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Explore visasI-130Full guide

F1Unmarried son or daughter (21 or older) of a U.S. citizen

For the unmarried sons and daughters, 21 or older, of a U.S. citizen, and for their own unmarried children under 21.

At a glance

How it works
The U.S. citizen parent files Form I-130. When a visa number is available, the son or daughter files Form I-485 if they are in the U.S. and eligible, or applies for an immigrant visa through a U.S. consulate abroad
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,2]
Who qualifies
Sons and daughters of a U.S. citizen who are 21 or older and unmarried. Someone who was married before and is now divorced or widowed counts as unmarried
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3,4]
Is there a wait?
Yes. F1 visas are numerically limited; the place in line is the priority date, the date the I-130 was properly filed
Checked Oct 18, 2026[5]
Their family
Their unmarried children under 21 can come along as derivatives (visa symbol F12) with the same priority date. F1 has no derivative status for a spouse; if the son or daughter marries, the petition becomes third preference (F3)
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,6,7]
I-130 filing fee
$675 on paper, $625 online (Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26)
Checked Oct 18, 2026[8]

Overview

A U.S. citizen may file Form I-130 for a son or daughter who is unmarried and 21 or older; this is the family first preference (F1). In immigration law a "child" is unmarried and under 21, while a "son" or "daughter" is married or 21 or older. A U.S. citizen's unmarried child under 21 is an immediate relative instead, and a married son or daughter of any age falls in the third preference (F3).[1,7]

High confidence By law, F1 receives up to 23,400 immigrant visas a year, plus any numbers not needed by the fourth preference (brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens). Preference visas are also subject to a per-country limit of 7 percent of all preference visas, so how long your son or daughter waits depends on their priority date and on the country their visa is charged to (usually the country of birth).[5,9,10]

Who it's for: the official visa symbols

From 22 CFR 42.11 and 9 FAM 502.2, with the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as printed there. An immigrant visa bears the symbol of its class. B11 and B12 are for self-petitions, covered on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) page.
SymbolWhoSection of law
F11Unmarried son or daughter (21 or older) of a U.S. citizen: the person named in the I-130INA 203(a)(1)
F12Child (unmarried, under 21) of an F11INA 203(b) & INA 203(a)(1)
B11Self-petitioning unmarried son or daughter of a U.S. citizenINA 204(a)(1)(A)(iv) & INA 203(a)(1)
B12Child of a B11INA 203(d), INA 204(a)(1)(A)(iv), & INA 203(a)(i)
Checked Oct 18, 2026[10,11]

Who counts as the parent

High confidence You must be a U.S. citizen and your son's or daughter's "parent" as the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) defines it: the relationship counts only if it fit one of the definitions of "child" in INA 101(b)(1), such as a child born in wedlock, a stepchild, a legitimated child, a child born out of wedlock or an adopted child. The age limits below therefore look back to when your son or daughter was young.[4,6]

Proof of the relationship, by type of parent

  • Mother: your son's or daughter's birth certificate showing your name. Father, if you were married to the mother: the birth certificate, your marriage certificate and proof that any earlier marriages of either parent legally ended, issued by civil authorities.[7]
  • Father of a son or daughter born outside marriage: show either that they were legitimated (for example, through your marriage to the mother) before turning 18 while in the legal custody of the legitimating parent, with the birth certificate and your marriage certificate or other civil evidence of legitimation; or that you are the natural father (the civil birth certificate showing your name) and that a real (bona fide) parent-child relationship existed while they were unmarried and under 21. For that relationship, records made at the time, such as money order receipts or cancelled checks for your support, your tax returns, school records or letters between you, are the most persuasive evidence.[4,7]
  • Stepparent: your stepson's or stepdaughter's birth certificate, a civil marriage certificate showing you married their parent before they turned 18, and proof that any earlier marriages of you and that parent ended.[7]
  • Adoptive parent: a copy of the adoption decree issued by civil authorities. The adoption must have taken place before your son or daughter turned 16 (18 if the sibling exception applies), and you must show at least 2 years of legal custody and 2 years of living together, each of which can be added up across separate periods; the law drops the 2-year requirement only for a child who was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by an adoptive parent or a family member living in the same household. If the child was from a Hague Adoption Convention country, include evidence that the Hague process does not apply.[1,2,4,7]

