Humanitarian reinstatement is a discretionary form of relief available to the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, that we approved before the petitioner’s death. You may only request humanitarian reinstatement if you are the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, and your petitioner relative has died. We cannot grant humanitarian reinstatement if the petitioner died while the petition was pending.

Derivative beneficiaries are not eligible to request humanitarian reinstatement; however, if we approve the principal beneficiary’s request, any eligible derivative beneficiary may also benefit from relief.

Most immediate relatives and family-based preference immigrants are required to have Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA. In some cases, your work history or other factors may make Form I-864 unnecessary (See 8 CFR 213a.2(a)(2)(ii)). In either case, your petitioner’s death does not change how the Form I-864 requirement applies to you. If you were required to have Form I-864 and the petitioner died, you must have a new Form I-864 from a substitute sponsor.

The substitute sponsor must be:

1. A U.S. citizen, national, or lawful permanent resident;
2. At least 18 years old; and
3. Your spouse, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sibling, child, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, or legal guardian.

Humanitarian reinstatement is a discretionary benefit. Exercising discretion means we compare positive factors against negative factors to make a decision. In addition to meeting the basic requirements for humanitarian reinstatement, your request must warrant a favorable exercise of discretion, meaning that the “pros” in granting your request outweigh the “cons.”