This article was last updated July 14, 2026

Summary

U.S. Citizens (USCs) and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs, or “green card holders”) can help certain relatives immigrate to the United States by using a form known as the “Form I-130 petition.” This is also called “family-based immigration.”

This is a guide for USCs and LPRs who would like to submit an I-130 for a relative. If you are a refugee or asylee, you may be eligible for other refugee and asylee family reunification options. Information about these options can be found here.

Travel Ban Update

There are currently several “travel bans” in place that affect some people’s ability to travel to the United States, even if they are approved for a visa through the process described below. The travel bans should not affect the first steps of this immigration process, but they may impact you if you are further along in the process. More information about the 2025 travel ban and 2026 immigrant visa pause is here.

What is the family-based immigration process?

USCIS Petition

The first step in this process is called submitting the Form I-130 to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This is called petitioning for your relative. You are the petitioner. You must include documents that prove that you are a USC or LPR. You must also prove your relationship with the relative who wants to come to the United States. This person is called the beneficiary. 

When filling out the form, you should provide information about yourself for each question that asks about the petitioner. 

Application for Permanent Residence 

Once your I-130 petition is approved, your relative will then need to apply for permanent resident status in the United States.

If your relative is located outside the United States, they will do this through a process called “consular processing.” This means they will apply for an immigrant visa through a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. They will be called the visa applicant. 

If your relative is located inside the United States, they may be able to apply for a green card through a process called “adjustment of status.” They will be called the adjustment applicant.

This guide only describes the USCIS Petition step of the process.

Who can I petition for?

If you are an LPR, you can petition for your spouse or your unmarried child of any age.

If you are a USC, you can petition for your spouse or your child of any age (they can be married or single). If you are over the age of 21, you can petition for your siblings and parents also. 

Where do I begin?

You must file a Form I-130, available here. There are two ways to submit your I-130 Form: 1) by mail; or 2) online on the USCIS website. You can find more information about both options here. 

If you are an LPR, you will file one petition for your relative. If they have unmarried children who are under 21, you do not need to file a separate petition. However, if you are petitioning for your spouse and children at the same time, you can file separate petitions if you want them to be processed independently.

If you are a USC, and you are filing for your adult or married children or your siblings, you do not need to file a separate petition for their spouses and unmarried children under 21.

If you are a USC filing for your parents, unmarried children under 21, or spouse, you must file a separate petition for each individual. 

We recommend submitting a cover letter that lists the documents you are submitting. It helps USCIS see that you met all the requirements.

When you submit the form by mail, you must submit it with your original, handwritten signature or a scan or photocopy of a handwritten signature. USCIS will not accept a typed or electronic signature. If you submit a scan or a copy of your original signature to USCIS, you must save the original copy of your signed form because you may have to show it to USCIS in the future.

How much does it cost to petition for my relative?

There is a filing fee for the I-130 petition. As of May 2025, there are different filing fees depending on whether you submit your form electronically or by mail. If you submit your I-130 Form by mail, you must pay a fee of $675.00. If you submit your I-130 Form online, you must pay a fee of $625.00.

For mail submissions, this fee must be paid with a credit, debit, or prepaid card and must include Form G-1450, available here. You can also make a payment directly from a U.S. bank account by completing Form G-1650, available here. You cannot pay in cash, and you can no longer pay by check or money order unless you qualify for an exemption. The fee and how to pay it can change, so check this USCIS website that lists fees before you file.

For online submissions, the USCIS online system will guide you through the process of paying your fees with a credit, debit, or prepaid card. The system will automatically take you to a secure site, pay.gov, to pay your fees online. You can find more information on how to submit fees for online filings here.

What else must I submit with the I-130 petition?

FIRST: You must prove you are a U.S. Citizen (USC) or Legal Permanent Resident (LPR).

The I-130 form will ask you, the petitioner, to submit documents to prove your status in the United States. 

To prove that you are a USC, you must send ONE of these documents with your form I-130:

• A copy of your birth certificate showing you were born in the United States
• A copy of your naturalization certificate
• A copy of your certificate of citizenship
• A copy of your Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA)
• A copy of your unexpired U.S. passport, or
• An original statement from a U.S. consular officer verifying that you are a U.S. citizen with a valid passport.

To prove that you are an LPR, you should submit a copy of the front and back of your Green Card. If you do not have your card yet, you can send in copies of your passport including the page with your picture on it and the page showing entry in the U.S. as an LPR. You can also send in a copy of your I-94.

SECOND: You must prove the relationship with your relative.

The I-130 form will ask you, the petitioner, to send in documents to prove your family relationship with the beneficiary. Do NOT send original documents to USCIS. You should always send copies of documents. 

