Family Reunification Attorney

Family reunification covers every legal route that brings a spouse, child, parent, sibling or fiancé abroad to the United States, from immigrant visa consular processing to asylee relative petitions and humanitarian parole. Capitol Law Partners identifies the fastest route actually open to your family, prepares the petition and manages the case through the National Visa Center and interview. Our family-based immigration page explains the categories.

What a family reunification attorney does for you

Map every route open to your family and confirm whether a parole process is currently accepting cases.
Prepare the Form I-130, I-730, I-129F or I-131 that fits, and the consular package that follows.
Manage the National Visa Center stage so the case is complete the day the priority date allows.
Prepare the family for the interview, answer any section 221(g) refusal and prepare any waiver of inadmissibility.

Immigrant visa consular processing

The main route is an immigrant visa. A U.S. citizen or permanent resident files Form I-130; spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents of U.S. citizens have no wait, while every other category waits for a priority date. After USCIS approval the case goes to the National Visa Center:

Fees. The NVC invoices the immigrant visa and affidavit of support fees.
DS-260. Each family member completes the online immigrant visa application.
Civil documents. Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates, police certificates and passports, with translations.
Form I-864. The petitioner and any joint sponsor submit the affidavit of support with tax and income proof; the sponsor must be domiciled in the United States or show a plan to reestablish domicile.
Interview. Once the case is complete and a visa number is available, the NVC schedules the interview at the embassy or consulate, preceded by a panel physician examination; an approved relative enters as a permanent resident.

Our marriage-based green card, parent, child and sibling green card pages cover each category.

Following to join: derivatives in family and employment cases

In family preference and employment-based categories, the principal's spouse and unmarried children under 21 immigrate as derivatives without their own petition. If they do not travel with the principal, they can follow to join later with no new petition or priority date, provided the relationship existed when the principal immigrated. If the principal adjusted status here, we file Form I-824 so USCIS notifies the consulate.

Form I-730 for spouses and children of asylees and refugees

An asylee or refugee can petition for a spouse and unmarried children under 21 on Form I-730 within two years of the grant, with a possible humanitarian extension. The relationship must have existed on the date of the grant, and a child's age is locked on the date the asylum application was filed. No visa number or affidavit of support is required; the relatives receive the same status and may apply for green cards after one year. Our affirmative asylum and green card through asylum pages cover the underlying case.

Humanitarian parole and family reunification parole programs

Parole lets a person enter temporarily without a visa. It is not a status and does not itself lead to a green card, but it can bring a relative here while a visa case is pending. Individual humanitarian parole is requested on Form I-131 with a Form I-134 financial declaration and evidence of an urgent humanitarian reason or significant public benefit. It is discretionary and granted sparingly.

The Cuban and Haitian Family Reunification Parole programs let certain beneficiaries of approved I-130 petitions wait for their priority dates inside the United States, and in 2023 similar invitation-based processes opened for nationals of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Ecuador. In 2025 the current administration paused or ended several of these processes, so we confirm the status of each program before a family relies on it and build the immigrant visa case in parallel.

K-1 and K-3 visas

A U.S. citizen engaged to someone abroad can file Form I-129F for a K-1 fiancé visa. The couple must marry within 90 days of entry, and the spouse then adjusts status. The fiancé's unmarried children under 21 travel on K-2 visas. The K-3 visa for a spouse with a pending I-130 is rarely issued, because once USCIS approves the I-130 the K-3 case is closed and the spouse proceeds with the immigrant visa.

Direct consular filing in exceptional circumstances

Ordinarily the I-130 is filed with USCIS. In exceptional circumstances a U.S. citizen may ask the embassy or consulate to accept and adjudicate the I-130 locally. Recognized examples include a military or medical emergency, a threat to personal safety, a child close to aging out, a recent naturalization abroad and a short-notice job relocation. The post may decline.

Priority dates and the Visa Bulletin

Preference families wait for a priority date, the date USCIS received the I-130. The monthly Visa Bulletin publishes Final Action Dates, when visas may be issued, and Dates for Filing, when the NVC may begin collecting documents. Country of birth matters because of per-country limits; a spouse's country can sometimes be used through cross-chargeability.

Documents and evidence your family will need

Proof of the petitioner's status, or of the asylum or refugee grant for an I-730.
Civil documents with certified translations, and secondary evidence where registries are unreliable.
Police certificates, any military records and valid passports.
Form I-864 with tax and income records and proof of U.S. domicile, or Form I-134 for parole.

