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Explore visasI-130Full guide

F4Brother or sister of a U.S. citizen

For the brothers and sisters of a U.S. citizen who is 21 or older; the sibling's spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come along.

At a glance

How it works
You, the U.S. citizen, file Form I-130. When a visa number is available, your brother or sister applies for an immigrant visa through a U.S. consulate abroad, or files Form I-485 if they are in the U.S. and eligible
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,2]
Who can file
A U.S. citizen who is at least 21. Green card holders (permanent residents) cannot petition for siblings
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3,4]
Is there a wait?
Yes. F4 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
Your sibling's spouse (visa symbol F42) and unmarried children under 21 (F43) can generally come along as derivatives with the same priority date, without a separate I-130
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3,6,7]
What they get
Permanent resident status (a green card), which lets them live and work in the U.S. permanently
Checked Oct 18, 2026[2]
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 who is at least 21 years old may file Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a brother or sister; this is the family fourth preference (F4). A permanent resident (green card holder) cannot petition for a sibling. The age requirement in the law is on you, the U.S. citizen, not on your sibling, and your sibling may be married: the spouse of an F4 immigrant can come along.[3,4,6,9,10]

High confidence By law, F4 receives up to 65,000 immigrant visas a year, plus any numbers not needed by the first three family preferences. Preference visas are also subject to a per-country limit of 7 percent of all preference visas, so how long your sibling waits depends on their priority date and on the country their visa is charged to (usually the country of birth).[5,10,11]

Who it's for: the official visa symbols

From 22 CFR 42.11 and the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual (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.
SymbolWhoSection of law
F41Brother or sister of a U.S. citizen who is at least 21: the person named in the I-130INA 203(a)(4)
F42Spouse of an F41INA 203(a)(4) & INA 203(d)
F43Child (unmarried, under 21) of an F41INA 203(a)(4) & INA 203(d)
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3,7,11]

Who counts as your brother or sister

You and your sibling must have at least one parent in common, and you show it with both of your birth certificates. When you are related through your father, a stepparent or an adoption, more documents are needed, and in some of these cases age limits from your childhood apply, as set out below.[3,4]

Proof of the relationship, by how you are related

  • Same mother: your birth certificate and your sibling's, both showing the same mother. If her name on one certificate differs from her name on the other or in the petition, add evidence of the name change.[4]
  • Same father, both born in wedlock: both birth certificates, your parents' marriage certificate and proof, issued by civil authorities, that any earlier marriages of the parents legally ended, plus proof of any legal change of the father's name. If you have the same father but different mothers, USCIS asks for the father's marriage certificate to each mother and proof that any earlier marriages of your father or of either mother legally ended.[3,4]
  • Same father, and either of you was born outside marriage: if that child was legitimated, each way of legitimation in the rule is tied to the child being under 18 (for example, a legitimation through the parents' marriage counts only if they married before the child turned 18), and under the INA the child must also have been in the legal custody of the legitimating parent or parents at the time; send both birth certificates and the parents' marriage certificate or other civil evidence of legitimation. Otherwise, show that you are both the father's natural children, with birth certificates that show his name, and that a real (bona fide) parent-child relationship with him was established while that child was unmarried and under 21. Documents made at the time are the most persuasive, such as money order receipts or cancelled checks for the father's support, his tax returns, school records or letters between them.[4,12]
  • Through a stepparent: the stepparent's marriage certificate with the natural parent, and proof that any earlier marriages of the natural parent or the stepparent legally ended. The step relationship counts only within the age limits for a stepchild: under the INA, the marriage that created it must have taken place before the stepchild turned 18.[3,12]
  • Through adoption: the adoption decree or decrees, showing the adoption took place before the adopted child turned 16. Under the INA, the adopted child must also have been in the legal custody of, and lived with, the adopting parents for at least 2 years, or have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by an adopting parent or by a family member of that parent living in the same household. A birth sibling of such a child, adopted by the same parents, can also count if adopted before turning 18 and the other conditions are met.[3,12]

