F2-A U.S. Immigration – Permanent Residents Sponsoring Spouses with Children under 21 Years Old

Not only are U.S. citizens allowed to sponsor their spouses and children, but green card permanent residents are also allowed to open petitions to sponsor their children under 21 years old and their spouses to settle in the U.S.
However, many people do not know how to apply, the costs, and the waiting time to immigrate to the U.S. under F2-A.
Do not worry, the following article ImmiPath will show you how to open a sponsorship application to go to the U.S. under F2-A and relevant information. See now!

1. What is F2-A U.S. Immigration?

F2-A is one of the visa types in the family preference green card category of the United States. F2-A immigration to the U.S. allows spouses of legal permanent residents or unmarried children under 21 years old to settle in the U.S

It is important to note that the waiting time associated with applying for an F2-A visa is quite long. This is because only a certain number of F2-A visas are issued each year.

However, after receiving a visa, family members of permanent residents will be issued green cards, allowing them to study and work in the United States.

2. Conditions for F2-A U.S. Immigration 

If you are applying for an F2-A visa on behalf of your spouse or children under 21 years of age the following criteria must be met:

• You must be at least 18 years old
• You must live in the U.S., have a permanent registered address
• You must be a legal permanent resident or have a valid green card, which allows you to legally live and work in the United States
• You must have a minimum income of at least 125% of the federal poverty guidelines
• You must demonstrate that you can financially support your spouse and/or dependents when they come to the United States
• Any children you are claiming must be unmarried, under 21 years of age, and not living an independent life

In addition to these requirements of the sponsor, both the spouse and children must provide all necessary documents prescribed by USCIS and pass all eligibility requirements.

3. What are the Steps Involved in Applying for an F2-A U.S. Immigrant Visa?

To receive an F2-A U.S. immigrant visa, you need to prepare the following steps:

3.1 Step 1: Submit a petition using form I-130

Permanent residents begin the spousal petition process with children under 21 years of age by filing form I-130 and paying the appropriate fee with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). You can also pay by credit card using form G-1450.

3.2 Step 2: The petition is processed

Once submitted, the claim is processed, which can take up to several months. USCIS then notifies the sponsor whether his or her petition has been approved.

If denied, you will be notified of the reason why the request was denied. If approved, the petition will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC).

3.3 Step 3: Get the case number

NVC will send approval documents to you, your spouse, and your children. The documents include the petition’s case number, instructions on the next steps, fees, and payment instructions.

After NVC has processed the petition and submitted the approval form, your spouse and children can apply for an F2-A visa.

3.4 Step 4: Submit application and fees

Your spouse and children need to pay the application fee at the U.S. consulate or embassy in their home country. After payment is completed, you need to provide the following documents:

Affidavit of Support: The Affidavit of Support is a contract stating that you agree to use your financial resources to sponsor your spouse and children once they arrive in the United States.

Forms: Your spouse and children submit form DS-260 and form DS-261.

Required civil documents: Civil status documents including birth certificate or adoption certificate; any court records; Notarized copy of marriage certificate; Military background, if any; copy of biographical information page in passport; Police certificate for any country of residence or certificate of criminal record number 2.

Form DS-260 filed online: To access the form, your spouse and children will need to enter the NVC-assigned case number to link their application to the approved petition. The sponsored person will also need to submit form DS-261 (unless they have an attorney).

Note that the affidavit of support states that you will sponsor your spouse and children until they earn 40 quarters of employment in the United States or become US citizens. Normally, this takes 10 years.

3.5 Step 5: Visa interview

Your spouse and children need to complete a visa interview to receive an F2-A visa at the sponsored applicant’s U.S. Consulate or Embassy. Once NVC approves the submitted documents, they will schedule interviews for your spouse and children.

Note that before going to the interview, you must prove that you are in good health to enter and live in the United States. For this, you must pass a medical exam and receive all necessary vaccines. The examination must be conducted by a doctor approved by the embassy.

3.6 Step 6: Visa approval

The Consular Officer or Embassy will decide whether your spouse and children will be granted an F2-A visa.

Once approved, the Consular Officer or US Embassy will stamp the passports of the sponsoring permanent resident spouse and children. They will also receive a sealed packet of documents that must not be opened. Only immigration officers in the United States are allowed to open this package upon entering the border.

