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Explore visasI-130Full guide

IR-2 / CR-2Child of a U.S. citizen

For the unmarried child under 21 of a U.S. citizen, including a qualifying stepchild or adopted child, and for the citizen parent who files to bring that child to live in the United States as a permanent resident (green card holder).

At a glance

How you apply
You, the U.S. citizen parent, file Form I-130. If your child is in the U.S. and eligible to adjust status, the child may file Form I-485 at the same time; if your child is abroad, the approved petition is sent for consular processing
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,2]
Wait for a visa number
None. Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which include a U.S. citizen's unmarried child under 21, are not numerically limited, so one is always available
Checked Oct 18, 2026[2,3]
Who counts as a child
An unmarried person under 21. If your child was under 21 on the day you filed Form I-130, the child's age is frozen on that date under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), as long as the child stays unmarried
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,4]
What your child gets
Permanent residence (a green card): once admitted on an immigrant visa, your child can live and work in the U.S. permanently. A stepchild becomes a conditional permanent resident if you have been married to the child's parent for less than 2 years when the child receives permanent residence; the immigrant visa class for a conditional stepchild is CR-2 High confidence
Checked Oct 18, 2026[1,3,5]
Other family members
Not on the same petition. An immediate relative has no derivative beneficiaries, so you file a separate Form I-130 for each child, and your child's own children cannot be included
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3,6]
I-130 filing fee
$675 on paper, $625 online, for each child (Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26) High confidence
Checked Oct 18, 2026[3,7]

What IR-2 and CR-2 are

High confidence IR-2 (symbol IR2) is the immigrant visa classification for the child of a U.S. citizen, an immediate relative class under section 201(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). CR-2 (symbol CR2) is the conditional version, which also falls under INA 216. Either one lets your child live in the United States as a green card holder (permanent resident).[1,3,8]

High confidence For immigration purposes, a "child" is an unmarried person under 21, and a "son" or "daughter" is a person who is married or is 21 or older. Only a child is an immediate relative. A U.S. citizen petitions for an unmarried son or daughter 21 or older in the family first preference category and for a married son or daughter in the third preference category; in those categories your son or daughter applies for the green card only when a visa becomes available.[1,6]

Official classes on this page

Classes and sections of law as listed in 22 CFR 42.11 and the State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 502.2). The State Department applies the two-year rule on the date the visa is issued; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) describes it as of the date the child receives permanent residence.
SymbolOfficial classSection of lawWhen it applies
IR2Child of U.S. CitizenINA 201(b)Your unmarried child under 21, unless the conditional rule in the next row applies
CR2Child of U.S. Citizen (Conditional Status)INA 201(b) & INA 216Your stepchild, when the marriage that made you the child's stepparent was entered into less than 2 years before the immigrant visa is issued
High confidenceChecked Oct 18, 2026[1,3,8]

Who counts as your child

What you must prove depends on how you and your child are related.

  • You must be a U.S. citizen, and your child must be unmarried and under 21. Green card holders (permanent residents) can also petition for their children, but in the family second preference category, not as immediate relatives.[6]
  • Your genetic child born in wedlock counts as your child. If you are the mother, your genetic child born out of wedlock also counts, and no legitimation is required.[1]
  • If you are the father of a child born out of wedlock, the child counts if legitimated before turning 18 while in the legal custody of the parent or parents who legitimated the child: through your marriage to the child's mother before the child turned 18, under a law of the child's place of residence or domicile that took effect before the child's 18th birthday, or under the law of a place where you resided while the child was under 18. If the child was not legitimated, you must show that you are the child's natural father and that a bona fide parent-child relationship existed before the child turned 21 and while the child was unmarried.[1,6,9]
  • A child born through assisted reproductive technology (ART) to a non-genetic gestational mother counts as her child if the law of the relevant jurisdiction recognizes her as the child's legal parent at the time of the child's birth.[1]
  • A stepchild counts as long as the marriage that created the step-relationship took place before the child turned 18, whether or not the child was born out of wedlock.[1,9]
  • High confidence An adopted child counts if the adoption took place before the child's 16th birthday (or before the 18th birthday for a birth sibling of a child adopted by the same parents, in the circumstances USCIS describes), and you had legal custody of and lived with the child for at least 2 years while the child was under 21. Legal custody must come from a formal grant by a court or other government body. The 2 years of custody and of residence do not have to be continuous or at the same time, and they are waived for certain abused children. This family-based route is generally not available to children from Hague Adoption Convention countries, and most adoption-based immigration goes through the separate orphan or Hague processes.[1,10]

