You can help your children become legal residents
If you are a U.S. citzien or a legal permanent resident, you can help your children who are under the age of 21 and are unmarried.
You can help your children become legal residents
If you are a U.S. citzien or a legal permanent resident, you can help your children who are under the age of 21 and are unmarried.
If you are a U.S. citizen petitioning for your child (unmarried and under 21) your child may file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, at the same time that you file Form I-130
U.S. citizen petitioning for your son or daughter (married and/or 21 or over) you file Form I-130. Your son or daughter files Form I-485 when a visa becomes available. See the “Visa Bulletin” and “Green Card” links to the right.
Permanent resident (green card holder) petitioning for your child, son, or daughterYou file Form I-130. Your child, son, or daughter may file Form I-485 when a visa becomes available.
If your child, son, or daughter lives outside the United States, you file Form I-130. The petition will be sent for consular processing after it is approved and a visa is available. The U.S. Embassy or consulate will provide notification and processing information.
Conditional Residence and Removing Conditions
If you are petitioning for a step-child and have not been married to the child’s genetic parent genetic or legal gestational mother for 2 years at the time the child receives permanent residence, the child will be granted conditional permanent resident (CPR) status. Form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence is used to remove the conditional basis of permanent residence. (Note that Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card is NOT used for this purpose.)
If your spouse and child became CPRs at the same time or within 6 months, the child can be included in your spouse’s petition. If the child became a permanent resident more than 6 months after your spouse, the child will need to file a separate Form I-751.
Form I-751 must be filed within the 90-day period prior to the expiration date on the conditional resident card. If you fail to file during this time, your spouse and/or your child’s status will be terminated and they may be subject to removal from the United States. For more information, see the “How Do I Customer Guides”.
Who is Considered to be a "Child" in the Immigration Process? For immigration purposes, a child can be any of the following:
If you are a U.S. citizen, once you file Form I-130, your child is eligible to apply for a nonimmigrant K-4 visa. This will entitle him or her to come to the United States to live and work or go to school while the visa petition is pending. To petition for this benefit, you may file Form I-129F. However, you are not required to file Form I-129F and your child does not require a K-4 visa. Your child may wait abroad for immigrant visa processing. Seeking a K-4 visa can be a method for him or her to come to the United States more quickly. For more information.
If you are a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) and you have filed Form I-130 for your child on or before December 21, 2000, your child may be eligible for the V visa classification if more than three years have passed since the I-130 was filed. For more information on V visas,
If you were married and/or had children who did not obtain permanent residence at the same time you did, they may be eligible for follow-to-join benefits. This means that you do not have to submit a separate Form I-130 for your spouse and/or children. In addition, your spouse and/or children will not have to wait any extra time for a visa number to become available. In this case, you may simply notify a U.S. consulate that you are a permanent resident so that your spouse and/or children can apply for an immigrant visa.
Your spouse and/or children may be eligible for following-to-join benefits if:
If your family member falls into this category and you adjusted to permanent residency in the United States, you may submit the following:
If you are in the United States and have not yet filed to adjust your status to permanent resident, you can file Form I-824 with your Form I-485, in which case no supporting documents are needed other than those submitted with Form I-485.