How the parent entered the United States decides the path, so check the entry records before filing any application
A U.S. citizen son or daughter age 21 or older can petition for a parent. This covers a child born in the United States who has turned 21, and also a child who received a green card (for example, through marriage to a U.S. citizen) and then became a citizen. Parents of U.S. citizens are immediate relatives, who are not subject to the annual limit on green card numbers, so they do not wait in line. However, a parent who entered without inspection (inspection and admission is the process of being allowed in by an officer at an airport or the border), for example by crossing the border secretly, cannot, except in a few cases, apply for a green card inside the United States even if the child files the petition. The path differs for a parent who was inspected and entered with a visa or without a visa.
A parent who entered with a visa or without a visa may be eligible to apply inside the United States
"The USCIS Policy Manual (its adjudication guidance) states that a parent of a U.S. citizen son or daughter age 21 or older may be eligible to apply for a green card inside the United States even if the parent worked without authorization, did not have lawful status when applying, or entered without a visa."
This means that a parent who was inspected and entered as a tourist, with a visa or without one, and then stayed past the authorized period may still be eligible to file a green card application inside the United States (Form I-485) together with the petition from the U.S. citizen son or daughter age 21 or older (Form I-130). An application with a postmark (the post office stamp) or online filing date of September 18, 2026 or later is reviewed under the new public charge rule, which looks more broadly at whether a person is likely to depend on government support. The officer looks at age, health, assets, the child's affidavit of support (Form I-864), and more, and may deny the application if the officer finds the parent likely to depend on government support in the future.
However, a person who entered as a crew member of a ship or aircraft cannot, in principle, apply inside the United States even as the parent of a U.S. citizen, and a person who came on an exchange visitor (J-1) visa carrying a requirement to return home must live in the home country for two years or receive a waiver of that requirement to get a green card. An application can also be denied if the person intentionally misstated an important fact in a visa, an entry, or a USCIS application, or falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen.
A parent who entered visa-free under ESTA (entry without a visa, for stays of up to 90 days) can be removed without a hearing if caught. This is because the parent promised in advance, as the condition for entering without a visa, not to demand a hearing if caught unless applying for asylum. Even a parent who is eligible may still face this risk until the green card is received.
Traveling to the home country on a travel permit (a document that allows travel abroad while the application is pending) is also risky. In August 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals (the body that reviews immigration judge decisions) held that for a person who has been unlawfully present for one year or more, leaving on a travel permit is still a departure that triggers a ten-year bar on returning, and stated that this decision applies going forward. If the period of unlawful presence is shorter, there is simply no ruling yet; that does not mean it is safe.
A parent who entered without inspection and applies inside the United States will be denied
"The USCIS Policy Manual provides that an officer must deny an application for a green card filed inside the United States by a person who was never inspected and admitted or paroled."
Parole is the government's temporary permission, granted case by case, to enter or stay in the United States. If the person entered many times, the last entry is the one that counts. Being caught at the border and released is not parole by itself; this is confirmed with an entry record (Form I-94) stamped with parole or with the passport. Even if the person was waved through a checkpoint by hand without being asked any questions, if the person stood in front of an officer in person and did not falsely claim to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, that may be treated as inspection and admission.
The main exception is a person for whom an immigrant petition or labor certification application was properly filed and approvable when filed by April 30, 2001, in the parent's name (including a parent included as a spouse or child) (Section 245(i) of the immigration law). Other conditions apply, and an additional $1,000 is paid. A petition filed later by the child does not create this exception.
It is risky for a parent who does not fall within such an exception to file an application just to see what happens. In February 2025 guidance, USCIS provided that when it denies an application, if the person is not lawfully staying, it sends a notice to appear in immigration court, which starts removal proceedings.
If the parent leaves to get a visa, a bar on returning applies, and the child's hardship is not a ground for a waiver
"In the instructions for the waiver form (Form I-601A), USCIS states that a U.S. citizen or permanent resident child is not a family member through whom extreme hardship can be shown."
A parent who cannot apply inside the United States must leave the country and obtain an immigrant visa at an embassy. A person who was unlawfully present after age 18 (counting days stayed after the authorized period ended, and the like) for more than 180 days but less than one year, and who leaves on his or her own before removal proceedings begin, cannot return for three years. A person unlawfully present for one year or more cannot return for ten years, whether leaving on his or her own or being removed. This bar takes effect the moment the person leaves the United States.
The waiver that lifts this bar is granted only if the parent seeking the green card shows extreme hardship to his or her own spouse, or to his or her own father or mother (the child's grandparent), who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Even though the child filed the petition, the hardship must be shown to be that of this spouse or parent, and if there is no such family member, this waiver cannot be obtained.
If there is such a family member, the parent applies for this waiver in advance (Form I-601A) after the child's petition is approved and the immigrant visa fee has been paid to the State Department; if it is approved, the parent leaves and attends the interview.
This waiver lifts only the bar caused by unlawful presence. A person with a final removal order must first obtain permission to reapply for admission (Form I-212), and a person in removal proceedings, in principle, cannot apply. Applying for or receiving the waiver does not protect the person from removal, and if the application is denied, removal proceedings may begin.
It is harder for a person who accumulated more than one year of unlawful presence across several stays, or who received a removal order (including one issued at the border), then left and re-entered secretly. In that case, neither a petition filed by April 30, 2001 (Section 245(i)) nor the military family parole explained below can produce a green card inside the United States, and the person can return only after waiting ten years outside the United States and obtaining the government's permission. A waiver is possible only for a domestic violence victim who self-petitioned and ended up in this situation in connection with that abuse.
The options left to a parent who entered without inspection are narrow
"USCIS states that it may grant parole in place, in one-year increments and depending on the circumstances, to the spouses, parents, and children of active-duty service members, members of the Selected Reserve, and veterans who were not dishonorably discharged."
A person already inside the United States who receives this parole is treated as having been paroled, and may apply for a green card if the other requirements are also met. However, the green card application must be filed after the parole is received, and an application filed before that will not be approved. Starting October 16, 2026, $1,050 is paid each time parole is approved, except in set exceptions. This parole is available only to a person who entered without inspection, and a parent who was inspected and entered does not need it. If the U.S. citizen child is a service member, the parent may apply, and in that case must submit evidence that the child supports the application.
A person who has already been placed in removal proceedings may apply for cancellation of removal. The person must show that he or she has lived continuously in the United States for 10 years or more, has good moral character, and has no specified criminal record, and that removal would cause "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" (a higher standard than for the waiver) to a spouse, parent, or unmarried child under 21 who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Here the child's hardship is also considered, but it is very hard to establish. Cancellation of removal is granted to no more than 4,000 people a year, and the 10 years lived in the United States are counted only up to the date the notice to appear in immigration court was received or the date a specified offense was committed.
In March 2026, the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed an immigration judge's 2019 grant of cancellation of removal to a father from Mexico. One of the reasons was that, while the government's appeal was pending, his two children turned 26 and 24 and were no longer people whose hardship could be considered. A child who turns 21 can petition for a parent, but on this path the child drops out of consideration the moment he or she turns 21.
Closing
How the parent entered decides the path. First, find together the record of the parent's first entry and the record of the last entry (the visa and entry stamp in the passport, and the entry record Form I-94). Second, if the parent entered without inspection, check with an attorney, before filing any application, three things: any immigrant petition or labor certification application filed in the parent's name on or before April 30, 2001; whether the parent has a spouse or parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; and the child's military service. Third, if the parent entered with a visa or without one and stayed past the authorized period, first check with an attorney whether there is a crew member or J-1 entry, an earlier long period of unlawful presence and departure, a misstatement of fact, or a removal order or criminal record; if none of these apply, do not delay filing once the child is able to petition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Can a parent who entered on a tourist visa and overstayed apply for a green card inside the United States?
If the U.S. citizen child is 21 or older, a parent who was inspected and entered with a tourist visa or without a visa may be eligible to apply inside the United States even after overstaying or working without authorization. However, the parent may be blocked if he or she came as a crew member or on a J-1 with a requirement to return home, left earlier after a long period of unlawful presence, ever made a misstatement of fact, or has a removal order or criminal record. An application with a postmark or online filing date of September 18, 2026 or later is reviewed under the new public charge rule, which looks more broadly at whether a person is likely to depend on government support.
Q. If a parent crossed the border secretly, is there no way even when the child is a U.S. citizen?
In principle the parent cannot apply inside the United States, and simply filing may result in a denial together with a notice to appear in removal proceedings. The remaining paths are narrow: an immigrant petition or labor certification application filed in the parent's name by April 30, 2001 (Section 245(i)); military family parole when the child is a service member (parole is the government's temporary permission to stay in the United States; the parent receives it first and then applies for the green card); and, for a parent already in removal proceedings, cancellation of removal. A parent who leaves the United States to get a visa faces a three-year or ten-year bar on returning, depending on the length of unlawful presence.
Q. Is hardship to the U.S. citizen child not a ground for a waiver?
For the waiver that lifts the bar on returning (Form I-601A), the U.S. citizen child is not a family member through whom hardship can be shown. The parent seeking the green card needs a spouse, or a father or mother, who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. In cancellation of removal in removal proceedings, the hardship of an unmarried child under 21 is also considered, but the parent must meet the high standard of "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship," and once the child turns 21 that child drops out of consideration.
Disclaimer: This column provides general information and is not legal advice for a particular case. Individual immigration matters should be discussed with a qualified immigration attorney.
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