The IR5 immediate relative family-based green card is for the parents of a U.S. citizen. The U.S. citizen must be at least 21 years old to sponsor their biological parent, step-parent, or adoptive parent and their parent-child relationship must have formed before the U.S. citizen turned 18 years old (or 16 years old if the U.S. citizen was adopted).
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- a.
- b.
- c.
- 5.
- a.
Table of Contents
Under the IR5 immediate relative green card, a foreign person qualified as a parent must (1) be the mother or father of a U.S. citizen, and (2) the U.S. citizen child must be at least 21 years old. The IR5 parent can be the U.S. citizen’s biological parent, step-parent, or adoptive parent.
The original statutory wording for qualified parents in family-based green card petitions can be found in 8 CFR 204.2(f).
Parents Not Married When Born (Born Out of Wedlock)
There are two situations when the U.S. citizen’s parents were not married when the U.S. citizen was born:
Legitimated Child
If the U.S. citizen was born out of wedlock (parents were not married when born) but was legitimated (legally acknowledged) by the father before 18 years old, then it must be shown that the legitimation happened by the U.S. citizen’s biological parents getting married or the laws of the U.S. citizen’s (or their father’s) country of birth or residence.
Not Legitimated Child
If the U.S. citizen was born out of wedlock (parents were not married when born) and was not legitimated (legally acknowledged) by the father before 18 years old, then it must be shown that (1) a biological relationship exists and (2) a financial or emotional bond existed between the U.S. citizen and the father before the U.S. citizen turned 21 years old or got married (whichever came first).
Step-Parent
If the IR5 immediate relative family-based green card petition is for a step-parent of a U.S. citizen, the marriage between the U.S. citizen’s biological parent and their step-parent must have happened before the U.S. citizen turned 18 years old.
Adoptive Parent
If the IR5 immediate relative family-based green card petition is for an adoptive parent of a U.S. citizen, the adoption must have happened before the U.S. citizen turned 16 years old.
The IR5 immediate relatives family-based green card petitions have four main requirements that need to be satisfied: evidence must be provided to the USCIS to show that (1) the sponsoring person is a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old, (2) the parent-child relationship between the foreign person and the U.S. citizen is qualified and real, (3) the foreign parent will not become a public charge (typically the U.S. citizen must have income that is at least at the 125 % of the federal poverty level), and (4) the foreign parent is admissible to enter the United States.
Evidence Required for the Immediate Relatives (IR5 Parents) Green Card
A general (not exhaustive) checklist of what is required for an IR5 immediate relatives family-based green card is listed below. The evidence provided to the USCIS for the IR5 immediate relatives family-based green card petition must show:
The person sponsoring the IR5 immediate relatives family-based green card petition is a U.S. citizen who is at least 21 years old
- Two passport photos of the U.S. citizen
- U.S. passport (valid and unexpired)
- Birth certificate
- Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of Citizenship (issued by the USCIS)
- Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) issued by a U.S. consulate or embassy
- U.S. consular officer’s verification of U.S. citizenship with valid U.S. passport
- Documents that show legal name change (e.g., court judgment of name change, marriage certificate, divorce decree, adoption decree)
There is a parent-child relationship between the U.S. citizen and their foreign parent
- Two passport photos for each person
- Birth certificates of the U.S. citizen (it should show names of both parents)
- Marriage certificate of the U.S. citizen’s parents
- Documents that show legal termination of all prior marriages of each parent of the U.S. citizen (e.g., divorce decree, annulment order, death certificate of prior spouse)
If the U.S. citizen was born out of wedlock (parents not married at the time of birth) and not legitimated (not legally acknowledged) before 18 years old, additional documents must be provided:
- Documents that show a financial or emotional bond existed between the U.S. citizen and the father before the U.S. citizen turned 21 years old or got married, whichever came first (e.g., father lived in same house as U.S. citizen child, father support U.S. citizen child financially)
If the U.S. citizen was born out of wedlock (parents not married at the time of birth) and was legitimated (legally acknowledged) before 18 years old, additional documents must be provided:
- Documents that show legitimation through the marriage of the U.S. citizen’s biological parents or the laws of the U.S. citizen’s (or their father’s) country of birth or residence (e.g., marriage certificate of the U.S. citizen’s parents)
For a step-parent of the U.S. citizen, additional documents must be provided:
- Marriage certificate of the step-parent and the biological parent (must have taken place before the U.S. citizen turned 18 years old)
For an adoptive parent of the U.S. citizen, additional documents must be provided:
- Certified adoption certificate (must have taken place before the U.S. citizen turned 16 years old and include the name of the adoptive parents, the date and place of adoption)
- Detailed statement of the dates and addresses that the U.S. citizen lived with the adoptive parent
The foreign parent will not become a public charge in the United States
