Family Based Green Card

In order to be able to sponsor a relative to immigrate to the United States, you must meet the following criteria:

• You must be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United States and be able to provide documentation proving your status.
• You (sponsor) must have a qualifying family relationship with the beneficiary.
• You must be willing to sponsor your relative for lawful permanent residency by filing the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.
• You must prove that you can support your family, your relative and all other sponsored family members at 125% above the mandated poverty line.

Qualifying Family Relationship

As a US citizen, you may file a petition on behalf of the following relatives, as long as you can prove the relationship:

• Husband or wife;
• Unmarried children under 21 years old;
• Unmarried children over 21 years old;
• Married children of any age;
• Brother(s) or sister(s), if you are over 21 years old;
• Mother or father, if you are over 21 years old.

As a lawful permanent resident or a green card holder, you can file a petition for the following relatives as long as you can prove the relationship:

• Husband or wife;
• Unmarried children under 21 years old;
• Unmarried children over 21 years old.

Lawful permanent residents may not sponsor their parents, married children or their brother(s) and sister(s).

A sponsored relative obtain their immigrant visa number based on their preference category. For family based immigration, there are two categories: unlimited and limited which has an annual numeric limit authorized by Congress.