Key Steps for Obtaining an Immigrant Visa
- In most cases, someone must “sponsor” you, or file an immigrant petition for you.
- Once the petition is approved, and there is a visa available in your category, you apply for an immigrant visa. You do this through a U.S. consulate abroad. ...
- Get a medical examination.
- Go to an interview.
- You’ll then receive a decision on your application.
What are the requirements for an immigrant?
- Be arriving on designated carrier that is signatory to a Visa Waiver Program Agreement, if applicable;
- Have a machine-readable passport valid for 6 months beyond the period of intended stay, or essentially 9 months (90 days + 6 months). ...
- Complete an Arrival/Departure Form I-94W. ...
What are the requirements to be an US citizen?
citizenship requirements
- U.S. citizenship requirements. A lawful permanent resident is someone who is not a citizen but is allowed to live in the USA. ...
- Naturalization categories. You must be a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or green card holder for at least 5 years. ...
- Dual citizenship. You do not have to give up your citizenship in the country of your origin in the USA. ...
How to legally immigrate to the US?
- Obtain the Police Clearance Certificate from the authorities that issues passports in your country. Without this you won’t even be allowed to enter the consular premises.
- Complete a medical examination from a panel of physicians approved by the Embassy of your country.
- Complete the DS-260 online, available from the website https://ceac.state.gov/ceac. ...
How to emigrate and move to another country?
Moving or retiring abroad
- Tell your council. You need to contact your local council if you move or retire abroad, and give them a forwarding address.
- Benefits. You need to tell the relevant benefits offices that deal with your benefits that you’re moving abroad.
- Pensions. You need to contact the International Pension Centre. ...
- Student loans. ...
- Tax. ...
- Voting and citizenship. ...
How long does it take immigrants to get a visa?
Generally speaking, a fair timeframe is approximately 6-10 months from the filing of the immigrant petition to approval at the U.S. Consulate. Timeframes can vary depending on backlogs of cases at both the USCIS and the U.S. Consulate abroad.
WHO issues immigrant visas?
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident petitioners residing in the United States must file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). This can be done either electronically or through the traditional paper process through the mail.
How much is a visa for an immigrant?
Immigrant Visa Application Processing Fees (non-refundable, per person)Immediate relative and family preference applications (processed on the basis of an approved I-130, I-600 or I-800 petition)$325.00Employment-based applications (processed on the basis of an approved I-140 or I-526 petition)$345.002 more rows
What does a visa allow an immigrant to do?
An "immigrant visa" allows a person to become a permanent resident immediately upon U.S. entry. Such a person will receive a green card soon thereafter, and can stay in the U.S. for life (unless the person does something to become deportable). A "nonimmigrant visa" is only temporary.
What are the 4 types of visas?
Which type of visa do you need? Probably one of the four main types: tourist, immigration, student, or work.
What are the 4 types of immigrants?
These Are the Four Types of Immigration Statuses in the US. When immigrating to the US, there are four different immigration status categories that immigrants may fall into: citizens, residents, non-immigrants, and undocumented immigrants.
How much money do you need to immigrate to USA?
The cost to immigrate to the US including the entire process will be around $4000 to $12,000. When an individual applies with the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), you need to pay several fees. The fee for applying depends on the type of your residency application.
How long do visas last?
Usually 6 months. In addition, you can apply for extension of stay for another 6 months. Reason for extension must be consistent with the terms and conditions of your original status. Such type of visa is normally issued up from a period of 1 month to 10 years.
Can immigrants work in the US?
If you have the right combination of skills, education, and/or work experience, you may be able to live and work permanently in the United States by seeking an employment-based immigrant visa. The Permanent Workers webpage describes the five employment-based immigrant visa preferences (also called categories).
Who can sponsor an immigrant?
All sponsors must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, be at least 18 years old, and be living in the United States (including territories and possessions) when they file the affidavit of support. When and how do I file the affidavit of support? You do not need to file it with your I-130 petition.
How much does it cost to sponsor an immigrant worker?
In general, a visa sponsorship costs approximately $4000 but may cost $8-9,000 if a company has more than fifty employees and 50% of those employees are foreign nationals.
What is a green card vs visa?
The key difference between the two is that US visas allow the bearer to enter the country and stay for a certain period of time for a specific purpose, while a Green Card is a permit for immigrants that grants permanent residency in the United States.
What type of visa is an immigrant visa?
The type of visa is determined by the purpose of your travel to the United States. An immigrant visa (IV) is issued to a person wishing to live permanently in the United States.
Can a US senator help with visa?
Whether you are looking for assistance with immigrant or non-immigrant visas, citizenship, asylum or refugee cases, or would like to check the status of your application, Senator Blumenthal's office can assist you in answering your questions.
What are the US immigrant visas?
An immigrant visa is issued to a foreign national who intends to live and work permanently in the United States. In most cases, a relative or employer sponsors the individual by filing an application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
How to get an immigrant visa for a child?
