Updated November 11, 2026

F2A visa processing time: priority dates, Form I-130 and the Visa Bulletin

Your F2A visa processing time depends on two clocks: how long US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) takes to process Form I-130, and when an immigrant visa number becomes available under the general annual limit of 226,000 family-sponsored preference visas. For November 2026, USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for all family-sponsored preference filings inside the United States. If the green card holder petitioner becomes a US citizen while you wait, an immigrant visa becomes immediately available for a spouse and unmarried children under 21.

What is the F2A visa category and who qualifies?

The Second Preference F2A category covers spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age of lawful permanent residents, also called green card holders. Unmarried sons and daughters who are 21 years of age or older fall into Second Preference F2B.

Green card holders may not petition to bring their parents to live permanently in the United States. To petition for a parent, a sponsor must be a US citizen and at least 21 years old. If you are married to a US citizen instead of a green card holder, your case follows the immediate relative path, which you can compare in our CR-1 visa processing time guide. Fiances of US citizens use a nonimmigrant petition covered in our K-1 visa processing time guide.

• Principal F2A beneficiary: Spouse or unmarried child under 21 of a lawful permanent resident.
• Derivative F2A beneficiary: Spouse or unmarried child under 21 of a family-based principal applicant.
• Adopted child requirements: An adoption decree showing the adoption took place before the child turned 16 (or 18 if the sibling exception applies), plus evidence of 2 years of legal custody and 2 years of joint residence.

How F2A processing time works step by step

USCIS defines processing times as an estimate of how long it will take to process your case from start to finish. Because each case is different, some cases take longer than others. You can check average processing times on the USCIS Check Case Processing Times page by selecting Form I-130, the F2A filing category for a permanent resident filing for a spouse or child under 21, and the USCIS service center or field office printed on your receipt notice. When you check your status online with a receipt number, USCIS will only research your case if it is taking longer than current published processing times.

First, the permanent resident petitioner files Form I-130 with USCIS, plus Form I-130A if filing for a spouse. Filing or getting approval for Form I-130 does not give your relative any immigration status or benefit. It only demonstrates a qualifying relationship and creates a place in line. The date Form I-130 is properly filed becomes your priority date, which is printed on Form I-797, Notice of Action.

The stages of an F2A case from petition to interview

Priority dates and the Visa Bulletin for F2A

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, family-sponsored preference visas are limited to 226,000 per year. By statute, these annual limits may be exceeded when certain immigrant visas from the previous fiscal year's allocation were not fully used. The Department of State (DOS) allocates preference visas by preference category, country of chargeability (usually the country of birth), and priority date, and there are limits to the percentage of visas that can be allotted based on an immigrant's country of chargeability. When demand exceeds supply for a category and country, DOS considers it oversubscribed and sets a cut-off date in the monthly Visa Bulletin.

The monthly Visa Bulletin contains two charts: the Application Final Action Dates chart and the Dates for Filing Applications chart. The Dates for Filing chart shows when applicants outside the United States should be notified to assemble and submit documents to the National Visa Center (NVC). For adjustment of status inside the United States, USCIS designates one chart each month within one week of DOS publishing the Visa Bulletin. If USCIS determines there are more immigrant visas available for a fiscal year than known applicants, it allows the Dates for Filing chart. Otherwise, you must use the Final Action Dates chart (unless a category is current on Final Action Dates or its Final Action cutoff date is later than Dates for Filing). For November 2026, USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for all family-sponsored preference filings, so F2A applicants inside the United States use the November 2026 Dates for Filing chart to check whether their priority date is current (C) or earlier than the listed cut-off date for their country of chargeability.

• Cut-off date: A visa is available when your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for your category and country of chargeability.
• C (Current): Demand is less than supply, so visas are immediately available to all qualified applicants in that category and country.
• U (Unavailable): Immigrant visas are temporarily unavailable to all applicants in that category and country.
• Visa retrogression: When more people apply in a month than there are visas available, a current date can stop being current or a cut-off date can move backward. A new supply of visa numbers opens when the new fiscal year begins on October 1, which usually returns cut-off dates to where they were before retrogression.

