Do you have a U.S. citizen spouse, parent (if you are under 21), or adult U.S. citizen son or daughter (over 21)?
These are the *immediate-relative* relationships that bypass the visa-bulletin queue entirely under INA § 201(b)(2)(A)(i). Combined with a lawful parole entry (see prior question) or with parole-in-place for military families, immediate-relative status often turns a 10-year deportation defense case into a 9-month adjustment. The relationship matters more than how you entered the country, but only if it is documented properly *before* you attempt to use it.
Context & Examples
Real example — Carlos, Tracy. Carlos was a 19-year-old DACA recipient. His U.S. citizen father had abandoned the family at age 5 and Carlos hadn't spoken to him in 14 years. We located the father through California vital records, obtained a sworn declaration acknowledging paternity, pulled the original birth certificate from Mexico that listed the father, and filed I-130 + I-485 + I-765 + I-131 the same week. Carlos got his green card before he aged out at 21 — a Child Status Protection Act calculation we ran twice to be sure.
Why this matters: A parent-of-minor-child I-130 expires the moment the child turns 21. We see DACA recipients who could have adjusted at 18 or 19 file at 22 and lose the entire pathway because no one ran the math.
Without counsel: The relationship is real but undocumented. The deadline passes silently. The child loses LPR status forever and is left with only DACA — which itself can be terminated by any future administration with 30 days' notice.
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