4. Cost of Applying for an F2-A U.S. Immigrant Visa

ImmiPath compiles a table of costs to immigrate to the U.S. as a permanent resident sponsoring children under 21 years old and spouses to the U.S. You can refer to and compare with your sponsorship status:

No.	Category	Place of collection	Amount of money
1	Application opening fee	USCIS	$535/set
2	Reviewing financial documents fee	NVC	$120/set
3	Reviewing civil documents fee	NVC	$325/person
4	Health examination fee	Cho Ray, IOM	Adults: $275 (6,399,000 VND) + Children 2-14 years old: $240 (5,584,000 VND) + Children < 2 years old: $165 (3,389,000 VND)
5	Vaccination fee	International Quarantine Center – HCM City	Depending on the number of injections, it usually ranges from 4-6 million VND
6	Immigration fee	(USCIS immigrant fee)	$220/person
7	Fee for making criminal records No. 2	Department of Justice of the province where you have permanent residence	200,000 VND/person (over 16 years old)
8	Passport fee	Immigration Department – Police of the province or city where you have permanent residence	200,000 VND
9	Document translation fee	Notary office	Depends on the collection location. Some documents need to be translated into English such as criminal record number 2 with criminal record
10	Visa delivery fee	Delivery service	140,000VND

The fees in sections 1, 2, 3, and 6 are for the case of only the main applicant. Items 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10 will vary depending on the category and number of accompanying people.

In case the family has many people accompanying them, the sponsorship cost for going to the U.S. will increase accordingly, with the amount calculated per person.

5. What Documents are Included in the F2-A U.S. Immigration Visa Application?

To prepare your application for an F2-A U.S. immigration visa, you need to prepare the following documents:

• Birth certificate or adoption certificate for unmarried children under 21 years old
• Marriage certificate of the spouse
• International passport
• Two passport photos
• Proof of no criminal record from local police or court
• Health certificate form
• Affidavit of support signed by U.S. family member of permanent resident – ​​form I-864
• Divorce certificate or death certificate of previous marriage, if any.
• Confirm application form DS-260
• Visa application fee receipt
• Military records if the beneficiary has served in the military

6. How Long Does It Take to Get an F2-A U.S. Immigrant Visa?

F2-A visas have long waiting times due to the 80,000 visa limit. Applications are usually processed in chronological order. In other words, the processing time will depend on the number of applicants before you.

If the annual position is filled, you will have to wait until the following year to apply. Therefore, the earlier you apply, the better. On average, it can take about 2 – 3 years to fully process an F2-A visa.

In some cases, your sponsoring permanent resident in the United States may acquire U.S. citizenship before you receive your F2-A visa. This is possible because some F2-A visas can take up to 10 years to process and an application for U.S. citizenship only requires 5 years of legal residence.

If that happens, you can apply for a relative (IR) visa immediately – an IR-1 or CR-1 visa. IR visas have no visa restrictions, which means faster processing times.

7. Some Frequently Asked Questions about F2-A U.S. Immigration

7.1. What else do I need to prepare for the F2-A visa application process?

While your spouse waits for information about his or her visa application, he or she can prepare for their new life in America.

For example, did you know that their credit history does not automatically transfer to the states after immigration? That means U.S. companies and financial institutions will have no record of an F2-A visa applicant’s previous financial history. That, in turn, can make it difficult to secure loans, apartment leases, cell phone companies, and other service providers.

7.2. What happens when a permanent resident sponsor becomes a naturalized citizen?

In some cases, a long-term permanent resident applying on behalf of their spouse and children may become a naturalized U.S. citizen during the petition process.

If this happens in your case, your family should contact USCIS and the Embassy in the sponsor’s country.

They are now eligible for immediate relative visas, which have no limit on the number of applications accepted each year. This may speed up your visa processing time.

7.3. What happens when an F2-A visa application is denied?

If the visa applicant is denied based on inadmissibility grounds, they may seek a waiver of inadmissibility. The grounds for inadmissibility include:

• Health and medical reasons
• Criminal conviction
• National security issue
• Possibility of becoming a public charge
• Fraud or misrepresentation
• Unlawful presence

Whether someone qualifies for an exemption will depend on the reason for the individual denial. Consult ImmiPath immigration expert for further legal advice.

7.4. Validity of F2-A U.S. immigrant visa?

The F2-A visa is a green card that grants you permanent resident status. Therefore, you can stay in the United States for life. However, most U.S. green cards expire after 10 years. If this applies to your F2-A green card, you must apply to renew the green card.

You can file online on the USCIS website. This also applies if you misplace your green card. Ideally, apply to renew your green card 6 months before the expiration date. However, you should not file earlier than 6 months.

7.5. What can F2-A visa holders legally do in the United States?

F2-A visa holders are authorized to work in the United States without having to apply for a work permit from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, obtain a valid Social Security number, and attend a school or University to enhance their educational experiences.

With the information shared above about F2-A U.S. immigration sponsorship, ImmiPath hopes it will be useful for green card permanent residents sponsoring their spouses and children under 21 years old to settle in the U.S.

If you have any questions about the F2-A sponsorship paperwork, please comment below the article. ImmiPath’s team of consultants will enthusiastically support and advise you to help your spouse and children reunite soon in America.