Green Card for Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizen

If you are currently in the United States, in order to be eligible for a Green Card as an immediate relative, you must meet the following requirements:

Inspected and Admitted or Inspected and Paroled

Generally, to be eligible to adjust status, you must be present in the United States after being “inspected and admitted” or “inspected and paroled” by an immigration officer. There are some limited exceptions to this eligibility requirement. For more information on this requirement, see USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7, Adjustment of Status, Part B, Chapter 2, Section A, “Inspected and Admitted” or “Inspected and Paroled”.

Eligibility to Receive an Immigrant Visa

You are eligible to receive an immigrant visa if you are the beneficiary of:

• You properly file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status;
• You were inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the United States;
• You are physically present in the United States at the time you file your Form I-485;
• You are eligible to receive an immigrant visa;
• An immigrant visa is immediately available to you at the time you file your Form I-485 and at the time USCIS makes a final decision on your application;    
  • Note: A visa is always available for immediate relatives.
• The relationship to the family member who filed Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, for you still exists;
• None of the applicable bars to adjustment apply to you;
• You are admissible to the United States for lawful permanent residence or eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility or other form of relief; and

You merit the favorable exercise of USCIS’ discretion.

• An approved Form I-130 on your behalf;
• A pending Form I-130 (that is ultimately approved); or
• A Form I-130 (that is ultimately approved) filed together with your Form I-485.

Depending on how you entered the United States or if you committed a particular act or violation of immigration law, you may be barred from adjusting status. You are ineligible to apply for adjustment of status if one or more bars to adjustment listed in section 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) apply to you. For more information, please see USCIS Policy Manual Volume 7, Adjustment of Status, Part B, 245(a) Adjustment.

Applying Under INA 245(i)

You may be able to adjust status under INA section 245(i) even if you are subject to one or more adjustment bars and are therefore ineligible for adjustment of status under INA section 245(a).  See the separate Instructions for Form I-485 Supplement A, Adjustment of Status Under Section 245(i) (PDF, 281.14 KB) for more information.

To qualify for a Green Card, you must be admissible to the United States. Reasons why you may be inadmissible are listed in INA 212(a) and are called grounds of inadmissibility.

In general, USCIS can only approve your Green Card application if none of the grounds of inadmissibility apply to you. As the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, the following ground of inadmissibility does not apply to you:

• Labor certification and qualifications for certain immigrants (INA 212(a)(5))

If you are inadmissible, the law may allow you to apply for a waiver of inadmissibility or other form of relief. See Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility and Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States after Deportation or Removal. If a waiver or other form of relief is granted, USCIS may approve your application for a Green Card if you are otherwise eligible.

Whether a waiver or other form of relief is available depends on the specific inadmissibility ground(s) that applies to you and the category you are adjusting under. Eligibility requirements for waivers and other forms of relief vary. For information on the grounds of inadmissibility and waivers, please see USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8, Admissibility, and Volume 9, Waivers.

If you are currently in the United States and you meet certain other requirements, you may file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status to apply for a Green Card without leaving the country.  This is called “adjustment of status.”

As an immediate relative, you may file your Form I-485 together (“concurrently”) with the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative filed on your behalf, while the Form I-130 is pending, or after the Form I-130 is approved (and remains valid). For more information, see our pages on Concurrent Filing and the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are unlimited, so the visas are always available.

If you are the spouse or child of a U.S. citizen’s immediate relative, you must independently qualify for a Green Card and file your own application. You cannot qualify for a Green Card as the derivative beneficiary based on the immediate relative’s application.