Consular processing at the NVC vs. adjustment of status in the US

In Part 4 of Form I-130, the petitioner must select only 1 option: Question 61 for adjustment of status inside the United States, or Question 62 for consular processing abroad. Do not complete both or leave the section blank. If Part 4 is incomplete or inaccurate, USCIS decides whether to send the approved petition to the NVC or keep it based on the beneficiary's address listed on Form I-130, even if an updated address is later given on a different form.

If the beneficiary's address on the approved petition is outside the United States, USCIS generally sends it to the Department of State's NVC for consular processing. Once the NVC creates a visa case in the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC), the Dates for Filing Applications chart in the Visa Bulletin indicates when immigrant visa applicants are notified to assemble and submit required documentation, including civil documents and Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, to the NVC. The NVC holds the petition and forwards it to the appropriate US embassy or consulate when a visa becomes available, and your relative is notified about how to proceed with their immigrant visa interview. If your relative is inside the United States and a visa is immediately available, they may file Form I-485 concurrently with Form I-130, while Form I-130 is pending, or after approval (if not terminated or revoked). Under INA section 245, family preference adjustment applicants must meet these rules:

• Inspected and admitted or paroled: You were inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States and are physically present in the United States when filing Form I-485.
• Lawful status and adjustment bars: You have continuously maintained a lawful status since arriving, and no INA section 245(c) bars apply. Applicants subject to INA 245(a) bars may still adjust if eligible under INA section 245(i) by filing Form I-485 Supplement A.
• Immediate visa availability: An immigrant visa must be immediately available both when you file Form I-485 and when USCIS makes a final decision, and the qualifying family relationship must still exist.
• Admissibility and waivers: You must be admissible under INA section 212(a) or eligible for a waiver or relief such as Form I-601 or Form I-212. The labor certification ground under INA 212(a)(5) does not apply to family preference immigrants.
• Medical exam submitted upfront: If required to submit Form I-693 (or a partial Form I-693), you must submit it with Form I-485, or USCIS may reject your Form I-485.
• Work and travel while pending: With a pending Form I-485, you can apply for employment authorization on Form I-765 and an Advance Parole travel document on Form I-131 (selecting only item 5.A. in Part 1). Leaving the United States without an Advance Parole document generally abandons your Form I-485.

USCIS rules for switching between adjustment of status and consular processing

Upgrading an F2A case upon naturalization (with worked example)

If a permanent resident petitioner naturalizes while their relative is waiting for a visa, immigrant visas become immediately available to a US citizen's spouse and unmarried children under 21. However, a US citizen petitioning for a spouse cannot include derivative children on the spouse's petition. You must submit a separate Form I-130 for each biological child, stepchild, or adopted child, and include a photocopy of the receipt notice for the spouse's Form I-130.

Worked example written by our team. The applicants are invented to show how USCIS's rules apply in practice: Suppose Mateo, a green card holder, files Form I-130 and Form I-130A online for his spouse, Sofia, and includes their 4-year-old son, Lucas, as a derivative. Because they live abroad, Mateo selects only Question 62 in Part 4. After USCIS approves Form I-130 and sends it to the NVC, Mateo becomes a US citizen. Mateo upgrades Sofia's case with the NVC and files a separate Form I-130 for Lucas, attaching a photocopy of Sofia's Form I-130 receipt notice.

• If you naturalize before USCIS decides Form I-130: Mail a short letter explaining you are now a US citizen, along with photocopies of your naturalization certificate and Form I-130 receipt notice, to the USCIS office address printed on your receipt notice. Write I-130 Update on the outside of the envelope.
• If you naturalize after USCIS approves Form I-130: Submit the NVC Public Inquiry Form with a scanned PDF or JPG copy of your US passport biodata page or naturalization certificate, and write I-130 Update in the inquiry description.

What the officer may ask at an F2A interview

At a consular interview abroad or an adjustment of status interview in the United States, the officer verifies your qualifying relationship, admissibility, and supporting documents.

