Immediate Relatives

If you are a U.S. Citizen or a Lawful Permanent Resident “green card holder”, who can you sponsor?

If you are a U.S. Citizen, you can sponsor your immediate relatives – i.e. your husband, your wife, your unmarried children under the age of 21, and your parents. For these immediate relatives, the processing time is generally faster than most other categories of visas. To petition for your husband/wife, you will have to show that you are in a real, legal marriage. One of the first things you will have to submit is your official marriage certificate. Then, depending on the circumstances of your marriage you could have to send in more evidence to satisfy the government. For example, if you were married to someone who was 18 years or younger at the time, then you would have to show evidence that that this is a normal custom or tradition in your country. Marriages to a person younger than 16, however, is generally not permissible will not be recognized regardless of country custom or tradition. Also, the U.S. government will not accept having multiple marriages at the same time. Therefore, you will have to make 100% sure that you are granted a legal divorce before entering into another marriage. and for a legal marriage if you are already married, you must get a legal divorce before you marry someone else. The U.S. Government will most certainly require an official divorce certificate for any prior marriages.

You will also need to submit the birth certificate of the sponsor which shows that they were born a U.S. Citizen. If you or your sponsor were not born in the U.S. and instead became a citizen through naturalization, you will need to submit the naturalization certificate. For unmarried children under the age of 21 and parents, you will need to submit birth certificates showing your parents’ names or your name as the parent. In some countries, only the father’s name is listed which means that you will have to provide additional documentation to prove your relationship - i.e. hospital records, school records, or if those aren’t available then at the very least we will try to obtain notarized statements or affidavits from people who know you and can testify under oath about your relationship with your parents or children.