If you are a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident and if you seek to bring your family member to the United States, you can do so by sponsoring that relative for lawful status in the country. To sponsor a family member and get him/her a Green Card, you will have to start the application process by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. This form along with the required fee and supporting documents must be filed with the USCIS.
If you are a U.S, citizen, you can petition your spouse, child, parents and for your siblings. But a Green Card holder can file this form only for his/her spouse and children and not for other family members.
Form I-130 must be filed by the sponsor to establish that a family relationship exists between him/her and the beneficiary. You need to file separate applications for each family member who seeks to become a Green Card holder and who you wish to sponsor.
This form includes 6 parts, A to F and all these parts must be completed. However, you can write N/A beside a question or an option that does not apply to you. The following instructions will help you to easily complete the form and remember that you can complete Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, online.
Part A
Information about the relationship between you and the beneficiary, the family member who you seek to sponsor must be entered in the first part. Under Section A, you need to check the box beside the option that best describes the relationship between you and the beneficiary. For example, if you are filing Form I-130 for your spouse to get him/her a Green Card, you will have to check the box beside “spouse”.
Part B
Personal information about you including your name, address, birth date and place of birth, must be provided in this section. You will have to enter your Social Security number, Alien Registration Number, and the name(s) of your spouse(s), in the spaces that have been provided. If you are a US citizen, you will have to answer the 13th question and the other 12 questions. Permanent residents must answer the 14th question along with the other questions and leave out the 13th question.
Part C
This part covers information about your relative who is seeking permanent resident status in the United States. Personal information about the beneficiary must be provided. Questions 13 through 16 require information about the beneficiary’s previous trips to the United States. If your relative is currently in America, you need to answer question 14. If your relative was placed in immigration proceedings, information about it must be provided.
You need to provide more information about the relative and you will have to list the names of the beneficiary’s spouse and children, if applicable. Followed by that you will have to enter the address in America where your relative will live. Your relative’s permanent address also must be provided. Complete questions 21 and 22 if those questions apply to your relative.
Part D
If you are filing immigrant petitions for more than one family member, you need to provide information about the other relatives you are sponsoring in this part. The names of the other relatives you are sponsoring and your relationship with them, must be listed in this part. For example, if you are filing Form I-130 for your spouse and your parent, at the same time, you need to provide information about your parent in the form you file for your spouse and vice versa. If you have signed Form I-130 for some other relative in the past, you need to provide information about that relative as well.
Part E
This is where you must affix your signature. Prior to signing, you will have to read the “Warning” and “Your Certification” above this part.
Part F
If this petition was completed by someone else on your behalf, the person who completed the form for you must sign here. The name of the person who completed must be entered in this part.
After completing the petition, you must check the application at least once to make sure that you have not left out information or left spaces blank. You also need to make sure that there are no errors.