Turning 21 or getting married

Turning 21 does not end your child's eligibility if the child was under 21 on the day you filed Form I-130. Under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), an immediate relative's age is frozen on the date the I-130 is filed, and there is no requirement to seek permanent residence within one year. The child must remain unmarried to qualify.[4,11]

High confidence If your child marries, the child is no longer an immediate relative. A currently valid approved petition for the child is treated as approved in the family third preference category (married son or daughter of a U.S. citizen) as of the wedding date, and the date the I-130 was properly filed becomes the priority date. Family preference categories have annual numerical limits, so your child then waits for a visa number in that category.[3,6]

What goes with Form I-130

  • Form I-130 itself, signed and with the correct fee. In Part 4 (Question 61 or 62), choose exactly one option: your child will seek adjustment of status inside the U.S. or consular processing abroad. Do not complete both questions and do not leave the section blank.[1,12]
  • Proof of your U.S. citizenship: a copy of your U.S. birth certificate, your unexpired U.S. passport, your Consular Report of Birth Abroad, your naturalization certificate or your certificate of citizenship.[1]
  • Proof of any legal name change for you or your child, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree, adoption decree or court judgment of name change. Any document in a foreign language 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 from that language into English.[1,12]
Proof of the relationship, from USCIS's page on bringing children and 8 CFR 204.2(d)(2).
If you are the child's…You also submit…
Mother (genetic mother, or non-genetic legal gestational mother)The child's birth certificate issued by civil authorities, showing your name; if your name on it differs from your name on the petition, evidence of the name change
FatherThe child's birth certificate issued by civil authorities; your marriage certificate to the child's mother; proof that any earlier marriage of yours or hers legally ended. If you did not marry the mother before the child turned 18 and the child is not legitimated, evidence of a bona fide father-child relationship before the child turned 21 or married, such as emotional and/or financial involvement in the child's life
StepparentThe stepchild's birth certificate showing the parent you are married to; your civil marriage certificate showing that you married before the child turned 18; proof that all earlier marriages of you and of the child's parent legally ended
Adoptive parentThe child's original birth certificate; the final adoption decree; evidence of 2 years of legal custody and 2 years of physical custody (time the child lived with you while you exercised primary parental control); and, if the child is from a Hague Adoption Convention country, evidence that the Hague process does not apply
High confidenceChecked Oct 18, 2026[1,6,12]

Fees

USCIS fees from Form G-1055, edition 10/07/26; State Department fees from 22 CFR 22.1. Which rows apply depends on whether your child adjusts status in the U.S. or applies through a consulate, and on the child's age.
ItemAmountWhen it applies
Form I-130$675 paper / $625 onlineOne petition for each child, on either route
Form I-485$1,440 paper / $1,390 onlineChild adjusting status inside the U.S. (general fee)
Form I-485, child under 14 filing with a parent$950 paper / $900 onlineChild under 14 who submits Form I-485 together with the Form I-485 of one parent, for example your spouse's
Form I-864 Affidavit of Support$0No USCIS filing fee for this form
Form I-765 work permit$260With a pending Form I-485 filed with a fee on or after April 1, 2024 (no fee if that 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 while Form I-485 is pending (no fee if that I-485 was filed with its fee on or after July 30, 2007, and before April 1, 2024). Form G-1055 also lists a separate Public Law 119-21 parole fee that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requires each time a person seeks parole at a port of entry, unless CBP determines that an exception applies
Immigrant visa application (State Department)$325 per personChild applying at a U.S. embassy or consulate
Affidavit of support review (State Department)$120Only when reviewed domestically
USCIS Immigrant Fee$235Child immigrating on an immigrant visa
Form I-751 (CR-2 only)$750 paper / $700 onlineRemoving the conditions on residence; $0 for a conditional resident child who files a waiver of the joint filing requirement based on battery or extreme cruelty
High confidenceChecked Oct 18, 2026[7,13]

High confidence 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. Filing online often costs $50 less. Because each child needs a separate Form I-130, petitioning for two children means two I-130 fees.[3,7]

If your child is in the U.S.