- Affidavit of Support (Form I-864)
- Documents that show the U.S. citizen’s income is at least at the 125 % of the federal poverty level (e.g., most recent tax returns, bank statements)
The foreign parent is admissible to enter the United States
- Passport (expiration date must be more than 6 months than the time intended to stay in the United States)
- Two passport photos
- Police certificates (it should include the country of residence and all countries that the person has lived for at least 6 months since 16 years old)
- Sealed medical examination form
If the person is filing for an adjustment of status, the foreign person must provide additional documents to show that they have been maintaining a valid nonimmigrant visa status during their time in the United States:
- Passport pages (it should include biographical page, related U.S. visas, admission stamps, parole stamps)
- Arrival/Departure Record (Form I-94)
- Documents that show the persons valid nonimmigrant status (e.g., I-20, I-797)
- Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA) OR Form I-864EZ (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA) *Petitioner must be at least 18-year-old to sign
- Documents that show the financial support for or financial condition of the person (e.g., Form W-2 for the past three years, employment verification letters)
- Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (Form I-693)
- Family-based green card petition (it should include Form I-130 and all required documentation) if filing the adjustment of status (Form I-485) concurrently
- Receipt notice or approval notice (Form I-797) of the family-based green card petition (Form I-130) if not filing the adjustment of status (Form I-485) concurrently
The original statutory wording for the evidentiary requirements of family-based green cards for parents can be found in 8 CFR 204.2(f)(2).
The total time an IR5 immediate relatives family-based green card takes is consisted of the processing time for (1) the IR5 immediate relatives green card petition (Form I-130) with the USCIS and (2) the change of status when the person’s priority date becomes current by filing the Form I-485 application if adjusting status within the United States or the DS-260 application if doing consular processing at a U.S. consulate or embassy located outside the United States. For immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (which includes the parents of U.S. citizens), there is no wait time for the priority date to become current and thus the change of status application is usually filed concurrently (at the same time) as the (IR) immediate relatives family-based green card petition.
Factors that influence the IR5 immediate relatives family-based green card processing time usually include but are not limited to where the person was born, if there was any Request for Evidence (“RFE”) issued, and the caseload of the USCIS service center, National Visa Center (NVC) and the U.S. consulate or embassy.
A rough estimate for the IR5 immediate relatives green card Form I-130 petition (parents of U.S. citizens) can be around 3 to 34.5 months (with an average of 9 to 17 months) and premium processing is not available. Current estimates of the processing time can be checked here.
After the IR5 immediate relative green card petition (parent of U.S. citizen) is approved by the USCIS, the person must then change into a green card visa status. Changing into the green card visa status (the lawful permanent resident immigrant visa status) is the final step in being able to work freely and live permanently in the United States. There are two ways to obtain the green card visa status: adjustment of status and consular processing.
Adjustment of status is usually for a person who is already in the United States with a valid nonimmigrant visa status and has maintained a lawful visa status throughout their time within the United States. On the other hand, consular processing is for a person living outside the United States or for a person who is ineligible in adjusting their status in the United States.
For a person who is residing overseas (outside the United States) or a person who is ineligible for an adjustment of status with the Form I-485 application, consular processing must be done to obtain the IR5 immediate relative family-based green card visa status (i.e., lawful permanent resident). Consular processing usually involves the foreign parent attending an in-person interview at the U.S. consulate or embassy located in their home country. In certain circumstances, a foreign parent can do consular processing in another country as a “Third Country National.”
After the interview approval at the U.S. consulate or embassy, the foreign parent would have to be admitted entry into the United States by the CBP officer at the border (usually at the airport). In other words, the foreign parent would have to physically enter the United States after their interview approval as the final step for their IR5 immediate relative family-based green card visa status to be activated.
For a person who is already in the United States with a valid nonimmigrant visa, there are usually two options available to obtain the IR5 immediate relative family-based green card visa status (Lawful Permanent Resident):
(1) Adjustment of Status: this is the more commonly chosen option where the person would file a Form I-485 application to adjust their status without leaving the United States. The person would attend an in-person interview at a local USCIS office in the United States and the interview approval would serve as the final step for their IR5 immediate relative family-based green card visa status to be activated.
