I am a

permanent resident B1

How do I help my 

relative become a 

U.S. permanent resident?

As a permanent resident of the United States, you may help 

a relative become a lawful permanent resident based on your 

status. To do so, you will need to sponsor your relative and be able 

to prove that you have enough income or assets to support your 

relative(s) when they come to the United States.

You begin the process by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. 

An I-130 form is available on our Web site at www.uscis.gov.

Which relatives may I petition for? 

A permanent resident of the United States can file a petition for the 

following relatives: 

•	Husband or wife; and

•	Unmarried child(ren), regardless of age.

Note: Only U.S. citizens may petition for married children.

When you submit your petition, you are required to provide 

evidence to prove your relationship to the person for whom you are 

filing. 

What does the petition do for my relative? 

Filing an I-130 relative petition and proving a qualifying relationship 

gives your relative a place in line for a visa number among others 

waiting to immigrate based on that same kind of relationship from 

the same country or region. When your relative reaches the head of 

the line, he or she may be eligible to immigrate.

For example: You file an I-130 petition for your husband 

or wife. When approved, your petition gives him or her a place in 

the line of people from the same country who are also husbands 

and wives of permanent residents. 

Your relative’s place in line will be based on the date you file your 

petition. Therefore, there is an advantage to filing as soon as 

possible. While there is no waiting line for most immediate relatives 

of U.S. citizens, sons and daughters over 21 years old will have a 

waiting time. So if you naturalize while your relatives are waiting for 

visas, they may be able 

to immigrate sooner.

What about my relative’s family? 

In most cases, when your spouse’s place in line is reached, his or 

her unmarried children under 21 years old can follow to join the 

relative on the same visa petition. However, if an unmarried child

turns 21 years old before reaching the front of the line, you will 

need to file a new separate petition for each child included on the 

original petition. Please following instructions and include a copy of 

the receipt notice for the original petition.

What if my unmarried child marries? 

A petition for an unmarried child will be automatically revoked if he 

or she marries, since there is no visa category for a married son or 

daughter of a permanent resident. However, if you become a U.S.

citizen before your child marries, you can continue the immigration 

process by filing a new I-130 visa petition for your child. 

After I file, how long will it take before my relative can 

immigrate? 

For most relatives, the combination of high demand and the limits 

set by law on how many people can immigrate each year means 

that they may have to wait several years. When your relative 

reaches the front of the line, the U.S. Department of State contacts 

your relative and invites him or her to apply for an immigrant visa. If 

you are interested in current wait times, see “Visa Bulletins” on the 

State Department’s Web site at www.travel.state.gov/visa. 

Please Note: If you are immigrating to the United States and will 

be admitted as a lawful permanent resident, you must pay the $165 

USCIS Immigrant Fee. You pay this fee online through the USCIS 

Electronic Immigration System (USCIS ELIS). We strongly encourage 

you to pay this fee after you receive your immigrant visa packet 

from the U.S. Embassy or consulate abroad (including Canada and 

Mexico) and before you depart for the United States. Paying before 

you depart for the United States will ensure that you receive your 

Permanent Resident Card (commonly referred to as a Green Card) 

without delay. Information about the fee can be found on our Web 

site at www.uscis.gov/immigrantfee.

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Can my relative wait in the United States until he or she 

can become a permanent resident? 

No. Your relative’s approved petition gives your relative a place in 

line among those waiting to immigrate. It does not give permission 

for your relative to live or work in the United States while he or 

she is waiting to apply for permanent residence. If he or she enters 

or stays without legal status, it will affect his or her eligibility to 

become a permanent resident upon reaching his or her place in line 

for issuance of a visa. 

Does filing a relative petition commit me to anything? 

Yes. Under the law, each person who immigrates based on a 

relative’s petition must have a financial sponsor. If you choose to 

sponsor your relative’s immigration by filing a relative petition, 

when the time comes for your relative to immigrate, you must 

agree to be his or her financial sponsor by filing Form I-864, 

Affidavit of Support. If you do not meet the financial qualifications, 

then other individuals will need to make this commitment. For 

more information, please see Customer Guide F3, General 

Information...How Do I...Financially Sponsor Someone Who Wants

to Immigrate?

How do I file? 