A child who is in the U.S. may be able to get a green card without leaving by filing Form I-485 (adjustment of status), either together with your Form I-130, while the I-130 is pending, or after it is approved and remains valid. The requirements include: the child was inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled (USCIS notes some limited exceptions); is physically present in the U.S. when filing; is the beneficiary of a Form I-130 that is approved, or that is pending or filed together with the I-485 and is ultimately approved; the relationship to you still exists; no applicable bar to adjustment applies; the child is admissible (or eligible for a waiver or other relief); and the child merits USCIS's favorable discretion.[2]

Several bars to adjustment do not apply to an immediate relative child: having worked without authorization or otherwise violated the terms of a nonimmigrant admission, not being in lawful status on the filing date, having failed to keep lawful status continuously since entry, and having been admitted as a visitor under the Visa Waiver Program. Other bars still apply, for example to someone who was not admitted or paroled after inspection, entered in transit without a visa, or arrived as a crew member, unless they establish eligibility under INA 245(i).[14]Grounds of inadmissibility are a separate question from these bars. An immigration attorney can check both against your child's history.

Your child's I-485 package includes, among other documents, a copy of the Form I-797 receipt or approval notice for your I-130 (unless the two are filed together), Form I-864 or I-864EZ Affidavit of Support and, if required, Form I-693, the medical examination record, which must be submitted with the I-485 or USCIS may reject the application. While the I-485 is pending, your child can generally apply for a work permit on Form I-765 and for an advance parole travel document on Form I-131. Leaving the U.S. without advance parole while the I-485 is pending generally means USCIS treats the application as abandoned.[2]

If your child is abroad

  1. Petition goes to the National Visa Center

    When Form I-130 is approved and your child lives outside the U.S. (or lives in the U.S. but wants to apply for the immigrant visa abroad), USCIS sends the approved petition to the State Department's National Visa Center (NVC). At the visa stage, the consular officer must also be satisfied that your child has the relationship claimed in the petition.[5,15]

  2. Fees, documents, interview

    The NVC collects the visa application fees and supporting documents. The consular office then schedules an interview and decides whether your child is eligible for an immigrant visa. Contact the NVC if your child's address or marital status changes, or if your child was under 21 and has now turned 21.[5]

  3. Arrival and green card

    After the visa is issued, the USCIS Immigrant Fee is paid online; USCIS encourages paying it after picking up the visa and before leaving for the U.S. At the port of entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer decides whether to admit your child as a permanent resident. USCIS mails the green card after admission, and only once the fee is paid.[5,16]

CR-2: conditional residence and Form I-751

High confidence If you petition for a stepchild and have not been married to the child's parent for 2 years when the child receives permanent residence, the child becomes a conditional permanent resident. A conditional permanent resident has the same rights and duties as other permanent residents unless otherwise specified, including the right to apply for naturalization if otherwise eligible. In its K-3/K-4 guidance, USCIS describes the green cards that a spouse and children receive on this conditional basis as valid for two years.[1,17,18]

High confidence If your spouse and the child became conditional residents at the same time or within 90 days of each other, the child can be included in your spouse's Form I-751, which you and your spouse file jointly during the 90-day period immediately before the conditional residence expires. A child who became a permanent resident more than 90 days after your spouse files a separate Form I-751; a child filing a separate joint petition with you as the stepparent may file at any time before the conditional status expires. If the child's petition is not filed in time, USCIS says the child's status will be terminated and the child may be subject to removal from the U.S. USCIS's Form I-751 checklist asks for an explanation of the reason if a petition is filed late.[1,19]

Your other children and your child's own children

High confidence Nobody comes along on an IR-2 petition. A child of someone approved as an immediate relative cannot get derivative status and needs a separate approved petition, so you file one Form I-130 for each of your children. If you are also petitioning for your spouse, you must file a separate I-130 for each child you and your spouse share, including stepchildren and adopted children, and include a copy of the receipt notice for your spouse's I-130 with each one. Once your child is a permanent resident, your child may petition for their own unmarried children under 21, in the family second preference category.[1,6,12]

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 child while I was a green card holder. What happens when I become a citizen?