The adjustment of status application (Form I-485) can be filed when the person’s priority date becomes current in the Visa Bulletin which means that there are no backlogs in visa availability for the person’s country of birth (not country of citizenship). This can happen while the green card petition (Form I-130) is still pending (i.e., before approval) with the USCIS or after the green card petition (Form I-130) is approved by the USCIS. It can also happen in concurrent filings (Form I-130 and Form I-485 sent together) where the person’s priority date is already current at the time of filing the green card petition (Form I-130) to the USCIS. Because there are no quota limitations on how many green cards can be given out to immediate family members of U.S. citizens (which include parents of U.S. citizens) each year, the foreign person’s priority date would be current at the time of filing their immediate relative green card petition, and thus the adjustment of status application in most cases will be filed concurrently with the immediate relative family-based green card petition.
When the adjustment of status application (Form I-485) is filed, applications for the employment authorization document (Form I-765, commonly known as the “EAD card”) and the travel document (Form I-131, commonly known as “Advance Parole”) can also be filed at the same time.
The EAD card allows unrestricted employment where a person can change their job freely and can legally work for any employer in the United States, unlike a work visa such as an H1B visa which restricts a person to work for a specific employer in the United States.
Advance parole allows a person to travel internationally while their adjustment of status is still pending. If a person has a pending adjustment of status application (Form I-485) with the USCIS but leaves the United States without advance parole and does not have a certain valid nonimmigrant visa status (H1B visa, H4 visa, L1 visa, L2 visa, K3 visa, K4 visa, V visa) that allows international travel, their adjustment of status will be considered abandoned.
(2) Consular Processing: this is usually chosen if a person cannot show that they have maintained their lawful visa status in the United States or when the processing time for consular processing is much faster than the adjustment of status.
The IR5 immediate relative family-based green card petition is for a U.S. citizen’s biological parent, step-parent (the marriage of the U.S. citizen’s parents must have happened before the U.S. citizen turned 18 years old), or adoptive parent (the U.S. citizen must have been adopted before turning 16 years old). The U.S. citizen must be at least 21 years old to sponsor an IR5 immediate relative family-based green card for their foreign parent.
If you have an IR5 immediate relative family-based (parent of U.S. citizen) green card immigration question, please fill out our contact us form or send us an email with some basic information about your background and your immigration needs. We will do our best to respond within 48 hours.
How we can help?
Kylie Huang Law’s immigration attorney will help identify if the client is qualified for an IR5 immediate relative family-based green card (parent of U.S. citizen) and whether there are other green card options available to the client. We will work closely with our clients to prepare their IR5 immediate relative family-based green card petition and we will also strategize on how the IR5 immediate relative family-based green card petition should be presented in the filings and in the interview to achieve the best chances of approval. It is advised and common practice to retain an immigration attorney for certain unusual IR5 immediate relative family-based green card petitions due to the complexities in the immigration process and visa requirements.
What does the typical process look like to retain (hire) us?
- Step 1:
- Step 2:
- Step 3:
- Step 4:
- Step 5:
- a.
- b.
- c.
- Step 6:
- Step 7:
- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (with some basic information on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment online
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom meeting)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
- Step 1:
- Step 2:
- Step 3:
- Step 4:
- Step 5:
- a.
- b.
- c.
- Step 6:
- Step 7:
- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
- Step 1:
- Step 2:
- Step 3:
- Step 4:
- Step 5:
- a.
- b.
- c.
- Step 6:
- Step 7:
- Step 8:
- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming content of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the case status
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
RELATED ARTICLES
- Family Based Green Card Overview
- Marriage Based Green Card (IR1 / CR1 / F2A)
- Immediate Relative of U.S. Citizen (IR)
- Family Members of Green Card Holders (F2A / F2B)
- Married Children (F3) & Unmarried Children Over Age 21of U.S. Citizen (F1)
- Brother and Sister of U.S. Citizen (F4)
- Spouse of Deceased U.S. Citizen (EB4)
- Parents of U.S. Citizen Green Card Checklist (IR5)
- Spouse of Green Card Holders Checklist (F2A)
- Children of Green Card Holders Checklist (F2A / F2B)
- Spouse of U.S. Citizen Green Card Checklist (IR1 / CR1)
- Children of U.S. Citizen Green Card Checklist (IR2 / F1 / F3)
- Sibling of U.S. Citizen Green Card Checklist (F-4)
- Widow(er) of U.S. Citizen Green Card Checklist (EB4)