There are a multitude of immigrant visa types for family members of United States citizens. For parents of adult citizens, IR-5 visa status offers the opportunity to live in the U.S. and subsequently become lawful permanent residents. To apply for an IR-5 visa, you have to make sure you and your family are eligible and then submit the appropriate paperwork. 

This article provides the basic steps for obtaining an IR-5 visa, including the requirements, how to apply for various scenarios and what happens after you submit your application.

Eligibility for IR-5 visas

To sponsor a parent to come to the U.S. on an IR-5 parent visa, the child must:

• Be a U.S. citizen
• Have a U.S. address and live in the country
• Be at least 21 years old
• Prove they can financially support the parent until they can work
• Prove the beneficiary is their parent

Applying for an IR-5 visa

Every application (or petition) for a parent visa requires the U.S. citizen to submit Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This form asks for information about the citizen, the parent and their relationship.

If the petitioner’s or their parent’s name has changed, the petitioner must submit proof of the change, such as a divorce decree, marriage certificate or adoption decree. What else they need to submit depends on the nature of their relationship with the parent. Below are current guidelines from the Form I-130 instructions.

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Applying for a mother

Along with Form I-130, the petitioner must submit: 

• A copy of their U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization or citizenship
• A copy of their birth certificate that shows their mother’s name and their name
• If applicable, proof that the mother was inspected and paroled or inspected and admitted into the U.S. (typically using I-94 information)

Applying for a father who married the mother before the child was born

Along with Form I-130, the petitioner must submit: 

• A copy of their U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization or citizenship
• A copy of their birth certificate that shows their name and the names of both parents
• A copy of their parents’ civil marriage certificate 
• Copies of documents showing that any prior marriages between their parents and other people were legally terminated
• If applicable, proof that the father was inspected and paroled or inspected and admitted into the U.S. (typically using I-94 information)

Applying for a father who didn’t marry the mother before the child turned 18 

Along with Form I-130, the petitioner must submit: 

• A copy of their U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization or citizenship
• A copy of their birth certificate that contains their father’s name and their name
• Evidence of a financial or emotional bond that existed between them and their father before they turned 21 or got married (whichever occurred earlier)
• If applicable, proof that the father was inspected and paroled or inspected and admitted into the U.S. (typically using I-94 information)

Applying for a father who wasn’t married to the mother when the child was born but “legitimated” the child before the child turned 18

In many cases, “legitimating” a child means the parents married before the child turned 18. However, a child can also be legitimated under whatever mechanisms allowed by the laws of their state, their country, their father’s state or their father’s country. 

In this case, along with Form I-130, the petitioner must submit: 

• A copy of their U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization or citizenship
• A copy of their birth certificate that shows their name and their father’s name
• Evidence they were legitimated before they turned 18
• If applicable, proof that the father was inspected and paroled or inspected and admitted into the U.S. (typically using I-94 information)

Applying for an adoptive parent

Along with Form I-130, the petitioner must submit:

• A copy of their U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization or citizenship
• A copy of their birth certificate
• A statement showing the places they’ve lived with the adoptive parent and the dates
• Proof that they were in their adoptive parent’s legal custody and resided with their adoptive parent for at least two years before or after adoption
• A certified copy of their adoption certificate showing they were adopted before turning 16
• If applicable, proof that the parent was inspected and paroled or inspected and admitted into the U.S. (typically using I-94 information)

Applying for a step-parent

Along with Form I-130, the petitioner must submit: 

• A copy of their U.S. passport or certificate of naturalization or citizenship
• A copy of their birth certificate that shows both parents’ names
• A copy of any divorce decree, annulment decree or death certificate that proves that any prior marriage of the step-parent or birth parent legally ended 
• A copy of the marriage certificate for the marriage between their birth parent and step-parent that proves the marriage happened before they turned 18
• If applicable, proof that the step-parent was inspected and paroled or inspected and admitted into the U.S. (typically using I-94 information)

What happens after you apply for an IR-5 visa?

The steps after applying for an IR-5 visa differ depending on if the parent is currently inside or outside the U.S.

If the parent is outside the U.S.

If your parent is outside the country when you petition for their IR-5 visa, they will likely need to have their visa processed through the U.S. embassy or U.S. consulate in their country. Below is an overview of that process.

