F4 · Siblings of US citizens
F4 carries a worldwide cap of 65,000 visas per year, divided under the 7% per-country ceiling. The April 2026 Visa Bulletin shows Final Action Dates from roughly 2007 for India and Mexico, earlier still for the Philippines; mainland China and the rest of the world sit at about 14 to 18 years. The petitioner must be a US citizen aged 21 or older — LPRs cannot petition. The only point of filing today is to lock in a priority date: that is the single thing that orders the queue when visa numbers eventually arrive.
Last verified ·
Eligibility
Process
Confirm the petitioner is a US citizen (by birth or naturalisation) and at least 21. LPRs cannot petition for siblings — tell an LPR client F4 is unavailable until they naturalise. Verify naturalisation certificate, passport, and birth certificate.
Duration · 1 week
Identify the relationship type: (1) full siblings — shared biological parents; (2) half siblings — one shared biological parent; (3) step siblings — the marriage creating the relationship occurred before both children turned 18; (4) adopted siblings — the adoption was finalised before age 16, with a final adoption decree plus 2 years of legal custody. Each type drives a different evidence set.
Duration · 1–3 weeks
You must be a US citizen aged 21 or older. Be candid with your sibling: from filing I-130 to visa issuance is likely 14–20 years or more; locking the priority date today is the only thing this case secures right now. LPRs cannot petition — if you are still a green-card holder, naturalise first (typically a 5-year residency) before starting.
Pull together citizenship proof (US passport, naturalisation certificate, or US birth certificate), your own birth certificate, and your sibling's birth certificate. If shared parents have marriage, death, or name-change records, include them. Step or adopted siblings need the parental marriage record or final adoption decree with dates.
The I-130 filing date is your priority date. Think of it as your ticket number in the F4 queue — when visas are available NVC works through priority dates in order. Moves, marriage, and children later in life do not change this date. You do not need to be in the US or to hold any US status during the wait.
Send your birth certificate (notarised + certified English translation), document any name or spelling variants (former names on household registers, post-marriage surname changes, passport transliteration differences), and note any shared-parent name changes or migration history. Step or adopted cases need parental marriage records or the final adoption decree with dates.
File Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative). Unlike immediate-relative categories, F4 cannot be concurrent-filed with I-485 — the priority date is far from current and the beneficiary is typically abroad or otherwise not adjustment-eligible at filing. Attach proof of US citizenship, both birth certificates, evidence of shared parent(s), and a name-variation statement covering migration, marriage, and transliteration differences. Online filing saves $50.
Duration · 1–2 weeks to compile + USCIS intake
USCIS adjudication typically 12–18 months. The most common F4 RFEs: unexplained name or transliteration variants, thin shared-parent evidence, an adoption finalised past the age-16 cutoff, or a step-sibling case where the parental marriage occurred after one child turned 18. Answer with DNA testing (only after documentary evidence is exhausted; USCIS accepts AABB-accredited labs) or certified copies from the relevant civil registry.
Duration · 12–18 months
Review every field after your attorney drafts — especially name variants, transliterated birth cities, and shared-parent details. Filing online saves $50 ($625 vs $675 paper). USCIS issues an I-797 receipt notice; keep it safely — it carries the priority date that anchors the next decade-plus.
The case sits at USCIS / NVC for a decade-plus. File AR-11 within 10 days of any address change; once NVC reactivates the case, keep all contact details current. If the petitioner dies before the priority date is current the petition is automatically revoked — but INA §204(l) and humanitarian reinstatement may allow continuation, and the surviving family must locate a substitute sponsor.
A B-1/B-2 application with a pending F4 invites the INA §214(b) immigrant-intent presumption — the consular officer may refuse on the grounds that you sit in a US green-card queue. F4 does not recognise dual intent (unlike H-1B and L-1). If you need to visit, document strong ties to your home country — employment, family, property — and disclose the pending I-130; concealing it is fraud.
A spouse and unmarried children under 21 can travel as derivatives. But a 14–20 year wait means most children will biologically exceed 21 before the priority date is current. The CSPA formula: CSPA age = biological age when visa becomes available minus I-130 processing time (filing date to approval date). The child must "seek to acquire" permanent residence within 1 year of visa availability to lock in that age. Many still age out — review the projected timeline per child with counsel early.
