Anyone who obtained LPR status or U.S. citizenship through adoption or as a special immigrant juvenile and aged below 21, regardless of his/her immigration status, is not eligible to file Form I-130.


Get a Green Card for Those, Who Care You Most
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About Family-Based Green Card Application
Form I-130, officially known as ’Petition for Alien Relative,’ is the first and foremost consideration before applying for a Family-Based Green Card. According to USCIS, any 21 years or older U.S. citizen can file a petition as a sponsor for his/her non-resident parents, unmarried children, legal spouse and siblings through I-130. It aims to establish a legitimate relationship between a U.S. citizen and qualifying alien relatives or family members who wish to permanently live in the United States.
Unlike U.S Citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR) are not eligible to apply for a green card for parents. In addition, if the green card candidate is present in the United States, the petitioner needs to file I-485 instead of I-130.

Eligibility to Apply for Green Card for Alien Parents

To help alien parents get a green card, the eligibility requirements are pretty straightforward. Here’s an eligibility checklist to give you a crystal understanding.
- Son or daughter who wants to petition and sponsor an alien parent must be a U.S. citizen and at least 21 years old.
- The green card applicant must be a legal parent of that citizen. Legal parent refers to:
- Biological parent
- Adoptive parent
- Step-parent
- Legitimized father to a child born out of wedlock
Required Documents to Apply for Green Card
Since the petitioner needs to prove that the family relationship between him/her and the beneficiary is genuine, the petitioner must submit several supporting documents that back the stated relationship status.
Generally, the required documents include:
- Petitioners’ passport or birth certificate and naturalization certificate
- Beneficiary’s passport and national identity card or document
- Proof of the legally valid relationship (marriage certificate, birth certificate, parental divorce, adoption etc)
- Other forms and Secondary evidence documents

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Frequently Asked Questions
fter filing Form-130, USCIS will notify you whether it is denied or approved. If it is approved and your parents live outside the U.S., the State Department will give them an appointment to go to the U.S. consulate in their country and complete the processing.
If you don’t have a regular income, you need a co-sponsor or have enough assets to meet the affidavit of support requirements.
When it comes to green card applications for parents, the standard processing time for Form I-130 varies from 5 to 37 months.
Yes. Green card holders can collect unemployment compensation benefits the same way U.S citizens do.
A green card application may be denied for several reasons. These reasons include but are not limited to
1. Mistakes on the application forms
2. False or incorrect information
3. Missing documents
4. Failure to demonstrate eligibility due to insufficient financial resources, etc
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