How to Invite Someone to the US for a Visit or Green Card

To invite someone to the United States, you first match the purpose of their trip to the right visa category, then take on the sponsor’s role that category requires. For a short visit, that usually means writing a supporting invitation letter while your guest applies for a B-2 visitor visa. For permanent residency, it means filing a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and signing a legally enforceable promise to support the person financially. The commitments are very different, and picking the wrong path wastes months.

Temporary Visit or Permanent Move

Nonimmigrant visas cover temporary stays. The B-2 is the standard visitor visa for tourism, family visits, and medical treatment; it does not allow employment or academic study for credit, and admissions typically run up to six months.¹ The B-1 covers short business trips, and the two are often issued together as a B-1/B-2.

Immigrant visas lead to a Green Card. The most common route is family-based sponsorship, where a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident petitions for a qualifying relative. A separate path, the K-1 fiancé(e) visa, lets a U.S. citizen bring a foreign fiancé(e) into the country to marry within 90 days of arrival.² Both permanent-residency options require the sponsor to accept real financial obligations, which is the part of the process most people underestimate.

Check the Visa Waiver Program First

Before starting any visa paperwork, find out whether your guest needs a visa at all. Citizens of 42 countries can enter for tourism or business for up to 90 days under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).³ Instead of a B-2 visa, your guest applies online for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which costs $21 total and is generally valid for two years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first.⁴

An approved ESTA covers multiple trips inside that two-year window. The trade-off matters: VWP travelers cannot extend the 90-day stay and cannot change to another immigration status while inside the country. If your guest wants more than 90 days, plans to study or work, or expects to seek permanent residency later, the traditional visa route is the only option.⁴

Writing an Invitation Letter for a Short Visit

If your guest needs a B-2 visa, the most useful thing you can do is send a strong invitation letter. The letter is not legally required, but consular officers weigh it as evidence that the visit has a real purpose and a place to stay.

A good letter covers a handful of specifics:

Your full name, immigration status (U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or other lawful status), address, and contact information
How you know the guest and how long you have known them
A concrete reason for the visit, such as a wedding, a holiday, or care after surgery
The intended arrival and departure dates and where the guest will stay
Any expenses you plan to cover, described explicitly

Attach a copy of your identification, such as your passport, Green Card, or driver’s license. Notarization is not required by law, but some consular officers prefer it, particularly when the letter promises financial support. It is cheap insurance against delays at the interview.

Understand what the letter can and cannot do. It supports the application; it does not guarantee approval. The consular officer will focus on whether your guest has strong reasons to return home, and that assessment sits with the applicant.

Sponsoring a Family Member for a Green Card

Bringing a close relative to live in the U.S. permanently is a much longer process. As the petitioner, you file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with USCIS to establish the qualifying family relationship between you and the beneficiary.⁵ Along with the form, you submit proof of your U.S. citizenship or permanent-resident status, evidence of the family relationship (birth, marriage, or adoption records), and passport-style photographs. Filing fees depend on whether you submit online or by mail; check the USCIS Fee Calculator before you file.

Not every relationship moves at the same speed. Spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens are “immediate relatives” and face no annual cap on visa numbers. Other relatives fall into preference categories that do have caps:

First preference: unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
Second preference: spouses and unmarried children of permanent residents
Third preference: married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
Fourth preference: siblings of adult U.S. citizens

For immediate relatives, the case moves as quickly as USCIS can adjudicate it. For preference categories, waits stretch from several years to more than two decades depending on the category and the beneficiary’s country of birth.⁶ The State Department’s monthly Visa Bulletin shows current processing dates by category.

Bringing a Fiancé(e): The K-1 Visa

A U.S. citizen who plans to marry a foreign national can file Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), so that the partner can enter the country with the specific intent to marry.⁷ Only U.S. citizens can use this route; lawful permanent residents cannot.

Two rules catch people out. First, you and your fiancé(e) must have met in person within the two years before filing. USCIS grants exceptions where meeting in person would violate long-established customs in your fiancé(e)’s culture or cause you extreme hardship, but the exception has to be documented in detail.⁸ Second, you must marry within 90 days of your fiancé(e)’s arrival in the U.S. Miss that deadline and your fiancé(e) has to leave.²

The petition needs proof of your U.S. citizenship (birth certificate, passport, or naturalization certificate), evidence of the in-person meeting such as photos and travel records, and proof that both parties are legally free to marry.⁷

The Affidavit of Support: A Sponsor’s Financial Commitment

Anyone sponsoring someone for permanent residency, including after a K-1 marriage, must file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. This is a legally enforceable contract with the U.S. government. You are promising to support the sponsored person financially, and the promise can be enforced against you.⁹

To qualify as a sponsor, you must be at least 18 and living in the United States.¹⁰ Your household income must reach at least 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size. The threshold drops to 100% if you are on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces sponsoring a spouse or child.¹¹ For 2026, a sponsor with a household size of two (you plus the immigrant) needs at least $27,050 in annual income, with the number rising for each additional household member.¹²

You must submit your most recent federal tax return. Filing three years is optional and can help if the most recent year understates your earning capacity.¹⁰ Include W-2s, pay stubs, and bank statements to back up the numbers.