What else goes with the I-130

  • Form I-130, signed and with the correct fee, plus proof that you are a U.S. citizen: a copy of your U.S. birth certificate, unexpired U.S. passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship, or an original statement from a U.S. consular officer verifying that you are a U.S. citizen with a valid passport. File a separate I-130 for each son or daughter; their own children do not need one.[1,2]
  • Proof of any legal name change (yours or your son's or daughter's), and a full English translation of every foreign-language document with the translator's certification that it is complete and accurate and that they are competent to translate. If a primary civil document is not available, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may accept secondary evidence, such as school, medical or religious records issued at the time of the event; where the State Department's manual says that document is generally available in the country, you first need a letter from the registrar stating that it is not available.[1,2,7]

Fees

USCIS fees from Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26; State Department fees from 22 CFR 22.1 (eCFR current as of Oct. 1, 2026). USCIS rejects a filing that comes with an incorrect fee, so check both before paying.
ItemAmountWhen it applies
Form I-130$675 paper / $625 onlineEach petition the U.S. citizen parent files
Form I-485$1,440 paper / $1,390 onlineEach person adjusting status in the U.S., unless the under-14 rate below applies
Form I-485, under 14$950 paper / $900 onlineOnly when filed together with a parent's Form I-485
Form I-765 work permit$260While a Form I-485 filed with its fee on or after April 1, 2024, is pending; $0 if the pending I-485 was filed with its fee on or after July 30, 2007, and before April 1, 2024
Form I-131 advance parole$630 paper / $580 onlineTravel permission while Form I-485 is pending; $0 if that I-485 was filed with its fee on or after July 30, 2007, and before April 1, 2024
Immigrant visa application (State Department)$325 per personEach person applying for an immigrant visa abroad
Affidavit of support review (State Department)$120Only when the affidavit is reviewed domestically
USCIS Immigrant Fee$235Each person immigrating on an immigrant visa; paid after the visa is issued, ideally before travel
Checked Oct 18, 2026[8,12,13]

Waiting for a visa number

A visa is available to your son or daughter when their priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for F1 and their country of chargeability in the applicable chart of the State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin. Only then can they file Form I-485 in the U.S., or be scheduled for an immigrant visa interview abroad. "C" means visas are currently available to all qualified applicants in that category and country; "U" means visas are temporarily unavailable.[5,14]

For Form I-485, USCIS designates each month which chart applies, Final Action Dates or Dates for Filing, and expects to do so within a week after the Visa Bulletin is published; unless USCIS says otherwise, the Final Action Dates chart applies, and in a month when that chart shows the category current or a later date than the Dates for Filing chart, it may be used. Dates can also move backward (visa retrogression) when more people apply than there are visas; a new supply of visa numbers becomes available when the fiscal year begins on October 1. The chart below shows the current month.[5,15]

Visa Bulletin · F1 · Oct 2026

Official
ChargeabilityFinal action datevs. last monthDate for filing
All countries (incl. Taiwan)——Feb 1, 2020
China (mainland-born)——Feb 1, 2020
India——Feb 1, 2020
Mexico——Dec 1, 2008
Philippines——Apr 22, 2015

USCIS accepts the Date for filing chart for employment-based I-485 filing in Oct 2026.

F1 · Cutoff date over time (Final action date)
All countries (incl. Taiwan)China (mainland-born)India
Current2015-012015-102016-072017-042018-0223/1024/0324/0825/0125/0625/1126/0426/07
Official

Source: USCIS — When to File Your Adjustment of Status Application: October 2026 (USCIS's copy of the Visa Bulletin chart it designated) · Retrieved Oct 12, 2026

Your son's or daughter's children

A child (unmarried and under 21) of your son or daughter gets the same F1 classification and priority date, visa symbol F12, when accompanying or following to join them, whether or not named in the petition, unless the child already qualifies for an immigrant visa of their own that is immediately available. A child your son or daughter had before becoming a permanent resident can follow to join later, however much time passes, as long as they still qualify as a child.[6,7,16]

