Has Anyone Ever Filed an Immigrant Petition on Your Behalf?

If an immigration form asks whether anyone has ever filed an immigrant petition on your behalf, answer yes if any qualifying petition was filed for you at any point, even if it was denied, withdrawn, or never adjudicated. Qualifying petitions are the ones that lead toward permanent residence: Form I-130, I-140, I-360, I-526 or I-526E, I-600, and I-730.¹ Nonimmigrant filings like the H-1B (Form I-129) and the fiancé(e) petition (I-129F) do not count. The government already has its own record of what was filed, so guessing wrong can cost you a priority date, a rare eligibility path, or your credibility with the officer reviewing your case.

Which Petitions Count as an Immigrant Petition

The question targets filings that classify someone for a green card or immigrant visa. The forms that qualify are:

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, filed by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member.
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, filed by an employer.
Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant.
Form I-526 or I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Investor.
Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.
Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition.

Nonimmigrant petitions are excluded. If an employer once filed an H-1B for you but never filed an I-140, the truthful answer is no. A fiancé(e) petition (I-129F) leads to a temporary visa rather than directly to permanent residence, so it does not count either.¹

The question is whether a petition was ever filed, not whether it was approved. A family member’s I-130 that USCIS later denied still counts. A withdrawn I-140 still counts. An old petition you assumed was closed and forgotten still counts.

How to Answer If You Are Not Sure

The I-485 instructions tell applicants to answer every question “fully and accurately,” and to write “N/A” only where a question genuinely does not apply.² When the form asks for details such as receipt number, petitioner’s name, and date filed, provide what you know. If some details are missing, include your best recollection and note that it is a recollection.

Do not guess no to avoid the follow-up questions. USCIS treats a misrepresentation as willful whenever the applicant knew the truth and stated something different; intent to deceive does not have to be separately proved.³ “I forgot” is difficult to defend when the agency’s own database shows a petition on file. A genuine lack of knowledge, where you had no way to know a petition existed, is different from a hunch you did not check. Willful misrepresentation of a material fact to obtain an immigration benefit makes a person inadmissible to the United States, and that inadmissibility is permanent absent a waiver.⁴

The waiver, when available, is limited to the spouse, son, or daughter of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who can show extreme hardship to that qualifying relative, and the agency’s decision is not reviewable by the courts.⁴ The safer route is to find out the truth before you sign the form.

How to Find Out Whether a Petition Was Filed for You

Several avenues exist to confirm what is in your immigration record before you answer.

FOIA or Privacy Act Request

You can request your own immigration records from USCIS through a Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act request. The file will show any petitions filed on your behalf, approval or denial notices, and related correspondence.⁵ Federal law requires the agency to respond within 20 business days, though actual document production often takes longer.⁶ If you need records for more than one person, you must submit a separate request for each.

USCIS Online Case Status

If you have any old notice of action, look for the receipt number: three letters followed by ten numbers. You can plug it into the USCIS online case status tool. If you cannot locate a receipt number, call the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283.⁷

Family Members and Employers

Ask relatives and former employers directly. Search your own records for old USCIS notices, letters from immigration attorneys, or correspondence from the National Visa Center, which handles petitions that have advanced to consular processing. A congressional inquiry through your U.S. Representative or Senator can sometimes produce answers when the agency does not respond.

Why the Answer Matters for Your Current Application

A prior petition can help you more than it hurts, which is one reason it is worth surfacing rather than hiding.

Priority Date

Family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visas are numerically limited, so many applicants wait in a queue set by their priority date. For family-sponsored cases, the priority date is the date the I-130 was properly filed. For employment-based cases, it is generally the date the Department of Labor accepted the labor certification, or the date USCIS accepted the I-140 if no labor certification was required.⁸ An older date puts you further ahead. An old petition you never mention is a place in line you never claim.

