Your foreign relative wishes to immigrate to the United States and you don’t know if s/he is eligible and how long s/he will wait.
Eligible Relatives
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows issuance of immigrant visas only to eligible foreign relatives. This means that your foreign relative must fall into one of the following family preference categories in order to be eligible to apply for an immigrant visa.
Family Preference Category 1
Unmarried Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens
Family Preference Category 2
A. Spouses and Children (under 21 years of age) of Permanent Residents
B. Unmarried Sons and Daughters (21 years of age or older) of Permanent Residents
Family Preference Category 3
Married Sons and Daughters of U.S. Citizens
Family Preference Category 4
Brothers and Sisters of Adult (21 years of age or older) U.S. Citizens
Immigrant Visa Availability Criteria
The INA limits the number of family based immigrant visas (based on certain criteria) that are issued per year. Since the demand for immigrant visas is higher than the limited number, an immigrant visa ‘wait list’ forms. This means that even if the USCIS approves a relative petition your foreign relative will not get an immigrant visa immediately.
The following criteria determine how quickly your foreign relative will be issued an immigrant visa.
Preference Category
Each family preference category is assigned a limited number of immigrant visas per year. If your foreign relative falls into a category with a greater number of immigrant visas then the wait time will be shorter.
Country
Each country is assigned a limited number of immigrant visas per year. If your foreign relative is from a country with a lower demand for immigrant visas then the wait time will be shorter.
Priority Date
The ‘priority date’ is the date that the relative petition is properly filed with the USCIS. The ‘priority date’ can be found on the Notice of Action (Form I-797) issued by the USCIS. The ‘priority date’ is used to determine your foreign relative’s place on the immigrant visa ‘wait list’.
Foreign Relative’s Place on the ‘Wait List’
The Department of State (DOS) distributes immigrant visas based upon family preference category, country and ‘priority date’. The DOS publishes a monthly report of immigrant visa availability referred to as the “Visa Bulletin”. Specifically, the Visa Bulletin allows your foreign relative to verify their place on the ‘wait list’.
In order to verify their place on the ‘wait list’ your foreign relative can review the Visa Bulletin online. The Visa Bulletin contains a chart that should be reviewed using the following.
- Locate the proper family sponsored preference category
- Locate the proper country of birth
- Review the ‘cut-off’ date
An immigrant visa is available to your foreign relative only if their ‘priority date’ is earlier than the ‘cut-off’ date indicated in the Visa Bulletin chart.
If this is the case, then the processing of your foreign relative’s immigrant visa will continue. Specifically, the National Visa Center (NVC) will perform a background check of your foreign relative, collect immigrant visa and affidavit of support fees and documents, process the immigrant visa application and provide instruction regarding the interview and the required medical examination. After processing is complete, the NVC will schedule an interview and forward the relative petition, immigrant visa application and documents to the United States embassy or consulate nearest your foreign relative’s residence.
Additional Questions?
If you are unfamiliar with what is required, you may wish to take a moment to learn more about the immigrant visa process, to review the requirements for an immigrant visa , the associated visa fees and the timelines for the application process.
