Petition for a Parent

Immigrant Visa Petition for a Parent of a United States Citizen.

Only a Citizen of the United States qualifies as a Petitioner and may file an Immigrant visa petition for a parent. The petitioner must be at least 21 years old at the time of filing.

Parents can establish relationships with children through birth, adoption, or marriage that creates a step relationship.

To consider the beneficiary as the parent of the petitioner:

1. The petitioner must have previously qualified as the child of the beneficiary.
2. The relationship must continue, even if the petitioner is over 21 and no longer a child.

When a step-parent relationship ends due to divorce, annulment, or adoption, the beneficiary parent loses eligibility as a parent. This remains true even if the petitioner was once considered the beneficiary’s child.

The requirements for establishing the parent-child relationship are the same as with petitions for children, In addition to evidence of U.S. citizenship, the petitioner must also provide evidence of the claimed relationship.

Immigrant Visa Petitions for More than Two Parents.

There is no limitation on the number of parents for whom a single petitioner may file a visa petition. For example, if the petitioner’s natural parents divorced and both remarried other aliens before the petitioner turned 18, the petitioner could file petitions for their natural mother, natural father, stepmother, and stepfather.

Upon approval of the Immigrant Visa Petition, adjustment of status to that of a Lawful Permanent resident may be pursued either in the U.S. through the green card process or outside the U.S. through an Immigrant visa application at the foreign Embassy.