I-130 Form, Petition for Alien Relative: Filing, Evidence, and Denials

The I-130 petition for alien relative is the form a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident files with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to sponsor a family member for a green card. Filing it does not grant your relative a visa or the right to live in the United States. It establishes that a qualifying family relationship exists under federal immigration law, which is the first step before your relative can apply for an immigrant visa abroad or adjust status inside the country.

You file one I-130 for each relative you want to sponsor. Approval puts your relative in line; a separate application later produces the green card itself.

Who Can File the Petition

You can file if you are a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or a U.S. national. U.S. nationals who are not citizens have the same petition rights as permanent residents.¹

Age rules depend on the relative. You must be at least 21 to petition for a parent or a sibling. The instructions do not set a specific minimum age for other petitioners, and if the petitioner is under 14, a parent or legal guardian may sign on their behalf.¹

You also need to be domiciled in the United States, meaning you keep a home here and intend to keep living here. If you’re living abroad, you can still meet this test if you’re temporarily stationed overseas for certain qualifying employers, such as the U.S. government, a U.S.-based research institution, or a U.S. company engaged in foreign trade, or if you can show a genuine intent to return no later than when your relative is admitted.²

Which Relatives You Can Sponsor

Citizens can petition for a wider range of family members than permanent residents can. Immigration law splits eligible relatives into two groups, and the group your relative falls into controls how long the wait will be.

Immediate Relatives

Immediate relatives are the closest family of U.S. citizens: your spouse, your unmarried children under 21, and your parents if you are at least 21.³ There is no annual cap on visas for this group, so they don’t face the backlogs that other categories do.

Family Preference Categories

Every other qualifying relative falls into one of four preference categories with annual numerical limits set by Congress. Waits in these categories can run years or decades depending on the category and the beneficiary’s country of birth.

F1: Unmarried sons and daughters (21 or older) of U.S. citizens.
F2: Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters (21 or older) of permanent residents. Spouses and minor children (F2A) receive at least 77 percent of available visas; unmarried adult sons and daughters (F2B) receive the rest.
F3: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.
F4: Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, where the petitioner is at least 21.

Permanent residents cannot petition for married children, parents, or siblings. Only U.S. citizens can file for those relatives.¹

What Happens If Your Child Turns 21 During the Wait

A child who turns 21 while the case is pending could lose the more favorable “immediate relative” or “child” classification. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) softens this. For immediate relatives, the child’s age is frozen on the date the I-130 is filed, so if your child was under 21 when you filed and stays unmarried, they remain eligible no matter how long USCIS takes.⁴

For preference category children, USCIS subtracts the time the petition was pending, from filing to approval, from the child’s age on the date a visa becomes available. If the result is under 21, the child still qualifies. A child who is 21 years and 4 months old when a visa number opens, on a petition that was pending 6 months, has a CSPA age of 20 years and 10 months.⁴ The child must stay unmarried either way.

Documents and Evidence

Preparing the petition means gathering biographical information along with documents that prove both your legal status and your family tie. Small inconsistencies, like a misspelled name or a mismatched date, can trigger a Request for Evidence and slow the case down.

Your Status as Petitioner

Acceptable evidence includes a U.S. birth certificate, a certificate of naturalization or citizenship, a U.S. passport, or a copy of both sides of your Permanent Resident Card.¹ Copies need to be clear and legible.

The Family Relationship

The evidence depends on who you’re sponsoring. A spouse case needs your marriage certificate along with proof that any earlier marriages ended, through divorce decrees or death certificates. A child case needs a birth certificate showing both parents’ names. A parent case uses your own birth certificate to link you.¹

If a primary document isn’t available, USCIS may accept secondary evidence such as religious records, school records, or census records, along with an explanation of why the primary document can’t be obtained.

Proof That a Marriage Is Real

Spouse petitions also need evidence that the marriage is genuine and not entered into for immigration purposes. USCIS looks for documentation of a shared life, and the more categories you can show, the stronger the case.⁵

Joint financial records such as shared bank accounts, joint tax returns, or co-signed loans.
Shared housing, including a lease or mortgage listing both names, or joint utility bills.
Joint property, such as titles or deeds showing co-ownership of real estate or vehicles.
Birth certificates of children born to the couple.
Sworn statements from people who know you as a couple and can describe the relationship from personal observation.

USCIS weighs the evidence as a whole. A single document alone is rarely enough.

Translations

Any document not in English must come with a complete English translation. The translator has to certify in writing that the translation is accurate and that they are competent to translate the language. A bilingual friend or family member can do this; a professional translation service isn’t required.

Fees and How to File

You can file either online through your USCIS account or by mailing a paper form to a USCIS Lockbox. The paper filing fee is $675; online filing is $625.⁶ USCIS adjusts fees periodically, so confirm the current amount before submitting.