What families can do while they wait

Keep addresses current, respond to every NVC notice, gather civil documents early and keep tax filings in order for the I-864.
Avoid changes that break eligibility, such as a derivative child's marriage.
Make only honest short visits with the petition disclosed; entering intending to stay can be misrepresentation.
A permanent resident spending long periods abroad should obtain a reentry permit first to protect their own status.
If the NVC or the consulate stops moving, an immigration mandamus lawsuit can compel a decision.

Common problems we help you avoid

An I-864 rejected because the petitioner lives abroad without a plan to reestablish U.S. domicile.
A section 221(g) refusal for a missing document, or a case stuck in administrative processing.
Inadmissibility discovered at the interview, requiring a Form I-601 waiver that should have been planned earlier.
Reliance on a paused parole program with no immigrant visa case underway.

Why Capitol Law Partners

Cagatay Ersoy, founder and managing partner of Capitol Law Partners, is a graduate of Columbia Law School and handles family-based petitions and consular cases, alongside asylum, employment-based immigration and business matters. Our attorneys and staff work in English, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese and French. We represent families from our offices in Washington, DC, Herndon, Virginia, New York and Minneapolis, and through our Istanbul office for families in Turkey.

Learn more about bringing family to the United States

Start your family reunification case

Tell us who is abroad, how they are related to you and your own status, and we will lay out every route. Schedule a consultation or call +1 (202) 440-2272.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I bring my spouse who lives abroad to the United States?

You file Form I-130 with USCIS. If you are a U.S. citizen, your spouse is an immediate relative and the case moves to the National Visa Center as soon as the petition is approved. If you are a permanent resident, your spouse waits in the F2A category for a current priority date. The NVC then collects the DS-260, civil documents and your I-864 and schedules the consular interview.

What does the National Visa Center do?

The National Visa Center is the Department of State office that holds approved petitions until a visa is available, collects the fees, the DS-260 application, civil documents and the Form I-864 affidavit of support, and schedules the interview at the embassy or consulate once the case is documentarily complete. It does not decide the visa; the consular officer does that at the interview.

Can my spouse and children join me after I get my green card through my employer?

Yes. In employment-based and family preference categories, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 are derivatives and can follow to join you without a new petition or a new priority date, as long as the relationship existed when you became a permanent resident. If you adjusted status in the United States, we file Form I-824 so USCIS notifies the consulate to begin processing for your family.

I was granted asylum. How do I bring my family?

File Form I-730 for your spouse and each unmarried child under 21 within two years of your asylum grant. The relationship must have existed when asylum was granted, and a child's age is locked on the date you filed your asylum application. No visa number or affidavit of support is required. After USCIS approval, the consulate interviews your relatives and they travel to the United States as derivative asylees.

Is humanitarian parole still available?

Individual humanitarian parole on Form I-131 remains available for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, but it is discretionary and granted sparingly. Several categorical family reunification parole processes were paused or ended in 2025. Because availability changes quickly, we confirm the current status of each program before advising you to rely on it, and we pursue the immigrant visa route at the same time.

Can I file the I-130 at the U.S. embassy instead of USCIS?

Only in exceptional circumstances. A U.S. citizen living abroad may ask the embassy or consulate to accept the I-130 when there is a military or medical emergency, a threat to personal safety, a child about to age out, a recent naturalization abroad or a short-notice relocation to the United States. The request must be documented, and the post may decline and send the petition to USCIS instead.

Can my relative visit the United States while the immigrant visa is pending?

Possibly, with a visitor visa or through a visa waiver program, but the pending petition is evidence of immigrant intent and must be disclosed. The officer must be satisfied that your relative will leave on time. Entering with a plan to stay and adjust status can be treated as misrepresentation, which is difficult to waive, so we advise families on honest short visits only.

What is the difference between Final Action Dates and Dates for Filing?

Both charts appear in the monthly Visa Bulletin. The Dates for Filing chart tells the National Visa Center when it may begin collecting documents and, when USCIS designates it, when adjustment applicants may file. The Final Action Dates chart tells when a visa may actually be issued or an adjustment approved. Your priority date must reach the relevant chart for each step to proceed.

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Family Reunification Attorney: Lawyers for Bringing Spouses, Children, Parents and Siblings to the U.S.