To begin the immigrant visa process, prospective adoptive parents submit forms and documents to USCIS. After USCIS reviews the paperwork, a case is assigned to the U .S. Embassy or Consulate in the country where the child resides. All children adopted abroad require an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate before coming to reside permanently in the United States. The Embassy or Consulate schedules the final visa interview once all required documents have been provided. The Department of State is committed to processing immigrant visas for adopted children expeditiously. Keep in mind, however, that the time required to issue your child's visa will depend on the specific circumstances in his or her country of residence. To learn more about the immigrant visa process, review our How to Adopt web page and overviews of the Convention and non-Convention visa processes.
Where do you get a visa for a child?
Visas are issued at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the foreign country where a child resides. Since a child being adopted abroad by a U.S. citizen parent (s) will usually be brought to live in the United States, that child will need an immigrant visa.
Do children adopted abroad need a visa?
All children adopted abroad require an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate before coming to reside permanently in the United States. The Embassy or Consulate schedules the final visa interview once all required documents have been provided.
How to apply for an immigrant visa?
To be considered for an immigrant visa under some of the employment-based categories below, the applicant's prospective employer or agent must first obtain a labor certification approval from the Department of Labor. Once received (if required), the employer then files an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for the appropriate employment-based preference category. (NOTE: Persons with extraordinary abilities in the Employment First preference category are able to file their own petitions.) When filing the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, see the detailed form instructions, as well as more detailed requirements information on the USCIS Permanent Workers webpage.
How long do you have to wait to get an immigration visa?
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.
What is the third preference for immigrants?
A Third Preference applicant must have an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, filed by the prospective employer. All such workers generally require labor certification approved by the Department of Labor. Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers (Other Workers) receive 28.6 percent of the yearly worldwide limit of employment-based immigrant visas, plus any unused visas from the Employment First Preference and Second Preference categories.
Why do immigration cases take so long?
Employment based immigrant visa cases take additional time because they are in numerically limited visa categories. The length of time varies from case to case and cannot be predicted for individual cases with any accuracy. Some cases are delayed because applicants do not follow instructions carefully. Some visa applications require further administrative processing, which takes additional time after the consular officer interviews the applicant.
Where does the NVC send the visa application?
NVC then sends the file, containing the applicant’s petition and the documents listed above, to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where the applicant will be interviewed for a visa. The applicant, attorney, and third-party agent, if applicable, will receive appointment emails, or letters (if no email address is available), containing the date and time of the applicant's visa interview along with instructions, including guidance for obtaining a medical examination.
What form do I need to file for an alien worker?
The prospective employer must provide a job offer and file an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, Form I-140, with the USCIS.
Is the USCIS fee refundable?
Note: Fees must be paid for each intending immigrant, regardless of age, and are not refundable. Fees should not be paid to the NVC or paid at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where you have your visa interview unless specifically requested.
How to hire an attorney for a visa?
If you wish to hire an attorney, please submit a signed form G-28 Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative to the National Visa Center (NVC) using our Public Inquiry Form.
What happens if you don't get a visa?
If visas are not available for your visa category, NVC will notify you that NVC received your petition and will hold it until a visa becomes available.
How to withdraw a petition from NVC?
To withdraw a petition, you must submit a signed written statement requesting that the petition be withdrawn and explaining the reason to NVC using our Public Inquiry Form. If an attorney or accredited representative submits the request, a G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative, must accompany the request.
What happens if a visa is not available?
If a visa is not available, unfortunately there is nothing that NVC can do to expedite the petition. Immigrant visa processing is governed by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, which controls availability of visas. There is no provision within the law that would allow the Department of State to issue a visa to someone for whom a visa is unavailable.
How to change visa category back to F2B?
Applicants whose case is at NVC should submit requests using NVC’s online inquiry form. NVC will forward the request to USCIS and change the visa category back to F2B upon receipt of USCIS’s approval.
What does NVC do with a visa?
If a visa is available for your petition (or if the Department of State believes that one will be available in the next several months), NVC will send you, the beneficiary, a letter or email directing you to begin visa pre-processing with NVC.
How to transfer a case to a consulate?
If your case is at a U.S. embassy or consulate, contact the potential gaining U.S. embassy or consulate in writing to request a transfer of your case. Please include a justification for the request. If you are not a resident of that country, specify that in your request.
What is a U.S. Visa?
A citizen of a foreign country who seeks to enter the United States generally must first obtain a U.S. visa, which is placed in the traveler’s passport, a travel document issued by the traveler’s country of citizenship.
Find out what visa type is appropriate for you
The type of visa you must obtain is defined by U.S. immigration law, and relates to the purpose of your travel.
Visa Appointment Wait Time
A wait time listed as "999 calendar days" indicates that the Consular Section is only providing that service to emergency cases. Please check the Embassy or Consulate website for further information.
When is a visa available?
A visa is available to you when your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for your preference category and country of chargeability in the applicable chart in the Visa Bulletin, as described above in the Acceptance of Adjustment of Status Applications section.
What is the Immigration and Nationality Act?
