Form I-130: Instructions, Who Can File and Where to File

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, is the form a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident files with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to prove a qualifying family relationship with a relative who wants a green card. It is the first step of family-based immigration, not the green card application itself. USCIS puts it bluntly: filing or approval of the petition "does not give your relative any immigration status or benefit." The current edition is dated 04/01/24, the filing fee is $625 online or $675 on paper, and the form can be filed through a USCIS online account or mailed to a lockbox in Chicago or Phoenix. Everything official lives at uscis.gov/i-130; this guide explains it in plain English and is not legal advice.

What Is Form I-130 Used For?

Two people are named on every petition. The petitioner is the citizen or permanent resident who signs and files. The beneficiary is the relative who hopes to immigrate. The I-130 asks USCIS to do one thing: confirm that the relationship between them is real and is one that immigration law recognizes. Once USCIS agrees, the beneficiary can move to the second step, which is either an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate (consular processing) or, for some people already in the United States, Form I-485 to adjust status.

For preference categories the petition does a second job. The day USCIS receives a properly filed petition becomes the relative's priority date, which fixes their place in the visa line. That is why families in slow categories file early even though nothing visible happens for years.

Who Can File Form I-130, and for Whom

Non-citizen U.S. nationals, such as people born in American Samoa or Swains Island, have the same petitioning rights as permanent residents and mark the form as a permanent resident. A separate petition is needed for each relative, with one important shortcut: in the preference categories, the beneficiary's own spouse and unmarried children under 21 ride along as derivative beneficiaries and are simply listed in Part 4. Immediate relatives get no derivatives. A citizen sponsoring a wife and her two children files three petitions.

Who you cannot file for

The form instructions list people who do not qualify:

• Grandparents, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, cousins and parents-in-law.
• An adopted child or adoptive parent if the adoption took place after the child turned 16, or if the child has not been in the parents' legal custody and lived with them for at least two years. (There is a sibling exception up to age 18.)
• A stepparent or stepchild if the marriage that created the relationship happened after the child turned 18.
• A biological parent, if you gained your own status through adoption or as a special immigrant juvenile.
• A spouse, if you were not both physically present at the wedding, unless the marriage was consummated.
• A spouse, if you became a permanent resident through an earlier marriage, unless you have since naturalized, have held your green card at least five years, can prove the earlier marriage was genuine by clear and convincing evidence, or that marriage ended through your former spouse's death.
• A spouse you married while they were in removal proceedings, unless you request and prove the bona fide marriage exemption or your spouse has lived outside the United States for two years after the wedding.
• Anyone USCIS finds entered, attempted or conspired to enter a marriage to evade immigration law.

A permanent resident also cannot petition for a married child; there is no such category.

Form I-130 Instructions, Part by Part

The 04/01/24 edition has nine parts across 12 pages. USCIS says it will reject a petition that leaves certain fields empty, so the ones flagged below deserve a second look. Use "N/A" where a question does not apply and "None" where the answer is zero, as the instructions direct.

Items 61 and 62: the question that causes the most trouble

Near the end of Part 4 you must say whether the beneficiary will apply for adjustment of status inside the United States (Item 61, naming the USCIS office city) or for an immigrant visa abroad (Item 62, naming the embassy or consulate). USCIS's own page repeats the instruction in bold: select one and only one, and do not leave both blank. The answer decides where the approved petition goes. If the relative's address is abroad, USCIS generally sends the file to the State Department's National Visa Center. If the address is in the United States and the relative appears eligible to adjust, USCIS generally keeps it.

Getting it wrong is fixable but slow and sometimes expensive. While the petition is pending you can ask USCIS to change the choice through the Contact Center or your online account. After approval, moving a retained petition to the NVC requires Form I-824, which costs $590.

Filing Online vs. by Mail

USCIS allows online filing even when the relative is in the United States and will file Form I-485 separately; you give them a copy of the I-130 receipt notice to include in their packet. One limit worth knowing: USCIS's online-filing rules say an applicant without an attorney or accredited representative generally cannot submit the I-485 online at the same moment as the petition. The petitioner files the I-130 first, and the I-485 follows once the acceptance notice arrives.

