanent resident. A valid green card or an I-551 stamp in the passport proves it. The beneficiary must be either the LPR’s spouse or the LPR’s unmarried child under 21.² “Child” here covers biological children born inside or outside of marriage, stepchildren, and adopted children, provided the legal relationship was established before the child turned 16.

Both sides must hold their qualifying status the entire way through. If the petitioner loses permanent resident status, the case fails. If an unmarried child beneficiary marries at any point before admission as a permanent resident, the petition is either denied or automatically revoked. No visa classification exists for the married son or daughter of a permanent resident, and there is no waiver for it.³

Priority Dates and the Visa Bulletin

Every F2A applicant gets a priority date: the date USCIS received the I-130 filed on their behalf. That date is your place in line, and it appears on the I-797 receipt notice.⁴

The Department of State publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin with two charts. “Final Action Dates” show when a visa can actually be issued. “Dates for Filing” show when you can begin submitting paperwork to the National Visa Center or filing an adjustment application in the United States.⁵ A “C” (current) means everyone qualified can proceed regardless of priority date.

F2A has shown current for all chargeability areas through early 2026, which is unusually favorable.¹ Dates can retrogress if demand surges, so file promptly rather than assume the window stays open.

Filing the I-130 Petition

The process starts when the LPR files Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, to establish the qualifying family relationship.⁶ If the beneficiary is a spouse, Form I-130A is filed alongside to collect the spouse’s biographical information.⁷ A separate I-130 and separate fee are required for each family member. You can file online or by mail; check the USCIS fee schedule for the current amount, as the online and paper fees differ.⁸

Documents to Include

Proof of the petitioner’s LPR status, typically a clear photocopy of the green card, front and back.
Proof of the qualifying relationship: a marriage certificate for a spouse, a birth certificate for a child. Foreign-language documents need certified English translations.
Evidence that any prior marriages ended before the current one, such as divorce decrees or death certificates.

For spouse petitions, USCIS looks closely at whether the marriage is genuine. Joint bank statements, shared leases, joint tax returns, insurance policies naming both spouses, and photographs together all help. A weak evidence package invites a request for more evidence or a fraud interview; a strong one usually moves through more cleanly.

The Affidavit of Support

Before the beneficiary can receive a green card, the petitioner must file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. It is a legally enforceable contract with the federal government promising to support the immigrant, and the obligation continues after arrival. If the sponsored immigrant receives means-tested public benefits, the government can sue the sponsor for repayment.⁹

The sponsor must show household income of at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for their household size. Active-duty military sponsoring a spouse or minor child need only meet 100 percent.¹⁰ The 2026 guidelines (effective March 1, 2026) for sponsors in the 48 contiguous states are:¹¹

Household of 2: $27,050
Household of 3: $34,150
Household of 4: $41,250
Household of 5: $48,350
Each additional person: add $7,100

Alaska and Hawaii have higher floors. A household of two must show at least $33,813 in Alaska and $31,113 in Hawaii.¹¹ Sponsors who fall short can use assets (valued at three times the shortfall for spouses) or add a joint sponsor who independently meets the income threshold. Recent federal tax returns, W-2s, and pay stubs are the primary evidence.

Two Paths After I-130 Approval

What happens next depends on where the beneficiary lives.

Consular Processing Abroad

For a beneficiary outside the United States, USCIS forwards the approved petition to the National Visa Center. NVC collects two fees through the Consular Electronic Application Center: a $325 immigrant visa application fee and a $120 affidavit of support review fee, both per person.¹² Each applicant then completes the DS-260 online immigrant visa application and uploads civil documents through CEAC.¹³

Once the file is complete, NVC coordinates an interview at the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate. The beneficiary brings originals, the appointment letter, and a sealed medical exam report from an authorized panel physician. Exam results are generally valid for one year.

Adjustment of Status Inside the U.S.

