Immediate Relative Categories

The U.S. immigration system has two major categories of family-based immigrants: immediate relatives and family preference. If a U.S. citizen or permanent resident petitions a foreign family member, the immigrant will fall into one of these two categories. The categories define the type of relationship that the immigrant has with the U.S. sponsor, and to a large extent, the priority that the immigrant will receive in obtaining a green card. The immediate relative categories are the most desirable.

Advantage for Immediate Relative Categories

The immediate relative category has special immigration priority. The immigrants in this category do not have to wait in line for a visa number to become available for them to immigrate because there are an unlimited number of visas available to immediate relatives. Certain bars to adjustment do not apply to the IR category. This is a significant benefit for an intending immigrant who overstays a visa or works in the U.S. without authorization.

On the other hand, family preference categories do have a wait associated with them. There is a limited number of visas for the preference categories. Therefore, waits can last from six months to as much as 20 years.

Immediate Relative Categories Available

There are only a few immediate relative categories available. They are reserved for the spouse, unmarried children and parents of U.S. citizens. The specific categories are:

Spouse of a U.S. citizen
Unmarried child (under 21 years of age) of a U.S. citizen
Orphan adopted abroad by a U.S. citizen
Orphan to be adopted in the United States by a U.S. citizen
Parent of a U.S. citizen (who is at least 21 years old)

If you do not fit one of these categories, you may fit into the family preference categories.

Establishing an Immediate Relative Relationship

The family-based immigration process generally begins with the U.S. citizen or permanent resident sponsor filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. The I-130 petition establishes an eligible relationship and is a request for a visa number.

There is an exception. U.S. citizens can sponsor a foreign fiancé to come to the United States for the purpose of marriage. The U.S. citizen starts this process by filing Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé. If approved, the foreign fiancé receives a non-immigrant fiancé visa (K-1).

The I-130 petition is just the beginning of the process. The intending immigrant must apply for a green card via consular processing or adjustment of status.

Consular Processing

Consular processing is the process of obtaining an immigrant visa (green card) from outside the United States at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

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Adjustment of Status

Adjustment of status is the process that a nonimmigrant visitor (student, tourist, etc.) uses to change status to a permanent resident from inside the U.S.

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Immediate Relative Categories Not in the Visa Bulletin

You may have heard of the visa bulletin. It’s a monthly list of priority dates closely watched by many individuals waiting to immigrate to the United States. Immediate relatives do not need to worry about the visa bulletin. As mentioned previously, there is an unlimited number of visas available to immediate relatives. So there is no “waiting in line” or monitoring the visa bulletin.

Inapplicability of Bars to Adjustment

Some or all of the adjustment bars (INA 245 (c)) do not apply to immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Generally, foreign nationals must be in a lawful status in order to adjust status to permanent resident. In other words, a visa overstay can result in a denial. Likewise, unauthorized employment in the U.S. is a bar to adjustment. If the foreign national has ever engaged in unauthorized employment, whether before or after filing an adjustment application, it can result in a denial.

There is an exception for immediate relatives. Applicants in the IR category may successfully apply for a green card with these violations. An adjustment applicant applying as an immediate relative may be eligible to file Form I-485 (adjustment of status application) even if he or she:

Is now employed or has ever been employed in the United States without authorization;
Is not in lawful immigration status on the date he or she files the adjustment application;
Has ever failed to continuously maintain a lawful status since entry into the United States;
Has ever violated the terms of his or her nonimmigrant status.

To immigrate through the immediate relative category, there are several requirements:

A U.S. citizen relative must petition the foreign family member.

The sponsoring U.S. citizen relative must file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, on behalf of the foreign national relative. The petition is used to establish a valid immediate relative relationship between the petitioner and the foreign family member.

To qualify as an immediate relative, your family member must be a spouse, unmarried child (under 21 years of age), or parent. (To petition a parent, the U.S. petitioner must 21 years of age or older.)

A qualifying immediate relative relationship must be documented.

To qualify as an immediate relative, your family member must be a spouse, unmarried child (under 21 years of age), or parent.

The qualifying relationship must be documented with evidence. When filing Form I-130, you’ll 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).

If you’re using CitizenPath to prepare your adjustment of status packet, we’ll guide you through all of the documents that you’ll need to submit with your application. Get started now >>

The immediate relative must apply for a permanent residence (green card).

The U.S. citizen is responsible for filing the I-130 petition to start the process, but the immediate relative is responsible for actually applying for the green card. The immediate relative can 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 stay by “adjusting status.” 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. citizen must promise to support the family member (if necessary).

The U.S. citizen relative complete Form I-864, Affidavit of Support on behalf of the intending immigrant. The Affidavit of Support is required for most 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 U.S. citizen promises to provide financial support. To do this, the U.S. citizen must generally have an income that is at least 125% of the Federal poverty level. If you the sponsor’s income does not meet the requirement, additional sponsors or a joint sponsor can be used.

The immediate relative must be admissible to the United States.

Even with a valid immediate relative 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.

Health
The immediate relative will be required to have a medical examination conducted by a USCIS designated physician. 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
The intending immigrant’s immigration history will be reviewed. The application will likely be denied if the intending immigrant has overstayed a visa by six months or more, or if you he/she has ever entered the country unlawfully. 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 has committed certain crimes, like aggravated felonies, drug crimes, or acts of terrorism.

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, if you are found inadmissible to the United States you may be eligible to file a waiver on Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility.

Nearly 9% of Form I-130 petitions are rejected, and thousands more are denied. A poorly prepared petition can also delay the approval process and even create significant immigration problems. But when you prepare your I-130 on CitizenPath, we provide simple, step-by-step instructions and alerts to help you avoid costly delays. We even guarantee USCIS will accept your petition. No credit card is required to try it.

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