After I-130 approval the case transfers to the National Visa Center for a queue lasting well over a decade. As the priority date nears current, NVC notifies the petitioner and beneficiary to begin the I-864 Affidavit of Support (income at 125% of the federal poverty line for the household size, with the 225% military exception), Form DS-260 immigrant visa application, and document collection. If petitioner income falls short, line up a joint sponsor.
Duration · 14–20+ years in queue; 4–8 months active processing at the end
Beneficiary completes the I-693 civil-surgeon medical exam and consular interview at the home-country US embassy or consulate. Before the interview, NVC must transfer the complete case file to the post. The consular officer evaluates the relationship, the adequacy of the I-864, and admissibility (criminal, medical, public-charge). After the visa issues, the beneficiary has 6 months to enter the US to acquire LPR status; the physical green card mails to the US address on the immigrant visa packet.
When the priority date approaches current, the petitioner signs Form I-864 Affidavit of Support. Income must reach 125% of the federal poverty line for the household size (100% for active-duty military petitioning a sibling). If income is short, add a joint sponsor. The I-864 is legally enforceable until the beneficiary naturalises, accrues 40 qualifying quarters, leaves the US, or dies.
When NVC signals the priority date is approaching: file DS-260 in CEAC, upload civil documents (birth certificate, police certificate, plus any required court, military, or divorce records), pay the visa fees, and help the petitioner complete I-864. Within 60 days of the scheduled interview, complete the I-693 medical exam with a panel physician listed by the relevant US consulate.
Attend the consular interview in your home country. Bring originals (not copies) for verification, certified translations, the original I-864, and the sealed medical packet (do not open). After approval, the consulate places the immigrant visa in your passport with the immigrant packet. You must enter the US within 6 months of visa issuance — admission gives you LPR status that day; the physical green card mails to the US address on the DS-260 within a few weeks.
Documents
The core F4 form. Government fee $675 paper / $625 online under the April 2024 rule. USCIS issues an I-797 receipt notice bearing the priority date — keep this safely for the next decade-plus.
US birth certificate, valid US passport (bio + data pages), or naturalisation certificate N-550 / N-570. Any one is sufficient; copies must be legible.
Establishes the petitioner's link to the shared parent(s). The birth certificate must list at least one shared biological parent.
Establishes the beneficiary's link to the same shared parent. For mainland China beneficiaries a household register does not substitute — provide a birth certificate issued by the civil affairs bureau or notary at the place of birth.
Required in half-sibling cases to establish the identity of the one shared parent. Step-sibling cases require the parental marriage record (with the marriage predating both children turning 18).
The adoption must be finalised before the adopted child turned 16, with 2 years of legal custody documented. Court decree plus same-residence evidence from the custody period (school, medical, household records).
The single most common F4 RFE driver. Cover migration, marriage, Hanyu Pinyin vs. Wade-Giles (Wang / Wong, Zhang / Chang), and former names on household registers. Petitioner-signed, notarised if needed.
Not required at I-130 filing; signed by the petitioner once NVC reopens the case and the priority date is near current. Legally enforceable until the beneficiary naturalises, accrues 40 qualifying quarters, leaves the US, or dies.
Filed online via CEAC after NVC signals the priority date is approaching current. Questions cover residence history, employment history, and criminal / medical / military disclosures. Spouse and derivative children each file their own.
For consular processing a US embassy-designated panel physician performs the exam; the sealed envelope must be presented unopened at the interview. Fees go directly to the physician, not to USCIS.
Timeline
| Stage | Duration | What can go wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare & file I-130 | 2–4 weeks | Thin relationship evidence, unexplained name or transliteration variants, or a step-sibling case where the parental marriage came after one child turned 18 — any of these triggers an RFE. |
| USCIS I-130 adjudication | 12–18 months | Half-sibling and adoption cases see the most RFEs; reserve DNA testing for after documentary evidence is exhausted (AABB-accredited labs only). |
| NVC queue (priority-date wait) | Roughly 14–20 years, varying by country of birth | Petitioner dies before the priority date is current — petition is revoked by default and may be continued only under INA §204(l) or humanitarian reinstatement with a substitute sponsor. Children's biological ages cross 21 during the wait — CSPA partially freezes the age, but many still age out. |
| NVC document collection + I-864 + DS-260 | 4–8 months | Petitioner income falls short of 125% of the federal poverty line and no joint sponsor is lined up; or NVC documents go unsubmitted long enough that the case moves to administrative hold. |
| Consular interview + admission as LPR | Interview day + 6-month entry window | Admissibility issues (criminal, medical, public-charge), an insufficient I-864, or a consular officer questioning the genuineness of the sibling relationship — 221(g) administrative processing can stretch for months. |
FAQ
The April 2026 Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates for F4 stand roughly at: 2007 for India and Mexico; earlier than 2005 for the Philippines; and around 2008 for mainland China and the rest of the world. Translated into wait estimates these correspond to: India and Mexico — 18 to 19 years; Philippines — 21+ years; mainland China and worldwide — 17 to 18 years. The bulletin moves forward and retrogresses month-to-month — never read a single month's number as a precise forecast. The State Department publishes the live bulletin at travel.state.gov each month around the 12th.
