# F2A Visa: Green Card for the Spouse & Children of a Green Card Holder (2026) > Altius Immigration Law PLLC is a U.S. immigration law firm in Washington, D.C., serving clients in all 50 states. Principal attorney: André Matias. Practice areas: green cards, family-based immigration, employment-based and temporary work visas (H-1B, L-1, O-1, P-1), investment visas (E-2), adjustment of status, and citizenship & naturalization. Source: https://altius.law/blog/f2a-visa-improved/ Summary: F2A visa explained: the green card for the spouse and unmarried children (under 21) of a green card holder — who qualifies, the process, and the wait. ##### Permanent residency # F2A Visa: Green Card for the Spouse & Children of a Green Card Holder (2026) If you are a lawful permanent resident — a green card holder — and you want to bring your spouse or your unmarried children to live with you in the United States, the **F2A** category is usually the path. It is the family-preference route that lets a green card holder sponsor their closest family for green cards of their own. This page answers the questions people actually ask about F2A: what it is, who qualifies, how the process works step by step, how long it takes, and the one thing that makes F2A different from marrying a U.S. citizen — the wait for a visa number. ## What Is the F2A Visa? F2A is a **[family-based immigrant visa](/family-based-immigration-lawyer/visas/) category** — the "second preference, category A" of the family-preference system. It is for the immediate family of **lawful permanent residents** (green card holders), specifically: - **Spouses** of a lawful permanent resident, and - **Unmarried children under 21** of a lawful permanent resident. An approved F2A case leads to a green card. Once admitted, the spouse or child becomes a lawful permanent resident who can live, work, and study in the United States, and eventually pursue U.S. citizenship. The word "visa" is a little misleading here. F2A is really a green-card category. A relative living abroad receives an immigrant visa to enter the U.S. and become a permanent resident; a relative already in the U.S. in a lawful status may be able to adjust status without leaving. Either way, the goal is the green card. ## Who Qualifies for the F2A Category? Two people have to qualify: the **sponsor** and the **beneficiary**. **The sponsor** must be a lawful permanent resident (green card holder). If the sponsor is a U.S. citizen, the relative is not in F2A at all — a citizen's spouse and minor children are *immediate relatives*, which is a faster path (more on that below). **The beneficiary** must be one of: - The sponsor's legal spouse, or - The sponsor's unmarried child under 21. Two details trip people up: - **The child must be unmarried.** If a son or daughter of a green card holder marries, they no longer fit F2A. (A married child of a green card holder has no preference category at all until the parent naturalizes.) - **Stepchildren and adopted children can qualify**, but only if the legal relationship was created before certain age cutoffs. These situations are fact-specific — worth confirming with an attorney. The sponsor also has to show they can financially support the relative by filing an **Affidavit of Support**, promising the government the relative will not become a public charge. ## The F2A Process, Step by Step The road to an F2A green card has a distinct middle stage — the wait for a visa number — that shorter, immediate-relative cases skip. Here is the sequence: 1. **File Form I-130.** The green-card-holder sponsor files **Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative**, with USCIS to establish the qualifying relationship. 2. **Get a priority date.** The date USCIS receives the I-130 becomes the beneficiary's **priority date** — their place in line. 3. **USCIS approves the petition.** Approval confirms the relationship is real. It does *not* mean a green card is available yet. 4. **Wait for a visa to become available.** Because F2A is a preference category with annual limits, the beneficiary waits until their priority date is "current" under the monthly **[Visa Bulletin](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html)**. This is the step that makes F2A different from an immediate-relative case. 5. **Consular processing or adjustment of status.** Once a visa is available: a relative abroad completes **Form DS-260** and is processed through the **National Visa Center** and a U.S. consulate; a relative already in the U.S. in a lawful status may file **Form I-485** to adjust status here. 6. **Interview and decision.** The beneficiary attends an interview (at a consulate abroad or a USCIS office in the U.S.). 7. **Green card.** If approved, the relative is admitted as a lawful permanent resident and receives their green card. One important note on step 6: if the sponsor and spouse have been **married less than two years** when the spouse becomes a permanent resident, the green card is **conditional** and valid for two years. The couple must later file **Form I-751** to remove the conditions — see our guide on the [I-751 removal of conditions](/family-based-immigration-lawyer/i-751-removal-of-conditions/). ## How Long Does the F2A Visa Take? There is no single honest number, because the timeline is really two clocks added together: 1. **How long USCIS takes to decide the I-130 petition**, and 2. **How long it then takes for a visa number to become available** under the Visa Bulletin. The first clock depends on current USCIS workloads, which change — check the live **[USCIS processing-times tool](https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/)** for the current estimate at the office handling your case. The second clock is the part unique to F2A, and it is set by the **[Visa Bulletin](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html)**. In some periods F2A has been "current" — meaning essentially no line beyond processing — and in others there has been a backlog of months or more, depending on the beneficiary's country of birth. Because it moves month to month, the only reliable way to know is to read the current bulletin against your priority date. We deliberately don't publish a fixed month figure here, because a stale number does more harm than good. Use the two official tools above for live estimates, and an attorney can read them for your specific case. ## F2A vs. Marrying a U.S. Citizen: Why the Wait Exists This is the comparison that is most easily confused, and it is the single most useful thing to understand about F2A. - If your sponsor is a **U.S. citizen**, their spouse and minor children are **immediate relatives**. Immediate relatives have an **unlimited** supply of green cards — there is no annual cap and **no waiting line for a visa number.