Green card for parents
Family · IR5
A U.S. citizen who is 21 or older can petition for a parent as an immediate relative, category IR5. The case starts with Form I-130 and runs inside the U.S. or through a consulate, depending on where your parent is.
The forms
The family relationship petition — it proves the qualifying relationship between you and your relative.
The green card application itself — registering permanent residence from inside the U.S.
The affidavit of support — the sponsor’s promise that the immigrant will have financial support.
Why this route
Parents of adult U.S. citizens are immediate relatives — no annual limit, no queue.
Mother and father each get a petition, filed together, moving together.
A parent visiting lawfully may adjust inside the U.S.; a parent at home runs through the consulate. The check reads your situation.
The core proof is your own birth certificate — the relationship the case rests on is the one that made you.
Requirements
The steps
Each petition proves its own relationship.
Adjustment inside the U.S. after a lawful entry, or the NVC-and-consulate path from abroad.
Medical exam, interview, and the ten-year card — parents of citizens skip conditional status entirely.
How it works
In English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The software puts your answers on the official USCIS forms.
Your evidence is sorted into a numbered exhibit index, and every field, signature, and document is checked for completeness.
Download the assembled packet and file it yourself — or have an independent licensed attorney review and file it for you.
Pricing
Your exact technology fee depends on your petition type and is shown during the free eligibility check, before you pay anything. USCIS filing fees are set by the government and paid by you directly to USCIS.
Questions
If you are married to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, a marriage green card may be your path — inside or outside the U.S. The free check asks about your situation and shows the exact forms, documents, and government fees for your case.
Spouses, parents, children, and siblings each have their own petition paths, and which ones are open depends on whether the petitioner is a citizen or a permanent resident. Pick the relationship in the chooser, or let the free check identify the right petition from your answers.
The K-1 fiancé visa is the path for bringing your fiancé to marry in the U.S. Its page explains the requirements and documents, and the free check confirms whether it fits your situation.
Go deeper
Green card for parents