Consular processing

After it approves your I-130 petition, the government transfers your case with your parent to the National Visa Center (NVC) and sends you a welcome letter. This letter can come in the regular mail or by email, and you must use the information in it to log into the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) to manage your case and check on its status. 

After receiving your welcome letter, you must submit the affidavit of support fee and the immigrant visa application processing fee. You then need to submit documents to the NVC through the CEAC so the Department of State can set the immigrant visa interview. These documents include:

• Affidavit of Support Form I-864, which must be filed out by the U.S. citizen child (and a joint sponsor if the child has insufficient finances to accept financial responsibility for their parent)
• Evidence of the citizen child’s finances and the finances of any joint sponsor (which can include tax transcripts, pay statements, and financial statements)
• Proof of the child’s status as a U.S. citizen (such as a birth certificate, passport or passport card, or U.S. naturalization certificate)
• Evidence of the child’s domicile in the U.S.
• Proof of the child’s relationship with the parent (including birth certificates, adoption certificates, tax returns, marriage certificates and signed statements)
• Form DS-260, Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, which must be filled out by the child and the parent after their CEAC status shows as “PAID” in the system

Prepare for the interview

After you submit your fees, Affidavit of Support, supporting documents and Forms DS-260, an interview between your parent and a U.S. consular officer can be set. Your parent needs to print the confirmation page from submitting Form DS-260 and bring it to their interview. 

Before your parent attends their interview, they must collect civil documents and submit scans of them online through the CEAC. These documents include: 

• Court records 
• Birth certificates (for the parent and the child)
• Adoption documents
• Marriage certificates 
• Military records 
• Documents regarding the termination of a marriage
• Prison records
• A photocopy of a valid passport’s biographic data page
• Police certificates

Before their interview, your parent must also attend a medical examination with an embassy-approved doctor (also called a panel physician) and receive any required vaccinations. The results of your parent’s examination remain in a sealed envelope that your parent can’t open and must bring to their interview (their panel physician might send their results directly to the embassy instead). 

Your parent then needs to register for an embassy-approved courier service for the return of their documents and collect documents that are required for their interview, such as:

• Their appointment letter
• Originals or certified copies of their civil documents 
• Their passport
• Two identical color photographs
• Their Form DS-260 confirmation page

Visa interview

The IR-5 visa interview questions a government officer may address include:

• Whether the interviewee understood the application
• Any unanswered questions on the application
• If the interviewee needs to update any information that’s changed since applying
• Whether the relationship between the child and parent is bona fide
• If the interviewee needs to revise any incorrect answers on the application

If the consular officer approves your parent for a visa, they will give them a visa packet that they must not open, and your parent will need to pay a USCIS immigrant fee. Your parent can then travel to the U.S. with their unopened visa packet and present the packet to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at their port of entry. If CBP admits your parent, they have lawful permanent resident status.

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If the parent is inside the U.S.

Typically, a parent who is already in the U.S. doesn’t have to participate in consular processing or submit Form DS-260 to obtain a green card based on their U.S. citizen child’s petition. Many parents can file Form I-485 to apply to adjust their status to permanent resident status. They may also need to attend a biometrics appointment and, sometimes, attend an interview.

Some parents may file Form I-485 at the same time their child files Form I-130. In general, the U.S. government processes these concurrent filings only if a visa number remains available for the parent’s visa classification and the parent’s Form I-485 is approvable.

If USCIS approves a parent’s application to adjust status, the parent receives an approval notice and then their green card.

Appealing the rejection of an IR-5 visa petition

If an I-130 petition is rejected, the government will let you know whether you have a right to appeal in the denial notice you receive. The notice should also tell you which form to use to appeal the denial, how much time you have to appeal and where you should send your appeal paperwork. 

Typically you can appeal by filing Form EOIR-29, Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals from a Decision of a DHS Officer. If you believe the government incorrectly applied a policy or law when it rejected your petition, you may be able to file Form I-290, Notice of Appeal or Motion, to obtain a more favorable outcome. 

How an attorney may help

You don’t have to hire an attorney to help you bring your parent to the U.S., but legal counsel may make the process easier for some people. A experienced immigration lawyer can help: 

• Identify which visas you and your family are eligible for and tactics that can expedite the filing process
• Explain and locate necessary family records (such as adoption certificates, certificates of legitimization or marriage and divorce paperwork)
• Assist you in completing the petition
• Prepare you and your parent for any interviews