How to Apply for a Green Card for Parents
If you live and work in the United States, are at least 21 years of age and a United States citizen yourself, you can sponsor your parent or parents to come to the United States and petition for a green card. If you are not a citizen, you cannot sponsor them; they will need to petition for a green card themselves. As a citizen, you can start the process by completing the necessary applications.
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Instructions
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Download USCIS Form I-864 Affidavit of Support (link in References) and complete this for your parent. The form will show the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that you have enough resources to support your parent until she is financially able to take care of herself so that she will not be a charge on the welfare system.
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Start the process for your parents' green-card applications by making a copy of your birth certificate that shows your name and theirs on it. Make a copy of your Certification of Naturalization if you were not born in the United States. Make a copy of your parents' marriage certificate and any annulment decrees, death certificates or divorce decrees showing that a previous marriage by your father or mother was legally ended before they were married.
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Download the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (see link in References). If you are petitioning for both parents, you will need to complete an I-130 application for each parent.
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Complete the application starting with sections A and B, which is information about you as the petitioner and child of the parent. Complete section C, which is information about your parent. You will be expected to give an address where your parent will live. Finish the application answering all questions completely. There are two pages to the application.
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Submit the forms and copies of necessary to the USCIS along with the fee for the I-130 application, which is $420 as of November 2010. Send the I-130 form, I-864 form, documents and fee to the correct address found at Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative (link in References).
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Tips & Warnings
After filing the I-130 application, you will be charged a fee for processing the I-864 form and other forms that may be needed to complete the process, which the immigration office will guide you through.
References
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Green Card for Immediate Relative of a U.S. Citizen
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