The correct Lockbox for paper filings depends on where you live, and USCIS publishes the mailing addresses along with different addresses for U.S. Postal Service versus private carriers like FedEx or UPS.⁷ U.S. citizens living abroad can also request to file at a U.S. embassy or consulate when sponsoring an immediate relative.

After You File

Once USCIS receives the petition and fee, it issues a receipt notice (Form I-797) with a case number for online tracking. The receipt notice also sets your beneficiary’s priority date, the date USCIS received the petition. For preference category relatives, the priority date determines their place in line.

Requests for Evidence

If USCIS needs more information, it sends a Request for Evidence. You generally have 84 calendar days to respond, with 3 extra days added for mailing if you’re in the United States or 14 if you’re abroad.⁸ USCIS cannot grant extensions past that window, so respond promptly and completely.

Processing Times

Processing times vary by category and workload. As of early 2026, petitions for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are taking roughly 17 to 60 months. Family preference categories run longer, from around 48 months for some to well over 150 months for siblings of U.S. citizens. The USCIS processing times tool is updated regularly.

The Visa Bulletin

For preference category relatives, an approved I-130 doesn’t mean they can apply for a green card right away. They have to wait until a visa number is available, tracked through the monthly Visa Bulletin from the U.S. Department of State. The bulletin publishes two charts. Final Action Dates tell you when a visa number is actually available; if your relative’s priority date is earlier than the listed date, they can complete visa processing. Dates for Filing indicate when your relative can start assembling documents with the National Visa Center even before a number is final. USCIS announces each month which chart applies to adjustment of status filings. A category marked “C” is current, so all qualified applicants can proceed; “U” means no numbers are available.⁹

Financial Sponsorship Comes Next

Before your relative receives a green card, you’ll file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, showing you can support them financially. It’s a legally binding contract with the U.S. government that lasts until your relative becomes a U.S. citizen, earns 40 qualifying quarters of work, leaves the United States permanently, or dies.

Household income has to be at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for your household size, or 100 percent if you’re an active-duty member of the armed forces sponsoring a spouse or child.¹⁰ For 2026, a household of two in the 48 contiguous states needs an annual income of at least $27,050 to meet the 125 percent threshold, and the required amount rises with each additional household member.¹¹

If your income falls short, a joint sponsor can share financial responsibility. A joint sponsor has to be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or national, at least 18 years old, and domiciled in the United States. They don’t need to be related to you or the intending immigrant. They must independently meet the 125 percent threshold for their own household, including anyone they’re agreeing to support; their income cannot be combined with yours.¹² You may have up to two joint sponsors if one can’t cover every family member.

How Your Relative Actually Gets the Green Card

After the I-130 is approved, your relative takes one of two paths depending on where they are.

If they’re abroad, the case goes through consular processing. The National Visa Center collects documents and fees, then schedules an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. If they’re already in the United States lawfully, they may be able to file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence, and adjust status without leaving.

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens already in the United States can file the I-485 at the same time as the I-130, called concurrent filing, because visa numbers are always available for that group. Preference category relatives can file concurrently only if a visa number is available at the moment of filing.¹³ Concurrent filing can save time because both petitions move together instead of one after the other.

If the Petition Is Denied

A denial notice will explain the reasons and your options. Two paths are generally available.

Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals using Form EOIR-29. The denial notice states the filing deadline, typically 30 or 33 days from the date of the decision.
File Form I-290B with the USCIS office that made the decision. A motion to reopen asks USCIS to look at new facts or evidence not available before; a motion to reconsider argues that USCIS applied the law incorrectly on the record it already had.¹⁴

A denial doesn’t permanently bar you from filing again. In many cases you can submit a new I-130 with stronger evidence once the earlier deficiency is fixed. A denial based on fraud is different, and the consequences below apply.

A Warning About Marriage Fraud

Filing an I-130 based on a fraudulent marriage carries severe and permanent consequences. Under federal law, USCIS cannot approve any visa petition filed on behalf of someone who has previously entered into, or attempted to enter into, a marriage for the purpose of evading immigration laws.¹⁵ The bar is permanent and has no waiver. Once USCIS or an immigration judge finds a marriage was a sham, no future spousal petition can be approved for that beneficiary, even if a later marriage is genuine.

USCIS does not need to prove the person actually received an immigration benefit. An attempt or conspiracy alone triggers the bar. An applicant found to have committed marriage fraud may also be found inadmissible for willful misrepresentation of a material fact, and both petitioner and beneficiary can face criminal prosecution with penalties of up to five years in federal prison and fines up to $250,000.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Instructions for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
2
Travel.State.Gov. I-864 Affidavit of Support FAQs
3
Legal Information Institute. 8 USC 1151(b)(2) – Immediate Relatives
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 6 – Spouses
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Filing Fees
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1, Part E, Chapter 6 – Evidence
9
Travel – U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for March 2026
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
11
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – Detailed Tables
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion
15
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1154 – Procedure for Granting Immigrant Status