Form I-130

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Felipe Eusebio

New Member
Am a legal resident (green card holder) and am about to fill the I-130 form, for my wife and kids, I just have a confusion, I have 3 kids but my oldest one is not from my wife, do I need to fill 2 separate I-130 forms? if so, that means I have to pay 2 times?, one for my wife in our 2 kids, and other one for my oldest kid?

Thanks for the help
 
I believe that a step child can be a derivative beneficiary, so one petition for your wife is enough.

Also note that if you might become a citizen soon, it would be best to file separate I-130s for all your kids, because once you become a citizen, your wife goes into the Immediate Relative category, which cannot have derivative beneficiaries.
 
Did you marry your wife before her oldest child was 18? If not, you cannot file for that child.

Also be aware that you have a choice of (1) filing only one I-130, with your wife as the primary and the children as derivatives, or (2) file a separate I-130 for each child in addition to an I-130 for your wife.

If you married your wife before your green card was approved, you may also have option (3), follow-to-join which is likely to be much faster than (1) or (2), depending on the category of your green card. The same goes for your children, if they were born before your green card approval (but it may be more complicated for your wife's child).

Note that if you choose option (1), and become a US citizen before their green card are approved, they will lose eligibility to immigrate as derivatives and you will be forced file a new I-130 for each child, which could introduce delays. So if you plan to become a US citizen in the next couple of years, consider filing a separate I-130 from now so your citizenship won't disrupt their processing.
 
Correction to the above: only your wife's two children can be added as derivatives to your wife's I-130. You will need a separate I-130 for your oldest child, unless that child can follow-to-join as a derivative to your own green card. How did you get your green card? That affects whether your children and/or wife are eligible for follow-to-join.

And for your oldest child, it won't matter when you married your wife since that is your own biological child and not your stepchild.
 
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