Representing Clients All Over the U.S.
Sponsoring your relative

Sponsoring your relative for a green card

(lawful permanent residency)

Through family-based immigration:

  •  * a U.S. citizen or LPR can sponsor his or her close family members for permanent residence.
  • * A U.S. citizen can sponsor his or her spouse, parent (if the sponsor is over 21), children, and brothers and sisters.
  • * An LPR can sponsor his or her spouse, minor children, and adult unmarried children.

As a result of recent changes in the law, all citizens or LPRs wishing to petition for a family member must have an income at least 125% of the federal poverty level and sign a legally enforceable affidavit to support their family member.

Family-based immigration is limited by statute to 480,000 persons per year. Family-based immigration is governed by a formula that imposes a cap on every family-based immigration category, with the exception of “immediate relatives”  There is no numerical cap on the number of immediate relatives (spouses, minor unmarried children and parents of U.S. citizens) admitted annually to the U.S. as immigrants. However, the number of immediate relatives is subtracted from the 480,000 cap on family-based immigration to determine the number of other family-based immigrants to be admitted in the following year (with a floor of 226,000).

Under current immigration law, visas are allocated as follows:  

   The Family Preference System

    • U.S. Sponsor Relationship Preference # Visa Allocated
    • U.S. Citizen unmarried adult children 1st 23,400visas/yr1
      (21 yrs or older)
    • LPR spouses and minor children 2nd A 87,900 visas/yr
    • LPR unmarried adult children 2nd B 26,300 visas/yr
      (21 yrs or older)
    • U.S. Citizen married adult children 3rd 23,400 visas/yr2
    • U.S. Citizen brothers and sisters 4th 65,000 visas/yr3
The above information is general in nature and is not intended to be considered or relied upon as legal advice. You should always consult an attorney to determine if what immigration options are available to you and to determine how any recent changes in the law could affect your situation.

Questions or comments? Contact us at info@humanrightsattorney.com.

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