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Guide · Updated August 2026

I-130 Spouse Petition: What Goes in the Package

Form I-130 is the petition that establishes a qualifying relationship between a US citizen or lawful permanent resident and their spouse. This page sets out what USCIS lists for that package, marks which items apply only in specific situations, and links the official page behind each one. It is an organizing aid, not a legal review of your filing.

Before you read on

  • Preparing and filing
  • CR-1 / IR-1 (Form I-130)
Who this is for
Couples preparing an I-130 petition for a spouse, whether the petitioning partner is a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident.
Stage it covers
Before filing — assembling the petition package and its initial evidence.
What it helps you do
See the baseline items in one place, notice which ones are conditional on your circumstances, and read the current instruction at the source before you send anything.
What this page cannot tell you
  • Whether your particular package is complete. USCIS may issue a request for evidence for something not listed here.
  • The current filing fee or form edition. Both change, so we point you at the USCIS pages that hold today's values.
  • Whether your marriage or relationship evidence will be found sufficient — that is a judgment an officer makes on your specific record.
  • Whether you should file at all, or which route is right for you.

The short version

  • The I-130 establishes the relationship. It is not the green card application.
  • A spouse petition also involves Form I-130A for the beneficiary spouse.
  • Evidence falls into three groups: petitioner status, the marriage itself, and the bona fides of the relationship.
  • Documents not in English need a certified English translation.
  • Confirm the current fee and form edition on the USCIS page before you file — never from a summary like this one.

The baseline package

Official fact

These are the items USCIS lists for a spouse petition regardless of your circumstances. Read the form instructions themselves before filing — they govern, and they are updated.

Items USCIS lists for every I-130 spouse petition

What the labels mean

Official baseline
Listed by the agency for every filing of this package. Confirm the current form edition and instructions at the source.

Items that apply only in specific situations

Official fact

Each item below is officially required, but only when its condition applies to you. If you cannot tell whether a condition applies, that is a question for the official page or for an attorney — not something to guess.

Conditional and document-format requirements

What the labels mean

Conditional
Officially required only when the stated condition applies. If you are unsure whether it applies to you, that is a question for the source or for an attorney.

Organizing the package as two people

Togetherward analysis
  • Split by who holds the document, not by form. Most of the friction in a package is that one partner cannot produce a record held in another country. Sorting by holder surfaces that early.
  • Record where the original lives. Petitions often need a document twice, months apart, at the consular stage.
  • Date every translation. A translation you cannot date is a translation you will redo.
  • Keep the receipt notice somewhere you both can reach it. The priority date on it is the number every later stage asks for.
  • Write down what you sent. If a request for evidence arrives, the first question is what USCIS already has.

How we put this page together

Togetherward analysis

We worked from the USCIS Form I-130 page, its instructions, and the USCIS checklist of required initial evidence, and grouped what they list into items that apply to every spouse petition and items that apply only under a stated condition. Every item on this page names the official page it came from, and a person on the editorial team compared each statement against that page on the review date shown.

What we did not include

  • Fee amounts and form editions. Both are republished by USCIS and would be wrong here within weeks.
  • Processing times. This page is about what goes in the package, not how long the wait is.
  • Adjustment of status (Form I-485) and consular processing steps, which happen after this petition.
  • Any assessment of whether your evidence is strong enough. We describe categories, never sufficiency.

Common questions

Is the I-130 the green card application?
No. The I-130 asks USCIS to recognize a qualifying family relationship. The application for permanent residence is separate — either adjustment of status inside the United States or consular processing abroad, depending on the case.
Do we file Form I-130A as well?
USCIS requires Form I-130A, Supplemental Information for Spouse Beneficiary, for spousal petitions. It is completed by the beneficiary spouse. Read the current instructions on the USCIS I-130A page for signature requirements.
What counts as evidence that a marriage is bona fide?
USCIS describes categories of documentation rather than a fixed list, because couples' lives differ. Its initial-evidence checklist is the place to read what it names. An officer weighs the record as a whole, so no single document decides it.
Do documents in another language need to be translated?
Yes. Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), a document in a foreign language must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator certifies as complete and accurate, along with a statement of their competence to translate.

How Togetherward helps

Suggestion

Togetherward is a shared, private workspace for internationally separated couples. It keeps a package like this one visible to both partners at once — who holds which document, what has been translated, what has been sent — so neither person is carrying the checklist in their head. It does not file anything for you and it is not a law firm.

Who wrote this, who checked it, and how current it is

Author
The Togetherward editorial team. The people who build Togetherward. We are not attorneys and we do not give legal advice.
Reviewer
Reviewed in-house by a second person on the Togetherward team. No attorney, agency, or government office has reviewed or endorsed this page.
Scope of review
Review scope: a second person on the Togetherward team re-read this page against the official pages listed below and checked that every process statement still matches them. That is the whole of it. Nobody reviewed it for legal accuracy, eligibility, or how it applies to any particular case, and no attorney, agency, or government office has reviewed or endorsed it.
Dates
Published · last materially reviewed . We aim to re-read this page against its sources every 120 days.
Current state: Current — reviewed inside our review interval.
Automation and AI
Automation and AI: an AI assistant drafted structural first passes and suggested wording for parts of this page, and automated checks flag broken links and dates that have gone unreviewed. No AI system reads government sites and updates this page on its own, and nothing an AI produced is published unread. A named person on the editorial team compared every process statement here against the official pages listed below and is answerable for what it says.
Primary sources
Process steps come only from official U.S. government publishers. We do not use law-firm blogs, forums, or crowd-sourced timelines as authority.
What the labels in this guide mean
  • Official factStated by a U.S. government publisher on the source page we cite.
  • Togetherward analysisOur reading of the official sources, not something an agency says.
  • SuggestionA way to organise your own case. Optional, and not a requirement.
Limitations
  • This is an explanation of a published government process, not legal advice, and not a prediction about your case.
  • Figures that move — processing ranges, Visa Bulletin dates, fees, form editions, interview availability — are described rather than reproduced here, so you read the current number at the source.
  • USCIS, the National Visa Center, the embassy, or the consular officer may ask for something this page does not mention.
  • This page lists what USCIS publishes for the petition package. It cannot tell you that your own package is complete or that your evidence is sufficient.
Commercial independence
Commercial independence: nobody pays to appear on this page. There are no sponsors, no advertising, no referral fees, no affiliate links, and no paid placement of any attorney, agency, or service. Togetherward makes money from couples who use the product, and a commercial relationship cannot change what this page says, when it was last reviewed, whether it is flagged as out of date, or whether it stays in search results.
Corrections
If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it and update the review date. Reports go to a review queue — a person checks each one against the official source before this page changes. You can also email support@togetherward.app or use the support page.

Not legal advice.

This page describes what USCIS publishes about the I-130 petition package. It is not legal advice, it is not a review of your filing, and it cannot tell you that your package is sufficient. USCIS may request additional information at any point. Read the current form instructions on uscis.gov before you file, and speak to an immigration attorney about your own case.