I-130 Petition for Alien Relative

Citizens and permanent residents of the U.S. can use form I-130, the “Petition for Alien Relative,” to apply for immigration benefits for certain of their relatives. There are two broad categories of persons eligible to apply for immigration benefits using form I-130: immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen and other relatives of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Immediate relatives of a U.S.citizen:

The parents, spouse, and unmarried children less than 21 years of age of a U.S. citizen are considered to be “immediate relatives” of that citizen and are eligible for permanent residence in the United States based on that relationship.  If you are an American citizen who would like to bring your spouse to the U.S., you can shorten your wait by filing an application for a K-3 visa  in addition to your I-130.  Immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen are not subject to any numerical restrictions (unlike other relatives of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident) and can thus apply for permanent residence without having to spend any time on a waiting list.  The “immediate relatives of a U.S.citizen” category is subject to certain important restrictions.  Parents of a U.S. citizen may only apply for permanent residence in the U.S. based on that parental relationship if their U.S.citizen child is at least 21 years of age. If a U.S. citizen and his or her alien spouse have been married for less than two years at the time that the alien spouse enters the U.S., then that spouse will enter the U.S.as a conditional permanent resident.  If the marriage between the U.S. citizen and the alien ends by divorce or annulment less than two years after the date of marriage, then the alien’s permanent resident status will be cancelled.  The alien spouse will be eligible to apply to remove the conditions on the green card two years after the date of the marriage.  If an unmarried child of a U.S. citizen who is applying for permanent residence on that basis reaches the age of 21 while his application is still pending, then that child will “age out” of the immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen category and will be placed into the immigration category for unmarried children more than 21 years old of U.S. citizens (see below).

Other relatives of a U.S.citizen or permanent resident:

Other relatives of a U.S. citizen, or certain classes of close relatives of a U.S. permanent resident, are eligible to become permanent residents of the U.S., but they are subject to limits on the number of visas available to them each year.  These other relatives are divided into different categories called “preferences”; the higher one’s preference, the faster one should be able to receive permanent residence in the U.S.  There are four preferences for other relatives:

1.  First preference: unmarried children more than 21 years old of U.S.citizens.

 2.  Second preference: spouses and unmarried children of U.S. permanent residents.  The second preference category is further divided into two subcategories: subcategory 2A is for spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 of U.S. permanent residents, while subcategory 2B is for unmarried children over the age of 21 of U.S. permanent residents.

3.  Third preference: married children of U.S.citizens.  The age of the child is irrelevant for this visa category.

4.  Fourth preference: brothers or sisters of U.S. citizens.

If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who would like to bring your alien spouse or family members to live in the U.S., contact Law Offices of Nicholas Lowry and we can evaluate your options and complete all necessary paperwork for you.  Let Law Offices of Nicholas Lowry help you and your family to achieve your American dreams!