No. INA §203(a)(4) is unambiguous: only US citizens may petition for siblings. LPRs (green-card holders) have access to F2A (spouse / minor child) and F2B (adult unmarried child), but never to a sibling category. If you are an LPR who wants to petition a sibling, the only path is naturalisation first — typically 5 years of continuous residence (3 if married to a US citizen), plus the N-400 application, biometrics, civics / English test, and oath. Once you naturalise and turn 21 (if you were not already), you can file I-130 for siblings.
By default the I-130 is revoked when the petitioner dies. Two doctrines may rescue the case. (1) INA §204(l) — automatic survivor benefit when the beneficiary was residing in the US at the time of death and continues to reside in the US after. (2) Humanitarian reinstatement — discretionary USCIS reinstatement requested by the beneficiary or another family member when §204(l) does not apply; criteria include the beneficiary's connection to the US, hardship if denied, and the petitioner's original intent. Either route requires a substitute sponsor (typically another US-based relative) to sign a new I-864. Get to an immigration attorney within weeks of the death — there are filing deadlines and the case can be administratively closed first.
It is harder, not impossible. F4 is not a dual-intent category (unlike H-1B and L-1) — a pending I-130 for permanent residence is exactly the kind of evidence INA §214(b) requires consular officers to weigh against B visa applicants. Many applicants are refused on §214(b) precisely because they sit in an immigrant queue. To improve the odds: document strong home-country ties (stable employment, family, property, financial assets), travel with a clear short-term purpose (a specific wedding, graduation, medical visit), and disclose the pending I-130 on the DS-160 — concealing it is fraud and can permanently bar future visas. ESTA / Visa Waiver Program countries face the same scrutiny at the port of entry.
For F4 derivatives, CSPA age = biological age on the date the visa becomes available, minus the number of days I-130 took to adjudicate (filing to approval). The child must then "seek to acquire" lawful permanent residence within 1 year of visa availability — usually by filing DS-260 or I-485 — to lock in the formula. Worked example: I-130 filed 2026, approved 2027 (~12 months). Visa becomes available 2042. Child is biologically 25 then, but CSPA age = 25 − 1 = 24 → still aged out. Now suppose I-130 took 18 months instead, child was biologically 22.5 at visa availability: CSPA age = 22.5 − 1.5 = 21 → still aged out. With a 14–20 year wait, CSPA only saves children who were under ~6 at filing AND for whom I-130 processing was unusually long. Most teenagers at filing age out by visa availability regardless.
No — they are independent petitions and can be filed concurrently. IR-5 (parent of a US citizen) is an immediate-relative category with no annual cap and no priority-date queue; the parent typically completes the entire process in 12–18 months. F4 sits in the multi-year queue described above. The two cases share no quota, no priority date, and no shared adjudication. The petitioner can sign separate I-864s for each beneficiary as long as household income meets 125% of the federal poverty line for the combined household size. Many families file both at once — get the parent in quickly, lock in the sibling priority date for the long haul.
Honest answer: yes, if the family is taking the long view, and no, if anyone is treating it as a near-term immigration plan. The priority date is the only thing that orders the queue — every month of delay is a month deeper in the line. The filing fee ($625 online / $675 paper) is meaningful but not life-changing. The realistic benefits: (a) the petitioner is locking in a date for decades-out family reunification, (b) an approved I-130 has practical optionality (it never expires; if the beneficiary's situation changes, the priority date can be carried forward in some scenarios), (c) for posterity, the beneficiary's children may benefit even if the beneficiary ages out of derivative limits later. The realistic costs: long wait, frequent communication upkeep across two countries, and the certainty that children at filing age will rarely benefit as derivatives. Filing makes sense as one piece of a long-term family strategy, not as a path to US residence in any near-term sense.
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