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Petition for Alien Relative

I-130 · Petition for Alien Relative

How a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident asks USCIS to recognize a qualifying relative for family-based immigration.

Processing time varies by case

USCIS processing time depends on the form, the category you filed under, the office or service center handling it, and the specific facts of your case — and it changes over time. MyCases does not publish averaged processing-day or approval-rate estimates across cases.

Check official USCIS Processing Times

Always rely on the official USCIS page and the written notices you receive.

Purpose and process
I-130 is step one of family-based immigration. Approval only establishes the qualifying relationship — it does not grant a visa or green card by itself. The beneficiary must then wait for the Visa Bulletin and either consular process through NVC or adjust status inside the U.S. with I-485. Immediate relatives (spouse, unmarried child under 21, parents of U.S. citizens) have no annual cap; other categories are limited by the Visa Bulletin.
Who files it
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs).
Official references
Common USCIS statuses for this form
Case Was Received
USCIS has accepted delivery of your filing, logged it, and generated a receipt number beginning with a three-letter service center code. The status confirms that your package and fee were received; it does not mean an officer has read a single page. It also fixes two things that matter later: the received date (which is normally your priority date in preference categories) and the office responsible for the case.
Case Was Approved
USCIS approved the application. This is a decision status and the outcome is favorable, but approval is not the same as having the document in hand: most categories still go through card production, notice mailing, or transfer to another agency, each with its own status. The legally operative item is the written I-797 approval notice that follows; the online status is only a signal that it is coming.
Request For Additional Evidence Was Sent
USCIS decided the record is not sufficient to decide the case and mailed a Request for Evidence. An RFE is not a denial and often asks for something ordinary, such as a missing form page, a certified translation, or additional proof of income. What is genuinely dangerous is missing the deadline: once it passes, USCIS decides on the existing record, which typically goes badly.
Case Was Sent To The National Visa Center
USCIS approved the immigrant petition and forwarded the file to the National Visa Center. The case has left USCIS and entered the Department of State system, meaning it will proceed through consular processing abroad rather than adjustment of status inside the United States. NVC collects visa fees and civil documents, processes the DS-260, and schedules a consular interview once a visa number is available.
Frequently asked questions
How long after I-130 approval until the green card?
Approval is only the first step. If the beneficiary is abroad, NVC processing, DS-260 and a consular interview add several months to years. If the beneficiary is in the U.S. and the priority date is current, they can file I-485 to adjust status. Total time depends on the category and country of birth.
How long does I-130 usually take?
Petitions filed by U.S. citizens for spouses, minor children or parents are usually 10–18 months. LPR petitions for spouses and minor children are similar. Sibling and married-child categories often take many years.
I-130 shows Case Was Approved — what next?
Beneficiaries abroad receive NVC emails and follow its instructions to pay fees and submit civil / financial documents. Beneficiaries in the U.S. can file I-485 alongside, or right after, if the priority date is current.
Track your I-130 case

Enter your receipt number. MyCases polls USCIS on a schedule and alerts you the moment the status changes — by email, Telegram or WeChat Work. Free forever.

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About this information
  • · MyCases is an independent product and is not affiliated with USCIS or any US government agency.
  • · Information comes from publicly available USCIS channels.
  • · It is informational only — not legal advice, and not a prediction of approval or timing.
  • · Official written notices and USCIS records control.