Following to join does not need a separate I-130. If your son or daughter became a permanent resident inside the U.S., they can file Form I-824 (Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition); if they got their immigrant visa abroad, they can contact the National Visa Center (NVC). The child must immigrate before your son or daughter naturalizes; otherwise your son or daughter, now a U.S. citizen, has to file an immediate relative petition for them.[1,16]

If that child turns 21 before getting a visa, the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) may still count them as a child. Their CSPA age is their age on the date a visa became available to their parent, minus the time the I-130 was pending. The visa counts as available on the later of the I-130 approval date or the first day of the Visa Bulletin month whose Final Action Dates chart shows it available.[9,17]

To keep that CSPA age, the child must stay unmarried and seek to acquire permanent residence within 1 year of the visa becoming available, for example by properly filing their own Form I-485, submitting a completed Part 1 of Form DS-260 or paying the immigrant visa fee to the State Department. A DS-260 or I-485 filed by the parent does not count for the child. If extraordinary circumstances caused the delay, the requirement may still be treated as met; an immigration attorney can run the dates for your family.[16,17]

When a petition moves into or out of F1

  • Your son or daughter marries before the visa is issued: the petition automatically becomes third preference (F3) as of the wedding date, with the same priority date, and their spouse and children can then come as F3 derivatives. If the case is with the NVC, tell the NVC about the change in marital status.[6,7,10,14]
  • A married son or daughter (F3) whose marriage legally ends, through divorce or the spouse's death: the petition automatically becomes F1 if they are over 21 (an immediate relative petition if they are under 21), with the same priority date, and in F1 their children can be derivatives.[7,10]
  • You filed as a green card holder for an unmarried son or daughter 21 or older (F2B), then became a U.S. citizen: the petition automatically becomes F1 on your naturalization date, with the same priority date. If the F2B wait is shorter than the F1 wait, your son or daughter (not you) may opt out and stay in F2B by sending a signed letter to the USCIS office that approved the I-130. Tell USCIS (before a decision) or the NVC (after approval) that you naturalized.[2,7,17]
  • You filed as a green card holder for a child (F2A) whose actual age was over 21 on the day you naturalized: the petition generally converts to F1 (or to F3 if they marry after you naturalize), keeping the priority date. The State Department's manual uses a different calculation, based on the CSPA age, if you lived within the First, Second, Ninth or Tenth Circuit of the federal appeals courts (for example in California, New York or Washington) when you naturalized or during visa processing; an immigration attorney can apply this to your dates.[16]

Applying inside the U.S. (Form I-485)

If your son or daughter is in the U.S. and a visa is immediately available, they may file Form I-485 together with your I-130, while it is pending, or after approval as long as it has not been terminated or revoked; a pending I-130 must ultimately be approved. They must have been inspected and admitted or paroled (with limited exceptions), be physically present when filing, have a visa available both at filing and when USCIS decides, still have the qualifying relationship, not be subject to a bar, be admissible or eligible for a waiver, and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.[3]

Unlike immediate relatives, F1 applicants generally cannot adjust status if they are not in lawful status on the day they file, failed to keep continuous lawful status since entry (other than through no fault of their own or for technical reasons), ever worked without authorization or otherwise violated the terms of a nonimmigrant admission, or were admitted under the Visa Waiver Program. INA section 245(i) can overcome some of these bars for certain people; an immigration attorney can tell you whether it applies.[3,18]

While Form I-485 is pending, your son or daughter may generally apply for a work permit (Form I-765) and, before any trip abroad, for advance parole (Form I-131). Leaving the U.S. without advance parole generally means the I-485 is treated as abandoned, and for someone in removal proceedings any departure does; people in lawful H-1, H-4, L-1, L-2, K-3, K-4 or V status have separate rules. A required medical exam record (Form I-693) must be sent with the I-485, or USCIS may reject it.[3,19]

Applying from abroad

  1. Petition goes to the NVC

    If your son or daughter lives outside the U.S. (or lives in the U.S. but wants to apply abroad), USCIS sends the approved petition to the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC). It stays there until an immigrant visa number is available.[14]

  2. Fees, documents, interview

    The NVC collects the visa fees and supporting documents and notifies you both when a visa number is about to become available. Once the priority date is current, the consulate schedules an interview and decides whether your son or daughter is eligible for an immigrant visa.[14]

