Can I Sponsor My Parents For a Green Card?

If you are a United States Citizen and over the age of 21 years old, then you can petition for your parents to become a lawful permanent resident. Currently, U.S. Immigration Law only allows for United States citizens to be allowed to petition for their parents to receive a green card. Unfortunately, Green card holders may not petition to bring parents to live in the United States.

So what are the steps to petition for your parent?

The first step is to complete and submit the I-130 Petition for Alien relative form. When submitting this document, you also want to submit evidence of the familial relationship and proof of your U.S. Citizen status. So you can submit a copy of your birth certificate showing the name or names of the parent you are sponsoring, a copy of your U.S. passport or your naturalization certificate if you became a naturalized citizen.

If you are filing for your stepparent, you would provide the same information and documents along with a copy of the marriage certificate showing that the marriage between your birth parent and step parent took place before your 18th birthday, along with evidence that the previous marriage between your birth parents ended in divorce, annulment or death.

If you are petitioning for your adoptive parent, you must also provide a certified copy of the adoption certificate showing that the adoption took place before your 16th birthday, and proof that you lived with your adoptive parent.

As the sponsor, you must also be able to show that you will be financially responsible for your beneficiary, and will be required to complete an Affidavit of Support. This form is called the I-864.

Depending on whether your parents are in the United States or abroad will determine tha next steps in the process. If you parent is abroad, once the I-130 application is approved. They will go through the consular processing and if your parents are in the United States and eligible they would apply for adjustment of status.

If you have any questions about the parent petition process, you can give our office a call at 201.565.0099 Or if you would like us to help you with any other immigration matter, you can call or text us at 201.565.0099.