Immigration Benefits of U.S. Citizen (USC)

When the person becomes a USC, they can file immigration petitions for their family members. Even though immigrant visas (IV) are limited per year set by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the IVs for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are unlimited, so they are always available. Immediate relatives include:

• The spouse of USC

• The children (unmarried and under 21 years of age) of USC

• The parents of USC (at least 21 years old at the time of filing)

• Widows or widowers of USC if the USC filed a petition before they died, or if the widow(er) files a petition within two years of USC’s death

• Married sons / daughters

• Brothers / Sisters of USC (visas are limited per year)

In order to make a petition for their immediate relatives of USC, the USC petitioner (who resides in the US) must file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This can be done either e-filing or through the traditional paper filing. If the USC petitioner (who resides outside the US), they must file the specific USCIS Form I-130. They may also request to file at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in certain limited circumstances per USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part B, Chapter 3, and for their (spouse, unmarried child under the age of 21, or parent if the petitioner is 21 years of age or older).

Despite the visa numbers for the spouse / children / parents of USC have no limit, the other visa classifications of unmarried son / daughter (over 21 years old) and married son / daughter have some limitations. Per State Department visa bulletin for April 2025, the visa slots of 23,400 each category are available. For the visa category of brothers / sisters of USC, the visa numbers of 65,000 are available per year.