How to Get Your Parents a Green Card as a U.S. Citizen

As a U.S. citizen aged 21 or older, you can get your parents a green card by filing Form I-130 for each parent, submitting Form I-864 to promise financial support, and then either filing Form I-485 if your parent is already in the country and eligible to adjust status, or going through consular processing at a U.S. embassy abroad. Parents are “immediate relatives” under immigration law, so there are no annual visa caps or waiting lists. The two things that decide almost everything about your case are where your parent lives now and how they entered the United States.

Who Qualifies to Sponsor a Parent

You must be a U.S. citizen and at least 21 years old. Green card holders cannot sponsor parents in any category; if that’s your status, you have to naturalize first.¹

“Parent” is broader than biology. A stepparent qualifies if the marriage that created the step-relationship happened before you turned 18. An adoptive parent qualifies if the adoption was finalized before you turned 16 and the adoptive parent had two years of legal custody and two years of physical custody (each period must total two years, but they don’t need to overlap).²

File a separate petition for each parent. Minor siblings still abroad cannot ride on your parent’s petition; that is a different process.

Which Path Applies: Adjustment or Consular Processing

There are two ways a parent becomes a permanent resident, and only one of them is usually available in any given case.

Adjustment of status happens entirely inside the United States. If your parent is already here and was legally admitted or paroled at a port of entry, you can file the I-130 and I-485 together (concurrent filing is always available for immediate relatives because there’s no visa backlog).³ This is often faster because it skips the National Visa Center step.

Consular processing is used when your parent lives abroad, or when they’re in the U.S. but ineligible to adjust. You file the I-130 with USCIS, the case moves to the National Visa Center once approved, and your parent attends an immigrant visa interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate serving their country.¹ If approved, they receive an immigrant visa and enter the U.S. as a permanent resident.

The Overstay Exception

If your parent entered the U.S. legally (a tourist visa, for example) and then overstayed, they can generally still adjust status from inside the country. The usual adjustment bars for people who fell out of legal status don’t apply to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.⁴ Because your parent never leaves the country, they never trigger the re-entry bars discussed below.

The Unlawful Presence Trap

This is the single issue most likely to derail a case, and the wrong move can separate a family for a decade.

A parent who has lived in the U.S. without legal status is accumulating “unlawful presence.” Nothing bad happens as long as they stay put. But if they leave the country, their departure triggers a bar on returning:

More than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence: a 3-year bar.
One year or more of unlawful presence: a 10-year bar.

This creates a painful situation for parents who entered the country without inspection at a port of entry. They generally cannot adjust status from inside the U.S. because adjustment usually requires a lawful admission or parole. That leaves consular processing abroad as the only path, but leaving to attend the interview activates the bar. A provisional waiver (Form I-601A) can sometimes be filed before departure to address the unlawful presence issue in advance, but the process is complex and depends heavily on the facts. Do not attempt this without an immigration attorney.

Other Grounds That Can Block Approval

Even immediate relatives can be found inadmissible. The categories that most often affect parents are certain communicable diseases or missing vaccinations, substance abuse history, criminal convictions (particularly crimes involving moral turpitude, drug offenses, or multiple convictions totaling five or more years), prior immigration fraud, and previous deportation orders.⁵ Some grounds can be waived using Form I-601, but the waiver typically requires showing that denial would cause “extreme hardship” to a qualifying U.S. citizen relative, evaluated on the totality of circumstances.⁶

Forms, Documents, and Fees

The core petition is Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, which establishes your qualifying family relationship.⁷ If your parent is in the U.S. and eligible to adjust, file Form I-485 at the same time.

Proof You Are a U.S. Citizen

Submit one of the following:

A U.S. birth certificate issued by a civil authority
A naturalization or citizenship certificate
A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240)
An unexpired U.S. passport

Proof of the Parent-Child Relationship

A birth certificate listing both you and the parent you’re petitioning for is the standard document. If you’re petitioning for your father, add your parents’ marriage certificate and proof that any prior marriages ended legally. For a stepparent, include the marriage certificate showing the marriage happened before your 18th birthday. For an adoptive parent, include the adoption decree and evidence of the two-year custody and residency requirements. Any name changes need supporting certificates or court documents so the paper trail connects.⁷

Filing Fees

USCIS currently charges $675 for a paper-filed I-130 or $625 for an online filing. Form I-485 is $1,440 for applicants over age 14.⁸ Verify current amounts on the USCIS site before you submit; an incorrect fee is one of the most common reasons packets get rejected outright. Complete every field, write “N/A” where a question doesn’t apply, use mm/dd/yyyy dates, and match names to the legal documents exactly. A single mismatched name can stall a case for months.

Financial Sponsorship: Form I-864

Every sponsor files Form I-864, the Affidavit of Support. It is a legally binding contract between you and the federal government in which you promise to support your parent so they don’t rely on means-tested public benefits.⁹ Your annual household income must be at least 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size.

