Family Preference Categories

The sponsoring U.S. citizen or permanent resident must file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, on behalf of the foreign national relative. Use the the petition to establish a qualifying family preference relationship between the petitioner and the foreign family member.

The qualifying relationship (e.g. spouse, son/daughter, etc.) must be documented with evidence. When filing Form I-130, you'll typically send birth records (i.e. official birth certificate) to establish biological relationships or a marriage certificate to establish a marital relationship. Spouses must also provide proof that the marriage is bona fide (not entered into primarily for purposes of getting a green card). Learn more about bona fide marriages.

The U.S. citizen or permanent resident is responsible for filing the I-130 petition to start the process, but the foreign national relative is responsible for actually applying for the green card. The family preference visa applicant may be able to apply in one of two ways:

• Consular processing is the process of obtaining an immigrant visa (green card) from outside the United States at a U.S. embassy or consulate. If the family member is physically outside the United States, this is the only available option. Learn more about consular processing >>
• Adjustment of status is the process that a non-immigrant visitor (e.g. student, tourist, etc.) uses to change status to a permanent resident from inside the United States. In other words, if the immediate relative is already in the U.S. with a temporary visa, he or she may "adjust status" to permanent resident. Learn more about adjustment of status >>

There are additional requirements for adjustment of status applicants. For example, the immediate relative must have lawful entry into the United States.

The U.S. petitioner must prepare Form I-864, Affidavit of Support on behalf of the intending immigrant. USCIS generally requires the Affidavit of Support from family-based immigrants to show that they have adequate means of financial support and are not likely to rely on the U.S. government for financial support.

If the immigrant family member is not able to support himself or herself financially, the sponsor promises to provide financial support. To do this, the sponsor must generally have an income that is at least 125 percent of the Federal poverty level. If the sponsor's income does not meet the requirement, additional sponsors or a joint sponsor may participate as well. Learn more about financial sponsor for family-based green cards.

Even with a qualifying family preference relationship, the intending immigrant must demonstrate that he or she is not inadmissible to the United States. In other words, they’ll need to demonstrate that they don’t pose a danger to U.S. society on health, security, immigration violation, or criminal grounds. There are several grounds of inadmissibility, including:

• Health
  A USCIS designated physician must perform a medical examination for the immediate relative. The examination is required to establish that an applicant is not a public health risk such as a carrier of a disease that presents a public health risk, or having a dangerous physical or mental disorder.
• Immigration Violations
  With few exceptions, the applicant must have a lawful entry to the United States. Immigration officers will review the intending immigrant's immigration history. For certain categories, they will likely deny the application if the intending immigrant has overstayed a visa by six months or more. The government will also seek to determine if a visa (if applicable) has ever been misused.
• Criminal Record
  The intending immigrant will certainly run into problems if he or she committed certain crimes, like aggravated felonies, drug crimes, or acts of terrorism.

In fact, there are additional grounds of inadmissibility. If there's a reason that any of the above requirements could be an issue, we recommend that you contact an experienced immigration attorney before filing any USCIS form. In some cases and in certain situations, a waiver may be available.