I-130 Instructions: How to Complete Form I-130 Step by Step

USCIS accepts only the current edition of Form I-130. The edition date appears at the bottom of every page. You can check edition dates on the USCIS I-130 page. If you print the petition, check that all pages come from that same edition. USCIS may reject a petition with mixed or missing pages.

Three groups may file this petition: U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and U.S. nationals. Most petitioners fall into the first two groups.

Petitioning a spouse adds one form. USCIS also requires Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary. Your spouse completes and signs it.

The I-130 instructions for Part 1 asks which relative you are petitioning. Select only one box: Spouse, Parent, Brother/Sister, or Child.

Lawful permanent residents may petition only a spouse or an unmarried child. U.S. citizens may petition any of the four relationships.

If you select Parent or Child, you must also identify the type of relationship. The choices are biological, stepchild/stepparent, and adoptive. Biological relationships are the most straightforward to document.

One rule catches many petitioners by surprise. For a stepchild or stepparent relationship, the marriage that created that relationship must have taken place before the child's 18th birthday.

Adoptive relationships carry additional requirements, including custody and joint residence periods. Consider talking with an immigration attorney before you file. Use our list of directories to find an immigration attorney.

Knowing the categories is not the same as knowing which documents your case requires. CitizenPath builds the evidence list from your actual answers, so a stepparent petition and a spouse petition produce different supporting document checklists. You can try the Immigration Visa Petition Package for free.

Most of Part 2 is simple biographical detail. Three areas deserve a closer look.

Domicile is the country where you keep your principal residence and intend to remain. Your domicile does not affect the I-130 itself, but it matters later in the process.

After USCIS approves the petition, you will file Form I-864, Affidavit of Support. USCIS requires sponsors to be domiciled in the United States. If you live abroad permanently, you must show that you will reestablish residence here. Our page on proof of domicile explains what that evidence looks like.

Petitions for a spouse receive closer review. You must prove that any earlier marriage has legally ended. USCIS accepts a divorce decree, an annulment, or a death certificate.

A separate rule applies if you became a permanent resident through marriage. In that situation, you may not petition a new spouse unless five years have passed since you became a permanent resident, or your former spouse died. A narrow exception exists if you can show by clear and convincing evidence that the earlier marriage was genuine.

Nothing on the form warns you about this rule. CitizenPath's Immigrant Visa Petition Package flags conflicts like this and other hidden pitfalls.

Part 2 asks for your employment over the past five years. List your current employer first. If you are not working now, write "Unemployed" rather than leaving the field blank.

Part 3 collects your ethnicity, race, height, weight, eye color, and hair color.

Ethnicity offers two choices, and you select only one: Hispanic or Latino, or Not Hispanic or Latino. Race is a separate question, and you may select more than one option. The choices are White, Asian, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.

Hispanic or Latino does not appear as a race. USCIS treats it as an ethnicity instead. Petitioners from Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America, and South America often ask what to select here. There is no single right answer. Choose the race or races you most closely identify with.

Part 4 asks about your relative. Several answers here shape how the rest of the case unfolds.

Spousal petitions receive extra scrutiny, particularly where there is any history of marriage fraud. If a legal finding has ever been made that your spouse entered a marriage to evade immigration law, speak with an immigration attorney before filing.

If your relative's native written language uses a non-Roman script, Part 4 also asks for their name and address in that script. See how to respond with your beneficiary's native written language.

List the beneficiary's spouse and children. Children means unmarried children under 21 years of age. Include every child, even those who will not immigrate.

A derivative beneficiary is a spouse or child who immigrates alongside the main beneficiary without a separate petition. Derivatives are permitted when the beneficiary is your:

• Married son or daughter, and you are a U.S. citizen
• Brother or sister, and you are a U.S. citizen
• Spouse, and you are a lawful permanent resident
• Unmarried child under 21, and you are a lawful permanent resident
• Unmarried son or daughter 21 or older, and you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident

The rules for immediate relatives work differently. If you are a U.S. citizen petitioning your spouse, each of your spouse's unmarried children under 21 needs a separate Form I-130. USCIS also asks you to include a photocopy of your spouse's I-130 receipt notice with each child's petition. There are several unique requirements when filing Form I-130 for a child.

Families overlook this requirement more often than any other on Form I-130. CitizenPath tells you how many petitions your family actually needs, based on your relationship and the children you list.

This section matters greatly if your relative has spent time in the United States.

Your relative's Form I-94 governs how long they may stay, not the expiration date on their visa. Remaining past the I-94 date is a visa overstay. An overstay of 180 days or more triggers a three-year bar on returning. An overstay of one year or more triggers a ten-year bar. Read more about applying for a green card after a visa overstay.

Lawful entry also matters. Your relative generally must have been admitted or paroled into the United States to adjust status later. See what qualifies as evidence of a lawful entry.

Questions 61 and 62 ask whether your relative will apply inside the United States or abroad. Follow the I-130 instructions carefully here because selecting the wrong processing path may cause delays and additional filing costs.

Select one option only. Do not answer both questions, and do not leave the section blank.

If you leave it unclear, USCIS decides for you. The agency looks primarily at the beneficiary's physical address on the petition. An address abroad generally sends your approved petition to the National Visa Center for consular processing. A U.S. address generally keeps the petition with USCIS for adjustment of status.

Changing course later costs time. If you want to switch to consular processing after USCIS approves the petition, you may need to file Form I-824. That means another form, another fee, and more months of waiting. Our comparison of adjustment of status vs consular processing can help you choose before you file.

Part 5 asks whether you have ever filed a petition for this relative or anyone else. Review your earlier filings before you answer.

USCIS compares your answers against its own records, and inconsistencies raise questions. If USCIS denied an earlier petition, understand why before filing again. The same issue may resurface.

The I-130 instructions for Parts 6 through 9 cover signatures, interpreters, preparers, and additional information. These sections are short, but skipping them causes real problems.

1. Part 6 collects your statement, contact information, declaration, and signature. USCIS rejects every unsigned petition, so check this before mailing.
2. Part 7 applies only if an interpreter helped you. The interpreter signs and dates this section.
3. Part 8 applies only if someone other than you prepared the petition. That person signs and dates it. A typed or stamped name is not acceptable.
4. Part 9 gives you extra space for any answer that did not fit. Identify the part and item number you are continuing, include both names, and copy the page if you need more room.

USCIS reviews petitions for completeness before an officer ever considers the merits. Missing any of the following causes a rejection, which sends the whole package back to you.

USCIS will reject when key civil records and other supporting documents are missing to establish your relationship.

USCIS also refuses certain materials. Leave out anything with electronic chips or batteries, such as musical greeting cards, thumb drives, CD-ROMs, or DVDs. Do not send DNA samples, or graphic photos of childbirth or intimate relations as relationship evidence.

Rejections don't always come from the hard questions. They come from simple oversights or misunderstands about a question. CitizenPath reviews your petition for completeness and warns you about answers that could cause problems.

Additionally, you get filing instructions written for your situation, so you know which documents to include and exactly how to submit the package. Immigration attorneys designed the service, and a money-back guarantee stands behind it. Trying it is free, and you pay only when you are ready to download your petition.

Most families can prepare this petition themselves, and knowing where the conditional questions sit is most of the battle.

Even for straight forward cases, simple mistakes and oversights cause rejections or delays during the process. USCIS rejects over 10% of petitions, and RFEs are on the rise. CitizenPath is your safety net.

CitizenPath guides you through each question in plain language, warns you when an answer could cause a problem, and builds a document checklist customized to your answers. Prepare your family-based immigration form with confidence with our Immigrant Visa Petition Package →