Family-Based FAQs

If they are outside of the U.S. or do not qualify to file for an Adjustment of Status, they can file the Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. After USCIS approves their I-130 petition, it will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) for processing. Once NVC processing is complete, the case will be sent to a U.S. consulate in your spouse’s home country, where the medical examination and interview will take place. After your spouse becomes a permanent resident, they will be eligible to file for naturalization to U.S. citizenship in three years if you are still married.

If they are outside of the U.S. or do not qualify to file for an Adjustment of Status, they can file the Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. After USCIS approves their I-130 petition, it will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) for processing. Once NVC processing is complete, the case will be sent to a U.S. consulate in your spouse’s home country, where the medical examination and interview will take place. After your spouse becomes a permanent resident, they will be eligible to file for naturalization to U.S. citizenship in three years if you are still married.

The answer to this question will depend on many factors, and there is no one answer for all cases. Various laws and regulations will determine if the case is eligible for an Adjustment of Status or if the case must be processed at a consulate. 

This document an individual signs to accept financial responsibility for the applicant who is coming to live in the United States. The person who signs the document is also called the “sponsor.” If the petitioner’s income is insufficient, a joint sponsor may also agree to complete the Affidavit of Support on the applicant’s behalf. It is legally enforceable. The sponsor’s or joint sponsor’s financial responsibility usually lasts until the applicant either becomes a U.S. citizen or can be credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work (usually ten years) under the Social Security Act.

Unless you are in H-1B or L-1 status, you cannot travel outside the U.S. while your application is pending without permission from USCIS. If you do, USCIS will presume that you have elected to process your green card at a U.S. consulate and will deny the adjustment of status and send the case to the National Visa Center. You should file for advance parole travel authorization (and work authorization) concurrently with your adjustment application. Once your travel authorization is approved, you may leave the U.S. If there is an emergency and your application is still pending, you can petition USCIS to expedite your application. 

A “conditional” permanent resident visa is given when, at the time of the interview at either USCIS or a U.S. consulate, the parties have been married for less than two years. The conditional green card is valid for two years, after which its status expires. You and your spouse must file a Petition to Remove Conditions within three months of the expiration date. USCIS will want copies of documents to prove that you and your spouse are still married and residing together. If the condition is removed by USCIS, your spouse will be granted a ten green card and full permanent resident status. Your spouse will be out of status if the application is not filed. 

U.S. immigration law, known as the Immigration and Nationality Act, allows U.S. permanent residents to file for certain family members. Under the current law, green card holders can only file to sponsor their spouses or unmarried children. You must first obtain your U.S. citizenship through the naturalization process before you can sponsor your parents.

Unfortunately, under current law, your minor brother or sister will not get a green card if you file an immigrant visa petition for your parents. Parents of U.S. citizens are classified as “immediate relatives,” and there is no derivative status for minor children. After your parents obtain their green cards, your parents could file to sponsor your brother and sister. However, there will be a wait of several years before they will be able to get their green cards.

The Immigration and Nationality Act sets out the categories for family visa sponsorship. The immediate relative category is where U.S. citizens sponsor their parents, spouses, or unmarried children under 21. There is no limitation to the number of immediate relative immigrant visas that can be granted in a year, so there is no waiting period for a visa to become available. Getting a green card still requires processing by USCIS and perhaps the National Visa Center, but there is no lengthy wait for the visa to become available. Current preference categories are listed in the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin, which includes categories for married and unmarried children of permanent residents. Also, there is a category for spouses of permanent residents as well as married children of permanent residents. Finally, there is a category for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. 

While the adjustment of the status process through USCIS can be substantially shorter than processing through a U.S. consulate, not all persons who come to the U.S. on visitor visas are allowed to file for adjustment. An individual using a visitor visa to enter the U.S. must intend not to remain permanently in the U.S. and to be coming only temporarily as a visitor. If a person enters with a visitor visa but intends to stay permanently, they may be committing visa fraud. If USCIS finds a person to have committed visa fraud, they could be prevented from obtaining an immigrant visa/green card.

Yes, in most cases, dependents of the primary alien will also be given green cards. There may be special rules for children who become 21 before the visa interview. In some cases, they “age out” and are no longer considered dependents. In some cases, the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) may allow older children to receive a green card still.

A person who has been granted a green card as proof of U.S. permanent resident status must be a continuous resident of the U.S. There are two components to this. The first deals with periods of time spent outside the U.S. If a permanent resident is outside the U.S. for more than six months but less than a year, there is a presumption that they have abandoned their permanent resident status. This can be refuted by showing continued ties to the U.S., such as family, a job, and property in the U.S. If a permanent resident is gone for more than a year, they may or may not be allowed to return using the green card. The second component is the long-term history of residence. If a permanent resident only comes to the U.S. after being gone for 5 ½ months but only stays a month or less, at some point, they will be considered to have relinquished their permanent residency. To be safe, there should be no trips longer than six months, and time spent in the U.S. should be more than time spent outside the U.S.