Follow the I-130 petition instructions and check our Web site for any 

updates on instructions or fees. Make sure your petition is complete, 

signed, and submitted with correct fees. You will need to submit 

evidence of your permanent residence, such as a copy of your 

Permanent Resident Card (front and back). You will also need to 

provide evidence proving your qualifying relationship to each person 

for whom you are filing. 

What happens after I file? 

We will mail you a receipt confirming that we have received your 

petition. If your petition is incomplete, we may have to reject it, or 

we may ask you for more evidence or information, which will delay 

processing. Please send all required papers the first time to 

avoid delay. 

We will notify you when we make a decision. Petitions with long 

wait times may not be approved immediately. (See our Web site for 

processing times for I-130 petitions.) Normally, if we approve the 

petition, we send it to the U.S. Department of State’s National Visa 

Center (NVC). When your relative’s place in line permits issuance 

of a visa number, the NVC will notify you and your relative, inviting 

him or her and qualifying dependents to apply for immigrant visas. 

You can find more information about immigrant visa processing from 

the U.S. Department of State’s Web site at www.state.gov. 

What if I filed a petition for a relative when I was a 

permanent resident, but I am now a U.S. citizen? 

If you become a U.S. citizen while your relative is waiting for a visa, 

you can upgrade your relative’s visa classification and advance the 

processing of that petition by notifying the appropriate agency of 

your naturalization. When you are a U.S. citizen, your spouse and 

any unmarried children under age 21 will have visas immediately 

available to them.

•	If you become a U.S. citizen after your Form I-130 petition

is already approved and it has been forwarded to the U.S. 

Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC), you should 

notify the NVC that you have become a U.S. citizen. Requests 

to upgrade petitions due to the naturalization of the petitioner 

should be sent to:

National Visa Center

31 Rochester Avenue, Suite 200

Portsmouth, NH 03801-2915

Please include a letter with information regarding your relative, 

a copy of your Naturalization Certificate, and a copy of the 

petition approval notice. Once the NVC is notified that the 

petitioner has been naturalized, the NVC will immediately send 

the visa information on your relative to the designated U.S. 

Embassy or consulate abroad. To confirm that your approved 

petition has been forwarded to the NVC, you can contact the 

NVC’s automated record message system at 1-603-334-0700

and, with a touchtone telephone, enter your USCIS receipt 

number.

•	If you become a U.S. citizen and your relative’s petition has 

not yet been approved by USCIS, you will need to send the 

notification to the Service Center address located on the receipt 

notice you received when you filed your Form I-130 petition. 

Please include a letter with information regarding your relative, 

a copy of your Naturalization Certificate, and a copy of the 

petition receipt notice. Call Customer Service at 1-800-375-

5283 for assistance or if you are unsure about the status or 

location of your petition.

•	If your relative is your spouse and has children who are your

natural children, stepchildren, or adopted children, and you did 

not file separate petitions for them, you must file a separate 

petition for each of them with evidence of your U.S. citizenship. 

Please include a copy of the receipt notice for the original 

petition.

How long will it take USCIS to process my petition?

Since processing time depends on a number of factors, it is difficult 

to provide a timeframe. You can check our current processing times 

on our Web site. Once you file a relative petition, we will post an 

updated estimate of the processing time on the USCIS Web site. 

Key Information

Key USCIS forms referenced 

in this guide

Form #

Petition for Alien Relative I-130 

Affidavit of Support I-864

Other U.S. Government Services–Click or Call

General 

Information

www.usa.gov 1-800-333-4636

New 

Immigrants

www.welcometoUSA.gov

U.S. Dept. 

of State

www.state.gov

1-202-647-6575 www.travel.state.gov/visa
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For more copies of this guide, or information 

about other customer guides, please visit 

www.uscis.gov/howdoi. 

You can also visit www.uscis.gov to download 

forms, e-file some applications, check the status 

of an application, and more. It’s a great place 

to start!

If you don’t have Internet access at home 

or work, try your local library. 

If you cannot find what you need, please call 

Customer Service at: 1-800-375-5283 

Hearing Impaired TDD Customer Service: 

1-800-767-1833

Disclaimer: This guide provides basic information 

to help you become generally familiar with our 

rules and procedures. For more information, or 

the law and regulations, please visit our Web 

site. Immigration law can be complex, and it is 

impossible to describe every aspect of every 

process. You may wish to be represented by 

a licensed attorney or by a nonprofit agency 

accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals.