I-130-019 Instructions TOC

TABLE OF CHANGES – INSTRUCTIONS

Form I-130/A, Petition for Alien Relative, and Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary

OMB Number: 1615-0012

07/25/2025

Reason for Revision: Biometrics NPRM

Project Phase: OMBReview

Legend for Proposed Text:

• Black font = Current text

• Red font = Changes

Expires xx/xx/2029 (02/28/2027)

Edition Date xx/xx/2026 (04/01/2024)

Current Page Number and Section	Current Text	Proposed Text
Pages 3-5, General Instructions	[Page 3] General Instructions We provide free forms through the USCIS website. To view, print, or complete our forms, you should use the latest version of Adobe Reader, which you can download for free at http://get.adobe.com/reader/. If you do not have internet access, you may call the USCIS Contact Center and ask that we mail a form to you. … Biometric Services Appointment. USCIS may require you to appear for an interview or provide biometrics (fingerprints, photograph, and/or signature) at any time to verify your identity, obtain additional information, and conduct background and security checks, including a check of criminal history records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), before making a decision on your application or petition. If we determine that a biometric services appointment is necessary, we will send you an appointment notice with the date, time, and location of your appointment. If you are currently overseas, your notice will instruct you to contact a U.S. Embassy, U.S. Consulate, or USCIS office outside the United States to schedule an appointment. At your biometrics appointment, you must sign an oath reaffirming that: 1. You provided or authorized all information in the petition; 2. You reviewed and understood all of the information contained in, and submitted with, your petition; and 3. All of this information was complete, true, and correct at the time of filing. If you do not attend your biometric services appointment, we may deny your petition. [new] Disability Accommodations/Modifications. To request a disability accommodation/modification, follow the instructions on your appointment notice or at uscis.gov/accommodationsinfo. …	General Instructions [no change] … Biometric Services Appointment. USCIS may require you to appear for an interview. Every individual who is an applicant, petitioner, derivative, beneficiary, or sponsor of an immigration benefit request or other request submitted to USCIS is required to submit biometrics, unless USCIS exempts the requirement. Each individual will be notified of the time, date, and location of their biometric services appointment, unless USCIS exempts the requirement to submit biometrics. [deleted] The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may store the biometrics submitted by an individual and use or reuse biometrics to conduct background and security checks, including a check of criminal history records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), verify identity, produce documents, determine eligibility for immigration and naturalization benefits, or to perform any other functions necessary for the administration and enforcement of the immigration and naturalization laws, or any other legal authority. In some situations, USCIS may require the submission of DNA test results as part of the biometrics submission requirement. In such instances, DNA test results will be used as primary evidence to determine eligibility for the benefit sought by demonstrating the existence or absence of a genetic relationship or biological sex as applicable to the respective form. USCIS will only accept DNA test results from laboratories accredited by the AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks). A list of laboratories can be viewed at aabb.org/sa/facilities/Pages/RTestAccrFac.aspx. If you are required to provide biometrics at your biometric services appointment, you must sign a statement, under penalty of perjury, attesting that your submitted application, petition, or request, one that you provided on behalf of your derivative beneficiary, or one submitted on your behalf, and all documents filed with and in support of the application, petition, or request, were complete, true, and correct at the time of filing. If you fail to submit biometrics or fail to appear for your scheduled biometric services appointment, absent extraordinary circumstances, USCIS may deny your application. For applicants and dependents who appear before an immigration judge, failure to attend a biometric services appointment may result in the immigration judge finding that your application was abandoned, and USCIS may also deny any other application you filed with USCIS. [no change] …
Page 6, General Requirements	[Page 6] General Requirements … 5. What documents do you need to prove family relationship? You have to prove that there is a family relationship between you and the beneficiary. If you are filing for a relative listed below, submit the following documentation to prove the family relationship. A. A spouse: (1) A copy of your marriage certificate; (2) If either you were or your spouse was previously married, submit copies of documents showing that each of the prior marriages was legally terminated; and (3) You must submit two identical color passport-style photographs of yourself and your spouse (if he or she is in the United States) taken within 30 days of filing this petition. The photos must have a white to off-white background, be printed on thin paper with a glossy finish, and be unmounted and unretouched. [Page 7] The two identical color passport-style photos must be 2 by 2 inches. The photos must be in color with full face, frontal view on a white to off-white background. Head height should measure 1 to 1 3/8 inches from top of hair to bottom of chin, and eye height is between 1 1/8 to 1 3/8 inches from bottom of photo. Your head must be bare unless you are wearing headwear as required by a religious denomination of which you are a member. Using a pencil or felt pen, lightly print your name and A-Number (if any) on the back of the photo. NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed above, you should submit one or more of the following types of documentation that may prove you have a bona fide marriage: … [Page 9] E. For parent-child relationships only: If other forms of evidence have proven inconclusive, the petitioner may submit on a voluntary basis other evidence of a birth parent and birth child relationship to include deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing. DNA test results will only be accepted by USCIS from parentage-testing laboratories accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). A list of laboratories can be viewed at www.aabb.org/sa/facilities/Pages/RTestAccrFac.aspx.	General Requirements … 5. What documents do you need to prove family relationship? [no change] (2) If either you were or your spouse was previously married, submit copies of documents showing that each of the prior marriages was legally terminated; and [deleted] NOTE: In addition to the required documentation listed above, you should submit one or more of the following types of documentation that may prove you have a bona fide marriage: … E. For parent-child relationships only: USCIS may require that the petitioner submit other evidence of the claimed genetic relationship, such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing. USCIS will only accept DNA test results from parentage-testing laboratories accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB). A list of laboratories can be viewed at aabb.org/sa/facilities/Pages/RTestAccrFac.aspx.
	[new]	FBI Privacy Notice USCIS may use your biometrics to obtain the criminal history records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), for identity verification, to determine eligibility, to create immigration documents (for example, Permanent Resident Card, Employment Authorization Document), or any purpose authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act. You may obtain a copy of your own FBI record using the procedures outlined at 28 CFR 16.30-16.34. For more information, please visit: fbi.gov/services/cjis/compact-council/guiding-principles-noncriminal-justice-applicants-privacy-rights. For information regarding how the FBI will use your fingerprints, please visit fbi.gov/services/cjis/compact-council/privacy-act-statement.
Page 11, Paperwork Reduction Act	[Page 11] Paperwork Reduction Act USCIS may not conduct or sponsor an information collection, and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The public reporting burden for Form I-130 is estimated at 1.817 hours per response and Form I-130A is estimated at 50 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering the required documentation and information, completing the forms, preparing statements, attaching necessary documentation, and submitting the forms. The collection of biometrics is estimated to require 1 hour and 10 minutes. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Policy and Strategy, Regulatory Coordination Division, 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Mail Stop #2140, Camp Springs, MD 20588-0009; OMB No. 1615-0012. Do not mail your completed Form I-130 or Form I-130A to this address.	Paperwork Reduction Act USCIS may not conduct or sponsor an information collection, and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The public reporting burden for Form I-130 is estimated at 1.817 hours per response and Form I-130A is estimated at 50 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering the required documentation and information, completing the forms, preparing statements, attaching necessary documentation, and submitting the forms. The collection of biometrics is estimated to require 1.17 hours. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Policy and Strategy, Regulatory Coordination Division, 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Mail Stop #2140, Camp Springs, MD 20588-0009; OMB No. 1615-0012. Do not mail your completed Form I-130 or Form I-130A to this address.

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