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EmailFamily Based Immigrants
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Overview In general, a person who wishes to immigrate to the United States must have a petition approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) before applying for an immigrant visa. For family based visas, the petition is filed either by a U.S. citizen or U.S. lawful permanent resident relative. How do I File for a Family-Based Immigrant Visa? As the first step, the sponsoring relative files a Petition for Alien Relative, Form I-130. You file the petition with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) immigration Field Office in the United States that serves the area where you live, except as explained below. For instructions on how to file a petition
see Petitioning Procedures: Bringing an Alien Relative to Live in the United States. Unlimited Family-Based Immigrants - Immediate Relatives Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens (IR): These types of immigrant visas are based on a close family relationship with a U.S. citizen, including spouses, children, and parents. Additionally, a U.S. citizen can sponsor a child adopted or to be adopted from abroad, if that child meets the definition of orphan as provided for in immigration law. Family members of United States citizens (not Legal Permanent Residents) can file Immediate Relative Petitions. For immigration purposes, Immediate Relative classifications include:
Returning Residents (SB): Immigrants who lived in the United States previously as lawful permanent residents and are returning to live in the U.S. after a temporary visit of more than one year abroad. Limited Family-Based Immigrants These types of immigrant classifications involve specific, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some specified relationships with a Lawful Permanent Resident. Under immigration law, there are fiscal year numerical limitations on family preference immigrants as explained below.
NOTE: Grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws and cousins cannot sponsor a relative for immigration. Numerical Limitations for Limited Family-Based Immigrants Whenever there are more qualified applicants for a category than there are available numbers, the category will be considered oversubscribed, and immigrant visas will be issued in the chronological order in which the petitions were filed until the numerical limit for the category is reached. The filing date of a petition becomes the applicant's priority date. Immigrant visas cannot be issued until an applicant's priority date is reached. In certain heavily oversubscribed categories, there may be a waiting period of several years before a priority date is reached. Check the Visa Bulletin for the latest priority dates. Is There a Minimum Age Requirement for the Petitioner? There is no minimum age to file a petition for a Family-Based immigrant visa. However, you must be 18 years of age and have a domicile in the U.S. before you can sign the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for an immigrant visa for spouses and other relatives of U.S. sponsors. You must have a domicile (residence) in the United States before we can issue an immigrant visa to your family member. This is because a U.S. domicile is required to file an Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and this form is required for all immediate family members of a U.S. citizen involved in an immigrant visa case. What Does the National Visa Center Do? After a Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in the United States approves the petition, it sends the petition to the National Visa Center (NVC). When an applicant's priority meets the most recent Qualifying Date, the NVC will contact the applicant and petitioner with instructions for submitting the appropriate processing fees. After the appropriate processing fees are paid, the NVC will again contact the applicant and petitioner to request that the necessary immigrant visa documentation be submitted to the NVC. Learn more about National Visa Center visa case processing. Outlined below is a general explanation of the NVC visa case pre-processing and descriptions to help you better understand the steps involved. Important Note: The National Visa Center (NVC) will provide notification and instructions for both U.S. sponsors and visa applicants. It is important that you submit forms and documentation only when notified to do so by NVC. Remember to follow instructions from the NVC carefully. Sending the NVC documentation (or paying fees) when they were not requested by the NVC will result in a delay in processing. If you ARE working with an attorney, the NVC will take the following steps:
If you ARE NOT working with an attorney, the NVC will take the following steps:
Fees are charged for the following services:
For current fees for Department of State government services, select Fees. Note: Fees must be paid for each intending immigrant regardless of age, and are not refundable. Local currency equivalents are acceptable. Fees should not be sent to the consular office unless requested specifically. When the sponsor resides in the U.S. the petition will filed domestically, with associated petition fee paid to USCIS. How Do I Pay the Fees for the National Visa Center (NVC) Services? The NVC sends bills for certain fees at the appropriate time in the immigrant visa process. It sends bills for these services to the following people:
The NVC sends a correctly addressed, return envelope with the bills. Remember these important things:
For further information see National Visa Center. Upgrading a Petition - If You Were an LPR and Now are an American Citizen If you filed a petition for your family member when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR), and now you are an U.S. citizen, you must upgrade the petition from family second preference (F2) to immediate relative (IR). You can do this by sending proof of your citizenship to the National Visa Center (NVC). To prove that you are a U.S. citizen, you can send:
Important Notice: If you are now a U.S. citizen, you must file separate immigrant visa petitions for each of your children. If you upgrade a family second preference (F2) petition for your family member and you did not file separate petitions for your children when you were a lawful permanent resident (LPR), you must do so now. A child does not have derivative status in an immediate relative (IR) petition. This is different from the family second preference (F2) petition. A child is included in his/her parent's F2 petition. A child is not included in his/her parent's IR petition. After being notified by the National Visa Center, the applicant will complete the Application for Immigrant Visa following Instructions for Immigrant Visa Applicants. When the case is complete, an appointment package is sent to the agent or the applicant (see note below). The appointment package gives the applicant an interview date and tells you the specific requirements of the visa. It includes instructions on where to go to have the required medical examination. During the interview process, an ink-free, digital fingerprint scan will be taken. Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the visa applicant’s interview by a Consular Officer. In general, the following is required.
Documents in foreign languages should be translated. See Applicant Documents for more specific information about requirements. The consular officer may ask for more information. Take clear, legible photocopies of civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, to the immigrant visa interview. Original documents can then be returned to you. Note: The National Visa Center sends appointment packages to the applicant (or agent) when the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident sponsor filed the petition in the United States. When the sponsor files the petition overseas, the U.S. embassy or consulate abroad sends appointment packages to the applicant. Before the issuance of an immigrant visa, every applicant, regardless of age, must undergo a medical examination which must be performed by one of a panel of doctors authorized to complete the medical examination and x-ray of U.S. visa applicants. Applicants are provided instructions by NVC. United States immigration law requires immigrant visa applicants to obtain certain vaccinations prior to the issuance of an immigrant visa. Panel physicians who conduct medical examinations of immigrant visa applicants are required to verify that immigrant visa applicants have met the vaccination requirements. See IV Vaccination Requirements for the list of required vaccinations and additional information. What if the Applicant is Ineligible for a Visa? Certain conditions and activities may make you, the applicant, ineligible for a visa. Examples of these ineligibilities are:
The consular officer will inform you if you are ineligible for a visa, whether there is a waiver for the ineligibility and what the waiver procedure is. See Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas for more information. Misrepresentation of Material Facts or Fraud Attempting to obtain a visa by the willful misrepresentation of a material fact, or fraud, may result in the permanent refusal of a visa or denial of entry into the United States. Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas provides important information about ineligibilities. The length of time varies from case to case according to its circumstances, and cannot be predicted for individual cases with any accuracy. Some cases are delayed because the applicants do not follow instructions carefully. Sometimes the petitioner cannot meet Affidavit of Support requirements. Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the visa applicant’s interview by a Consular Officer. How Do I Find the Regulations about Immigrant Visas? To read the relevant Department of State regulations on immigrant visas in 9 FAM 40.1 Note 1 and 9 FAM 42, select Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM).
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