An approved I-130 petition does not come with a standard expiration date the way a visa does. It stays approved while the family relationship and your eligibility continue, but approval can end in three ways: an event that revokes it automatically, a revocation that USCIS issues on notice, or termination of a visa registration because nobody acted within one year after the government said a visa was available.
That difference matters if years have passed since your approval. The petition may still be alive and simply waiting, or it may have been revoked without your noticing. The facts that answer the question are the stage your case reached and what has happened since.
What approval actually means
USCIS describes Form I-130 as the first step in helping a relative immigrate, and states on the form page that filing or approval of the petition does not give your relative any immigration status or benefit. Approval establishes that USCIS accepts the qualifying relationship. It does not create a visa, a work authorization, or a period of lawful status.
For a spouse, parent, or child of a United States citizen, an immigrant visa is always available, so the case can move forward as soon as the petition is approved. For a preference category, approval only fixes your place in line, and the priority date has to become current before an immigrant visa number exists.
Events that revoke approval automatically
8 CFR 205.1 lists the events that revoke an approved petition by operation of law, without a discretionary decision. For immediate relative and family preference petitions, the approval is revoked if the petitioner withdraws it in writing, if the beneficiary dies, if the petitioner dies, if the marriage legally ends in a case where a citizen or green card holder petitioned for a spouse, or if the spouse of an abusive citizen or green card holder remarries in a self-petition case.
The regulation adds exceptions in the death of the petitioner scenario, including the conversion of certain petitions to Form I-360 and a discretionary humanitarian reinstatement that requires a substitute sponsor. Our article on what happens to a family petition when the petitioner dies sets out those conditions.
The spousal revocation rule has one important limit. Under 8 CFR 205.1, an approved VAWA self-petition is not revoked solely because the marriage to the abuser ends. That protection belongs to the self-petition structure, not to an ordinary I-130 filed by a spouse.
Revocation on notice
8 CFR 205.2 covers everything else. A USCIS officer who could approve the petition may revoke the approval on any ground not listed in 205.1 when the reason comes to the agency's attention. The regulation requires notice to the petitioner, an opportunity to offer evidence in support of the petition and in opposition to the stated grounds, and a written decision that explains the reasons.
The petitioner may appeal a revocation within 15 days after service of the notice. The practical point is that this revocation is not silent. If USCIS intends to revoke on notice, the petitioner receives a document and a chance to respond, which is different from the automatic events above.
The one year rule for a consular case
When the relative will apply for an immigrant visa abroad, an approved petition goes to the Department of State for consular processing. Section 203(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires the Secretary of State to terminate the registration of any person who fails to apply for an immigrant visa within one year after being notified that a visa is available. The same provision allows reinstatement if, within two years after that notice, the person establishes that the failure was due to circumstances beyond their control.
That termination is not only a closed file at the National Visa Center. The regulation at 8 CFR 205.1 treats a termination of registration under section 203(g) as an automatic revocation of the petition approval. A family that moves, changes an address, or loses contact with the case for a year can therefore lose both the case and the approval that supported it.
If you never received a notice because your address was out of date, raise that promptly with the National Visa Center or with USCIS. The reinstatement standard is about circumstances beyond your control, and a documented failure to receive notice is the kind of fact that belongs in that request.
What the one year rule does not cover
A person adjusting status inside the United States does not have a visa registration at the National Visa Center, so section 203(g) does not end the case that way. The approved petition stays with USCIS, and the adjustment application can be filed when you are eligible, subject to the revocation rules described above.
An approved petition also does not reserve a visa forever in a preference category. If the priority date is not current, the case waits. Approval keeps the petition effective, not the visa number available.
How to tell whether an old approval still stands
Start with the documents you have. The Form I-797 approval notice shows the receipt number, the classification, and the date of approval. Then check the case status for that receipt number and, for a consular case, ask the National Visa Center whether the registration is still open. A pending case and a terminated registration produce different answers and different next steps.
If the approval was revoked, the notice should say why and whether an appeal was available. If the petitioner has died, the analysis turns on the exceptions in the regulation rather than on the age of the approval. If the marriage ended, a spousal petition needs a different answer than a VAWA self-petition.
Questions readers ask about old approvals
Does an approved I-130 expire if I do nothing
There is no standard expiration date on the approval itself. What can end the case is a year of no action after the government notifies you that a visa is available in a consular case, or a revocation on notice. Doing nothing is safer in an adjustment case than in a consular one, but neither is a reason to stop checking.
Can USCIS revoke a petition it approved years ago
Yes, on notice, under 8 CFR 205.2, and automatically when one of the events in 8 CFR 205.1 occurs. The passage of time alone does not revoke an approval, and it does not protect one either.
Is my petition still valid if I divorced the petitioner
For a spousal I-130, the legal termination of the marriage revokes the approval if it happens before the beneficiary travels to the United States or before a decision on an adjustment application becomes final. A VAWA self-petition is treated differently and is not revoked solely because the marriage to the abuser ended.
Does approval let me stay or work in the United States
No. USCIS states that approval of Form I-130 does not give the relative any immigration status or benefit. Any status, travel permission, or employment authorization depends on a separate application and separate eligibility.
How we can help
We handle family petitions. If an approval is old, if a notice never arrived, or if the petitioner has died or the marriage has ended, we can review the receipt number, the stage the case reached, and whether the petition can still support a green card. That review is usually faster than starting over, and it prevents a new filing from hiding a problem that USCIS will find anyway.
You can read more about family immigration and about the I-130 petition itself.