A beneficiary already lawfully in the United States can instead file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and skip the consulate.¹⁴ A visa number must be available, and USCIS announces monthly which chart (Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates) applies. With F2A current through early 2026, eligible beneficiaries can generally file the I-485 alongside or after the I-130.

Since December 2024, Form I-693, the medical examination report completed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon, must be submitted together with Form I-485 at filing. Filing without it risks rejection.¹⁵ Civil surgeon fees vary; budget several hundred dollars for the exam and any needed vaccinations. Current I-485 and I-130 fees are on the USCIS fee schedule.⁸

If the Beneficiary Has Been in the U.S. Without Status

An F2A beneficiary who entered without inspection or overstayed a visa may have accumulated “unlawful presence.” Between 180 days and one year triggers a three-year bar on reentry once the person leaves the United States; one year or more triggers a ten-year bar.¹⁶ That creates a bind: the beneficiary needs to depart for a consular interview, but departure activates the bar.

Form I-601A, the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver, is the fix. An approved waiver lets the beneficiary leave for the consular interview with the unlawful-presence bar already forgiven. Eligibility requires showing extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent, being at least 17, being physically present in the U.S., having a pending immigrant visa case with the State Department, and not being subject to a final removal order.¹⁷ The I-601A only excuses unlawful presence. Other grounds of inadmissibility found at the interview (fraud, certain criminal convictions, prior deportation orders) are not covered, and applicants in unclosed removal proceedings cannot use it at all.

What Happens If the Sponsor Naturalizes

If the LPR petitioner becomes a U.S. citizen while the petition is pending, an F2A spouse petition automatically converts to the immediate-relative category. Immediate relatives are not subject to annual caps or the Visa Bulletin, so conversion usually speeds things up.³

Children need more care. A child listed as a derivative on a spouse’s F2A petition loses derivative status when the case converts, and the now-citizen parent has to file a new I-130 for each child. If the child is still under 21 and unmarried, the new petition slots into the immediate-relative category. If the child has already turned 21, they may fall into a slower preference category with a real backlog.³ Some families deliberately time the citizenship application around the children’s cases to avoid pushing them into a worse category.

Aging Out and the Marriage Rule

Cases move slowly, and children grow up. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) provides a formula that can preserve a child’s eligibility. Take the child’s biological age on the date a visa becomes available, then subtract the days the I-130 was pending (filing to approval). If the result is under 21, the child still counts as a “child” for F2A. The visa-availability date is whichever comes later: the petition approval date or the first day of the month when the Visa Bulletin shows a visa available.¹⁸

CSPA carries an absolute condition: the child must stay unmarried. Marriage at any point before admission ends CSPA protection and knocks the child out of F2A entirely. If the marriage happens before approval, the petition is denied; after approval but before admission, it is automatically revoked. No waiver exists. The only remaining option would be for the petitioner to naturalize first and then sponsor the married child under a different, slower preference category.³

What It Costs

Fees add up in stages, and multi-person families pay most of them per person.

I-130 filing fee, charged per petition, with online filings slightly cheaper than paper. Current amount on the USCIS fee schedule.⁸
NVC immigrant visa fee for consular cases: $325 per person.¹²
Affidavit of support review fee: $120 per case.¹²
I-485 filing fee, if adjusting status inside the U.S., which covers biometrics. Current amount on the USCIS fee schedule.⁸
USCIS Immigrant Fee, charged after visa approval and before the physical green card is produced.

On top of government fees, plan for the immigration medical exam (several hundred dollars, more with vaccinations), certified translations of foreign-language documents (typically $30 to $50 per page), and any attorney fees. Each child who needs a separate I-130 generates most of these costs again, so a family of four can easily face several thousand dollars before the first interview.

1
U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for April 2026
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 2 – General Eligibility Requirements
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, and Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055, Fee Schedule
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864P, HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
12
U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
13
U.S. Department of State. Online Application
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When to File Your Adjustment of Status Application for Family-Sponsored or Employment-Based Preference Visas
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
16
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)