It is a fact that millions of people every year want to immigrate to the U.S. be it to become a permanent resident, or for work, business, or education. Unfortunately, there is always a huge gap between the immigration application and approval, for reasons, be it technical, policy centric, or administrative. If you want to bring your family member, be it immediate relative or family preference, to the U.S. you have to be very careful in understanding the technicalities involved in following all due process in every possible detail. Since there is a big backlog, and increasing exponentially every year, it is always better to find an immigration lawyer to work in the US to bring your family member to the States.  

Technicalities Simplified 

As a US citizen or permanent resident, you can file petitions to the government to sponsor family members to get a U.S. immigrant visa, leading to a green card or lawful permanent residence. You have to file a special form “I-130”) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Unfortunately, the average processing time to complete the first step is over 10 months, leading to a backlog of over 1.5 million.

The processing time depends on factors like your current status as petitioner, whether a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, country of origin, and relationship with the beneficiary. Getting permanent residency for family members involves a cumbersome and tedious process, so it is always better to hire an immigration law expert to help you reunite with loved ones smoothly in the minimum possible time.  

Family Members Eligibility  

Family-based petitions fall under two broad categories, namely “immediate relatives” of U.S. citizens and “family preference” relatives. Thankfully, there is no yearly upper cap on the number of immigrant visas to be issued for an immediate relative of U.S. citizens. This category includes spouses, unmarried children of less than 21 years, and orphans adopted abroad.

Unlike the immediate relatives, the “family preference” category has a yearly overall immigrant visa quota. This category is further classified into to following subcategories:   

First Preference (F1): Unmarried children of U.S. citizens of any age.

Second Preference (F2): Spouses and children above 21 years of age but unmarried of permanent residents.

Third Preference (F3): Married children of U.S. citizens and their spouses and minor children.

Fourth Preference (F4): Siblings a U.S. citizen, and their spouse and minor children.

Immigration Process for a Family Member

The first step involves filing the I-130 form issued by USCIS. You should be a little careful in filing the form as you have to provide all possible details including choosing the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in the country of origin.

You have to provide documents to support the relationship between you and the possible beneficiary, like a birth certificate, genuine marriage certificate, etc. A good immigration lawyer will ask you to execute and submit the Affidavit of Support, Form I-864, and supporting documents with the I-130, to speed up the approval process. Don’t forget to keep a copy of the I-130 form along with support documents and payment receipts.

Following document verification, the USCIS issues an Approval Notice containing information regarding where the cases have been forwarded to. Depending on the beneficiary category, the form will be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC) and wait till the waiting period is over and a visa becomes available. You can track the progress of the “priority date” from the monthly Visa Bulletin released by the Department of States.  

Once an immigrant visa is available, the NVC will issue a series of forms and instructions to the immigrant. You have to submit an updated Affidavit of Support and pay the applicable fee. Once the payment is done, you have to fill out the Forms DS-260, “Online Immigrant Visa Application and Alien Registration Application.”

Following satisfactory examination of forms and documents, the NVC will forward your case to the consular office. You have to undergo a medical examination, get police clearance, and fingerprinting. Once done with the procedure, the consulate office will invite you for a personal interview. You should bring all copies of the documents attached with the application forms. It usually takes around a week for the embassy to issue the passport stamp.