Q.
Who can I sponsor through family-based immigration?
U.S. citizens can sponsor spouses, parents, children, and siblings; green card holders can sponsor spouses and unmarried children. The category and waiting time depend on the relationship.
U.S. Family Immigration
This refers to U.S. citizens or permanent residents sponsoring immediate family members (spouse, children, parents) and siblings for U.S. permanent residency. Family-based immigration is categorized by the sponsor's status (citizen or permanent resident) and their relationship to the applicant, with required documents varying accordingly. Processing time depends heavily on the petitioner's status and relationship — immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen face no annual visa cap, while the other family preference categories (F1-F4) can involve waits of several years to over a decade depending on the priority date in the monthly Visa Bulletin.
Who can I sponsor for family-based immigration, and is there a waiting line?
U.S. citizens can sponsor a spouse, parents, children, and siblings, while green card holders can sponsor a spouse and unmarried children. Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens are Immediate Relatives and proceed with no visa bulletin backlog, whereas the F1 through F4 preference categories wait according to the relationship. DaeYang Immigration Law Group plans the case from category determination through relationship evidence and the Affidavit of Support (I-864).
- Immediate Relatives
- Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens proceed without numerical limits.
- Preference categories (F1–F4)
- Adult or married children and siblings of citizens, and spouses and children of green card holders, wait according to the Visa Bulletin.
- Affidavit of Support (I-864)
- The sponsor must show income of at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines or equivalent assets, and may add a joint sponsor if income falls short.
- Process order
- I-130 petition approval → NVC and DS-260 → interview at the U.S. Embassy; a spouse already in the U.S. files adjustment of status (I-485) instead.
- Age-out protection
- The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) can preserve a child’s eligibility past 21, but in the preference categories the child must seek to acquire permanent residence — such as by filing an I-485 or submitting the DS-260 — within one year of the visa becoming available.
What is family immigration?
Family immigration refers to obtaining U.S. permanent residence through a petition filed by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) or sibling. The immigrant category is determined by the petitioner's status and family relationship, and the required documents vary accordingly. Processing time depends heavily on the category — immediate relatives face no annual visa cap, while the F1-F4 family preference categories can involve waits of several years to over a decade depending on the Visa Bulletin.
Family immigration is broadly divided into two types: categories that can obtain permanent residence without an annual quota limit and categories that are subject to quota limits within a fiscal year.
| Category | Preference | Eligibility | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No Quota Limit | Immediate Relatives | Immigration for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (spouse, parents, and unmarried children under 21) - IR1: Spouse of a U.S. citizen - IR2: Unmarried child under 21 of a U.S. citizen - IR3: Orphan adopted abroad by a U.S. citizen - IR4: Orphan to be adopted by a U.S. citizen - IR5: Parent of a U.S. citizen * No annual visa quota limit | ||
| Quota Limited | 1st Preference (F1) | Unmarried sons and daughters over 21 of U.S. citizens (23,400 per year) | ||
| 2nd Preference (F2) | A | Spouses and unmarried children under 21 of permanent residents (77% of allocation) | 114,200 per year | |
| B | Unmarried sons and daughters over 21 of permanent residents (23% of allocation) | |||
| 3rd Preference (F3) | Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (23,400 per year) | |||
| 4th Preference (F4) | Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens (65,000 per year) | |||
What restrictions apply?
| Category | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens | Parents, spouses, and unmarried children under 21 are eligible. Because these cases are not subject to annual visa number limits, the permanent residence process is very fast. |
| Spouse | To prove the spousal relationship, the applicant must first show that a lawful marriage took place. The marriage must be valid under the law of the place where it took place (for a marriage in Korea, it must be registered and recorded on the Marriage Relation Certificate), and the couple must prove that the marriage is genuine and ongoing, not a sham marriage. If the marriage is less than 2 years old at the time permanent residence is granted, the applicant receives conditional permanent residence (CR) for 2 years and later files Form I-751 to remove the conditions; if the marriage is already 2 years or older, regular (IR) permanent residence may be issued instead. |
| Child | A child must be unmarried and under 21. Under immigration law, not only biological children but also qualifying stepchildren and adopted children are recognized as children. For a biological child, proof of the parent-child relationship is required regardless of whether the child was born in wedlock; when a father petitions for a child born out of wedlock, legitimation or a bona fide parent-child relationship must also be shown. A stepchild qualifies if the parents married before the child turned 18, and an adopted child generally qualifies if adopted before age 16 with at least 2 years of legal custody and joint residence. Only U.S. citizens may file orphan adoption petitions. |
| Parent | A U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old may petition for a parent and must prove the parent-child relationship. In addition to biological parents, a stepparent who married the citizen's parent before the citizen turned 18, and an adoptive parent who generally adopted the citizen before age 16 and had at least 2 years of legal custody and joint residence, may also be sponsored. When a citizen born out of wedlock petitions for a father, legitimation or a bona fide parent-child relationship must also be shown. |
| Sibling | A U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old may petition for a brother or sister who shares the same father or mother. The beneficiary's spouse and unmarried children under 21 may also immigrate as accompanying family members. |
| Widow(er) | A person who was married to a U.S. citizen and was not legally separated at the time of the citizen's death may file an immigrant petition independently within 2 years of the death, provided they have not remarried. A 2009 law change eliminated the prior 2-year marriage-duration requirement. The death of the U.S. citizen spouse and the spouse's U.S. citizenship at the time of death must be proven. |
FAQ
Q.
Is it true that immediate relatives of citizens have no waiting line?
Yes. Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens are classified as Immediate Relatives and proceed without visa bulletin backlogs. Other categories wait according to the bulletin.
Q.
How does the marriage green card process work?
If the spouse is in the U.S., the case proceeds via adjustment of status (I-485); if in Korea, via the National Visa Center (NVC) and consular processing at the U.S. Embassy. In either path, proving a bona fide marriage is the core of adjudication.
Q.
What is required of the sponsor?
The sponsor must file an Affidavit of Support (I-864) showing income of at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, or equivalent assets. A joint sponsor may be added if income falls short.
Q.
My child is about to turn 21 — can they still immigrate with us?
Under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), a child may keep eligibility even after turning 21. For children of U.S. citizens (Immediate Relatives), age is locked on the date the I-130 was filed; in the F1–F4 preference categories, age is the child’s age when a visa became available minus the time the petition was pending. Protection in the preference categories is not automatic: the child must seek to acquire permanent residence — for example, by filing an I-485 or submitting the DS-260 — within one year of the visa becoming available. Missing that deadline can forfeit CSPA protection, which makes early consultation and timeline management important.