For 2026, the 125% thresholds in the 48 contiguous states are:¹⁰

Household of 2: $27,050
Household of 3: $34,150
Household of 4: $41,250
Household of 5: $48,350
Household of 6: $55,450

Household size includes you, your dependents, anyone you’ve previously sponsored, and the parent you’re petitioning for now. Alaska and Hawaii use higher thresholds. If your income doesn’t reach the threshold, you can count significant assets (generally at one-third of their net value for non-spouse sponsors), or bring in a joint sponsor: any U.S. citizen or permanent resident, age 18 or older, living in the United States, who meets the income requirement independently and signs their own I-864.⁹

The obligation doesn’t end when your parent gets the green card. It runs until your parent naturalizes, earns 40 qualifying quarters of work (roughly 10 years), or dies. If your parent receives means-tested public benefits during that window, the agency that paid can sue you to recover the cost. Divorce, estrangement, or your parent moving out has no effect on this.

The Medical Exam

Your parent must complete a medical exam on Form I-693. For adjustment cases, the exam has to be done by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon. For consular processing, it has to be done by an embassy-approved panel physician.¹¹ Any other doctor’s exam will be rejected.

The exam covers a physical evaluation, mental health screening, and vaccination records. Your parent needs to be current on the CDC-required vaccines, which include tetanus, MMR, hepatitis A and B, varicella, influenza, and others.¹² Existing records will be reviewed, and blood tests showing immunity to diseases like measles or hepatitis B can substitute for the corresponding vaccines. USCIS doesn’t set the fee, so it varies; expect several hundred dollars, plus more for additional vaccines or a chest X-ray if tuberculosis testing is needed. Insurance generally doesn’t cover it.

What Happens After You File

Adjustment of Status

You file the I-130 and I-485 together at a USCIS Lockbox. Once accepted, you’ll get an I-797 Notice of Action with a 13-character receipt number for online tracking.¹³ Your parent then receives a biometrics appointment at a local Application Support Center for fingerprints, a photograph, and a signature.¹⁴ The FBI runs the biometrics against criminal and security databases.¹⁵ The final step is an in-person interview at a USCIS field office. If approved, the physical green card arrives in the mail within a few weeks.

Consular Processing

After the I-130 is approved, the National Visa Center collects additional documents and fees, then schedules the interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate serving your parent’s country. Your parent completes the medical exam with an embassy-approved physician before the interview date. At the interview, a consular officer reviews the case and, if satisfied, issues the immigrant visa.

How Long It Takes

Timing varies by USCIS field office and by consulate. Adjustment cases are generally faster because they skip the NVC stage. Requests for additional evidence, longer-than-usual background checks, and document corrections all add time. Check current processing times for the specific office handling your case on the USCIS website, and watch your mail and online account closely so you don’t miss a notice or appointment.¹⁶

Travel and Work While the Case Is Pending

If your parent is adjusting status inside the U.S., international travel without the right paperwork can destroy the application. Your parent needs Advance Parole (Form I-131) before leaving. Departing without it is generally treated as abandonment of the I-485.¹⁷ Even with Advance Parole, travel is risky if unlawful presence is a factor, because re-entry can be challenged.

Your parent can also request an Employment Authorization Document alongside the I-485. When filed with the adjustment application, there’s no separate fee for the EAD or Advance Parole. The EAD lets your parent work lawfully while the green card decision is pending.

After the Green Card Arrives

Social Security Number

Your parent needs an SSN to work legally, file taxes, and access many services. If your parent didn’t request one during the adjustment process, they should wait at least 10 days after receiving the green card before applying, so the Social Security Administration has time to verify records with DHS. The application (Form SSA-5) is free, and your parent must visit a local Social Security office with their green card and unexpired foreign passport. If an SSN was requested on the I-485 and hasn’t arrived within 14 days of the green card, contact SSA directly.¹⁸

Taxes

A new green card holder becomes a U.S. tax resident on the first day they’re physically present in the country as a permanent resident.¹⁹ From that day on, your parent must report worldwide income to the IRS, including foreign bank accounts, pensions, and property. This catches many new residents off guard, especially those keeping financial ties in the home country.

Public Benefits

Under current rules, USCIS generally does not count noncash benefits when evaluating public charge inadmissibility. SNAP, Medicaid (except long-term institutionalization), CHIP, WIC, school lunch, energy assistance, emergency shelter, and ACA marketplace coverage are specifically excluded.²⁰ Public charge and your Affidavit of Support obligation are different questions, though. If a government agency pays means-tested cash benefits to your parent, that agency can still seek reimbursement from you.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Bringing Parents to Live in the United States as Permanent Residents
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Bringing Children, Sons and Daughters to Live in the United States as Permanent Residents
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 8 – Inapplicability of Bars to Adjustment
5
USCIS. Inadmissibility and Waivers
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Extreme Hardship Considerations and Factors
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form G-1055 Fee Schedule
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
10
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – 48 Contiguous States
11
U.S. Department of State. Immigrant Visa Process – Step 10 – Interview Preparation
12
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccination Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Receipt Number
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Background and Security Checks
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Case Processing Times
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Emergency Travel
18
Social Security Administration. Social Security Numbers For Noncitizens
19
eCFR. 26 CFR 301.7701(b)-4 Residency Time Periods
20
USCIS. Fact Sheet – How Receiving Public Benefits Might Impact the Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility