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Family Preference

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Beyond immediate relatives, family immigration runs through four numerically capped family preference categories, each its own family preference visa line tracked by priority date on the monthly Visa Bulletin. Here’s the whole journey, in plain English.

Free Case Review How It works

4

Numerically capped preference categories, F1 through F4, each with its own waiting line.

I-130

One petition starts it: the filing date becomes your priority date, your place in line.

F4

The longest waits: sibling cases, and applicants born in India, Mexico, and the Philippines

Who Qualifies

Which line is yours?

The preference system sorts family by relationship and by sponsor. Find your family preference category first; everything else follows from it.

F1: Unmarried adult children of citizens

the F1 visa covers unmarried adult children (21+) of U.S. citizens, and the F1 visa requirements are simply that relationship plus the sponsor's citizenship. This F1 category visa waits behind an annual cap.

F2A: Spouses and minor children of LPRs

spouses and unmarried minor children of green card holders.

F2B: Unmarried adult children of LPRs

unmarried adult children of green card holders.

F3: Married children of citizens

married children of U.S. citizens.

F4: Brothers and sisters of citizens

the F4 family preference category covers brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens. The longest line of all.

The Process

Five steps. One visa number.

The visa F1 process, like every one of the family preference categories, runs the same five steps.

01

the petition

The sponsor files Form I-130. The filing date becomes the priority date: the immigrant's place in line.

02

the wait

Watch the monthly Visa Bulletin. When the category and country reach your date, a visa number is available. Waits range from a couple of years to decades, longest for F4 and for India, Mexico, and the Philippines.

03

the application

Complete adjustment of status (I-485) in the U.S., or consular processing (DS-260) abroad, with the I-864 Affidavit of Support

04

the approval

Interview and green card approval.

05

the plot twists

Watch for category-shifting events: marriage (F1 to F3, and marriage ends F2 eligibility), divorce, aging out (protected in part by the Child Status Protection Act), and the petitioner's naturalization. Each can speed up, slow down, or end a case.

Forms & Fees

Know the paperwork.

I-130

Petition for Alien Relative, the filing date locks your priority date.

I-485

Adjustment of status, for finishing inside the U.S.

DS-260

The immigrant visa application, for consular processing abroad.

I-864

Affidavit of Support, the sponsor's financial commitment.

One life event can change everything

Marriage moves F1 to F3 and ends F2 eligibility. Divorce, aging out, and the petitioner's naturalization can each speed up, slow down, or end a case. Filing early locks your place in line.

The Rules

What your priority date can and cannot do.

  • Carry your spouse and unmarried children under 21 along as derivatives on the same petition
  • Survive the petitioner's death in some cases, through humanitarian reinstatement or the survivor rules
  • Follow your birth country, not your address: moving does not change your line, and a spouse born in a faster country can sometimes be charged instead
  • Convert automatically when the petitioner naturalizes, usually helpfully, and the law lets some children opt out when the new line is slower
  • Give you status, work rights, or permission to wait inside the U.S.
  • Be sold, traded, or transferred to a different relative
  • Speed up for hardship: there is no expedite lane for an oversubscribed category
  • Guarantee approval decades later: criminal or immigration problems built up during the wait still count at the interview

Costs

What it costs in 2026.

The petition fee is only the down payment; the rest comes due years later when the priority date is current. The total depends on where the case finishes: a consular interview abroad, or adjustment of status inside the U.S. for the few who remain eligible. Because preference cases end in an immigrant visa, the new $250 visa integrity fee for consular nonimmigrant visas does not apply to this path.

Item Amount Notes
I-130 petition $675 paper / $625 online Paid at filing; one petition covers the principal and derivative family
Immigrant visa application (DS-260) $325 per person Paid through NVC for each family member, including children
Affidavit of Support review $120 One review fee per case when reviewed domestically at NVC
USCIS Immigrant Fee $235 per person Paid after the visa is issued; covers green card production
Adjustment of status (I-485), if eligible in the U.S. $1,440 per person $950 for a child under 14 filing with a parent
Fee amounts reflect published government figures as of August 2026 and change over time; the live links above are always current. Fees apply per person, including children.

FAQ

Questions we hear every week.

There are two: Final Action Dates, which controls when cases can be approved, and Dates for Filing, which controls when documents can be submitted early. Consular cases follow NVC instructions, and USCIS announces each month which chart adjustment applicants may use. Watching the wrong chart is the most common confusion we untangle.

A pending I-130 does not forbid a visitor visa or ESTA trip, but you still must convince the officer you will leave, and a petition on file makes that harder. Short, well-documented, purpose-true visits are the realistic ceiling. Never enter as a visitor planning to quietly stay; that choice follows the case forever.

Not always. The Child Status Protection Act freezes some of the math: the time the I-130 sat pending is subtracted from the child's age when a visa number becomes available, and the child must pursue the visa within a year. The calculation is unforgiving, so run it early with an F1 visa lawyer instead of assuming either outcome.

Not necessarily. An approved petition can sometimes be revived through humanitarian reinstatement, and separate survivor rules can help beneficiaries who were living in the U.S. when the petitioner passed. These are discretionary, fact-heavy requests, so ask an F4 visa lawyer before giving up a decades-old priority date.

No. There is no premium processing for family preference petitions and no lawful way to buy a better place in line. Anyone promising otherwise is a warning sign. What filing early does buy is the earliest possible priority date, and that is worth acting on.

Usually not. Preference-category adjustment generally requires a lawful entry and maintained status, and unlawful presence can trigger bars the moment you leave for a consular interview. A petition filed on or before April 30, 2001 grandfathers some people under section 245(i). This is exactly where case-specific advice earns its keep.

Your family.
Our fight.

Every case is different. Tell us your story. The evaluation is free, and our family preference visa lawyer team tells you exactly which path fits.

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