Process

• Your family member, who is either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, files petition I-130. USCIS notifies them that the petition has been received. Then you wait for the petition's priority date. Being granted a priority date means the USCIS allocated a number of its finite visas to your preference category. USCIS then notifies your family member that they have begun to process the petition. You can now file Form I-485 along with a copy of this notification.
  
  

Categories

• The I-130 petitions are processed in preference category order. Preference varies depending on your relationship with the sponsor and their status inside the U.S. Instant priority is given to immediate family members of U.S. citizens which are considered parents, spouses and minor children. Adult children wait in line after instant priority as first preference. Other family members of U.S. permanent residents are second preference. Married children of citizens are third, while brothers and sisters of citizens are fourth.
  
  

Instant Priority and Concurrent Filing

• The USCIS has no limit on the number of permanent resident visas that can be issued in the instant priority category. If you are the parent, spouse or the unmarried child under 21 of a U.S. citizen, you can file Form I-130 and Form I-485 at the same time, in the same envelope. You will enjoy the fastest processing.
  
  

Queue

• Unless you are the immediate family member of a U.S. citizen, you may have to wait over a year for your priority date to become available. There are more applicants than available visas. USCIS reserves only 226,000 family-based permanent residence visas per year, and only issues a finite number of these visas per originating country. You may have to join a visa queue and wait for a priority date to become available.