I have an F-4 I-130 petition pending and got married

If you are a U.S. citizen and you are older than 21, you can sponsor your sibling for a green card under the F-4 preference category. The petition can be pending for several years and the question that sometimes arises is: what happens if you get married/have children after the I-130 was filed/approved?

Your sibling who is a U.S. citizen filed an I-130 petition for you in 2015. You were single when the petition was filed, but you got married in 2018. You are now wondering whether the I-130 petition needs to be updated/whether new I-130 petition should be filed and most importantly, whether your spouse will be able to get a green card once your priority date becomes current as well.

The short answer is: yes. Your spouse and/or children (unmarried and under the age of 21) are entitled to the same priority date as you, and it does not matter whether or not they were listed in the original I-130 petition.

This means, that no new I-130 petition needs to be filed/the I-130 that was originally filed does not have to be updated. In case you are doing Consular processing of your green card petition, you should notify the National Visa Center (NVC) and notify them that you got married/had children, so when the time comes you can pay the appropriate filing fees for all family members. In case you will be adjusting status in the U.S, you will have to file appropriate petitions on your family members’ behalf.