Filing a Family-Based Immigration Petition for a child (under the age of 21) of a Lawful Permanent Resident
Who should buy this package?
You should buy this package if you think that you are up to the challenge of dealing with the U.S. immigration system without an attorney, but you would like a bit of guidance before taking the plunge! This package contains helpful information for Lawful Permanent Residents (a/k/a “Green Card” holders) seeking to file family-based immigration petitions on behalf of their children that are unmarried and under the age of 21.
You should not buy this package if you are a Green Card holder and your son or daughter is married. There are no immigrant visa options available for married sons or daughters of Green Card holders. If you are a Green Card holder and you would like to petition for your married son or daughter, you will need to wait until you become a U.S. Citizen in order to file.
Please note that, even once a family-based petition is approved, family members of Green Card holders will need to wait their turn in line for a visa to become available. Based on current wait times, a child (under age 21) of a Lawful Permanent Resident can reasonably expect to wait at around two years for a visa to become available.
Please further note that the approval of a family-based petition for a child of a Green Card holder does not provide the child with any immigration benefits until the child’s visa becomes available. Even after this type of petition has been approved, the child will not have any status in the United States, and the child cannot use the approved family petition as a way to enter the United States before his or her visa becomes available. In order to get a Green Card, the child must comply with U.S. immigration laws while he or she waits for his or her visa.
What is in this package?
- Overview of the process of filing an I-130 Family Petition on behalf of a child (under the age of 21) of a Lawful Permanent Resident.
- Checklist of forms and evidence that you will need to submit with your application.
- Step-by-step instructions, which will guide you through the process of collecting necessary evidence, filling out your paperwork, and properly filing the petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
- Example “Certificate of Translation,” which you will need if your application will contain any document written in a language other than English.
- Sample Cover Letter. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but USCIS does sometimes judge a family petition by its cover letter! Following this template will help to ensure that your application is not erroneously rejected in USCIS’s mailroom.
- Sample Affidavits. If you would like to have friends or family members write to USCIS about your family’s relationship, following this template will help to ensure that USCIS gives the written testimony full evidentiary weight.
- Blank Immigration Forms, including the most common forms that are filed with immigrant petitions filed on behalf of unmarried sons or daughters of Green Card holders.
- Frequently Asked Questions, answering some of the most common questions that applicants have when filing family-based immigrant petitions.
How to use this package?
Follow the step-by-step instructions on how to complete, assemble, and file a successful parent-child petition with USCIS. The package starts with an overview of the process, provides a checklist of the documents that you’ll need to submit with your application, and provides detailed instructions for how to complete each form. The package also contains instructions for preparing your application for mailing, and an explanation of what will happen once the family petition is approved. Following the instructions in this package may prevent you receiving a Request for Additional Evidence on your application, or, worse, a denial.
Special instructions
This guide is intended to provide instructions only as to the initial petition for a child of a Green Card holder. It does not provide detailed instructions as to how the son or daughter can obtain a Green Card after the two-year wait. If your child’s family petition has already been approved and a visa is now available for him or her, you should speak with an experienced immigration attorney in order to get specific, individualized instructions for how your child can obtain the Green Card.
Please note that if the child has a serious criminal history or history of immigration violations, they may never be eligible to obtain a Green Card. If you are concerned about your child’s criminal record or immigration history, you should consult with an experienced immigration attorney prior to filing any immigration paperwork on their behalf.
Please further note that there is no visa category available to married children of Lawful Permanent Residents, no matter how old they are. Consequently, if your unmarried child gets married either while your family petition is pending or while he or she is waiting for a visa to become available, the family petition will automatically be voided. If you are a Lawful Permanent Resident and you have a child that either is or will soon be married, you will need to wait until you become a U.S. citizen before you can file a petition for them.
Finally, you should be aware that, generally, the child of a Green Card holder will need to remain under the age of 21 until he or she gets her Green Card, otherwise amount of time they need to wait for their visa will change. While unmarried children under the age of 21 only have to wait two years for a visa, unmarried children over the age of 21 have to wait around seven years. If you are considering filing a petition for a child that is between the ages of 18 and 21, you should consult with an experienced immigration attorney beforehand to learn whether the visa process can be completed in time.