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Green Card Knowledge Base /Family-Based Immigration

FAMILY-BASED

Family-Based Immigration

From whom citizens and permanent residents can petition for to marriage-based conditional status, VAWA self-petitions, widows/widowers, adoption, CSPA, and financial sponsorship—each family-based pathway has its own entry point.

  • Family Sponsorship
  • Family Changes and Children
  • Protection and Survivors
  • Process and Sponsorship
  • Intersecting Pathways

Recommended Reading Order

Read in numerical order;21articles will give you a complete framework.

  1. 01Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens vs. family preference categoriesImmediate relatives are not numerically limited; F1–F4 require waiting in line. One table makes clear who belongs where.Family SponsorshipImmediate RelativesF1F2A
  2. 02Spouses, Children, and Applicant Status: Sponsors, Beneficiaries, and DerivativesAlthough all are “family members,” their status differs completely between the immediate relative and preference categories.Family SponsorshipSpouseChildrenDerivative Family Members
  3. 03From Form I-130 to a green card: the full family-based processForm I-130 establishes the relationship; after that, the case proceeds to Form I-485 or consular processing according to the visa bulletin.Process and SponsorshipI-130I-485Consular Processing
  4. 04Marriage-Based Conditional Residence and Removal of Conditions (I-751)Why a green card obtained when the marriage is less than two years old is “conditional,” when to file I-751, and what the card’s expiration means.Family Changes and ChildrenConditional ResidentI-751Marriage
  5. 05Who Can Petition for Whom: Relatives U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents May Sponsor and the Age-21 ThresholdU.S. citizens must be at least 21 years old to petition for parents or siblings; permanent residents may petition only for spouses and unmarried children.Family SponsorshipI-130Age 21F2A
  6. 06How Categories Change When Family Circumstances Change: Marriage, Divorce, Turning 21, the Petitioner's Naturalization, and the F2B Option to Opt Out of ConversionThe automatic conversion rules under 8 CFR 204.2(i), priority date retention, and the option for F2B beneficiaries to opt out of conversion to F1 after a parent's naturalization.Family Changes and ChildrenCategory ConversionPriority DateF2B
  7. 07I-751 Removal of Conditions: Joint Filing, Death of a Spouse, and Three Types of WaiversThree types of waivers—extreme hardship, termination of the marriage for reasons other than death, and battery or extreme cruelty—and individual filing upon the death of a spouse.Family Changes and ChildrenConditional ResidentI-751Waivers
  8. 08VAWA Self-Petition Overview: Who Can Petition IndependentlyPeople abused by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent, as well as parents abused by an adult U.S. citizen child, may self-petition using Form I-360.Protection and SurvivorsVAWAI-360Self-Petitioning
  9. 09VAWA Eligibility Elements: Relationship, Good-Faith Marriage, Shared Residence, Good Moral Character, and DerivativesThe requirements enumerated in the Policy Manual, and why the parent category does not allow derivative family members.Protection and SurvivorsVAWAGood Moral CharacterDerivative Family Members
  10. 10VAWA and Life Changes: Divorce, the Abuser’s Death or Loss of Status, Remarriage, and Children Turning 21Two-year time limits, deadlines that cannot be extended, and the different consequences of changes occurring before versus after filing.Protection and SurvivorsVAWATime LimitsDivorce
  11. 11From VAWA Approval to a Green Card: Adjustment Requirements, Exemptions and Waivers, Confidentiality Protections, and Distinctions from Related ProceduresI-485 requirements, exemptions from adjustment bars and two grounds of inadmissibility, no I-864 requirement, confidentiality under 8 U.S.C. 1367, and distinctions from VAWA cancellation of removal and the I-751 waiver.Protection and SurvivorsVAWAI-485Confidentiality
  12. 12Widows and Widowers of U.S. Citizens: I-360 Self-Petitions and Automatic Conversion of I-130 PetitionsThe two-year marriage requirement was eliminated in 2009; the two-year self-petition filing deadline, prohibition on remarriage, accompanying children, and exemption from the affidavit of support requirement.Protection and SurvivorsWidowI-360Death
  13. 13After the Petitioner or Principal Beneficiary Dies: Section 204(l) Relief for Surviving Relatives and Humanitarian ReinstatementWho the two forms of relief cover, the distinction between pending and approved petitions, U.S. residence requirements, discretion, and substitute financial sponsors.Protection and Survivors204(l)Humanitarian ReinstatementDeath
  14. 14Surviving Family Members of Military Personnel: Naturalization under INA 319(d) and Immigration Benefits under Pub. L. 108-136 §1703Cross-topic overview: 319(d) governs naturalization for surviving family members of military personnel who died during honorable service; the immigration benefits under §1703 are listed separately based on two official USCIS explanations.Intersecting PathwaysMilitary MembersNaturalizationProtection and Survivors
  15. 15Adoption-Based Immigration: Three Pathways—Hague Convention, Orphan, and Family-Based I-130When I-800/I-800A, I-600/I-600A, and I-130 apply, and the age-16 requirement, two years of legal custody, and sibling exception for adopted children.Family Changes and ChildrenAdoptionI-600I-800
  16. 16Stepchildren, Legitimation, and Children Born Out of Wedlock: Which Relationships Qualify as “Child” Relationships?The marriage creating the stepparent relationship must occur before age 18; legitimation must occur before age 18 and while the child is in legal custody; and a child born out of wedlock must have a bona fide parent-child relationship with the biological father.Family Changes and ChildrenStepchildrenBorn Out of WedlockLegitimation
  17. 17K-1/K-2, K-3/K-4, and the Historical V Visa: Bridge Status Is Not a Green CardThe 90-day marriage rule for fiancé(e)s, why K-3 visas are rarely issued, and the V category, which applies only to pre-2000 petitions.Process and SponsorshipK-1I-129FK-3
  18. 18CSPA (Child Status Protection Act): How Age Is Calculated, When It Is Frozen, and Why Chart B Is Not UsedTwo different formulas for immediate relatives and preference categories, Final Action Dates, the one-year “sought to acquire” requirement, and different guidance before and on or after 2025-08-15.Family Changes and ChildrenCSPAChild's AgePriority Date
  19. 19I-864 Affidavit of Support: Who Must Submit It, Income and Assets, Joint and Substitute Sponsors, and When Obligations End125% of the poverty guidelines (100% for active-duty military personnel), with links only to official tables; divorce does not end the obligations; the current edition and the archived I-864W.Process and SponsorshipI-864Affidavit of SupportJoint Sponsorship
  20. 20Barriers to Adjustment of Status Within the United States and Waivers of Inadmissibility: 245(c), Entry Without Inspection, 245(i), I-601AThe immediate-relative exemption from status-violation bars does not waive the unlawful-presence bars to admission; the 245(i) grandfathering provision; qualifying relatives for I-601A do not include children.Process and Sponsorship245(i)I-601AUnlawful Presence
  21. 21I-360 Map: Which Are Family-Based Pathways, and Which Are Special Immigrant or Other CategoriesWidows/widowers and VAWA fall under family-based pathways; SIJ, Amerasians, religious workers, Afghan/Iraqi nationals, and others fall under other categories.Intersecting PathwaysI-360SIJAmerasians

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Protection and Survivors