Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, is the petition a U.S. citizen or green card holder files with USCIS to establish a qualifying family relationship with a relative they want to sponsor. It is the first step in the process, not the green card application itself.

U.S. citizens can petition for a spouse, an unmarried child under 21, an unmarried son or daughter 21 or older, a married son or daughter, a parent, and a brother or sister. Green card holders can petition for a spouse and unmarried children. Some of these relationships also carry an age requirement for the petitioner.

Proof of the petitioner’s status and proof of the family relationship, such as a marriage certificate for a spouse or birth certificates showing a shared parent for a sibling. Marriage-based cases usually call for additional evidence that the marriage is genuine. We tell you what your specific case needs.

USCIS processing times vary by relationship category and by service center, and they change regularly. Some categories also wait for a visa number after the petition is approved. We will give you a current estimate for your category on your first call.

In some cases, yes. Where a visa is immediately available and the relative is already in the United States and otherwise eligible, the two can be filed at the same time. Whether that applies depends on the category and the relative’s situation.

Approval establishes the family relationship. The relative then either applies to adjust status inside the United States or goes through consular processing at a U.S. embassy abroad, depending on where they are and whether they qualify.

No. Spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens are not subject to annual limits. Other categories are, and those cases wait for a visa number to become available before they can move forward.

Generally no. A separate petition is required for each relative. In some categories a spouse and unmarried children can travel with the main beneficiary, but the petition itself is filed one relative at a time.

An RFE means USCIS needs more before it decides. It arrives with a deadline and a list of what is missing. A complete, well-organized response matters, and missing the deadline can lead to a denial.

Yes. A U.S. citizen living outside the United States can file an I-130. Where and how it is filed depends on the circumstances, and in certain exceptional circumstances a petition can be filed directly with a consulate.

It is possible, but a pending immigrant petition can make a visitor visa harder to get, because a visitor has to show they intend to return home. Worth discussing before anyone books travel.

It is not required. An attorney helps most where there is a prior marriage, an adopted or step relationship, a prior denial, immigration history that needs explaining, or a sibling or adult child case that will take years and cannot afford a mistake.