Citizens and green card holders file Form I-130 for children and sons and daughters. The category, and the wait, depends on the petitioner's status and the child's age and marital status.
Citizens: children under 21 and sons and daughters, married or not. Green card holders: children under 21 and unmarried sons and daughters.
Unmarried children under 21 of citizens are immediate relatives. Others fall in F1, F2A, F2B or F3 and wait for a visa under the Visa Bulletin.
Genetic children, stepchildren if the marriage was before age 18, children born via ART to a legal gestational mother, and qualifying adopted children.
A citizen's unmarried child under 21 in the U.S. may file Form I-485 with the I-130. Other children file once a visa becomes available.
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents file Form I-130 for a child, son or daughter. USCIS defines a child as an unmarried person under 21. A son or daughter is 21 or older, or married. The category depends on the petitioner's status and the beneficiary's age and marital status.
Unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens are immediate relatives. Other beneficiaries fall in F1, F2A, F2B or F3 and wait for a visa. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) freezes an immediate relative's age on the date the I-130 is filed and gives preference children a formula for a CSPA age, as long as they stay unmarried.
There is no visa category for married children of green card holders. If a green card holder's unmarried son or daughter marries before immigrating or adjusting status, USCIS denies or automatically revokes the petition.
General information based on USCIS and other government guidance. Eligibility depends on each client’s facts; this is not legal advice.
A child turning 21 or marrying can change or end the category, so staff must watch ages and Visa Bulletin dates for years.
How Prima.Law helps: Priority date tracking and saved Case Management Board views keep preference cases visible, and USCIS receipt alerts flag status changes on each child's case.
Stepchildren, adopted children and children of fathers born out of wedlock each need different proof, from adoption decrees to bond evidence.
How Prima.Law helps: A detailed, proven child petition checklist built and maintained by active immigration lawyers lists the records for each type of child. Clients upload to it in the portal and staff mark items complete.
Families with several children need a separate I-130 for each, repeating petitioner details and inviting typos across filings.
How Prima.Law helps: Data is prepared once in Prima.Law and the Chrome extension autofills each USCIS online I-130. If the site is slow, times out or goes down, the data stays safe in Prima.Law and is sent again, not retyped.
Track the priority date on each F1, F2A, F2B and F3 case so your team knows when a visa is available and the next filing can begin.
Checklists cover birth certificates, marriage and legitimation records, stepparent marriage proof, and adoption decrees with custody evidence.
Autofill fills I-130 from petitioner and beneficiary profiles. Send the data to the USCIS online form with the Chrome extension, then review and submit.
Smart Interviews collect the child's history from parents on any device, and answers import straight into the contact profile and forms.
The parent files Form I-130 with proof of status and of the parent-child relationship for each child.
USCIS reviews the relationship evidence and the petitioner's status, then issues a decision.
Immediate relative children have a visa always available. Preference cases wait until the Visa Bulletin shows a visa available.
Children in the U.S. file Form I-485 when eligible. Children abroad go through consular processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate.
Petitions by U.S. citizens age 21 or older for a mother or father.
Form I-485 green card applications under INA 245(a), with I-864 and I-693.
National Visa Center steps from case creation to the immigrant visa interview.
All family immigration case types in Prima.Law.
Book a demo and see how Prima.Law handles I-130 for Children cases.