  3. Entry and Green Card

    After the visa is issued, your son or daughter pays the USCIS Immigrant Fee (USCIS encourages paying before departure) and gives the unopened visa packet to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the port of entry. If admitted, they are a permanent resident, and the Green Card is mailed once the fee is paid.[13,14]

Common mistakes

  • For a case being processed abroad: not telling the NVC about a new address, a change in marital status, or a child turning 21. USCIS notes these changes may affect eligibility or visa availability; for F1, a marriage moves the case to F3.[7,14]
  • Leaving Part 4 of the I-130 blank, or answering both Question 61 and Question 62. That part records whether your son or daughter will adjust status inside the U.S. or go through consular processing abroad, and you must choose only one. If it is not filled out completely and accurately, USCIS decides at its discretion whether to send the approved petition to the NVC or keep it, based on where your son or daughter appears to be living.[2]
  • Not applying within a year after the notice that a visa is available. The State Department must terminate the registration of anyone who fails to apply for the immigrant visa within one year of that notice, and must reinstate it if the person shows, within two years of the notice, that the failure was due to circumstances beyond their control.[9]

Recent policy changes

Recent policy changes

Official

Updates

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa

Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa

Answers come from our sourced database and your own timeline, sorted into fact, public data, inference and unknown. No AI model is used in this version, so questions outside what we cover get an honest "not covered".

Questions people ask

I filed for my daughter as a U.S. citizen when she was 17. Does she become F1 when she turns 21?

No, as long as she stays unmarried. A petition a U.S. citizen files for a child under 21 is an immediate relative petition, and the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) freezes her age on the date the I-130 was filed, so she does not age out. If she marries, the petition becomes third preference (F3) instead.[7,17]

My son is divorced. Does he count as unmarried?

Yes. Immigration law defines "unmarried" as not married at the time, whether or not previously married, so a divorced or widowed son or daughter 21 or older can be the beneficiary of an F1 petition. If you had already filed for him as a married son (F3), that petition becomes F1 automatically when the marriage legally ends, with the same priority date.[4,7]

Can my son or daughter live or work in the U.S. while waiting?

High confidence Not because of the I-130: filing or approving it gives your relative no immigration status or benefit. A work permit based on the green card case requires a pending Form I-485, and filing the I-485 requires an available visa. Being out of lawful status or working without authorization can later bar an F1 relative from adjusting status in the U.S.; an immigration attorney can review their situation.[2,3,18]

I am a U.S. citizen living abroad. Where do I file?

High confidence By mail to the USCIS Chicago lockbox, or online. Filing at a U.S. embassy or consulate is possible only in certain limited circumstances and only for immediate relatives (a spouse, an unmarried child under 21, or a parent), so it does not cover an F1 petition.[2]

How long will my son or daughter wait?

It depends on the demand for and supply of F1 visas, the per-country limits and their priority date, so it differs by country. The Visa Bulletin chart on this page shows this month's F1 cut-off dates; it does not predict when a particular case will be reached.[5]

Related categories

Content last reviewed: Oct 18, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. 1.Bringing Children, Sons and Daughters to Live in the United States as Permanent Residents - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  2. 2.I-130, Petition for Alien Relative - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  3. 3.Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  4. 4.8 U.S.C. 1101 (INA 101) - Definitions, incl. 101(a)(15)(E), (H), (L), 101(a)(44), 101(a)(45)U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Statute · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  5. 5.Visa Availability and Priority DatesUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  6. 6.22 CFR 42.31eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  7. 7.8 CFR 204.2eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  8. 8.Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 12, 2026
  9. 9.8 U.S.C. 1153 (INA 203) — Allocation of immigrant visasOffice of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives · Statute · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  10. 10.9 FAM 502.2 FAMILY-BASED IV CLASSIFICATIONSU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  11. 11.22 CFR 42.11eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  12. 12.22 CFR 22.1 - Schedule of fees for consular services (Department of State)eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  13. 13.USCIS Immigrant FeeUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  14. 14.Consular ProcessingUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  15. 15.Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa BulletinUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  16. 16.9 FAM 502.1 IV CLASSIFICATIONS OVERVIEWU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  17. 17.Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)USCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  18. 18.8 CFR 245.1eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  19. 19.8 CFR 245.2 — Application (adjustment of status)eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026