• How did your marriage begin, and how do you share your daily life? Checks the bona fides of your marriage and that the qualifying relationship still exists. Prepare your marriage certificate, proof of termination of prior marriages, and evidence of an ongoing marital union (joint property ownership, joint lease, combined finances, children's birth certificates, or detailed third-party sworn affidavits).
• What is your petitioner's status and financial sponsorship? Checks the petitioner's status and Form I-864 or Form I-864EZ, Affidavit of Support. Know where your petitioner lives and works, and bring a copy of the front and back of their Form I-551 Green Card and Form I-864 paperwork.
• When did you enter the US, and have you maintained lawful status? (For Form I-485 interviews.) Checks inspection and admission or parole and INA section 245(c) bars. Bring your passport pages with your visa and admission or parole stamp, Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, and proof of continuous lawful status.
• Have you ever been arrested, or held J-1 or J-2 status? Checks inadmissibility under INA section 212(a) and the 2-year foreign residence requirement under INA section 212(e). Bring certified police and court records of any arrests or charges, and proof of compliance with or a waiver of the J-1/J-2 requirement (Form I-612).

Document checklists and fee rules for Form I-130 and Form I-485

Do not send original documents unless specifically requested in the instructions. Any foreign-language document must include a full English translation and a signed certification from the translator verifying accuracy and competence. Complete and sign Form I-130 (edition date 04/01/24) using pages from the same edition. USCIS rejects unsigned forms or forms missing Part 1 (Relationship), Part 2 (petitioner's full name, date of birth, mailing address, and marital information), or Part 4 (beneficiary's full name, date of birth, physical address, and marital information). Clip Form G-1145 to the first page if filing by mail and requesting e-notification.

On October 28, 2026, USCIS published a new edition of Form G-1055, Fee Schedule (edition date 10/26/26). Verify your exact fee on Form G-1055 before filing, as incorrect fees result in rejection. Online filers pay through the government's online payment portal. Mail filers pay by card using Form G-1450 or US bank account using Form G-1650 (or attach a signed Form G-1651 if exempt from electronic payment). Cash is never accepted. Certain forms also require a separate, non-waivable payment under Public Law 119-21, which adjusts annually and cannot be waived with Form I-912.

• Form I-130 checklist: Signed Form I-130 (edition 04/01/24), Form I-130A (for a spouse), copy of the front and back of the petitioner's Form I-551 Green Card, proof of legal name change and 2 passport-style photos (if applicable), birth certificate (for a child), or marriage certificate, prior marriage termination records, and bona fide marriage evidence (for a spouse).
• Form I-485 principal checklist: Form I-485, Form I-797 for Form I-130 (unless filing concurrently), 2 passport photos, government photo ID copy, birth certificate, marriage and prior divorce/death records (if applicable), passport pages with visa and admission/parole stamp, Form I-94, proof of continuous lawful status, Form I-864 or I-864EZ, and Form I-693 submitted together with Form I-485.
• Form I-485 derivative checklist: Separate Form I-485 packet with proof of relationship to the principal applicant, copy of the principal's Form I-130 I-797 notice, and copy of the principal's Form I-485 I-797 notice or Green Card (if not filing concurrently). Derivatives can file with the principal, while the principal's I-485 is pending, or after the principal's approval or admission as long as the principal remains a permanent resident and the relationship existed then and still exists.

Practice example

How did your marriage begin, and how do you and your spouse share your daily life and finances?

A strong, honest answer walks through your relationship timeline clearly and matches the dates and addresses on your Form I-130 and Form I-130A. Start with when and how you met, when you married, and where you and your permanent resident spouse currently live. If you live together in the United States, describe your shared residence and daily routine. If you are interviewing at a US embassy or consulate abroad, explain how you stay in regular contact, when your spouse visited you, and how you manage household expenses across borders. Have your original civil marriage certificate, proof that any prior marriages for either of you were legally terminated by divorce or death certificate, and organized evidence of your ongoing marital union ready to hand over if asked. That evidence includes a lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence, documentation of joint property ownership, proof of combined financial resources, birth certificates of children born to you and your spouse together, or detailed sworn affidavits from third parties with personal knowledge of your marriage.

The officer is checking that your qualifying F2A relationship still exists and that your marriage is bona fide rather than entered into for immigration benefits. Specific dates and matching documents confirm consistency with your Form I-130 and Form I-130A.

Related guides

• CR-1 visa processing time guide
• K-1 visa processing time guide
• CEAC status guide

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.