How to fill in Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative, USA)

What the form is for

Form I-130 proves a family relationship between you and your relative. It is filed by the petitioner, the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, and not by the relative. A separate I-130 is needed for each relative. Approval does not make your relative a permanent resident and does not let them move to the U.S. at once. It is only the first step.

You can file online with a USCIS account or on paper. A paper petition goes to a USCIS lockbox (see "Who needs it"). USCIS may ask for more evidence, call you to an interview, or ask you to give fingerprints and a photo at an Application Support Center. It tells you its decision in writing.

The USCIS page gives no processing time for the I-130: use its "Check Case Processing Times" tool. How long a relative waits for a visa afterwards depends on the family category. Immediate relatives (spouse, unmarried child under 21 and parent of a U.S. citizen) always have a visa available. For the other categories only a limited number of visas are given each year, in the order petitions were filed.

Who needs it

Who can file for whom (from the official Form I-130 instructions, edition 04/01/24):

• If you are a U.S. citizen you can file for your spouse, your unmarried children under 21, your unmarried sons and daughters aged 21 or older, your married sons and daughters of any age, your brothers and sisters (you must be 21 or older) and your mother or father (you must be 21 or older).
• If you are a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) you can file only for your spouse, your unmarried child under 21 and your unmarried son or daughter aged 21 or older. There is no category for married children of green card holders: if your son or daughter marries before immigrating, USCIS denies or cancels the petition.
• Non-citizen U.S. nationals (for example born in American Samoa or Swains Island) have the same rights as green card holders. The instructions say to tick "Lawful Permanent Resident" in Part 2, item 36, and leave the A-Number in item 1 empty.
• Derivative beneficiaries do not need their own petitions; list them in Part 4. If you are a citizen and file for an unmarried son or daughter aged 21 or older, a married son or daughter or a brother or sister, they are your relative's spouse (citizen petitions only) and your relative's unmarried children under 21. If you are a green card holder, only your relative's unmarried children under 21 count.
• If you file for your spouse, your spouse must also complete and sign Form I-130A (Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary), submitted together with the I-130. If your spouse is abroad, the I-130A is still required but does not have to be signed.
• You may not file for grandparents, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, cousins or parents-in-law. There are also limits for some adoptions and step-relations, for a spouse you married when you were not both at the ceremony, and for a spouse if your own green card came through an earlier marriage (the instructions list the exceptions). If one of these may apply to you, read "Who May Not File" in the instructions.
• Fee (Form G-1055, edition 10/26/26): $675 for a paper petition, $625 if you file online. A paper filing is paid by credit card (Form G-1450) or from a bank account (Form G-1650), unless you qualify for an exemption (Form G-1651); a wrong fee gets the petition rejected. Check the fee schedule again before you send it, because it changes.
• Where to send a paper petition: a USCIS lockbox in Chicago or Phoenix, depending on the state where you live and on whether your relative is filing Form I-485 at the same time. The USCIS page "Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-130" has the full list. USCIS changed the filing locations on 7 October 2026 and accepts petitions sent to the old place if postmarked by 9 November 2026. If you live abroad you can file at the Chicago lockbox or online, and in limited cases a U.S. citizen can ask to file at a U.S. embassy or consulate for a spouse, an unmarried child under 21 or a parent.

Before you start

• Proof of your status. U.S. citizen: a copy of your birth certificate issued in the U.S., naturalization or citizenship certificate, consular birth report (FS-240) or unexpired U.S. passport. Green card holder: a copy of the front and back of your Permanent Resident Card (I-551).
• Proof of the relationship. Spouse: marriage certificate and papers showing that any earlier marriage of either of you ended. Child: birth certificate (for a father, also the parents' marriage certificate). Sibling: both birth certificates showing a common parent. The instructions list what to send for each case.
• Spouse petitions: two identical color passport-style photos (2 by 2 inches) of you and two of your spouse if he or she is in the U.S., taken within 30 days of filing. Write your name lightly on the back. Add proof that the marriage is real, such as a shared lease, joint accounts or children's birth certificates.
• For a spouse: a completed Form I-130A.
• A full English translation of every document in another language, with the translator's signed certificate that it is complete and accurate and that he or she can translate. Also send papers showing a name change (marriage certificate, court order) if a name on a document differs from the one you write.
• Copies, not originals, unless USCIS asks. If an attorney or accredited representative helps you, add Form G-28. Optional: Form G-1145 to get an e-mail or text when USCIS accepts the petition.

Section by section

Here is what each part asks, in plain words, in the order it appears.

1. 1

   Part 1: Relationship

   Item 1: tick one box for who your relative is to you: Spouse, Parent, Brother/Sister or Child. Items 2 to 4 are only for a child or parent, a sibling, or adoption: how you are related (born in or out of marriage, stepchild, adopted), whether you are related by adoption, and whether you got your own green card or citizenship through adoption.

