How to Apply for Derivative Beneficiary Status: Forms and Filing

To apply for derivative beneficiary status, you rely on the principal immigrant’s approved petition rather than filing a new one, and then submit your own green card application once a visa number is available for that petition’s priority date and category. If you’re the spouse or unmarried child under 21 of someone being sponsored through a family-preference or employment-based petition, federal law under 8 U.S.C. § 1153(d) entitles you to the same classification and place in line as the principal, provided you accompany or follow to join them.¹ Your entire case is tethered to the principal’s, so every step below runs through that petition.

Who Can Apply as a Derivative

You qualify if you are the spouse or unmarried child under 21 of the principal beneficiary at the time a visa is issued or status is adjusted. The relationship must have existed before the principal became a lawful permanent resident, and it must still exist when you seek your own green card.² A natural child born after the principal’s admission still qualifies, so long as the parents’ marriage predated the principal’s permanent residence.

Derivative status is available in both family-preference and employment-based cases. The spouse and children of the person named on an I-130 or I-140 can immigrate alongside the principal without their own separate petitions.

The Immediate Relative Boundary

If the sponsor is a U.S. citizen and you are their spouse, parent, or unmarried child under 21, there is no derivative status. Each immediate relative needs a separate I-130.³ Immediate relatives face no annual visa caps, so separate petitions don’t create the same wait.

What Can End Your Eligibility

Derivative status lives with the underlying relationship. Divorce from the principal before your green card is approved ends your eligibility with no grace period. A derivative child who marries before obtaining permanent residence loses eligibility because the statute requires the child to be unmarried.

Death of the petitioner or principal is treated differently. Under INA § 204(l), USCIS can still approve the adjustment applications of the principal and derivatives if at least one surviving beneficiary lived in the United States when the qualifying relative died and continues to reside there when USCIS decides the case. If one surviving beneficiary meets that residency requirement, all beneficiaries on the petition remain eligible. Where the petitioner died after the I-130 was approved but before adjustment, the beneficiary may request humanitarian reinstatement, which USCIS weighs against factors like family ties in the U.S., the applicant’s age and health, and government processing delays.⁴

When You Can File: Priority Date and the Visa Bulletin

You share the principal’s priority date and preference category. The priority date is the day USCIS received the underlying petition, and it sets your place in line.²

Because preference categories are capped, the Department of State publishes a monthly Visa Bulletin with two charts. The Dates for Filing chart tells you when you can submit your application, sometimes before a visa number is actually available for approval. The Final Action Dates chart tells you when USCIS or a consulate can actually issue the green card. Your priority date must come before the date shown for your category and country of chargeability on the applicable chart.

USCIS decides which chart controls at filing by looking at the Visa Bulletin in effect when the application was submitted. At final adjudication, only the Final Action Dates chart in effect at approval matters.² Filing early under Dates for Filing can unlock work authorization and travel permission while you wait.

Cross-Chargeability

If the principal was born in a country with a heavy backlog, the derivative spouse’s country of birth can sometimes shorten the wait. Federal law allows an immigrant’s visa to be charged to a spouse’s country of birth to prevent separation of husband and wife, provided that country’s allocation hasn’t been used up for the fiscal year.⁵ A similar rule lets a child be charged to a parent’s country of birth. Request cross-chargeability explicitly in your cover letter and attach marriage and birth certificates.

Keeping a Child Eligible Under the CSPA

A child who was well under 21 when the petition was filed can “age out” during a long wait. The Child Status Protection Act changes how age is calculated. Take the child’s biological age on the date a visa number first becomes available and subtract the number of days the underlying petition was pending. That result is the CSPA age.⁶

If the CSPA age is under 21, the child still qualifies, but only if the child “sought to acquire” permanent residence within one year of visa availability. In practice, that means filing Form I-485 or taking equivalent action within that year. Missing this window can end the derivative claim.⁶

If the CSPA calculation lands the child at 21 or older, the petition automatically converts to the appropriate category for an adult son or daughter, and the original priority date carries over.⁷ No new petition is required, but the new category usually carries a longer wait.

The Forms You File

Which forms you file depends on whether you’re inside the United States or abroad.

Form I-130 (the underlying petition)

Form I-130 establishes the qualifying relationship between the petitioner and the principal.⁸ Derivatives are listed on the principal’s I-130 and do not file their own. Make sure your name, date of birth, and relationship are on that petition so USCIS tracks you from the start.

