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Use this form if you (the petitioner) are a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or U.S. national and you need to establish your qualifying relationship with an eligible relative (the beneficiary) who wishes to come to or stay in the United States permanently and apply for the Permanent Resident Card (also called a Green Card).
You must select only 1 option for Part 4 (Question 61 or 62) to indicate whether the beneficiary will seek adjustment of status inside the United States or consular processing abroad. Do not complete both questions, and do not leave this section blank.
Submitting Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, is the first step to help an eligible relative apply to immigrate to the United States and apply for a Green Card. The filing or approval of this petition does not give your relative any immigration status or benefit.
We will generally approve your Form I-130 if you can establish a qualifying relationship between you and your relative that allows them to immigrate to the United States. Generally, after we approve the petition, your relative may apply for a Green Card. If your relative is already in the United States and an immigrant visa is available, they may be eligible to apply for their Green Card by filing Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.
Certain relatives must wait until an immigrant visa number is available before they can file Form I-485 (to adjust their status if they are in the United States) or request an immigrant visa at an embassy or consulate through consular processing (if they are outside the United States). However, if your relative qualifies as an immediate relative, an immigrant visa is always available.
If your relative is already in the United States but they are not eligible to apply for the Green Card by filing Form I-485, the relative may be eligible to apply for an immigrant visa with the U.S. Department of State at a U.S. embassy or consulate through consular processing. For more information on eligibility and the process to apply for a Green Card, please visit our Green Card Eligibility Categories page.
When you complete Form I-130, please make sure that you (the petitioner) select 1 and only 1 option indicating whether the beneficiary requests adjustment of status inside the United States or consular processing outside the United States. If the Form I-130 is still pending with USCIS and you want to change your selection (either to consular processing outside the United States or to adjustment of status in the United States), you may contact the USCIS Contact Center and request a change. If you want to change your selection to consular processing after we have already approved your petition, you may need to file Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition.
How to Report Suspected Marriage Fraud: We encourage you to report suspected immigration benefit fraud and abuse, including marriage fraud. For more information, please visit our Reporting Fraud page.
If you are the spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen who has abused you, or the spouse or child of a lawful permanent resident who has abused you, you may be eligible to file a petition for yourself independent from your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident abuser. For more information, go to the Abused Spouses, Children, and Parents (Form I-360 VAWA Self-Petitioners) webpage.
You can file Form I-130 online even if your relative is in the United States and will file Form I-485 by mail. Once you submit your Form I-130 online, we will send a receipt notice to your USCIS online account. Provide a copy of the receipt notice to your relative to include in their Form I-485 packet.
You cannot file Form I-485 or Form I-129F online at this time. Please see our Form I-485 and Form I-129F pages for current filing information, and refer to the form instructions for specific instructions on completing each of these forms. We will only accept and adjudicate forms that have been properly filed. We will not accept or adjudicate any Form I-485 or I-129F included as supporting evidence for a Form I-130 that was filed online.
Filing Your Form I-130 By Mail
If you reside in the United States, file at the Chicago, Dallas, Elgin, or Phoenix Lockbox, depending on where you live and whether your relative is also concurrently filing Form I-485. For a complete list of addresses, visit our Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-130 page.
When you send a payment, you agree to pay for a government service. Filing fees are final and non-refundable, regardless of any action we take on your application, petition, or request, or if you withdraw your request. If you pay by credit card or debit card, you cannot later dispute the payment. Use our Fee Calculator to help determine your fee.
If you are submitting multiple forms, pay each filing fee separately. We are transitioning to electronically processing immigration benefit requests, which requires us to use multiple systems to process your package. We may reject your entire package if you submit a single, combined payment for multiple forms.
Please do not submit this checklist with your Form I-130 (and Form I-130A, if required). The checklist is an optional tool to use as you prepare your form, but does not replace statutory, regulatory, and form instruction requirements. We recommend that you review these requirements before completing and submitting your form. Do not send original documents unless specifically requested in the form instructions or applicable regulations.
If you submit any documents (copies or original documents, if requested) in a foreign language, you must include a full English translation along with a certification from the translator verifying that the translation is complete and accurate, and that they are competent to translate from the foreign language into English.
E-Notification: If you want to receive an e-mail and/or a text message that we have accepted your form at a USCIS lockbox, complete Form G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, and clip it to the first page of your form.
When completing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, please make sure that you (the petitioner) select 1 and only 1 option for Part 4 (Question 61 or 62) to indicate whether the beneficiary requests adjustment of status inside the United States or consular processing outside the United States. Do not complete both questions and do not leave this section blank.
This publication discusses some tax rules that affect every person who may have to file a federal income tax return. It answers some basic questions: who must file, who should file, what filing status to use, and the amount of the standard deduction.
Filing Status helps you determine which filing status to use. Filing status is important in determining whether you must file a return and whether you may claim certain deductions and credits. It also helps determine your standard deduction and tax rate.
Dependents explains the difference between a qualifying child and a qualifying relative. Other topics include the SSN requirement for dependents, the rules for multiple support agreements, and the rules for divorced or separated parents.
This publication is for U.S. citizens and resident aliens only. If you are a resident alien for the entire year, you must follow the same tax rules that apply to U.S. citizens. The rules to determine if you are a resident or nonresident alien are discussed in chapter 1 of Pub. 519.
If you have a tax question not answered by this publication or the How To Get Tax Help section at the end of this publication, go to the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant page at IRS.gov/Help/ITA where you can find topics by using the search feature or viewing the categories listed.
If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, whether you must file a federal income tax return depends on your gross income, your filing status, your age, and whether you are a dependent. For details, see Table 1 and Table 2. You must also file if one of the situations described in Table 3 applies. The filing requirements apply even if you owe no tax.
Gross income is all income you receive in the form of money, goods, property, and services that isn't exempt from tax. If you are married and live with your spouse in a community property state, half of any income defined by state law as community income may be considered yours. For a list of community property states, see Community property states under Married Filing Separately, later.
If you are self-employed in a business that provides services (where products aren't a factor), your gross income from that business is the gross receipts. If you are self-employed in a business involving manufacturing, merchandising, or mining, your gross income from that business is the total sales minus the cost of goods sold. In either case, you must add any income from investments and from incidental or outside operations or sources.
Your filing status generally depends on whether you are single or married. Whether you are single or married is determined at the end of your tax year, which is December 31 for most taxpayers. Filing status is discussed in detail later in this publication.
If your spouse died in 2023, read this before using Table 1 or Table 2 to find whether you must file a 2023 return. Consider your spouse to be 65 or older at the end of 2023 only if your spouse was 65 or older at the time of death. Even if your spouse was born before January 2, 1959, your spouse isn't considered 65 or older at the end of 2023 unless your spouse was 65 or older at the time of death.
If you are preparing a return for someone who died in 2023, read this before using Table 1 or Table 2. Consider the taxpayer to be 65 or older at the end of 2023 only if the taxpayer was 65 or older at the time of death. Even if the taxpayer was born before January 2, 1959, the taxpayer isn't considered 65 or older at the end of 2023 unless the taxpayer was 65 or older at the time of death.
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