2. 2

   Part 2: Information about you (the petitioner)

   Your A-Number (only if you have one), USCIS online account number (only if you ever filed online) and U.S. Social Security number (if you have one), your full name, other names you used, city and country of birth, date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy) and sex. Then your mailing address, whether it is the same as where you live, and your physical addresses for the last five years, current one first, with dates. Then how many times you have been married, your current marital status, the date and place of your marriage and the names of your current and earlier spouses with the date each marriage ended.

3. 3

   Part 2 (continued): your parents, your status and your work

   Name, date of birth, sex, country of birth and residence of your two parents. Then tick U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (item 36). Citizens say how they acquired citizenship (birth in the U.S., naturalization or parents) and give the certificate number, place and date if they have one. Green card holders give their class of admission, date and place of admission and whether the card came through marriage to a citizen or green card holder. Finally your employment for the last five years, current job first. If you do not work, write "Unemployed" in item 42.

4. 4

   Part 3: Biographic information (about you)

   Ethnicity (one box), race (all that apply), height in feet and inches (do not use metres or centimetres), weight in pounds (write 000 if you do not know it), eye colour and hair colour. Giving it here may shorten your fingerprint appointment at the USCIS Application Support Center.

5. 5

   Part 4: Information about your relative (the beneficiary)

   Their A-Number, online account number and Social Security number (if any), full name, other names, place and date of birth, sex and whether anyone ever filed a petition for them (Yes, No, or Unknown only if neither of you knows). Then their physical address, the address where they plan to live in the U.S. and their address abroad (write SAME if it is the same), phone and e-mail, marital status, date and place of their marriage, their spouses and the spouse and children they may bring (up to five people). If they were ever in the U.S., give the class of admission, I-94 number and dates. Then their passport details, their current employer, and whether they were ever in immigration proceedings.

6. 6

   Part 4 (continued): name in their own alphabet, last address together, and where they will go

   If their language does not use Roman letters, write their name and address in it too (items 57 and 58). For a spouse, the last address where you lived together, or write "Never lived together" (item 59). Then choose only one: item 61 if your relative is in the U.S. and will apply for a green card at a USCIS office there (adjustment of status), or item 62 if he or she will apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. USCIS says that leaving both empty or filling both can cause problems.

7. 7

   Part 5: Other information

   Say whether you have ever filed a petition for this relative or for anyone else. If Yes, give the name, place, date of filing and result. Then list any other relatives you are filing separate petitions for, and your relationship to them.

8. 8

   Parts 6, 7 and 8: Your statement, interpreter and preparer

   Part 6: tick whether you read and understood English, or an interpreter read the form to you (Part 7), and whether a preparer filled it in (Part 8). Give your daytime phone, mobile phone and e-mail. Then sign in ink and date it: a typed or stamped name is not accepted and an unsigned petition is rejected. Part 7 is for the interpreter and Part 8 for the person who prepared the form, with their own signature.

9. 9

   Part 9: Additional information

   Use it when an answer does not fit. Write your name and A-Number at the top, the page, part and item number of each answer, and sign and date each extra sheet. Use it also to explain an approximate date.

10. 10

    How to write the answers

    Use black ink or type. Write dates as month/day/year. If a question does not apply, write "N/A"; if the answer is zero, write "None". If you do not have an exact date, give an approximate one and explain it in Part 9.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting to sign

  USCIS rejects a petition with no handwritten signature, or with a typed or stamped name. A scan or photocopy of the original signed form counts.

• Sending the wrong fee

  Check the current amount in Form G-1055 (paper $675, online $625 at the last check). If the fee is incorrect, the petition is rejected.

• Forgetting Form I-130A for a spouse

  When the beneficiary is your spouse, the signed I-130A must go in the same package (the beneficiary does not have to sign if abroad), plus the photos.

• Filling both item 61 and item 62

  Choose only one: adjustment of status in the U.S. (61) or a visa abroad (62). Leaving both empty or filling both can cause problems.

• Sending the petition to the wrong lockbox

  The address depends on where you live, whether your relative files an I-485 together with it, and, since 7 October 2026, on the new locations. Check the USCIS page on the day you send it.

• Filing for a married child as a green card holder

  There is no visa category for the married children of green card holders, so the petition is denied or cancelled if the child marries before immigrating.

• One petition for several relatives

  File a separate I-130 for each relative, except your relative's own spouse (citizen petitions only) and unmarried children under 21, who come as derivative beneficiaries (listed in Part 4).

• Missing the proof of status, the proof of the relationship or the translations

  A petition without them may be rejected or denied. Send copies of the evidence listed in the instructions and a certified English translation of every foreign-language document.

• Writing dates in the wrong order

  The form wants mm/dd/yyyy, month first. 11 March 1986 is 03/11/1986; 11/03/1986 would mean 3 November.