Immigrant Visas

Family-based, Immediate Relatives

Who is eligible?

Those eligible are as follows: spouse of a U.S. citizen; parent or step-parent of a U.S citizen; child or step-child of a U.S. citizen; and spouse of a deceased U.S. citizen.

Note: A step-parent or child will qualify for immigration only if the marriage creating the step-parent/child relationship occurs before the child's 18^th birthday.

How do I apply?

The first step in applying for an immigrant visa is for the U.S. citizen (petitioner) to file a Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A separate petition must be filed for each person immigrating. A U.S. citizen resident in India or Bhutan may file the petition, Form I-130, with the USCIS at the U.S. Embassy, New Delhi (mere passage of time is not sufficient to demonstrate residency for petition-filing purposes, see the USCIS website for more details); a U.S. citizen resident in the U.S. should contact their local USCIS office for further information.

Note: A petition cannot be filed for a spouse until the marriage ceremony has taken place. The natural child of a U.S. citizen may have claim to U.S. citizenship. A petition cannot be filed until it has been established that the child is not a U.S. citizen.

Note: If the U.S. citizen and immigrant visa applicant reside in India and the U.S. citizen is filing the I-130 with USCIS in New Delhi, it will be possible to begin the administrative processing of the immigrant visa application before the petition is approved and received by the relevant Immigrant Visa Unit in India.