What goes with the I-130

  • Form I-130, signed, plus proof that you are a U.S. citizen: a copy of your valid U.S. passport, U.S. birth certificate, 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. USCIS rejects an unsigned form.[1,3]
  • Choose exactly one option in Part 4 of Form I-130 (Question 61 or 62): adjustment of status inside the U.S. or consular processing abroad. Do not complete both questions or leave the section blank. If the choice is missing or incomplete, USCIS uses its discretion: it generally sends an approved petition to the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC) when your sibling's address on the petition is outside the U.S., and generally keeps it for adjustment of status when that address is in the U.S. and your sibling appears eligible to adjust.[1]
  • Proof of any legal name change for you or your sibling (such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, adoption decree or court judgment of name change), 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 document is not available, secondary evidence may be accepted; USCIS checks the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual to see whether such documents are generally available in the country of issue.[1,3,13]

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 onlineOne petition for each brother or sister; it covers their spouse and unmarried children under 21
Form I-485$1,440 paper / $1,390 onlineEach person adjusting status in the U.S., including the spouse and each child, 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. If approved, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also charges a separate Immigration Parole Fee (Pub. L. 119-21) each time you seek parole at a port of entry, unless it finds an exception applies
Immigrant visa application (State Department)$325 per personEach person applying for an immigrant visa abroad, including the spouse and each child
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[3,8,14,15]

Waiting for a visa number

A visa is available to your brother or sister when their priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for F4 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.[2,5]

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.[5,16]

An approved F4 petition stays valid for as long as the sibling relationship and your status as established in the petition (a U.S. citizen) continue, unless it is terminated under INA 203(g) (see Common mistakes below) or revoked under the rules in 8 CFR part 205.[4]

Visa Bulletin · F4 · Oct 2026

Official
ChargeabilityFinal action datevs. last monthDate for filing
All countries (incl. Taiwan)——Nov 1, 2011
China (mainland-born)——Nov 1, 2011
India——Feb 1, 2007
Mexico——Apr 30, 2001
Philippines——Mar 22, 2009

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

F4 · Cutoff date over time (Final action date)
All countries (incl. Taiwan)China (mainland-born)India
Current2005-102006-072007-052008-032009-0123/1024/0324/0825/0125/0625/1126/0426/07
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 sibling's spouse and children

Your brother's or sister's spouse (visa symbol F42) and each child (unmarried and under 21, visa symbol F43) get the same F4 classification and priority date when accompanying or following to join them, whether or not named in the petition and without a separate petition, unless they already qualify for an immigrant visa of their own that is immediately available.[4,6,11]

What counts is when the family relationship began. A spouse or child your brother or sister had before becoming a permanent resident, or a child later born of a marriage that already existed then, is entitled to derivative status and the same priority date however much time passes before they immigrate, within the limits below. A spouse or child acquired through a marriage after your sibling became a permanent resident is not a derivative. A family member issued an immigrant visa within 6 months of your sibling's visa or adjustment of status counts as accompanying, but may not arrive in the U.S. before your sibling.[17]

Family members who do not immigrate at the same time can follow to join later, without a separate I-130 and without waiting extra time for a visa number, as long as the relationship existed when your sibling became a permanent resident and still exists. If your sibling adjusted status in the U.S., they can file Form I-824 (Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition); if they are in the U.S. and have not yet filed their own I-485, they can file an I-824 for a spouse or child abroad together with it; if they got the immigrant visa abroad, they can contact the NVC. The family member must immigrate before your sibling naturalizes, and loses the basis to follow if your sibling dies or loses status or the relationship ends; a child also loses it at 21 (unless the Child Status Protection Act, CSPA, applies) or on marrying.[3,17]

If a child turns 21 before getting a visa, the CSPA may still count them as a child. Their CSPA age is their age on the date a visa became available to your brother or sister (their parent), minus the time your I-130 was pending, and it must be under 21; 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. To keep that 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 their own Form DS-260, paying the immigrant visa fee to the State Department or having a Form I-824 properly filed for them (a DS-260 or I-485 filed by the parent does not count). A child who misses that year may still qualify by showing the delay was the result of extraordinary circumstances (for USCIS, a discretionary decision); an immigration attorney can run the dates for your family.[10,17,18]

