The United States prioritizes close familial relations between U.S. Citizens/U.S. Permanent Residents (green card holders) and foreign nationals.

In the interest of keeping families together, there are immigrant classifications for immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens and relatives of U.S. Permanent Residents (green card holders).

The following relatives can pursue U.S. immigration based on the familial relationship:

Obtaining a green card for a qualifying family member who lives in or outside of the United States begins with the filing of an I-130 Petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The government reviews the familial relationship through birth certificates, marriage certificates, and extensive documentation of the legitimacy of the marriage in cases petitioning for spouses.

The government also reviews whether the U.S. Citizen or U.S. Permanent Resident (green card holder) is equipped to financially support the immigrant he/she is sponsoring using 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for family size as the standard. Once the I-130 Petition is approved, the foreign national is classified as an “immigrant” based on the familial relationship and can apply to have a green card issued as soon as his/her place on the waitlist in the specific immigrant category is current. Only certain immigrant categories have waitlists, but they can be decades-long.

Additionally, some foreign nationals require a waiver of undocumented presence in the U.S. or criminal history prior to being able to apply to have a green card issued. Typically, these waivers require showing that it would cause the U.S. relative “extreme hardship” to move to the foreign applicant’s country of residence.