Form I-485 if you are in the United States

If you are physically present in the U.S. and a visa number is available, each derivative files a separate Form I-485 to adjust to permanent resident status.⁹ USCIS allows concurrent filing of I-485 with I-130 when a visa number is immediately available at the time of filing.¹⁰ Concurrent filing is only available to applicants physically present in the United States.

While the I-485 is pending, you can apply for a work permit on Form I-765 and for advance parole on Form I-131.¹¹

Form DS-260 if you are abroad

Derivatives outside the United States complete Form DS-260, the Immigrant Visa Electronic Application, through the Department of State’s online system. Each family member submits their own DS-260. After electronic submission, upload civil documents and the Affidavit of Support through the National Visa Center’s portal.

Form I-864, Affidavit of Support

The petitioner (or a joint sponsor) files Form I-864 for every intending immigrant, including each derivative. Household income must reach at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the total household size, which counts the sponsor, all dependents, and every person being sponsored. Active-duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces sponsoring a spouse or child need only meet 100 percent.¹² If the petitioner’s income is short, a joint sponsor can file a separate I-864. Current dollar thresholds appear on Form I-864P, updated annually.

Supporting Documents

Assemble civil documents for every applicant: birth certificates showing the parent-child or spousal relationship, a valid marriage certificate, current passports, and passport-style photographs. Birth certificates for derivative children carry double weight because they establish both the relationship to the principal and the child’s age.

Fees

Each form has its own fee, and each derivative pays separately. As of 2026, the I-485 fee is $1,440 per applicant, with biometrics bundled in. Filing through a USCIS online account earns a $65 discount. Confirm every amount on the USCIS Fee Calculator before mailing, because the wrong fee gets the package rejected.

Where and How to Submit

For adjustment of status, mail the complete package to the USCIS lockbox listed on the Direct Filing Addresses page for Form I-485. The correct address depends on your eligibility category and the underlying petition.⁹ Package the principal’s and all derivatives’ applications together so USCIS can process the family as a unit.

For consular processing, submit the DS-260 electronically and upload supporting documents through the National Visa Center. Save the confirmation page and case number, and keep copies of everything you upload.

Once your filing is accepted, USCIS issues Form I-797C, Notice of Action, as a receipt with the number you use to check case status online.¹³

After You File

Biometrics

USCIS schedules each derivative for a biometrics appointment at an Application Support Center. The appointment notice gives the date, time, and location.¹⁴ USCIS collects fingerprints, a photo, and a signature. Skipping the appointment without rescheduling can stall the case.

Medical Examination

Every derivative needs a medical exam. Adjustment applicants use a USCIS-designated civil surgeon inside the United States, who completes Form I-693 and returns it in a sealed envelope. Do not open it. Submit the sealed envelope to USCIS yourself.¹⁵ Consular applicants use a panel physician designated by the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Civil surgeon fees are not standardized and typically run between $150 and $650 depending on location, vaccinations needed, and provider pricing.

The Interview

USCIS or a consular officer interviews each applicant to verify the application and confirm eligibility. Bring original versions of every document you submitted as a copy: birth certificates, marriage certificate, passports, financial records, and the Affidavit of Support. Expect questions about your relationship to the principal, your immigration history, and admissibility. The officer can approve, request more evidence, or deny. If you receive a request for evidence, respond by the stated deadline.

Public Charge

USCIS applies the public charge test to every applicant, including derivatives, and looks at the totality of the circumstances: employment history, education and skills, household income, assets, health, age, and a sufficient Affidavit of Support.¹⁶ Past receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance counts against you; a history of unemployment alone does not. For children, officers consider whether any government-funded institutionalization was temporary or beyond the family’s control. The strongest protection against a public charge finding is a properly completed I-864 showing household income above the applicable poverty threshold.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1153 – Allocation of Immigrant Visas
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part A Chapter 6 – Adjudicative Review
3
U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 9 FAM 502.2 – Family-Based IV Classifications
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7 Part A Chapter 9 – Death of Petitioner or Principal Beneficiary
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1152 – Numerical Limitations on Individual Foreign States
6
Congress.gov. Public Law 107-208 – Child Status Protection Act
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 6 Part B Chapter 2 – General Eligibility Requirements
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-485 – Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Concurrent Filing of Form I-485
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Form I-864 – Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
16
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8 Part G Chapter 9 – Adjudicating Public Charge Inadmissibility