How to Sponsor Your Parents for a Green Card

Who can sponsor their parents?

The petitioner (child) must be a United States Citizen (USC) and 21 or older. A lawful permanent resident child above the age of 21 would NOT be able to file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

What to file?

To understand the terms of these forms some important words to know are the petitioner and the beneficiary. If your child is sponsoring you, the petitioner in this case will be the child. The beneficiary will be the parent. The child would need to file an I-130 Petition for an Alien Relative on behalf of their parent. Second, the parent being sponsored would need to file an I-485 Form for Adjustment of Status. Additionally, the adult child must file Form I-864 Affidavit of Support. This form indicates that the beneficiary has enough financial support by the sponsor in the states. If the petitioner cannot meet the requirements under the I-864, a co-sponsor can meet this requirement.

These three forms can be filed concurrently, and sent along with designated filing fees indicated on the forms.