How To Sponsor a Family Member To Immigrate to USA

The most common way to immigrate to the U.S. and get permanent residency is through family sponsorship. Family-based immigration visas allow citizens and green card holders to bring their immediate family members to the United States. Once in the U.S., family members can get work authorization and start on the path to citizenship.

U.S. immigration laws can change at any time. Talk to an experienced immigration lawyer to understand the process to bring your loved ones to the U.S.

Family-Based Immigrant Visas

Family-based sponsorship is the primary vehicle for applying for permanent residence. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 65 percent of new legal immigrants in 2015 applied for residency based on family sponsorship.

A potential immigrant’s relationship to the sponsoring U.S. citizen significantly impacts their eligibility. “It is much easier to qualify for lawful permanent residency based upon a bona fide marriage to a U.S. citizen than any other option from qualifying, be it through family members, employment, or investment,” says Charles C. Foster, who practices immigration law at Foster in Houston.

“Generally, there are two ways for people to apply for residency through family,” says Peter Nagell, an immigration attorney based in Minnesota. There is one way to apply when the foreign national is outside of the United States and another when they are already inside the United States.

Starting the Application Process

When the immigrant is outside of the country, the U.S. citizen begins the process by filing a family-based petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS. “The visa petition goes to one of the regional service centers within the United States. After approval, the case gets sent to the National Visa Center (NVC), which is kind of an intermediary between USCIS and a foreign consulate,” says Nagell. “The NVC does the preliminary processing in terms of getting documents together. Once the petition’s approved, it gets sent to the consulate, which is through the Department of State. That’s the office that would actually approve the final visa.”

Nagell says that the main purpose of the petition is to determine the family relationship. It answers the question of whether there is a genuine marriage, parent-child, or sibling relationship. Once the relationship is established, the immigrant goes to the consulate.

“They do an interview; they get fingerprinted; they do a medical exam; they talk to a U.S. consular officer; they get a visa; the visa gets put into their passport,” Nagell says. “That’s an immigrant visa. That visa allows them to cross into the United States. Once they’re inspected and admitted into the United States, they enter as a permanent resident. Then they get sent a permanent resident card.”

If the family member is already in the U.S. and has entered legally, they can still petition for family-based permanent residency. Instead, the application is for adjustment of status, and they go to the local USCIS office instead of a consulate.

Sponsorship Eligibility

There are restrictions on eligibility for sponsorship. Certain types of family relationships are not recognized under the law. “The law makes a distinction between what are called immediate relatives and preference relatives,” Nagell says.

For spouses of U.S. citizens — and also for their parents and unmarried children under the age of 21 — there are no quota restrictions.

“This is a huge advantage,” explains Foster, “because it means that these individuals can immigrate without being subject to any quota provisions that could create significant backlogs.”

U.S. citizens can also sponsor siblings, as well as children who are married or adults. But it’s a different story for them, because only a certain number can get residency each year. In these categories, Foster notes, “there are substantial backlogs measured in years.”

Immediate relatives typically include spouses of U.S. citizens, unmarried children under 21 years, and parents if the sponsor is 21 or older. Preference relatives are more distant, including siblings and unmarried or married children over 21 years. Not included are grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, in-laws, or cousins.

“Immediate relatives are not subject to annual numeric limitations,” says Nagell. “They’re not subject to waiting in line. You file a petition, the petition gets approved, and then they’re immediately eligible for an immigrant visa. Siblings and other family members are subject to annual caps. Depending on the applicant’s country of origin, there can be a line. That line is decided each month by the Visa Bulletin, which is published by the U.S. Department of State to control how many visas are being issued each year.”

In addition to qualifying as an immediate or preference relative, a family member must have a certain amount of money to be the financial sponsor and submit an affidavit of support. 

Depending on the immigrant’s basis of entry, the permanent residency card will last 2 or 10 years. If an immigrant has married within the last two years, they can obtain conditional residency for two years before the card expires. 

Immigrants Already in the U.S.

If the relative wishing to immigrate is already in the U.S. through lawful entry — as a visitor, student, or holding a temporary work visa, for instance — the process is simpler. By filing an I-485 form, they may be able to apply to adjust their status to receive permanent residency or a green card.

“If the relative being sponsored is an immediate relative — the spouse, minor unmarried child, or parents of a U.S. citizen — they are eligible for adjustment of status even if they failed to maintain lawful status after they made a lawful entry into the United States,” says Foster. “Another advantage is that they can also apply for an interim Employment Authorization Document, as well as a travel document known as Advance Parole, which previously USCIS would take 90 days to issue, but now it takes four to six months or even longer.”

Immigrants Abroad

If the relative is in another country, the petitioner starts by filing Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative with USCIS.

After approval, supporting documentation goes to the NVC, which notifies the U.S. embassy or consulate in the person’s home country. When an immigrant visa number is available under the quota system, the applicant goes through consular processing with an interview.

U.S. Government Timeframes and Wait Times

None of this happens quickly. “There is nothing very efficient with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” Foster says. “A family case, typically, once the petition is filed, could take anywhere from 18 to 24 months to successfully immigrate while residing abroad; or at least 12 months or longer if otherwise eligible to adjust status within the United States.” Those estimates are assuming there are no quota backlogs.

“Generally speaking, the processing times have steadily grown over a period of years and grew substantially longer during the Trump administration, in part due to delays caused by the pandemic and in part due to policy changes,” Foster says.

An immigrant’s home country can also make a difference in the waiting period. There is a large backlog in family-sponsored visa applications for people from certain countries, including Mexico, China, India, and the Philippines.

Find Legal Help

Heightened scrutiny, increased background checks, and travel bans for certain national origins can all complicate visa applications. Find an immigration attorney to help you with the visa process.