If the document is not in English, you should also send a translation of the document in English. The translation must include a statement from the translator saying they are fluent in both languages.

 If you want to bring your spouse:

• Include a copy of your marriage certificate.
• If you have been married before, include copies of documents showing that your past marriages ended. Usually, these are divorce or death certificates.
• Include documents that show that this is a real marriage and is not for immigration purposes. As examples: 
  • You can include birth certificates of your children that show that you and your spouse are their parents. 
  • You can include a document from a bank with both of your names on the same account. 
  • You can also send a lease showing both of your names. 
• You can include letters from people who know you or your spouse and your marriage well. They do not need to be U.S. citizens. 
  • They should write their full name, address, and date and place of birth. 
  • They should describe how they know about your relationship, such as attending your wedding or spending time with you as a couple. 
  • If possible, these people should have a notary sign and stamp this letter before they send it to you.

 If you want to bring your child:

• If you are the mother, include a copy of the birth certificate showing your name and your child’s name.
• If you are the father, include a birth certificate showing your name and the name of the child’s mother. Also include a marriage certificate showing you were married to the mother when the child was born or before the child turned 18. If you were not married, read the USCIS I-130 instructions for more information about how to prove your relationship.

If you want to bring your sibling:

• Include copies of both of your birth certificates showing that you had at least one parent in common.
• If you had different mothers but the same father, also include a copy of marriage certificates of your father to either or both of your mothers. If your father divorced one of the mothers, include a divorce certificate proving that. If your father was not married to either of your mothers, read the USCIS I-130 instructions for more information about how to prove your relationship.

If you want to bring your mother:

• Send your birth certificate with your mother’s name on it.

If you want to bring your father:

• Include a birth certificate showing the names of both of your parents.
• Also include a marriage certificate showing that your father and mother were married. If your parents were not married, read the USCIS I-130 instructions for more information about how to prove your relationship.

If you want to bring your stepparent:

• Include your birth certificate.
• Also include a marriage certificate between your natural parent and the stepparent. They must have been married before you turned 18.
• Also include documents to show that, if either one of them was married in the past, that these marriages ended. Usually, these are divorce or death certificates.

 If you want to bring a parent who has adopted you:

• Include documents that show that your parent legally adopted you.
• Also include a document that shows you legally lived with your adoptive parents for at least 2 years before or after the adoption.

What If I don’t have a required document?

There are a few options if you do not have the required documents:

• If you do not have these documents, you should try to get them. For example, you may be able to go to an embassy and ask for copies, or ask family or friends for help.
• See if there is another acceptable document that you can use instead of the required document. The U.S. Department of State lists alternative forms of documents on this website.
• Get a letter from a government office or embassy saying that you cannot get the document. You should also try to get other documents like:
  • A religious record: A copy of a document from a religious organization like a church, mosque, temple, or synagogue. It should show that a religious ceremony happened (like a baptism) within two months after birth. It must include the date and place of birth, the date of the religious ceremony, and the names of the parents.
  • A school record: A copy of a letter from an educational authority, like a school. It should show the date the child entered school, the child’s date of birth or age at that time, place of birth, and names of the parents.
  • A census record: Government records showing the names, place of birth, date of birth, or the age of the person listed.
• Get two or more letters from people who were alive at the time of the event that you must prove and ask them to write statements about it.
  • They must have “personal knowledge” of the event. For example, an uncle who went to your parent’s wedding or a midwife who helped birth you, or a good friend who knows your relationship with your husband. 
  • The two letters do not need to be from U.S. citizens. 
  • The two or more people have to write their full name, address, date and place of birth, what they know about the event, and explain how they know this. 
  • If possible, they should have a notary sign and stamp this letter before they send it to you.

Where do I send the I-130 petition and documents?

The filing location depends on where you live. Check this website to see where to send your Form I-130. You can also submit online. Instructions for online filing are here.  

Before you send the I-130 form and its supporting documents, make sure to make a copy of the whole packet to keep for your own files. Even if you have the originals of the documents, you should always have one copy of the entire final submission you make. You may need it in the future.

After filing the I-130, what happens next?

After you complete the I-130 form and send the form, supporting documents, and filing fee to USCIS, USCIS will send you, the petitioner, notices and letters in the mail. Sometimes they will also send them by email. It is important to save all of the letters.

USCIS will first send you an “I-797, Notice of Action.” This says that they received your I-130 petition. This letter is important because:

• It tells you which USCIS service center is working on the I-130. This USCIS website provides USCIS processing timelines.
• It gives you the receipt number for your case. This number has three letters such as EAC, WAC, LIN, SRC, NBC, MSC or IOE. It has 10 numbers after these letters. You can use this number to:
  • Track your case on this USCIS website.
  • Change your address on this USCIS website.

