Parents
Parents of U.S. citizens
are eligible for permanent resident status as immediate relatives.
The U.S. citizen child must be 21 years of age or older to apply
for a parent.
If the U.S. citizen child
is adopted, the adoption must have been finalized before the
child's 16th birthday. Furthermore, the parent must have had
legal custody of the child for at least two years, either before
or after the adoption. The child must also have resided
with the adoptive parent for at least two years either before
or after the adoption.
If the U.S. citizen is
a stepchild of the alien parent, the marriage creating the stepchild
relationship must have been taken place before the child's 18th
birthday.
The parents of a spouse
are not considered “parents” for immigration purposes. In other
words, a U.S. citizen may not sponsor an immigrant petition
for a father-in-law or mother-in-law. The spouse may petition
for parents if that spouse is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent
resident.
The application process
depends on whether the alien parent is inside or outside of
the United States . If the alien parent is already within
the United States in a nonimmigrant status, the U.S. citizen
can file an immigration petition (I-130) and the parent can
file an application to adjust status to permanent resident at
the same time. If the alien parent is outside of the United
States , the U.S. citizen should file an immigration petition
and request that USCIS notify a U.S. Consulate in the country
where the parent lives. The USCIS sends the approval notice
to the National Visa Center of the U.S. State Department, who
then sends “Packet 3” to the U.S. citizen. After the necessary
forms are completed, the parent goes to the U.S. Consulate overseas
to apply for an immigrant visa. The parent becomes a U.S. permanent
resident when he or she enters the United States on an immigrant
visa.
