IR5 Visa (Parent Green Card): Application and Requirements 2026

Both the US citizen sponsor and their non-American parent(s) must meet certain conditions to be eligible for an IR5 visa. The U.S. citizen who will sponsor the IR5 application must:

• Be at least 21 years old
• Have enough financial stability to support their parent(s) until the parent(s) themselves start working in the US
• Live in the US and have a valid residential address
• Be able to prove their parent-child relationship through a legitimate birth certificate

On the other hand, the concerned parent must be:

• A foreign national
• Admissible otherwise to the US (i.e., none of the grounds of inadmissibility as listed in INA 212(a) apply to them)

Note that as the concerned applicant is an immediate relative of an American citizen, the “Labor certification and qualifications for certain immigrants (INA 212(a)(5)),” which can be a ground of inadmissibility, does not apply to them.

U.S. immigration applications are fairly time-consuming, and this parent green card is no different. The application process for the IR5 visa consists of 2 mains stages such as:

• The petition stage to be completed by the U.S. citizen
• The immigrant visa or adjustment of status application stage to be completed by the parent applicant

First, the U.S. citizen will have to submit a petition for a Green Card for their foreign national parent. Once their petition is accepted, the concerned parent can either apply for an immigrant visa to move to the US if they are currently living outside the country or file for an “adjustment of status” if already living lawfully in the US on a different visa.

First, the U.S. sponsor must complete Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) and submit it to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) along with any supporting documents and the filing fee. You can file the petition online or use the traditional paper process. The filing must be done using the USCIS Chicago Lockbox facility and following instructions on the USCIS website.

USCIS will review the application. Usually, you will get a decision over whether your application has been accepted or denied in a few months or so. If you receive a refusal, USCIS will notify you about the reason(s) for refusal. You can reapply if your initial petition was denied by amending and resubmitting the petition.

If your petition has been approved, your IR5 visa application then proceeds to the National Visa Center (NVC). The NVC will then send you a package that will give you all the details about the next steps in the process. In this package, you will receive an application case number along with an invoice ID number.

Next, you must pay online the Immigrant Visa Application Processing Fee and Affidavit of Support Fee. Please allow 10 calendar days for NVC to process your fees. You will also have to submit the “Affidavit of Support” (Form I-864) to accept financial responsibility for your parent(s). If the petitioner’s income is insufficient for this purpose, a joint-sponsor may agree to also complete an I-864 on the applicant’s behalf.

Once NVC has processed your fee payments, your foreign national parent can start filling up Form DS-260, the “Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration.” If they are already in the US, they will have to file Form I-485, “Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status,” instead.

Since there are no limits or priority dates for the IR-5 visa, the parent applicant can start the application as soon as the US citizen’s petition is approved. If the parent is abroad, they can apply for the IR5 visa at their local U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their home country, where local officials will review the application and decide whether to approve it or not.

The applicant must first complete the form DS-260 (Immigrant Visa Electronic Application). Using their case number, they must provide information about their background and other personal details relevant to the visa.

When the form is completed, a confirmation page and corresponding number will be displayed. The applicant must print out this confirmation page and keep it safe. This printed page will be attached along with any other supporting documents and put in the portfolio of evidence, which will later be submitted to NVC.

File Form I-485 If the Applicant Is Already in the US

If the parent applicant is currently in the United States on a different visa, they may instead file Form I-485, “Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status” online or by mail, to apply for a Green Card without leaving the country. This is what is known as an “adjustment of status.”

Immediate relatives like a parent may file their Form I-485 together (“concurrently”) with the Form I-130 filed by the petitioner, while the Form I-130 is pending, or after the Form I-130 is approved (and is still valid). You will also have to submit Form I-693, “Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record,” at this stage.

In order to enter the United States, the applicant must meet the health requirements. To prove this, the applicant must pass a medical examination and receive the appropriate vaccinations. More information on the medical examinations and specific vaccinations that the parent applicant must undergo are provided in the NVC package.

In order to satisfy this requirement, the parent will need to go to a licensed doctor for the medical examination and vaccination. The applicant must obtain a signed confirmation detailing that they have met the health requirements and have received the appropriate vaccinations. This signed confirmation will be submitted along with other supporting documents to the applicant’s portfolio of evidence sent to the NVC.

A number of documents are needed in the IR5 visa application in order to prove that the applicant fulfills the criteria for eligibility. Specific documents may vary with each unique circumstance of the parent applicant. However, the primary documents that need to be included are as follows:

• A valid passport for more than 6 months after your planned entry into the United States
• Signed Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support) from the U.S. citizen petitioner
• The printed confirmation page of the DS-260 form (Immigrant Visa Electronic Application)
• Medical examination and vaccination documents
• A valid birth certificate that can prove the relationship between the parent applicant and their U.S. citizen sponsor
• Two photographs per individual applicant (these must meet the photographic requirements for the U.S. Visa)
• Any court and criminal records and/or police certificate
• If the applicant has ever served in the military, they must submit their military records

Furthermore, any supporting documents that you or your immigration attorney feel are relevant to your application should also be included.

After all of the documents have been compiled together and sent off to the NVC, an interview will then be scheduled for you. It will likely take place at the local U.S. Embassy or consulate in the country from which you are applying.

At the interview, an immigration official will ask you questions about your background and the reasons why you want to move to the U.S. Answer these questions correctly and truthfully as the interviewer will use this information to decide on whether or not to grant you permission to enter the United States.

If the immigration official is satisfied with the interview, you will be given a sealed package which you must bring with you when you travel to the U.S. It is VERY important that you DO NOT open this sealed package.

This unopened package must be given to the border official at a U.S. port of entry. If it is opened, you may be denied entry into the United States. If the package is accidentally opened or damaged, contact your local U.S. Embassy or Consulate about resealing the document package before you travel.

There are several fees involved in the Parent Green Card application process, such as:

• $625 for Form I-130 filing fee
• $325 for Form DS-260 processing fee
• Fees for translation of your documents, if applicable
• Medical examination and vaccination fees, if applicable
• $235 for USCIS Immigrant Fee
• $1,440 for Form I-485 filing fee (paper filing), if applicable

It is important to pay the USCIS immigrant fee as soon as you can. You must pay this fee before you travel so as to avoid any unnecessary delays in receiving your Green Card. If you do not pay this fee, USCIS will not issue a permanent resident card (i.e., a Green Card).

For the IR5 visa, as soon as their petition is accepted, they can begin their application. It may take anywhere from 6 months to 1 year for their parent green card to be approved. This will depend on how quickly forms are processed and if there is any backlog at the visa service center.

Since the IR5 visa (Parent Green Card) falls into the immediate relative category of family-based green cards, it has the benefit of no yearly cap of applications. This means that the applicant does not have to wait for a spot to open up for this visa application which may take a considerably longer time.

Understanding IR5 Visa category priority dates and their impact on processing times can help manage expectations during the application process.

For those searching for IR5 Visa category status updates or wondering how to check IR5 Visa status, it is recommended to monitor updates through the USCIS or NVC portals.

Our team of experienced immigration lawyers are experts in U.S. immigration law. We pride ourselves on offering you the very best services and are happy to answer all of your questions about U.S. visas and immigration issues. We can guide you through the application process providing advice and counsel along the way. Some services which are dedicated attorneys can provide are:

• Assessing your eligibility for the IR5 visa (Parent Green Card)
• Offering you help with filling out and submitting various immigration forms
• Helping you to gather the necessary documents for an adequate portfolio of evidence
• Guiding you through the process and what to expect once you have been approved for your IR5 visa

Get in touch with us today to find out more about how we can help you with your Parent Green card!