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

If your brother or sister 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.[9]

Unlike immediate relatives, F4 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.[9,19]

A spouse or child in the U.S. files their own Form I-485 as a derivative: together with your sibling's I-485 or while it is pending (as long as it is ultimately approved), or later if your sibling is still a permanent resident and they were already the spouse or child when your sibling's I-485 was approved or when your sibling was admitted on an immigrant visa. They must currently be the spouse or child, include a document showing the relationship such as a marriage or birth certificate, be physically present in the U.S. when filing, and meet the same entry, visa availability, bar, admissibility and discretion requirements.[9]

While Form I-485 is pending, each applicant 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. Your sibling's I-485 package lists, among other things, proof of continuously maintained lawful status since arrival and an Affidavit of Support (Form I-864 or I-864EZ) if required; a required medical exam record (Form I-693) must be sent with the I-485, or USCIS may reject it.[9,20]

Applying from abroad

  1. Petition goes to the NVC

    If your brother or sister lives outside the U.S. (or lives in the U.S. but wants to apply abroad), USCIS sends the approved petition to the NVC. It stays there until an immigrant visa number is available.[2]

  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 brother or sister is eligible for an immigrant visa.[2]

  3. Entry and green card

    After the visa is issued, each immigrant 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.[2,15]

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 F4, a spouse your sibling marries before becoming a permanent resident can come as a derivative, while a child who marries, or turns 21 without CSPA protection, can no longer come as one.[2,17]
  • 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.[10]

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 have a green card. Can I file for my brother?

Not yet. Permanent residents may not petition for siblings; only a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 can. Once you naturalize, and if you are 21 or older, you can file an I-130 for him in F4.[3,4]

My sister is married and has children. Can her husband and kids come too?

Yes. Her husband (visa symbol F42) and her children who are unmarried and under 21 (F43) are entitled to derivative status with her priority date, whether or not they are named in the petition and without separate I-130s, unless they already qualify for an immigrant visa of their own that is immediately available. This covers a spouse or child she has before becoming a permanent resident; a spouse from a marriage after that is not a derivative.[3,6,17]

Can my brother visit or live in the U.S. while the petition is pending?

Not on the basis of the I-130. Filing or approving it gives your brother no immigration status or benefit, and USCIS says there is no avenue for a sibling to enter the U.S. ahead of immigrating on the basis of a pending I-130. USCIS adds that, in most instances, the beneficiary of a pending or approved immigrant visa petition will not be eligible for a nonimmigrant visa, although certain exceptions may apply.[1,3]

My brother's daughter is married. Can she come with him?

High confidence Not as his derivative: only your brother's spouse and his unmarried children under 21 can come along with him. Once he is a permanent resident, the rules let him petition for a spouse, a child or an unmarried son or daughter; a petition for a married son or daughter is for U.S. citizen parents (third preference, F3).[4,9]

How long will my brother or sister wait?

It depends on the demand for and supply of F4 visas, the per-country limits and their priority date, so it can differ by country. The Visa Bulletin chart on this page shows this month's F4 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.I-130, Petition for Alien Relative - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  2. 2.Consular ProcessingUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  3. 3.Bringing Siblings to Live in the United States as Permanent Residents - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  4. 4.8 CFR 204.2eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 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. 7.22 CFR 42.11eCFR (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.Green Card for Family Preference Immigrants - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  10. 10.8 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
  11. 11.9 FAM 502.2 FAMILY-BASED IV CLASSIFICATIONSU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  12. 12.8 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
  13. 13.8 CFR 204.1eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  14. 14.22 CFR 22.1 - Schedule of fees for consular services (Department of State)eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  15. 15.USCIS Immigrant FeeUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  16. 16.Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa BulletinUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  17. 17.9 FAM 502.1 IV CLASSIFICATIONS OVERVIEWU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  18. 18.Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)USCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  19. 19.8 CFR 245.1eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  20. 20.8 CFR 245.2 — Application (adjustment of status)eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026