How to Sponsor Green Card for Parents?

You can sponsor Green Card for your parents only if you are a U.S. citizen and other requirements are also met by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

As a Green Card holder, you cannot sponsor Green Card for your parents. You can become a U.S. citizen if you wish to sponsor your parents to get a Green Card. You must be above age 21 and also be willing to sponsor your parents financially.

Form I-130, Petition for Alien relative, is the USCIS form that you must file with the USCIS, in order to get your parent’s U.S. Green Cards. If you seek to sponsor both, your mother and your father, separate Form I-130, should be completed and filed for them.

Sponsor Green Card For Parents Who Are Abroad

Your parents will have to go through consular processing if they are currently abroad. Form I-130 that you file with the USCIS, after being approved, will be sent to the Consular office, in the home country of your parents. Your parents will be informed about the approval of the immigrant petition and required to attend an in-person interview, at the nearest U.S. Consulate.

Your parents need not wait until visa numbers become available as they are your immediate relatives. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are given high priority and there are no numerical limitations on the number of immigrant visas issued to them.

Your parents need to attend the visa interview and undergo a medical examination. If their interviews are successful, they will be issued immigrant visas. With those visas, they can travel to America as permanent residents. At the U.S. port of entry, their passports will be stamped by an immigration officer and they will receive their Green Card by mail, in a few days.

Documents Required When Sponsoring Green Card for Parents

  • Copies of birth certificates of your parents.
  • Copies of the marriage certificate of your parents.
  • Copies of your parents’ passports.
  • Copies of the sponsor’s birth certificate (with the names of your parents).
  • Copies of sponsor’s U.S. passport, U.S. citizenship certificate, or naturalization certificate.
  • Copies of the adoption decree (if you are sponsoring your adoptive parents).
  • Proof of income (salary stubs, tax returns, proof of employment, bank statements).

Sponsor Green Card For Parents Who Are in the U.S.

You can also sponsor your parents who are in America on non-immigrant visas. The process of sponsoring your parents who are in America on non-immigrant visas is quite simple. You need to file Form I-130 and sponsor your parents. At the same time, your parents can file Form I-485 for adjustment of status and need not go through Consular processing.

If your parents hold valid non-immigrant visas and are present in America, they can apply for adjustment of status while you file immigrant petitions for them. After they file for adjustment of status, they can remain in America and need not go to their home countries to get immigrant visas.

Documents Required When Sponsoring Green Card for Parents

  • Copies of birth certificates of your mother and father.
  • Copies of their marriage certificate.
  • Copies of their passports.
  • Copies of your parents’ non-immigrant U.S. visas.
  • Copies of the sponsor’s birth certificate (with the names of your parents).
  • Copies of sponsor’s U.S. passport, U.S. citizenship certificate or naturalization certificate.
  • Copies of the adoption decree (if you are sponsoring your adoptive parents).
  • Proof of income (salary stubs, tax returns, proof of employment, bank statements).

You need to remember that only U.S. citizens can sponsor Green Card for parents. After the approval of the petitions and the interviews, USCIS will issue Green Cards to your parents. The Green Card processing time for your parents will be much less and they will not be put on a waiting list. In most cases, USCIS processes immigrant petitions filed on behalf of parents within six months. Remember that separate petitions must be filed for each parent.