What supporting documents do I need to submit with the Form I-130, Immigrant Petition?

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative is used to prove the existence of a relationship with the foreign relative, who desires to immigrate to the United States. The person who files the Form I-130 is called the petitioner. The petitioner should be a U.S. Citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident of the U.S. The foreign relative is called the beneficiary. The supporting documents with Form I-130 should be sent to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or USCIS.

If you are a U.S. citizen, who is filing a petition for a foreign relative then you should submit the following supporting documents with Form I-130:

• Copy of Birth Certificate, if you were born in U.S.
• Copy of Naturalization Certificate, if you naturalized as a U.S. Citizen.
• Copy of your U.S. passport.

If you are a Lawful Permanent Resident, who is filing a petition for a foreign relative then you should submit the following supporting documents with Form I-130:

• Copy of your Permanent Resident Card.
• If you have not received your Permanent Resident Card, submit a copy of the biographic page of your passport or any evidence from USCIS that you are a Lawful Permanent Resident.

To prove your family relationship, you should submit the following supporting documents with Form I-130:

• Copy of Birth Certificate showing the name of the child and parent, if applying for child or parent.
• Copy of adoption decree, if applying for adopted child or parent. (Form I-130 cannot be used if the adoption took place after the 16th birthday of the child).
• If applying for spouse:

*Copy of Marriage Certificate.
*Passport style color photo of you (petitioner) and your spouse.
*Form G-325A for you (petitioner) and your spouse.
*Documents of Joint ownership or property.
*Copy of Birth Certificates of the children you (petitioner) and your spouse had together.

• Form I-864, Affidavit of Support.

Any foreign language document, should be translated in English by an authorized translator. If you or the relative have ever had a change of name, you must submit the court order of your legal name change.

The supporting documents with Form I-130 should be filed for each eligible relative. Carefully prepare the supporting documents, as this would make an easy way for the approval of your petition. Put all the documents in a large envelope and send them to the USCIS. Do not send the original documents to USCIS, unless you are asked to send. If you are requested to send the original documents, USCIS keeps a record of the original documents and returns them back to you. Have a copy of all the documents you send to USCIS, as you may need them for your reference.

USCIS processes the Form I-130 only after the visa number is made available. Therefore the eligible alien relative has to wait until the visa number is available, before filing for adjustment of status to a Lawful Permanent Resident.