Family-Based Immigrant Visa: Categories, I-130, and I-864

A family-based immigrant visa lets a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident bring a close relative to live permanently in the United States. The process starts with a petition proving the family relationship, requires the sponsor to commit to supporting the immigrant financially, and ends with either a green card interview inside the U.S. or a visa interview at a consulate abroad. How long it takes depends almost entirely on the relationship: spouses, minor children, and parents of adult citizens face no annual cap and typically finish in about a year, while siblings and adult children wait years or decades for a visa number.

Who You Can Sponsor and How Fast

Federal law splits family sponsorship into two tracks, and which track applies decides everything about timing.

Immediate Relatives

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1151(b), immediate relatives are the spouses, unmarried children under twenty-one, and parents of U.S. citizens. A citizen must be at least twenty-one to petition for a parent.¹ Congress exempted this group from annual numerical limits, so a visa number is always available the moment the petition is approved. Processing typically runs about a year.

Family Preference Categories

Everyone else falls into one of the preference categories under 8 U.S.C. § 1153(a), each with a fixed annual visa allotment:²

F1, unmarried adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens: up to 23,400 visas per year.
F2A, spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents: part of a combined 114,200-visa allotment shared with F2B.
F2B, unmarried adult sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents: shares the F2A allotment.
F3, married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens: up to 23,400 visas per year.
F4, siblings of adult U.S. citizens: up to 65,000 visas per year.

A permanent resident can only sponsor a spouse or unmarried child. A citizen has broader authority, adding parents, married children, and siblings. On top of the category caps, per-country limits prevent any single nation from receiving more than 7% of the total family and employment visas issued in a fiscal year, which is why some countries have dramatically longer waits than others.³

Filing the I-130 Petition

The sponsor starts the case by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with USCIS. This document establishes that a qualifying family relationship exists. Approval alone gives the relative no immigration status; it just confirms eligibility to continue.⁴

You can file online or by mail. Online filing is generally cheaper and speeds up initial handling. Fees change periodically, so confirm the current amount at uscis.gov/g-1055 before submitting.⁵

Proving Your Status as Sponsor

Include proof that you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Acceptable documents include a U.S. birth certificate, naturalization certificate, unexpired U.S. passport, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or a copy of the front and back of a Permanent Resident Card.⁴

Proving the Family Relationship

A government-issued marriage certificate works for spousal petitions. For parent-child petitions, a birth certificate listing both parents is the standard. Include records of any name changes so officers can match identities across documents.

When primary civil documents are unavailable, USCIS accepts secondary evidence such as baptismal certificates, school records, hospital records, census records, and sworn affidavits from people with direct personal knowledge of the relationship.⁶ Affidavits should come from at least two people who are not parties to the petition and should include the affiant’s full name, address, date and place of birth, relationship to the petitioner or beneficiary, and a detailed explanation of how they know the facts they attest to. DNA testing through an AABB-accredited laboratory is another option when documents fall short; immigration-related parentage testing typically runs $525 to $625.

Every document not in English must include a certified English translation. The translator must sign a statement affirming they are competent to translate and that the translation is accurate. Professional certified translations for legal documents typically run $20 to $75 per page. A thorough initial filing reduces the chance of a Request for Evidence, which can add months to a case.

Income Requirement and the I-864 Commitment

Before an immigrant visa can be issued, the sponsor must file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. It is a legally binding contract with the U.S. government committing the sponsor to maintain the immigrant at a minimum income level.⁷ Without a sufficient affidavit, the applicant is inadmissible on public charge grounds under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(4).⁸

The 2026 Income Thresholds

Household income must equal or exceed 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the household size that will include the new immigrant. Active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces sponsoring a spouse or child only need to meet 100%.⁹ The 2026 thresholds at 125% for the 48 contiguous states are:¹⁰

Household of 2: $27,050
Household of 3: $34,150
Household of 4: $41,250
Household of 5: $48,350
Household of 6: $55,450

Alaska and Hawaii have higher thresholds. Household size counts the sponsor, dependents already in the household, and every immigrant listed on the affidavit. Sponsors must submit their most recent federal tax return, though providing three years strengthens the case, along with current proof of employment such as recent pay stubs or an employer letter.

Joint Sponsors

If your income falls short, a joint sponsor can file a separate I-864. The joint sponsor must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or U.S. national, at least eighteen, domiciled in the United States, and independently able to meet the 125% threshold for the people they are sponsoring. A joint sponsor cannot combine income with the primary sponsor to reach the threshold; they must qualify on their own. Up to two joint sponsors are allowed if the first covers only some of the family members.⁹

When the Financial Obligation Ends

The affidavit is not temporary. Your liability continues until one of four things happens: the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, is credited with forty qualifying quarters of work under Social Security, permanently departs the United States, or dies.⁹ Divorce does not end the obligation. If the sponsor dies first, the estate remains liable for any reimbursement that accrued before death. Sponsors who assume the commitment lapses when a marriage does can face a lawsuit from a government agency years later seeking repayment of benefits the immigrant received.

Two Paths After the Petition Is Approved

Once the I-130 is approved and a visa number is available, the case takes one of two paths depending on where the beneficiary is.

Adjustment of Status Inside the U.S.