Employment-Based Priority Date Retention

Workers with an approved I-140 keep a strong protection. If your employer withdraws the I-140 after it has been approved for at least 180 days, or after your I-485 has been pending for at least 180 days, USCIS will not revoke the approved petition. The priority date stays with you, and the petition remains valid for portability under INA 204(j) if you move to a same or similar job.⁹¹⁰ To claim an earlier priority date from a previously approved I-140, submit a written request with a copy of the I-797 approval notice from the earlier petition.

Section 245(i) Grandfathering

Section 245(i) can be the difference between adjusting status inside the United States and having to leave the country to consular process, which can trigger three- or ten-year bars on reentry. Normally, people who entered without inspection, overstayed, or worked without authorization cannot adjust status. Section 245(i) makes an exception for beneficiaries of a qualifying petition or labor certification properly filed on or before April 30, 2001.¹¹

For petitions filed after January 14, 1998, the beneficiary must also have been physically present in the United States on December 21, 2000. The physical presence requirement does not apply to accompanying spouses or children. Applicants using Section 245(i) pay a $1,000 penalty fee on top of the normal I-485 filing fee.¹¹ A petition filed by a distant cousin’s employer in the late 1990s, one you barely remember, can be the reason you get to stay.

Derivative Beneficiaries

An approved petition can extend to your spouse and unmarried children under 21 as derivative beneficiaries, letting them follow to join once a visa becomes available. Derivative status has limits: a child can age out at 21, though the Child Status Protection Act provides some relief in certain categories.

Consistency Across Filings

Officers compare a new application against the record of any earlier petition. If you named a different employer, a different relationship, or different biographical details before, be ready to explain. Unexplained contradictions can trigger a request for additional evidence, and in serious cases a denial.

Petitions That Were Denied, Withdrawn, or Where the Petitioner Died

None of these erase the fact of the filing, and each has its own consequences.

A petitioner can withdraw a petition at any time by writing to the USCIS service center handling the case. Withdrawal does not remove the petition from immigration records, and filing fees are not refunded.⁹ Answer yes on the form, even if the petition was withdrawn.

USCIS can revoke an approved petition at any time for good and sufficient cause, including fraud, changed circumstances such as a divorce in a marriage-based case, or a determination that the approval was made in error.¹³ If your U.S. citizen spouse filed an I-130 for you that was pending or approved when they died, it converts automatically to a widow(er) I-360. If no I-130 was pending, you can file an I-360 on your own within two years of the death, provided you were not legally separated at the time of death and have not remarried.¹⁴

For other family-based petitions where the petitioner died after the petition was approved, you can request humanitarian reinstatement. There is no form and no fee. Send a written request to the USCIS office that originally approved the petition, along with the death certificate and evidence of why reinstatement is warranted, such as ties to U.S. family members, health concerns, length of lawful residence, and processing delays that contributed to the situation. USCIS cannot grant humanitarian reinstatement if the petitioner died while the petition was still pending. You will also need a substitute sponsor for the Affidavit of Support, and that person must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, and related to you as a spouse, parent, sibling, child, in-law, grandparent, grandchild, or legal guardian.¹⁵

In each of these situations, the answer to the question on your current form is yes. What changes is what you may still be able to do with that earlier petition.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. All Forms
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-485, Instructions for Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8, Part J, Chapter 2 – Overview of Fraud and Willful Misrepresentation
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request Records through the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act
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U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FOIA Processing
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checking Your Case Status Online
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visa Availability and Priority Dates
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Petition Filing and Processing Procedures for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7, Part E, Chapter 5 – Job Portability after Adjustment Filing and Other AC21 Provisions
11
eCFR. Title 8 CFR Part 245 – Adjustment of Status to That of Person Admitted for Permanent Residence
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13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1155 – Revocation of Approval of Petitions
When the petitioner dies, an approved petition is automatically revoked, with two important exceptions.12eCFR. 8 CFR 205.1 – Automatic Revocation
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-360, Instructions for Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Humanitarian Reinstatement