I-130 filing address (changed October 7, 2026)

USCIS reassigned the paper filing locations on October 7, 2026. Packages sent to a prior location are still accepted if postmarked on or before November 9, 2026. For a standalone I-130:

If the I-130 is going in the same envelope as an I-485, the address comes from a different chart, the USCIS Lockbox Filing Locations Chart for Certain Family-Based Forms. Always confirm on the USCIS direct filing addresses page before mailing; the agency warns that misdirected filings "may experience processing delays." U.S. citizens living abroad may, in limited circumstances described in the USCIS Policy Manual, ask to file for an immediate relative at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

I-130 for a Spouse, Step by Step

1. Confirm the marriage is legally valid where it took place and that every earlier marriage of either spouse ended in divorce, annulment or death, with a document to prove it.
2. Decide the route. Spouse abroad: consular processing. Spouse in the United States after a lawful admission or parole and married to a citizen: usually the I-130 and I-485 together. Spouse of a permanent resident: check the Visa Bulletin for F2A.
3. Complete Form I-130 as petitioner, choosing "Spouse" in Part 1.
4. Complete Form I-130A with your spouse's five-year address and employment history and parents' details. A spouse in the United States signs it; a spouse abroad does not have to.
5. Gather evidence: proof of your status, the marriage certificate, termination of prior marriages, two passport-style photos of each of you (the beneficiary's only if they are in the United States), and documents showing a shared life. The I-130 checklist lists every item.
6. Pay the I-130 fee and file online or by mail.
7. Save the receipt notice and track the case; see I-130 case status.
8. Respond to anything USCIS sends by the deadline printed on the notice, and attend an interview if one is scheduled.
9. After approval, follow the consular or adjustment steps in what happens after I-130 is approved.

If the marriage is less than two years old on the day your spouse becomes a resident, the green card is conditional for two years, and the two of you file Form I-751 during the 90 days before it expires.

I-130 for Parents, Children and Siblings

• Mother: your birth certificate showing your name and hers.
• Father: your birth certificate naming both parents, plus your parents' marriage certificate and proof that any earlier marriages ended. Different rules apply if you were born out of wedlock.
• Child, if you are the mother: the child's birth certificate. If you are the father: add your marriage certificate to the mother, or evidence of legitimation or of a real parent-child relationship before the child turned 21.
• Stepchild or stepparent: the marriage certificate showing the marriage took place before the child's 18th birthday, plus the child's birth certificate.
• Brother or sister: both birth certificates showing at least one parent in common. Half-siblings through a father also need the marriage certificates linking him to each mother.

How long each of these takes is covered category by category in the main I-130 processing time guide.

What Happens After You File

USCIS first checks the petition for completeness. It may then ask for more evidence, ask for originals of documents you copied, call you for biometrics, or schedule an interview. The Policy Manual says the agency may interview the petitioner, the beneficiary or both at any stage, and that it requires one in a few situations, including marriages entered during removal proceedings. USCIS can also verify information before or after a decision through public records, written contact, and unannounced visits to a residence.

Two cautions from the Policy Manual are easy to miss. A family petition "accords no immigration status nor does it bar removal," and if USCIS determines that a beneficiary in the United States is removable, it may issue a Notice to Appear that starts removal proceedings. Anyone whose relative is in the country without status should get individual legal advice before filing.

The petitioner can withdraw a petition in writing before a decision, or after approval if the relative has not yet immigrated. The beneficiary cannot withdraw it, and a withdrawal cannot be taken back.

Common Mistakes That Get an I-130 Rejected or Delayed

• An outdated edition or mixed pages. Every page must show edition 04/01/24.
• No signature, or a typed one.
• Wrong fee, or one payment covering several petitions. USCIS recommends a separate payment per form so that one defect does not sink the whole package.
• Leaving out Form I-130A for a spouse.
• Both or neither of Items 61 and 62 completed.
• Foreign-language documents without a full English translation and the translator's signed certification.
• Sending originals that were not requested. USCIS says it may destroy them.
• Mailing to a superseded address after November 9, 2026.
• Non-citizen petitioners who move without updating their address within 10 days.

If You Become a Citizen While the Petition Is Pending

Naturalization upgrades the case. A permanent resident's spouse and unmarried minor children move from F2A to immediate relatives, with visas immediately available. If USCIS has not yet decided the I-130, send the office named on your receipt notice a short letter, a copy of your naturalization certificate and a copy of the receipt, with "I-130 Update" written on the envelope. If the petition is already approved, notify the National Visa Center through its public inquiry form with a scan of your passport biodata page or naturalization certificate. One catch: children listed as derivatives on a spouse's F2A petition need their own separate petitions once the case becomes immediate-relative.

Knowingly submitting false information on Form I-130 leads to denial and can lead to criminal prosecution. When your situation involves prior removal orders, unlawful presence, earlier marriage-based petitions or criminal history, a consultation with a licensed immigration attorney or an accredited representative is money well spent.