Eligibility Requirements

Required Documentation

• Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative (signed with proper fee)
• Evidence of your U.S. citizenship:
• A copy of your U.S. birth certificate OR
• A copy of your unexpired U.S. passport OR
• A copy of Consular Report of Birth Abroad OR
• A copy of your naturalization certificate OR
• A copy of your certificate of citizenship
• If you are a permanent resident, you must demonstrate your status with:
• A copy (front and back) of Form I-551 (green card) OR
• A copy of your foreign passport bearing a stamp showing temporary evidence of permanent residence.
• If your name or your child’s name has changed, proof of legal name change (may include marriage certificate, divorce decree, adoption decree, court judgment of name change, etc.)
• Proof of relationship (see chart below for case-specific requirements)

Filing for Your Relative Who Lives in the United States

Filing for Your Relative Who Lives Outside the United States

If your child, son, or daughter is 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.

Who is Considered to be a “Child” in the Immigration Process?

For immigration purposes, a child can be any of the following:

• A genetic child born in wedlock
• A genetic child born out of wedlock:
• If the mother is petitioning, no legitimation is required.
• If the father is petitioning, legitimation is required in accordance with the laws of the father or child’s place of residence.
• If the father is petitioning and the relationship is not legitimated under applicable laws, a bona fide parent-child relationship must be shown to have existed prior to the child’s 21st birthday and while the child was unmarried.
• A child born through Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) to a non-genetic gestational mother who is recognized under the law of the relevant jurisdiction as the child’s legal parent at the time of the child’s birth.
• A step-child, as long as the marriage creating the step-relationship occurred before the child turned 18
• An adopted child if the child was adopted prior to age 16 (one exception is if siblings are adopted, as long as one was under 16, the other could be older than 16 but younger than 18), AND the adopted child has resided in the legal and physical custody of the adoptive parent for 2 years prior to filing (the legal and physical custody do not have to be the same time period, but each must be met for 2 years) NOTE: Most adoption-based immigration occurs through the orphan inter-country or Hague processes. Normally, you would only use the Form I-130 process if your child did not meet the definition of orphan.