Relatives already in the United States may be able to skip consular processing and apply for a green card by filing Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.¹¹

Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens can file the I-485 at the same time as the I-130, a shortcut called concurrent filing. Because immediate-relative visas have no numerical cap, a number is always available. For preference-category relatives, concurrent filing is only possible when a visa number is immediately available on the current Visa Bulletin, and only for applicants physically present in the United States.¹²

The I-485 requires a medical examination performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon. Results are submitted on Form I-693 with the I-485.¹¹

Watch for two traps while the application is pending. Leaving the United States without advance parole generally counts as abandoning the application, so filing for a green card does not by itself allow free travel. And if you want to work during the wait, you have to apply separately for an employment authorization document.¹³

Consular Processing Abroad

When the beneficiary is outside the United States, the approved I-130 goes to the National Visa Center for the next phase. The applicant pays a $325 immigrant visa processing fee and a $120 affidavit of support review fee through the Consular Electronic Application Center.¹⁴ After fees process, which takes about ten calendar days, the applicant completes the DS-260 online immigrant visa application.¹⁵

The NVC then collects civil documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, military records) and police certificates from countries where the applicant has lived.¹⁶ Before the interview, the applicant sees an embassy-approved panel physician for a medical exam that includes a physical evaluation, blood work, a chest x-ray, and vaccination review. The CDC requires proof of vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis A and B, varicella, polio, tetanus, and several others, with specific requirements varying by age.¹⁷ Laboratory proof of immunity is accepted for several diseases if vaccination records are missing. The exam typically costs $200 to $500.

At the consular interview, an officer verifies the family relationship, reviews the application, and confirms eligibility. If approved, the officer places a visa in the passport and gives instructions for paying the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee, which covers production and mailing of the physical green card.¹⁸ On arrival at a U.S. port of entry, the visa holder is admitted as a lawful permanent resident.

Reading the Visa Bulletin

If your relative falls in a preference category, the Department of State’s monthly Visa Bulletin determines when the case can move. Each applicant is assigned a priority date, which is the date the I-130 was filed. When the Final Action Date in the bulletin reaches or passes your priority date, you can finish the case.¹⁹ Immediate relatives can ignore the bulletin.

The bulletin contains two charts. The Final Action Dates chart shows when a visa can actually be issued. The Dates for Filing chart shows an earlier date that may let applicants submit their adjustment application or start NVC processing before a number is fully available. Each month, USCIS announces which chart applies for adjustment applicants: the earlier chart is allowed when more visa numbers are available than known applicants.²⁰

What the Wait Actually Looks Like

The July 2025 Visa Bulletin gives a sense of scale. For most countries outside the heavily backlogged ones, Final Action Dates were:²¹

F1, unmarried adult children of citizens: July 2016, about a nine-year wait.
F2A, spouses and minor children of permanent residents: September 2022, about a three-year wait.
F2B, unmarried adult children of permanent residents: October 2016, about a nine-year wait.
F3, married children of citizens: August 2011, about a fourteen-year wait.
F4, siblings of citizens: January 2008, about a seventeen-year wait.

Applicants born in Mexico, the Philippines, India, or mainland China wait considerably longer because of the per-country caps. F4 for Mexico was processing petitions filed in March 2001, and F3 for the Philippines was processing December 2003 filings. These dates shift by days or weeks each month, so checking regularly matters.

Protecting a Child’s Eligibility During the Wait

Long waits create a specific risk: a child listed as a beneficiary can turn twenty-one and age out of a category that requires them to be under twenty-one. The Child Status Protection Act freezes the child’s age under certain conditions.

For immediate relatives, the child’s age is frozen on the date the I-130 is filed. If the child was under twenty-one at filing and remains unmarried, they will not age out no matter how long processing takes.²²

For preference categories, the calculation is different. CSPA age equals the child’s biological age on the date a visa becomes available, minus the number of days the I-130 was pending before approval. If the result is under twenty-one, the child keeps eligibility. If it is twenty-one or older, the child may be reclassified into a lower-priority category with a longer wait.²²

Conditional Green Cards for Newer Marriages

Spouses married to the petitioner for less than two years on the day they obtain permanent resident status receive a conditional green card valid for two years. This applies to spouses of both U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.²³

To convert to full permanent residence, the couple must jointly file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, within the ninety-day window immediately before the conditional card expires. Missing this deadline has severe consequences: conditional status automatically terminates, USCIS issues a notice of failure, and removal proceedings begin. At the hearing, the burden falls on the immigrant to prove the requirements were met, not on the government to prove otherwise.²⁴ Calendar the ninety-day window the moment the conditional card arrives.

Fraud and Misrepresentation

Entering into a marriage to evade immigration laws is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine under 8 U.S.C. § 1325(c).²⁵ Compliance with state marriage requirements does not protect against a fraud finding; the Supreme Court held in Lutwak v. United States that a legally valid marriage can still constitute fraud if the parties never intended to live together as a married couple.

Any material misrepresentation on an immigration application can also produce a permanent bar from receiving a visa or being admitted to the United States. Consular officers and USCIS adjudicators are trained to spot inconsistencies in evidence and interview responses and will investigate further when something does not line up.

Sponsors and immigrants have ongoing reporting duties as well. Noncitizens must report a change of address to USCIS within ten days of moving, and sponsors who filed an affidavit of support must report their own address changes within thirty days.²⁶

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1151 – Worldwide Level of Immigration
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1152 – Numerical Limitations on Individual Foreign States
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Volume 4 – Refugees and Asylees, Part C – Relative Petitions, Chapter 4 – Documentation and Evidence
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-864 Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
10
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. While Your Green Card Application Is Pending with USCIS
14
U.S. Department of State. Fees for Visa Services
15
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Visas – Step 3: Pay Fees
16
U.S. Department of State. Step 7: Collect Civil Documents
17
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccination Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons
18
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Immigrant Fee
19
U.S. Department of State. The Visa Bulletin
20
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin
21
U.S. Department of State. Visa Bulletin for July 2025
22
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)
23
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1186a – Conditional Permanent Resident Status for Certain Alien Spouses and Sons and Daughters
24
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage
25
U.S. Department of Justice. Criminal Resource Manual 1948 – Marriage Fraud
26
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How to Change Your Address