F2A / F2BSpouse or child of a permanent resident

Overview

A permanent resident (green card holder) may file Form I-130 for a spouse, for unmarried children under 21, and for unmarried sons and daughters of any age. The category for married sons and daughters (third preference) is only for children of U.S. citizens.^[1]

These relatives make up the family second preference: F2A for spouses and unmarried children under 21, F2B for unmarried sons and daughters 21 or older. By law, the second preference receives up to 114,200 visas a year, plus any amount by which the family-sponsored worldwide level exceeds 226,000 and any numbers the first preference does not use; at least 77 percent of them go to F2A.^[2,8]

Each country is also held to 7 percent of all preference visas, but a share of F2A numbers is exempt from that per-country limit. Those visas are issued under the FX symbols (FX1 to FX3, or CX1 to CX3 for conditional residents).^[9,10]

Who it's for: the official visa symbols

Rules that can block a spouse petition

If you became a permanent resident through an earlier marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and married your new spouse within five years of getting that status, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cannot approve the petition unless you prove by clear and convincing evidence that the earlier marriage was not entered into to evade immigration law, or that marriage ended through death. A denial on this ground does not stop you from filing again once you have five years of permanent residence.^[11]

USCIS will not approve a spouse petition if the marriage took place on or after November 10, 1986, while your spouse was in exclusion, deportation or removal proceedings (or related court proceedings), unless you establish an exemption, such as the one for a marriage entered into in good faith (bona fide marriage). The exemption request must be made in writing and submitted with the Form I-130. A denial on this ground does not stop a new petition once your spouse has lived outside the U.S. for two years after the marriage.^[11]

What the I-130 needs

Fees

Each application or petition must include the correct fee unless you are exempt or eligible for a fee waiver; if the fee is incorrect, USCIS rejects it.^[7]

Waiting for a visa number

USCIS treats a visa as available when your relative's priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for F2A or F2B and their country of chargeability (usually the country of birth) in the applicable chart of the State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin. "C" means current; "U" means temporarily unavailable. For Form I-485, USCIS designates each month which of the two charts applies, usually within a week after the Visa Bulletin is published; the chart below shows the current month.^[3,15]

Cut-off dates can also move backward (visa retrogression) when more people apply in a category than there are visas available. A new supply of visa numbers becomes available when the fiscal year begins on October 1.^[3]

Children of the beneficiary, and turning 21

The child of the person you petition for gets the same category and priority date when accompanying or following to join them, whether or not named in the petition, if the child does not already qualify for an immigrant visa of their own that is immediately available. Anyone who cannot be a derivative needs a separate Form I-130.^[4,6]

◈High confidence If a child included in your spouse's petition reaches 21 before the parent's visa is issued, and the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) does not keep them a child, a separate petition is required. When the same petitioner files it, the son or daughter keeps the original priority date.^[11,16]

CSPA age is the age on the date a visa became available minus the time the petition was pending. The visa counts as available on the later of the approval date or the first day of the Visa Bulletin month whose Final Action Dates chart shows it available. The child must stay unmarried and must seek to acquire permanent residence within 1 year, for example by filing Form I-485 or submitting Part 1 of Form DS-260; USCIS may still treat the requirement as met if extraordinary circumstances caused the delay.^[16,17]USCIS returned to the Final Action Dates chart for this calculation under a policy effective August 15, 2025. Its earlier policy, which used the Dates for Filing chart in months when USCIS designated that chart, still applies only to adjustment applications pending before August 15, 2025.

If you become a U.S. citizen

◈High confidence On the date you naturalize, a valid F2 petition for your spouse, or for a child who is unmarried and still under 21 that day, is treated as approved for immediate relative status, which has no visa wait, and the child's age freezes on that date. A petition for an unmarried son or daughter over 21 converts to first preference (F1) with the same priority date, and their own children keep derivative status. Tell USCIS (before a decision) or the State Department's National Visa Center (after approval).^{[6,9,11,16,18]}This uses the child's actual age on the naturalization date. For an F2A child who is already 21 by then, the State Department converts the petition to F1, but it calculates a CSPA age instead when the petitioner lived in the First, Second, Ninth or Tenth Circuit (including California, New York and Washington State) at naturalization or at visa processing.

Children who are only derivatives on your spouse's petition (F23 or FX3) do not convert, because immediate relative status has no derivatives. The State Department's manual says the petitioner should file separate petitions for those children before naturalizing; otherwise the children lose derivative status and new petitions are needed.^[9,18]

An F2B son or daughter whose petition converted to F1 may opt out and stay in F2B if that wait is shorter. The son or daughter (not the parent) sends a signed written request to the USCIS office that approved the Form I-130.^[16]

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

If your relative 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 it is approved (as long as it has not been terminated or revoked). They must have been inspected and admitted or paroled (with limited exceptions), be physically present in the U.S. when filing, have a visa available both at filing and when USCIS decides, still have the family relationship, not be subject to a bar, be admissible or eligible for a waiver, and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.^[2]

◈High confidence Unlike immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, F2 relatives generally cannot adjust if they 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 217). INA section 245(i) can overcome these bars for some people, such as a spouse with an immigrant petition or labor certification pending before April 30, 2001; an immigration attorney can apply this to your facts.^[2,12,19]

While Form I-485 is pending, your relative may generally apply for a work permit (Form I-765) and for advance parole (Form I-131). Leaving the U.S. without advance parole generally means USCIS treats the I-485 as abandoned; people in lawful H-1, H-4, L-1, L-2 or V status have separate rules.^[2,20]

USCIS's list of what to send with Form I-485 includes the I-130 receipt or approval notice (unless filed together), two passport-style photos, a birth certificate, proof of continuous lawful status since arrival, the medical exam record (Form I-693, if applicable) and an affidavit of support (Form I-864 or I-864EZ, if required). A required Form I-693 must be filed with the I-485, or USCIS may reject the I-485.^[2]

Applying from abroad

1. 1

   Petition goes to the NVC

   If your relative lives outside the U.S. (or is 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.^[21]

2. 2

   Fees, documents, interview

   The NVC collects the visa fees and supporting documents. Once the priority date is current, the consulate schedules an interview and decides whether your relative is eligible for an immigrant visa. Tell the NVC if your relative moves, turns 21 or changes marital status.^[21]

3. 3

   Entry and Green Card

   After the visa is issued, your relative pays the USCIS Immigrant Fee 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 arrives by mail once the fee is paid.^[21]

Common mistakes

Recent policy changes

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