** They still have to complete the petition, paperwork, and interview, but there is no Visa Bulletin wait. - If your sponsor is a **green card holder**, you are in the **F2A preference category**, which **is** capped each year. When demand exceeds the annual supply, a line forms — and that line is the wait you track on the Visa Bulletin. That is the whole difference in one sentence: **an immediate relative of a citizen skips the visa-availability wait; an F2A relative of a green card holder does not.** This has a practical consequence. If a green-card-holder sponsor **naturalizes (becomes a U.S. citizen)** while their spouse or child is waiting in F2A, the case generally **upgrades to immediate relative** (for a spouse or a child still under 21), which can remove the visa-number wait entirely. For many families, the sponsor's own path to citizenship is the fastest way to shorten the relative's timeline. ## Common F2A Challenges Most F2A cases are straightforward, but a few issues come up often enough to plan for: - **The visa-availability wait.** F2A's annual cap means the line can lengthen or shorten month to month. - **A child "aging out" at 21.** A child who turns 21 during the process can lose F2A eligibility. The **Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)** can protect some children by "freezing" a calculated age — but the math is technical and case-specific. - **Proving the relationship.** Marriages and parent-child relationships have to be documented convincingly, especially newer marriages. - **The financial requirement.** The sponsor must meet the income threshold for the Affidavit of Support, sometimes with a joint sponsor. - **A marriage that changes a child's status.** If an unmarried child marries during the wait, F2A eligibility ends. ## What Does the F2A Visa Cost? Government filing fees apply at several stages — the I-130 petition, immigrant-visa or adjustment-of-status processing, the Affidavit of Support, and the medical exam (paid to the doctor, not the government). Fees change, so rather than list a number that could go stale, check the official **[USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055)](https://www.uscis.gov/g-1055)** for the current amounts. ## Frequently Asked Questions #### What is the F2A visa in one sentence? F2A is the family-preference category that lets a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) sponsor their spouse or unmarried child under 21 for a green card. #### Who can be sponsored under F2A? Only the spouse and the unmarried children under 21 of a green card holder. If the sponsor is a U.S. citizen instead, those relatives are immediate relatives, not F2A. #### How long does the F2A process take? It depends on two things: how long USCIS takes to approve the I-130, and how long until a visa number is available under the Visa Bulletin. Check the live [USCIS processing-times tool](https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/) and the [Visa Bulletin](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html) for current estimates. #### Is there a waiting line for F2A visas? Sometimes. F2A is subject to annual numerical limits, so a backlog can form. In some periods it has been "current" with little to no wait. The [Visa Bulletin](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html) shows the current status against your priority date. #### Why is F2A slower than marrying a U.S. citizen? Because a U.S. citizen's spouse and minor children are immediate relatives, with unlimited green cards and no visa-number wait. F2A relatives of a green card holder fall in a capped category, so a line can form. #### What happens if the green-card-holder sponsor becomes a U.S. citizen? The case generally upgrades to the immediate-relative category (for a spouse, or a child still under 21), which can eliminate the visa-availability wait. Naturalizing is often the fastest way to speed up a relative's case. #### Can my child still qualify if they turn 21 during the wait? Possibly. The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) can protect some children from "aging out" by using a calculated age rather than their actual age. The calculation is technical — have it checked carefully. #### What does the F2A visa cost? Several government fees apply across the process. Because they change, use the official [USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055)](https://www.uscis.gov/g-1055) for current amounts rather than relying on a figure that may be out of date. ## Talk to a Family Immigration Attorney F2A cases live and die on timing — the priority date, the Visa Bulletin, and, for children, the age-out math. A family immigration attorney can map the exact timeline for your situation, file a strong petition, and flag whether your sponsor's own path to citizenship could get your family together sooner. - Learn more about our [family-based immigration services](/family-based-immigration-lawyer/) - See the [family-based visa categories](/family-based-immigration-lawyer/visas/) we handle - [Contact Altius Law](/contact/) to schedule a consultation --- *This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Immigration rules, fees, and visa-availability dates are set by USCIS and the U.S. Department of State and change over time; the descriptions here are current as of July 2026. Always confirm requirements and fees on the official [USCIS](https://www.uscis.gov/g-1055) and [travel.state.gov](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html) pages, and for advice on your specific case, [contact Altius Law](/contact/).* --- Book a consultation: https://altius.law/scheduling/ Phone: +1 (202) 794-9140 Website: https://altius.law