If your income falls short, you have two options. You can use assets to close the gap; the combined cash value generally has to exceed three to five times the shortfall, depending on the relationship.¹¹ Or you can bring in a joint sponsor who meets the threshold alone and signs a separate I-864, accepting the same legal obligations you do.⁶

The obligation ends only when the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, earns roughly 10 years of qualifying work (40 quarters under Social Security), dies, or permanently leaves the country. Divorce does not end it. If the person you sponsored receives certain means-tested public benefits, the agency that paid can sue you for reimbursement.

What Your Guest Does at the Consulate

Once your side is done, your guest handles the visa application. For a B-2, they complete Form DS-160, the online nonimmigrant visa application, which takes about 90 minutes, and print the confirmation page with its barcode for the interview.¹³

The application fee is $185 for a B-1/B-2 and $265 for consular processing of a K-1.¹⁴ These fees are nonrefundable, including when the visa is denied. Your guest then schedules an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. Wait times vary widely by post and season, from days to several months; the State Department publishes current estimates by embassy.¹⁵

For a B-2 interview, your guest should bring:

A valid passport, valid for at least six months beyond the planned stay
The DS-160 confirmation page
The fee payment receipt
A passport-sized photo meeting State Department specifications
Your invitation letter and any supporting documents
Evidence of ties to their home country: an employment letter, property records, family obligations, or school enrollment

That last item is often decisive. The consular officer’s main concern with a visitor is whether they will leave when their stay ends, and evidence of a job, home, or dependents waiting back home tends to carry more weight than any invitation letter.

Immigrant visa and K-1 applicants also have to complete a medical examination performed by a physician the embassy designates. The exam covers a physical, blood tests, vaccination review, and any required immunizations. Costs are not standardized and insurance typically does not cover them, so your guest should budget for this separately.

After Arrival: I-94, Extensions, and Overstays

A visa in the passport is permission to travel to a U.S. port of entry and ask for admission. The final decision is made by a Customs and Border Protection officer at the border. For nonimmigrant visitors, the officer issues an electronic Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, which sets the specific date by which your guest must leave.¹⁶ Your guest should verify the I-94 online after arrival; errors happen and cause problems later.

The I-94 date, not the visa expiration date printed in the passport, controls how long your guest can stay. The visa date only sets the last day the visa can be used to seek entry. Confusing the two is one of the most common and expensive mistakes visitors make.

If your guest wants to stay longer, they can file Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. USCIS recommends filing at least 45 days before the authorized stay expires, and filing after the I-94 date can lead to denial and start the clock on unlawful presence.¹⁷ Extensions are not automatic; your guest has to show that the original purpose still applies, that they have not worked illegally, and that they can support themselves. VWP and ESTA travelers cannot extend their 90-day stays at all, which is worth saying before your guest books the trip.

Overstaying carries steep consequences under federal law:¹⁸

More than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence: a three-year bar on reentry if the person departs before removal proceedings begin.
One year or more: a ten-year bar on reentry after departure or removal.

These bars trigger when the person leaves and then tries to return through legal channels. Someone who overstays long enough to trigger a bar and then reenters or tries to reenter without authorization faces a permanent bar.¹⁹ An overstay by someone you sponsored also undermines your credibility on any future petition you might file, so the point is worth making clearly before your guest ever gets on the plane.

1
U.S. Department of State. Visitor Visa
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visas for Fiancees of U.S. Citizens
3
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Visa Waiver Program
4
USAGov. Visa Waiver Program and ESTA Application
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Affidavit of Support
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancee
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Petition for Alien Fiancee
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. Form I-864 Instructions
11
eCFR. 8 CFR Part 213a – Affidavits of Support on Behalf of Immigrants
12
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
13
U.S. Department of State. Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application (DS-160)
14
U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
15
U.S. Department of State. Global Visa Wait Times
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record Information
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Extend Your Stay
18
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
19
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility