I-130Petition for a relative

Who counts as a child

• •For immigration purposes a "child" is unmarried and under 21; a "son" or "daughter" is married or 21 or older. A stepchild counts only if the marriage that created the step-relationship took place before the child turned 18.^[11]
• •An adopted child counts if the adoption took place before age 16 (or before 18 in certain circumstances) and you have had 2 years of legal custody of the child and 2 years of living together. The two periods do not have to be the same time, but each must add up to 2 years.^[11,12]
• •For a child born out of wedlock, no legitimation is needed when the mother petitions. When the father petitions, the child must have been legitimated under the law of the father's or the child's place of residence, and the legitimation must have taken place before the child turned 18 while the child was in the legal custody of the legitimating parent or parents; if not, the father must show a genuine (bona fide) parent-child relationship that existed before the child turned 21 and while the child was unmarried.^[11,13]

When an I-130 cannot be approved

• ✕You are a green card holder who got that status through an earlier marriage to a U.S. citizen or green card holder, and you married your new spouse within 5 years of becoming a permanent resident. The petition cannot be approved unless you show by clear and convincing evidence that the earlier marriage was not entered into to evade immigration law, or the earlier marriage ended through death. A denial on this ground does not stop you from filing a new petition once you have been a permanent resident for 5 years. An immigration attorney can tell you how this applies to your facts.^[12]
• ✕You married on or after November 10, 1986, while your spouse was in exclusion, deportation or removal proceedings, or related court proceedings. The petition is denied unless an exemption applies, for example: the proceedings were terminated by an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals; your spouse has lived outside the U.S. for 2 or more years since the marriage; or you prove by clear and convincing evidence that the marriage is genuine (the bona fide marriage exemption), meaning it was entered into in good faith and under the law of the place where it took place, not to get your spouse admitted as an immigrant, and with no fee or other payment given for filing the petition other than to an attorney for preparing it. You ask for an exemption in writing with the I-130, with documents that show you qualify; no separate application or fee is needed. An immigration attorney can tell you which exemption fits your facts.^[12,14]
• ✕Your relative was previously given, or sought, immediate relative or preference status as the spouse of a U.S. citizen or green card holder through a marriage found to have been entered into to evade immigration law, or your relative's file holds substantial and probative evidence that your relative attempted or conspired to enter into such a marriage. No petition for that relative can be approved; a conviction or prosecution is not required, and it does not matter whether the relative received a benefit.^[12,15]
• ✕You were convicted of a "specified offense against a minor." A U.S. citizen or green card holder with such a conviction cannot petition unless the Secretary of Homeland Security, in sole and unreviewable discretion, determines that you pose no risk to the relative. That "no risk" determination cannot be appealed; you can seek further review with a motion to reopen or reconsider on Form I-290B.^[15,16]

• ✓Proof of your own status, such as a copy of your U.S. birth certificate, naturalization or citizenship certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) or unexpired U.S. passport; a green card holder sends a copy of the front and back of the green card.^[1]
• ✓Proof of the relationship: for a spouse, your marriage certificate and proof that any earlier marriages of you or your spouse ended; for a child, the child's birth certificate; for a parent, your birth certificate; for a brother or sister, both your and your sibling's birth certificates. Add proof of any legal name change.^[1]
• ✓For a spouse, evidence that the marriage is genuine (bona fide), such as joint ownership of property, a lease showing you live together, combined finances, birth certificates of children you had together, or sworn statements from people who know your marriage personally; plus Form I-130A.^[1]
• ✓Copies, not originals, unless the form instructions or regulations ask for originals; documents sent with the petition are not returned unless USCIS asked for the originals. A foreign-language document needs a full English translation and the translator's certification that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate.^[1,5]
• ✓Passport-style photographs, if they apply to your case; for a spouse, USCIS lists photos of both you and your spouse. For an adopted child: the adoption decree showing the adoption took place before the child turned 16 (or 18 if the sibling exception applies), evidence of 2 years of legal custody and 2 years of joint residence, and, if you or your spouse is a U.S. citizen and the child is from a Hague Adoption Convention country, evidence that the Hague process does not apply.^[1,10]

• •You naturalize: a valid petition for your spouse or unmarried child under 21 (F2A) is treated as an immediate relative petition, and one for an unmarried son or daughter 21 or older (F2B) becomes first preference (F1) with the same priority date. If the F2B wait is shorter than the F1 wait, your son or daughter may opt out and stay in F2B by sending their own signed letter to the USCIS office that approved the I-130. Notify USCIS or the State Department of your naturalization so the category is updated.^[1,6,12]
• •If you are a green card holder who plans to naturalize, the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual says to file separate petitions for children who are derivatives on your spouse's F2A petition. When you naturalize, your spouse's petition converts to immediate relative, which has no derivatives, so a child without a petition of their own loses derivative status.^[9]
• •Your relative marries: an approved petition for a U.S. citizen's child (immediate relative) or unmarried son or daughter (F1) converts to third preference (F3), keeping the priority date. If a married son or daughter's marriage legally ends, the petition converts to F1, or to immediate relative if they are under 21.^[12]

• ✕Leaving required fields blank or not signing. USCIS rejects the form if key fields are missing in Part 1 (relationship), Part 2 (your name, date of birth, mailing address and marital information) or Part 4 (the beneficiary's name, date of birth, physical address and marital information), and rejects any unsigned form.^[1]
• ✕Answering both, or neither, of Part 4 Questions 61 and 62, which say whether your relative will adjust status in the U.S. or use consular processing abroad. Choose exactly one. If the answer is incomplete, USCIS uses discretion to decide where to send an approved petition, based on your relative's most recent location, including the address on the petition.^[1]
• ✕Trying to file the I-130 and your relative's I-485 together online without an attorney or accredited representative. Online, only an attorney or accredited representative can file the two together. Otherwise, you file the I-130 online first; after you receive the acceptance notice, your relative can file the I-485 through their own online account if they meet the eligibility requirements. An I-485 filed while the I-130 is still pending still counts as concurrently filed. On paper, the two forms count as filed together when they are mailed together, with all fees and documents, to the same filing location.^[23,24]
• ✕Assuming a pending I-130 lets your relative come to or stay in the U.S. The petition gives no status, and in most cases the beneficiary of a pending or approved immigrant visa petition is not eligible for a nonimmigrant visa, although certain exceptions may apply.^[1,22]
• ✕Mailing a paper form with missing pages or pages from different editions. Make sure the edition date and page numbers show at the bottom of every page and that all pages are from the same edition (04/01/24 as of Oct. 18, 2026); otherwise USCIS may reject the form.^[1]