Green card for the child of a green-card holder (F-2A)
A permanent resident can petition for an unmarried child — but the category the child lands in, and whether the petition survives at all, turns on two facts about the child: age and marital status. Here is the structure, every claim cited, with no wait times quoted because the Visa Bulletin changes monthly. General process description, not advice about any individual case.
Two lines, and a hard rule
An unmarried child under 21 of a permanent resident is in the F2A preference category. An unmarried son or daughter 21 or older is in F2B — a separate, generally slower line. And there is no line at all for the married child of a permanent resident: if the child marries before obtaining permanent residence, the LPR parent's petition cannot proceed. That is the category structure, stated as fact — a family facing a marriage question mid-case should be talking to a licensed immigration attorney, not a website.
The petition
The case starts with Form I-130, one petition per child, documenting the parent-child relationship: the child's birth certificate, the parent's green card, and certified English translations for documents from another country. Under the current G-1055 schedule the I-130 costs $675 on paper or $625 online. USCIS fees change periodically — before filing, verify current amounts on the official USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055) at uscis.gov/g-1055.
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The priority date and the wait
F2A and F2B carry annual visa limits. The I-130 filing date becomes the case's priority date — its place in line — and the monthly Visa Bulletin at travel.state.gov announces which dates currently have a visa number available. That live bulletin, not any figure printed here, is the honest answer to 'how long': its state changes month to month. When the date is current, the second stage opens — consular processing for a child abroad, or possible adjustment of status for a child in the United States after a lawful entry, an individualized question.
Age, and what changes if the parent naturalizes
Two moving parts deserve early attention. First, age: federal law contains age-counting rules (the Child Status Protection Act) that affect some cases, and their application is an individualized legal question — a child approaching 21 with a case pending belongs in front of an attorney promptly. Second, the petitioner's own status: if the parent naturalizes, the case converts under the child-of-citizen rules — a category change whose effect on a particular case's timing is, again, attorney territory. As always, criminal history, prior removal proceedings, prior denials, or complex admissibility issues mean attorney, not filing tool — this site's assessment flags those and refers them.
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What's the difference between F2A and F2B?
F2A is the category for unmarried under-21 children (and spouses) of permanent residents; F2B is for unmarried sons and daughters 21 or older — a separate, generally slower line.
What happens if my child gets married?
There is no category for the married child of a permanent resident — marriage before permanent residence stops the petition. A family facing that situation should consult an immigration attorney.
How long is the wait?
Whatever the current Visa Bulletin says for the category and country — it changes monthly, and this page deliberately quotes no wait times. Check the live bulletin at travel.state.gov.
What if my child turns 21 while the case is pending?
Age-counting rules (the Child Status Protection Act) affect some cases, and their application is individualized — a child approaching 21 mid-case belongs in front of an immigration attorney promptly.
What changes if I become a U.S. citizen?
The petition converts under the child-of-citizen rules — a category change. How that affects a particular case's timing is a question for an attorney when the case has complications.