Form I-130: How to Fill Out Your Petition for Alien Relative

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, is the USCIS form a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident files to establish a qualifying family relationship with a relative who wants to immigrate. Filling it out correctly the first time matters because a blank field, a mismatched date, or a missing signature can trigger a Request for Evidence that adds months to an already long wait. Here is how to complete the 12-page PDF and its companion Form I-130A step by step, plus the one question on the form that trips up more petitioners than any other.

Who Can File Form I-130 and for Which Relatives

Only a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) can file Form I-130, and who they can petition for depends on which status they hold.

• U.S. citizens can petition for a spouse, unmarried children under 21, unmarried sons or daughters 21 or older, married sons or daughters of any age, parents (if the petitioner is 21 or older), and brothers or sisters (also requiring the petitioner to be 21 or older).
• Lawful permanent residents can only petition for a spouse and unmarried children, regardless of age.

Spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21 of U.S. citizens fall into the "immediate relative" category, which has no annual numerical cap and generally moves faster. Every other relationship falls into a preference category subject to the visa bulletin, which can mean a wait of several years before a visa number becomes available.

Documents to Gather Before You Start

Have these ready before you open the PDF, since you will need exact names, dates, and numbers to fill in the fields correctly:

• Proof of your status: a copy of your U.S. birth certificate, passport, naturalization certificate, or green card.
• Proof of the relationship: a marriage certificate for a spouse, birth certificates for children, or birth certificates showing a shared parent for siblings. If you are petitioning for a spouse, include evidence the marriage is genuine, such as joint bank statements, a lease, or photos together.
• Certified translations for any document that is not in English.
• Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary, which is required alongside Form I-130 whenever the relative is a spouse. It asks for the beneficiary's address and employment history for the last five years.

Step by Step: Filling Out the PDF

Download the current version of Form I-130 from USCIS, then upload it to PDF Editify's fill tool so you can type directly into the fields in your browser instead of printing it blank and writing by hand. Work through the form in this order:

1. Part 1, Relationship: Indicate the type of relationship (spouse, parent, child, or sibling) and whether the relationship was created through birth, marriage, or adoption.
2. Part 2, Information About You: Your name, address, and immigration status as the petitioner, plus your naturalization or green card details if applicable.
3. Part 3, Biographic Information: Basic identifying details such as ethnicity, race, and physical description.
4. Part 4, Information About Beneficiary: Your relative's name, date and place of birth, current address, and immigration history in the U.S. if they have ever visited or lived here. Near the end of this part is the question covered in the next section.
5. Part 5, Other Information: Whether you have filed a petition for this relative before, and information about other relatives you are petitioning for.
6. Part 6, Petitioner's Statement, Contact Information, Certification, and Signature: Your contact details and signature, dated the day you sign.

Answer every question. If something does not apply, write "N/A" or "None" rather than leaving the field empty; USCIS treats unanswered fields as a sign the form is incomplete. Double-check that every name and date matches your supporting documents exactly, since discrepancies are one of the most common reasons petitions get flagged for extra review. Once every field is filled in, use PDF Editify's e-signature tool to add your signature before printing or uploading the completed PDF for filing.

The Question Petitioners Get Wrong: Adjustment of Status vs Consular Processing

Toward the end of Part 4, the form asks where your relative is and how they intend to get their green card once the petition is approved: through adjustment of status if they are already living in the U.S. and eligible to apply without leaving, or through consular processing if they will apply for an immigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. You will need to name the specific city where your relative intends to apply.

Petitioners get this wrong in two ways. First, they guess at the answer instead of confirming their relative's actual physical location and status on the day they sign. Second, they treat this answer as locked in, when in reality it reflects intent at the time of filing and does not by itself grant eligibility for either path. Eligibility for adjustment of status still depends on how the relative entered the U.S. and whether a visa is currently available in their category. If your relative may need to file Form I-485 later, our guide to filling out Form I-485 walks through that process once a visa number is available.

Filing by Mail vs Online

As of 2026, the USCIS filing fee for Form I-130 is $625 if you file online through your USCIS account, or $675 if you file by mail. Each relative you petition for requires a separate form and a separate fee.

Filing online generally means faster confirmation that USCIS received your case and lets you track status in your account. Filing by mail is still common for petitioners who prefer paper records or who are filing alongside other paperwork that is easier to send as one package. Either way, current processing times for Form I-130 average well over a year depending on the relationship category and service center, so submitting a complete, error-free packet the first time is the single biggest thing you control.

If you only need a PDF tool to get through this one petition, a recurring subscription is overkill. PDF Editify's One Week Plan is a $3 one-time purchase that expires on its own with nothing to cancel, unlike month-to-month subscriptions from other PDF tools that keep billing until you remember to turn them off.