• It gives you a priority date for your case. This is important because it tells you when a visa will be available for your relative. You can look at the wait times for visas on this Department of State website by clicking the most recent Visa Bulletin.

Sometimes, USCIS will send a letter asking you, the petitioner, to send them more documents. This is called a Request for Evidence (“RFE”). The RFE will tell you what document is missing and give you a date that you have to send the document by. Usually, they give you 90 to 120 days. USCIS may also suggest you get a DNA test. This is a blood test that you and your relative, the beneficiary, take. The test can prove that you and your relative are related by blood. It must be done by specific labs. You can find a list of those DNA labs by going to this website.  

Is it possible to speed up an I-130?

Yes, you can ask USCIS to expedite (speed up) the adjudication (decision) of an I-130 request after you have gotten a receipt that USCIS received your application. 

How do I know if I can get faster processing? 

To get faster processing you need at least one of these reasons:

• Emergencies and urgent humanitarian reasons
• Severe financial loss to a company or person. 
  • This reason won’t count if the petitioner’s or applicants did not: 
    • File the benefit request or the expedite request in a reasonable time frame, or
    • Respond to any requests for more evidence in a reasonable time frame;
• A clear mistake made by USCIS 
• An important reason by the US government interests (like urgent cases for the Department of Defense of DHS, or other public safety or nationality security interests). 

How do I request expedited processing? 

To request an expedited processing, you can:

• Call the USCIS’s Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283, or
• Use the “Ask Emma” chat feature on the USCIS website, at uscis.gov. You can access this tool by clicking on the “Ask Emma” icon on the top right of the page. 

In order to complete your request, you must have a receipt number. USCIS will not be able to send a service request without a receipt number. The receipt number can be found on the I-797C document that USCIS sent to notify you that they have received your application.

After you call or chat with an agent to request expedited processing, the USCIS Contact Center will send the service request to the office in charge of your petition. That office may request additional information or documentation after your phone call. They may do this by email or phone. 

Will the decision of an expedited processing affect the original application or petition? 

A decision about expedited processing will not affect whether or not your original application or petition is approved or denied. 

Once your request to expedite your petition is granted, then USCIS will decide faster than normal. All requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and USCIS can reject or allow an expedite request. 

For more information, see USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part A, Public Services, Chapter 5, Requests to Expedite Applications or Petitions.

What if I think something is wrong with my case?

IMPORTANT: Please note that as of April 2025, there have been reports that the Ombudsman Office’s operations are paused. This means that the Ombudsman Office is likely not reviewing inquiries at this time. The government has not made any official announcement about this change,and the online submission page for the Ombudsman Office is still available. You can still try to submit your inquiries to the Ombudsman Office and see if you receive a response, but we recommend that you also try to contact your Congressional representative for assistance. If you choose to still contact the Ombudsman Office, below is some relevant information.

The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman helps to resolve people’s problems with USCIS. They are not a part of USCIS, so they cannot approve or deny cases. However, they can communicate with USCIS to help you if:

• You have not received a USCIS notice or decision but the USCIS system says that they sent you one
• The beneficiary may “age-out” of eligibility soon (this usually means that a child is about to turn 21 and will not be able to stay on his or her parents’ petition)
• There are mistakes in your documents
• Your case is 60 days delayed past normal processing time
• There are lost files and/or problems transferring files
• You think that USCIS made a serious mistake.

To get help, you can submit a case assistance request online. You can also download the form, which is available here, and submit it by email to cisombudsman@hq.dhs.gov. It is sometimes easier to open the form using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser. Do not attach documents that are larger than 5 megabytes. For more detailed instructions, see the Ombudsman Office’s website here.

You can also ask your member of Congress to assist you. IRAP’s guide on asking for help from a member of Congress is here.

What happens after my I-130 is approved?

An approved I-130 petition is the first step in the family-based immigration process. This guide is limited to this initial step. How long the rest of the process takes will depend on the type of family relationship. 

For some relationships, a visa is available right away and your relative can begin the visa application process as soon as the I-130 petition is approved. For other relationships, a limited number of visas are available each year, and your relative will have to wait – sometimes for years – before they can begin the actual visa application process. Information about visa wait times is available on the State Department’s visa bulletin.

When a visa is available, your next steps depends on where your relative lives. If your relative is already in the United States, they may be able to adjust their status to lawful permanent resident right away. Information on adjusting status to lawful permanent residence is available on USCIS’s website. If your relative is outside the United States, they can apply for an immigrant visa to come to the United States as a permanent resident. More information on the immigrant visa application process is available on the State Department website.