High confidence A currently valid petition you filed as a permanent resident for your unmarried child under 21 (family second preference) is treated as approved for immediate relative status on the date you naturalize. If your child is under 21 on that date, the child's age freezes on the date you became a citizen, so the child becomes an immediate relative (IR-2) and will not age out, as long as the child stays unmarried. To update the classification, notify USCIS of your naturalization if it has not yet decided the I-130, or the National Visa Center (NVC) if USCIS has already approved it. The conversion applies only to a petition filed for the child. A child who was listed only as a derivative on your petition for your spouse loses that status when you naturalize, because the spouse's petition becomes an immediate relative (IR-1) petition and immediate relatives have no derivatives; you then file a new Form I-130 for the child as IR-2.[3,4,6,11,12]Different rules apply when the child was already 21 on the date you naturalized, and in some states they depend on federal appeals court decisions; an immigration attorney can apply them to your case.

My child is in the U.S. on a student or visitor visa. Can the child apply for a green card without leaving?

High confidence Possibly. A child who was inspected and admitted, is physically present in the U.S. and meets the other requirements can file Form I-485, together with your Form I-130 if you have not filed it yet. As an immediate relative, your child is not barred from adjustment just because the child is out of lawful status on the filing date, has not kept lawful status continuously since entry, or has worked without authorization. The child must still be admissible to the U.S. (or eligible for a waiver or other relief) and merit USCIS's favorable discretion.[2,14]Whether a particular entry or stay raises an admissibility or discretion question depends on the facts; an immigration attorney can apply the rules to your child's case.

I live outside the U.S. Where do I file Form I-130 for my child?

A petitioner who lives outside the U.S. can file at the USCIS Chicago lockbox or online. Because your unmarried child under 21 is an immediate relative, you may also request to file at a U.S. embassy or consulate, but only in the limited circumstances described in the USCIS Policy Manual (Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 3). USCIS changed the I-130 mail filing locations on Oct. 7, 2026, so check its Direct Filing Addresses page before you mail the petition.[12]

What happens if the I-130 is denied?

You are told the reasons for the denial, and the denial letter explains how to appeal and how much time you have to file the appeal. Appeals of a denied Form I-130 go to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) on Form EOIR-29, Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. After the appeal form and the required fee are processed, the appeal may be sent to the BIA.[1,6,20]

What if a child is abused by a U.S. citizen parent?

High confidence An unmarried child under 21 who has been abused by a U.S. citizen parent may file a self-petition for themselves on Form I-360 under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA); a child may also file after turning 21 but before 25 if the abuse was the main reason for the delay. The child must show battery or extreme cruelty during the relationship, that they live or have lived with the abusive parent, and good moral character. A child living outside the U.S. when filing must also show that the abusive parent is a U.S. government employee or a member of the U.S. armed forces, or that the abuse happened in the United States. The child's own children may be included if they are under 21 and unmarried when the self-petition is filed, and there is no filing fee for a VAWA self-petition. Help is available from the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233).[7,21]

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.Green Card for Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizen - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  3. 3.9 FAM 502.2 FAMILY-BASED IV CLASSIFICATIONSU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  4. 4.Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)USCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  5. 5.Consular ProcessingUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  6. 6.8 CFR 204.2eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  7. 7.Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 12, 2026
  8. 8.22 CFR 42.11eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  9. 9.8 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
  10. 10.Family-Based Petition Process - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  11. 11.9 FAM 502.1 IV CLASSIFICATIONS OVERVIEWU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  12. 12.I-130, Petition for Alien Relative - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  13. 13.22 CFR 22.1 - Schedule of fees for consular services (Department of State)eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  14. 14.8 CFR 245.1eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  15. 15.22 CFR 42.21eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  16. 16.USCIS Immigrant FeeUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  17. 17.K-3/K-4 Nonimmigrant Visas - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  18. 18.8 CFR 216.1eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  19. 19.I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 18, 2026
  20. 20.I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 12, 2026
  21. 21.Abused Spouses, Children and Parents - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026