The I-130 petition and adjustment of status, step by step

A U.S. citizen or green card holder can petition for close family. This guide explains who qualifies, the difference between immediate relatives and preference categories, when you can file the green card application at the same time, and the interview.

Two steps, sometimes filed together

Family-based immigration has two parts. First, the citizen or resident relative (the petitioner) proves the family relationship with Form I-130. Second, the immigrant (the beneficiary) applies for the green card itself, either inside the U.S. through adjustment of status (Form I-485) or abroad through consular processing at a U.S. embassy.

For some people both steps can be filed in one package. For others there is a wait of years between them. Which group you are in depends on who is petitioning and the relationship.

Who can petition for whom

A U.S. citizen can petition for a spouse, children of any age (married or not), and parents (if the citizen is at least 21).

A lawful permanent resident can petition for a spouse and unmarried children only.

Siblings can be petitioned only by a citizen aged 21 or over. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and in-laws cannot be petitioned directly.

Immediate relatives vs. preference categories

Immediate relatives are the spouse, unmarried children under 21, and parents of a U.S. citizen. There is no yearly limit, so a visa is always available and the I-130 and I-485 can be filed at the same time if the beneficiary is in the U.S. and eligible to adjust.

Everyone else is in a preference category with a yearly cap and a waiting line organized by the "priority date," which is the day USCIS received the I-130:

F1: unmarried adult children of citizens.
F2A: spouses and unmarried children under 21 of residents.
F2B: unmarried adult children of residents.
F3: married children of citizens.
F4: siblings of citizens.

The State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin shows which priority dates are current. Waits range from months to more than twenty years depending on the category and the country of birth (Mexico, the Philippines, India, and China have separate, longer lines). You can file the I-485 only when your date is current under the chart USCIS says to use that month.

Who can adjust status inside the U.S.

Adjustment of status is the comfortable path: no trip abroad, and you can usually stay, work, and travel while waiting. But not everyone qualifies. In general you must have been inspected and admitted or paroled when you last entered. Someone who crossed the border without inspection usually cannot adjust through a family petition, even when married to a citizen, unless an old petition filed by April 30, 2001 grandfathers them under section 245(i), or they were later paroled.

For immediate relatives, overstaying a visa or working without permission is forgiven at adjustment. For preference categories, any period out of status or unauthorized work since the last entry generally blocks adjustment and sends the case to consular processing.

If you cannot adjust and must leave for a consular interview, read about unlawful presence and the 3- and 10-year bars before you go. Leaving can trigger a bar that a waiver must fix first.

Documents you will usually need

For the I-130:

Proof the petitioner is a citizen or resident: birth certificate, naturalization certificate, U.S. passport, or green card.
Proof of the relationship: marriage certificate; birth certificates showing the parent-child link; for siblings, both birth certificates showing a common parent.
Proof that all prior marriages of both spouses ended: divorce decrees or death certificates.
For spouses, evidence the marriage is real: joint lease or mortgage, joint bank accounts, insurance naming each other, children's birth certificates, photographs over time, affidavits from people who know you as a couple.

For the I-485 package:

The beneficiary's birth certificate, passport, and proof of lawful entry (I-94, visa, parole document).
The medical exam (Form I-693) from a USCIS-designated civil surgeon, in a sealed envelope.
The Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) from the petitioner, with the most recent federal tax return and proof of current income. If the petitioner's income is below the required level, a joint sponsor can add theirs.
Police and court records for any arrest, anywhere, even if dismissed.
Optional but common: the I-765 for a work permit and the I-131 for travel permission while the case is pending.

Check the current fees on the USCIS fee schedule; they change and some forms are now charged separately.

The interview

Most family cases end with an interview at a USCIS field office, typically several months to over a year after filing. For spouses, both attend. The officer reviews the forms, asks about your history and the relationship, and may ask for updated evidence. Bring originals of everything you submitted as copies, plus new proof of the relationship gathered since filing. Answer only what is asked; if you do not know, say so rather than guess. Approval can be the same day or follow by mail.

If the marriage is less than two years old on the day of approval, the green card is conditional for two years, and you must file to remove conditions later.

Common mistakes

Filing the I-485 when the priority date is not current. It is rejected or denied, and the fee is lost.
Assuming a border crossing without inspection can be fixed by marrying a citizen. Usually it cannot, without parole or 245(i).
Leaving out a prior marriage or a prior petition.
Not disclosing a dismissed arrest. The fingerprints will show it.
Traveling abroad while the I-485 is pending without advance parole. That abandons the application.
Weak marriage evidence. A certificate proves the wedding, not the life together.

How Claudette helps with this

Claudette interviews both of you, determines your category and whether adjustment inside the U.S. is open to you, and checks the Visa Bulletin so you file only when you can. She builds a document plan tailored to your relationship evidence, prepares the I-130, I-485, I-864, I-765 and I-131 as a coordinated package, audits every answer across forms for consistency, and prepares you for the interview with likely questions drawn from your own file.