I-130 Case Tracker & Status Guide

Follow your family petition from receipt to approval — including the movement the public tracker hides.

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Form I-130 — Family Sponsorship Petition. Follow your family petition from receipt to approval — including the movement the public tracker hides. The public tracker only shows your latest milestone; the internal USCIS API exposes the full sequence, including silent updates the website hides.

What is Form I-130?

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, is filed by U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to establish a qualifying family relationship with a foreign national. It is the foundational first step in most family-based immigration cases.

The I-130 does not grant any status by itself — it simply proves a valid relationship exists. Once approved, the beneficiary moves to consular processing abroad or adjustment of status in the U.S., depending on their category and visa availability.

The I-130 milestone sequence

Behind each plain-English status the public site shows, USCIS records an internal event code. Here is the typical I-130 ladder and the codes that drive it:

IAFCase Was ReceivedReceipt notice issued.
FTA0Database Checks ReceivedBackground and database check results came back. Not a decision.
IKRequest for Additional Evidence Was SentAdditional proof of the relationship requested.
DACase Was ApprovedPetition approved; next step depends on category.
IPCase Transfer Notice Was SentUSCIS moved the case to another office.

How long does I-130 take?

Immediate Relative (IR) petitions typically process faster than Family Preference categories, which are also subject to visa-bulletin backlogs. Filing online skips the mail and the lockbox at the start; USCIS publishes no separate times for online and paper filings.

Time to first internal update · live community data
186 daysmedian from receipt to first database check (FTA0) — typically 107–449 days
This is how long I-130 cases take to show their first internal movement, not the full time to approval. Measured from real cases tracked on CaseStatusAPI.
● Based on 40+ tracked cases
See where your I-130 actually stands

That is what each I-130 status means in general. Paste your own case data and we decode your exact position — your full timeline, hidden silent updates, and how your case compares to similar ones.

Your full decoded I-130 timeline — every silent update the public site hides
How your case compares to similar cases at the same service center
Plain-English read of your raw JSON flags and anomaly warnings
Analyze my I-130 case

Common I-130 questions

How long does an I-130 take?

It depends heavily on category and filing method — immediate relatives are fastest. The internal API can reveal progress even when the public estimate has not moved.

What happens after my I-130 is approved?

For immediate relatives with an available visa, the case moves to the National Visa Center (consular processing) or to an I-485 (adjustment) if filed in the U.S.

See your own case, explained.

See every step USCIS has recorded for your case, in plain English: your timeline, silent updates, and what usually comes next for cases like yours.

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Written by the CaseStatusAPI Team

We are immigration applicants and technologists who built CaseStatusAPI to help others navigate the USCIS process with transparency. Our guides are informed by firsthand experience, community feedback, and deep analysis of USCIS internal API data.

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Related guides

I-130 Processing TimesWhat Happens After I-130 Approval

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Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. CaseStatusAPI is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or any government agency. For official case information, visit uscis.gov.