How to File I-130 Online: Documents, Account Setup, and Review

To file Form I-130 online, create a USCIS online account, complete the petition on screen, upload evidence of your U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status along with proof of the family relationship, sign electronically, and pay the $625 filing fee through Pay.gov. The petition itself does not grant status or a green card. It asks USCIS to confirm that a qualifying family relationship exists so the beneficiary can later apply for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status.

Confirm You Can Petition for This Relative

Your filing options depend on your own status. U.S. citizens can file for a spouse, an unmarried child under 21, a parent (if the citizen is at least 21), an adult son or daughter (married or unmarried), and a sibling (if the citizen is at least 21). Lawful permanent residents can file only for a spouse, an unmarried child under 21, or an unmarried son or daughter 21 or older.

The category matters because it controls what happens after approval. Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens are “immediate relatives,” which means a visa number is always available and the beneficiary can move to the green card step as soon as the petition is approved.

Everyone else falls into a family preference category with annual caps and long waits — siblings of U.S. citizens are currently backed up to 2008 or earlier for most countries, and longer for applicants born in Mexico or the Philippines. Your priority date is the date USCIS properly receives the I-130, and that date holds your place in line.

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Gather Every Document Before You Open the Form

The online system lets you save and return, but the fastest filings are the ones where the file is complete before the first screen. Trying to locate a missing certificate mid-filing is where most delays begin.

Proof of Your Status

You must show you are a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. Acceptable evidence includes an unexpired U.S. passport, a U.S. birth certificate from a civil authority, a naturalization or citizenship certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240), or a copy of the front and back of your Permanent Resident Card.

Proof of the Family Relationship

For a spouse, submit a civil marriage certificate. For a parent-child petition, submit a birth certificate naming both. For siblings, submit birth certificates for each person showing at least one shared parent.

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If a required birth certificate does not exist, get a letter from the appropriate civil authority stating the record is unavailable and explaining why. Only then will USCIS consider secondary evidence such as church baptismal, school, or hospital records. If neither primary nor secondary documents exist, you can submit at least two sworn affidavits from people with direct knowledge of the facts.

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Extra Items for Spousal Petitions

A spouse beneficiary must complete Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary. A beneficiary living in the United States signs it; a beneficiary living overseas completes it without a signature. Either way, it uploads with the main petition.

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If either spouse was previously married, upload proof that every prior marriage legally ended: a divorce decree, annulment, or death certificate for each one.

Translations

Every document not in English needs a full English translation with a signed certification from the translator stating that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate the source language into English. Missing certifications cause rejections and delays.

Filing the Petition Online

Create Your USCIS Account

Go to the USCIS account portal and set up an individual account with a valid email and a strong password. Each person needs a separate account. Do not share login credentials with family members, even if you are filing on their behalf.

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Complete the Form and Upload Evidence

The online form asks for the same information as the paper version: legal names, dates of birth, addresses for the past five years, employment history, and the details of the qualifying relationship. You move screen by screen and can save your progress.

Upload each supporting document as a PDF, JPG, or JPEG file no larger than 12 MB. Some forms also accept TIFF.

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Review, Sign, and Pay

When you finish, the system produces a summary. Check every name, date, and address against your uploaded documents. Corrections before submission cost nothing; corrections after submission cost weeks.

To sign electronically, type your full legal name into the signature field. That carries the same legal weight as a handwritten signature and certifies, under penalty of perjury, that everything in the petition is true and correct.

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You are then routed to Pay.gov. The online filing fee is $625, which is $50 less than the $675 paper fee. You can pay by credit card, debit card, or direct bank withdrawal. Once the payment clears, a confirmation screen appears and the petition is officially submitted.

After You Submit

The Receipt Notice

You will receive a digital Form I-797C, Notice of Action, confirming USCIS has your petition. It carries a 13-character receipt number: three letters followed by ten digits. Online filings typically start with the “IOE” prefix, though USCIS now uses that prefix for some paper filings processed electronically as well.

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Save that number. You need it to check status, respond to notices, and share with the beneficiary if they are filing Form I-485 concurrently.

Tracking the Case

Check status at egov.uscis.gov with your receipt number. Your account dashboard also has a Documents tab where every official notice appears, including biometric appointments and Requests for Evidence.

Responding to a Request for Evidence

If USCIS decides the initial submission is short on proof, it issues an RFE listing what is needed. Response windows run from 30 to 84 calendar days depending on the type of evidence and whether it must come from abroad, plus three additional days when the RFE is mailed. Miss the deadline and USCIS can deny the petition on the record as it stands.

Fixing a Mistake

If you spot an error after filing, wait for the I-797C so USCIS can locate the case. You can then call the USCIS Contact Center, use the typographic error tool on the USCIS website, or send a written correction with a corrected, signed copy of the form to the processing office.

Address Changes

A foreign national beneficiary living in the United States must report any change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving, either through a USCIS online account or by mailing Form AR-11. Missing this step risks missing interview notices and RFEs.

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What Approval Sets Up

Approval of the I-130 does not, by itself, give the beneficiary a green card. What comes next depends on where they live and whether a visa number is available.

An immediate relative already inside the United States can file Form I-485 to adjust status, and can file it at the same time as the I-130 because a visa number is always available in that category. That concurrent filing can save months.

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A beneficiary abroad has the approved petition sent to the Department of State’s National Visa Center, which issues a Welcome Letter with instructions for the Consular Electronic Application Center, visa fees, document submission, and interview scheduling at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

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A preference category beneficiary waits for a visa number to become current under the monthly Visa Bulletin before the case can move forward.

The Affidavit of Support Comes Later, but Plan for It Now

Before the beneficiary can actually receive the green card, you will need to file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. It is a legally binding contract with the U.S. government, not a formality. Household income must sit at or above 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size (100% for active-duty military sponsoring a spouse or minor child), and if the sponsored immigrant later receives certain means-tested public benefits, the government or the providing agency can sue you to recover the cost.

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The obligation ends only when the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, earns 40 qualifying quarters of work, or one of the parties dies. Divorce does not end it.

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Expedite Requests Are Rarely Granted

USCIS accepts expedite requests on I-130 petitions, but grants them only in narrow circumstances: emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations, severe financial loss not caused by the petitioner’s own delay, clear USCIS error, or government interests such as national security. Each request must be documented. Wanting the case resolved sooner is not, by itself, a qualifying reason.

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What You Are Certifying When You Sign

The electronic signature is a sworn statement, and the penalties for dishonesty are serious. If USCIS finds that a beneficiary previously entered a marriage to evade immigration law, no future visa petition on their behalf can ever be approved, and the beneficiary faces potential criminal exposure of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.

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More broadly, any fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact on an immigration application makes the applicant inadmissible to the United States for life. A waiver exists but requires proof of extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or permanent resident family member, a standard most applicants cannot meet.

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1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 2 – General Eligibility Requirements
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Immediate Relatives of a U.S. Citizen
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eCFR. 8 CFR 204.1 – General Information About Immediate Relative and Family-Sponsored Petitions
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 4 – Documentation
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary
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USCIS. Create Your Online Account
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Tips for Filing Forms Online
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
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USCIS. Alien’s Change of Address Card
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
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U.S. Department of State. Step 2: Begin National Visa Center (NVC) Processing
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864P, HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Expedite Requests
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1325 – Improper Entry by Alien
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens