An I-130 approval is USCIS’s formal recognition that a qualifying family relationship exists between you and your relative. It does not grant a visa or any immigration status on its own. What it does is open the door to the next stage: your relative can now pursue a green card through either a U.S. consulate abroad or adjustment of status inside the United States. Whether that happens in months or in years depends almost entirely on one thing — whether your relative is an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen or falls into a family preference category.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
Immediate Relative or Preference Category
This is the branch that controls everything else. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens — spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of a citizen who is at least 21 — face no annual cap on visas. Once the I-130 is approved, the beneficiary can move immediately to the next step without waiting for a visa number.2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizen
Everyone else falls into one of four family preference categories, each capped by federal law:
- F1: unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.
- F2A: spouses and children under 21 of lawful permanent residents. F2B: unmarried sons and daughters of LPRs who are 21 or older.
- F3: married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.
- F4: siblings of U.S. citizens.
Because demand exceeds supply, preference beneficiaries wait — sometimes for many years — for a visa number to become available.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas For most countries, the approximate waits look like this:
- F1: roughly 8–9 years.
- F2A: about 1–2 years.
- F2B: around 9 years.
- F3: about 14 years.
- F4: over 17 years.
Applicants born in Mexico, the Philippines, India, and mainland China often wait substantially longer.4U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for May 2026
Your Priority Date and the Visa Bulletin
If your relative is in a preference category, the priority date is what you watch. It is the date USCIS received your I-130, and it functions as your relative’s place in line. You will find it on the I-797C receipt notice and on the approval notice.
The U.S. Department of State publishes the Visa Bulletin each month showing which priority dates are eligible to move forward. Two charts matter. Final Action Dates show when a visa is actually available. Dates for Filing show when applicants can begin submitting paperwork to the National Visa Center. USCIS announces each month which chart adjustment-of-status applicants should use.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
To check whether your relative’s priority date is “current,” compare it against the date listed in the bulletin for their preference category and country of birth. If the priority date falls before the date in the bulletin, a visa is available. Until then, the case sits.
Children Who May Age Out
A child who was under 21 when the I-130 was filed can age out of their category if they turn 21 before a visa becomes available. The Child Status Protection Act provides a formula: take the child’s age on the date a visa becomes available, then subtract the number of days the I-130 was pending before approval. If the result is under 21, the child keeps their classification. The child must also remain unmarried to benefit.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
If Your Relative Is Outside the United States
For beneficiaries living abroad, USCIS transfers the approved petition to the National Visa Center. The NVC handles pre-processing: collecting visa application fees, the Affidavit of Support, and civil documents. You will receive a notification with a new NVC case number and instructions for accessing the online portal. Once the NVC completes its review, it schedules the beneficiary for an interview at a U.S. consulate in the country where they live.7U.S. Department of State. The Immigrant Visa Process
For an immediate relative, this all begins as soon as USCIS forwards the file. For a preference beneficiary, the NVC will not schedule the interview until the priority date is current on the Final Action Dates chart.
If Your Relative Is Already Inside the United States
A beneficiary already physically present in the U.S. can apply to adjust status by filing Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. The approved I-130 is the legal foundation for that application. To adjust, the applicant must have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the U.S. and must have a visa number immediately available.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status
Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens have a shortcut called concurrent filing: the I-130 and I-485 can be filed together rather than one after the other. If you did not use it and your beneficiary is in the U.S., the I-485 can be filed now that the I-130 is approved. Preference applicants can also file concurrently, but only when a visa number is immediately available at the time of filing.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
The Affidavit of Support
Before a visa is issued or adjustment of status is granted, you as the petitioner must file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. This is a legally binding contract with the U.S. government in which you guarantee financial support for the sponsored immigrant.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA If the sponsored immigrant later receives means-tested public benefits, the agency that provided them can demand repayment from you and sue if you refuse.
You must show household income at or above 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for your household size, or 100% if you are on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces sponsoring a spouse or child.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA For 2026, the 125% minimum annual income requirements for the 48 contiguous states are:
- 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 of 7: $62,550
- Household of 8: $69,650
Higher thresholds apply in Alaska and Hawaii.12HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines Your household size includes yourself, the sponsored immigrant, any dependents, and anyone else you listed on a prior I-864 that is still active.
If your income falls short, you have two options. You can use qualifying assets, which must equal five times the gap between your income and the required minimum. Or you can add a joint sponsor — a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who independently meets the 125% threshold for their own household size including the sponsored immigrant. The joint sponsor takes on the same legally binding obligation you do.
The obligation does not end when the sponsored immigrant gets their green card. It continues until the immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, earns credit for 40 qualifying quarters of work (roughly 10 years), dies, or permanently leaves the United States. Divorce does not end it.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
The Medical Exam
Every beneficiary applying for a green card must complete an immigration medical examination, whether the case goes through a consulate abroad or adjustment of status in the U.S. For adjustment applicants, the exam must be performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon in the United States. The results are recorded on Form I-693.
The exam includes a review of vaccination records and a check for required immunizations, including measles, mumps, rubella, polio, tetanus, hepatitis B, and other vaccines recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. Any missing age-appropriate vaccinations are administered during the exam or the applicant is referred to complete the series.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Vaccination Requirements The exam fee is not regulated by USCIS and typically runs $150 to $400, with additional charges for any vaccines needed.
Conditional Residence for Recent Marriages
If you are sponsoring a spouse and the marriage is less than two years old at the time the green card is granted, the beneficiary receives conditional permanent residence rather than full permanent residence. Conditional residence lasts two years and carries the same rights — to live and work in the U.S. and to travel — but there is a mandatory follow-up.
During the 90-day window before the conditional card expires, you and your spouse must jointly file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. Missing that window can cost the beneficiary lawful status and lead to removal proceedings.14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When to File Your Petition to Remove Conditions A late filing must include a written explanation showing good cause, and USCIS decides at its discretion whether to excuse the delay. If the marriage has ended by divorce, or the conditional resident experienced abuse, individual filing options with a waiver of the joint filing requirement exist.
Put the I-751 date on the calendar the day the conditional green card arrives. It is the one deadline after I-130 approval that can undo everything that came before it.