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets the number of immigrant visas the U.S. Department of State (DOS) can issue to aliens seeking to become lawful permanent residents (get a Green Card) each year. Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are unlimited, so they are always available.
What does U visa mean?
If the Visa Bulletin shows “U” in a category, this means that immigrant visas are temporarily unavailable to all applicants in that particular preference category and/or country of chargeability.
What is the form I-485?
We will accept Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, from family-sponsored and employment-based adjustment of status preference applicants according to the monthly Visa Bulletin that DOS publishes as a guide for issuing visas at U.S. Consulates and Embassies.
What is the DOS visa bulletin?
DOS, working with the Department of Homeland Security, revises the Visa Bulletin each month to estimate immigrant visa availability for prospective adjustment of status applicants. If DOS makes any changes to either chart in the Visa Bulletin after publishing it, we will review those changes and determine if any further action is necessary. Check the latest dates for filing adjustment of status applications .
What is visa retrogression?
Sometimes, a priority date that is current one month will not be current the next month, or the cut-off date will move backward to an earlier date. This is called visa retrogression, which occurs when more people apply for a visa in a particular category than there are visas available for that month. Visa retrogression generally occurs when the annual limit for a category or country has been exhausted or is expected to run out soon. When the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, a new supply of visa numbers becomes available. Usually, but not always, the new supply returns the cut-off dates to where they were before retrogression.
Can I file an I-485 with an I-130?
In certain instances, you can file your Form I-485 together, or “concurrently,” with the underlying Form I-130 or Form I-140 immigrant petition. You may concurrently file your Form I-485 only when approval of the underlying immigrant petition would make a visa immediately available to you. If you are an immediate relative, you can always concurrently file your Form I-485 application with the underlying Form I-130.
What is Illegal Immigration?
When foreign nationals enter the United States in the violation of U.S. immigration laws, it is considered illegal immigration. This type of migration includes both people who enter the United States without explicit permission (for instance, a visa) or if they enter the country lawfully, but stay beyond the authorized amount of time permitted to them. In 2016, the illegal immigrant population in America amounted to almost 11 million people.
How many illegal immigrants were there in 2016?
In 2016, the illegal immigrant population in America amounted to almost 11 million people. You may wonder: how do people enter the United States illegally? A country as large as the U.S. has more than one illegal ways to enter its border. Here are the three most common avenues for illegal immigration in America. 1.
How long does a BCC visa last?
The card typically has a ten-year expiration date. While a smaller number of illegal immigrants use this method to enter the U.S., the BCC is the most common type of visa for registered non-immigrant entry. An estimated 148 million people out of 179 million total foreign visitors enter using the Border Crossing Card.
How many people use the Border Crossing Card?
An estimated 148 million people out of 179 million total foreign visitors enter using the Border Crossing Card. However, it is difficult to determine how many people who are here illegally abused the visa to stay.
Is illegal entry a misdemeanor?
However, not all illegal entries occur over the southern border. For instance, in 1993 the Golden Venture voyage attempted to smuggle almost 300 undocumented Chinese immigrants. Illegal entry is a misdemeanor in the United States. If caught by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, non-nationals face deportation.
Is illegal immigration dangerous?
With the changing political climate, illegal immigration is more dangerous than ever. So, if you or a loved one wants to live in the U.S., your best course of action is to find a reputable immigration attorney who can guide you through the immigration process safely and legally.
How to get a US citizenship card?
The easiest and most popular way to get one is to have a relative petition to grant you one. All they have to do is fill out Form I-130 ( Petition for an Alien Relative ). Once it's correctly filed and approved, you can come to the USA and fill out a second form, which will qualify you for a card. If you can't get your United States family member to participate, you can also complete this process exclusively on your end. You just have to work with the US Immigration Services, and they can help you through the process.
How to get a green card for work?
If you are offered the chance to work in the USA, your employer can petition for you to get a green card. The employer just has to fill out a form on your behalf. Once it's approved, you'll get a visa that will allow you to come and fill out the rest of the paperwork. You can complete this process within or outside the US, but you will need your employer's help regardless. If you are living in the US at the time of this process, you will also need to complete several items such as the USCIS Medical Exam and an inspection.
What happens after getting a Green Card?
Once you have one, there are a few things to keep in mind, like for example that as a Green Card holder you have some benefits. It proves your eligibility to work, allows you to apply for both a social security card and a driver's license.
What is the Green Card lottery?
The Green Card Lottery is probably the most surprising ways to get into the States. The technical name for it is the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. This program is designed to raise diversity in the USA. Each year, 50,000 visas are given randomly to citizens of countries that don't normally immigrate to the US.
How to achieve the American dream?
The American Dream is an idea known and loved by people around the world, and the first step to achieving it is to get through the red tape. It can be a difficult process that takes time, paperwork, and patience, but if it is what your really want, it will feel like the easiest thing in the world.
How often do you need to renew your green card?
Keep in mind that you are required to renew green card. If it is a 10-year card, it will need to be renewed every 10 years, and you should start the process at least six months before it expires.
