Immigrant Visas

Petition Process

A U.S. citizen may petition for her/his spouse, children, parents or siblings. A legal permanent resident may petition for her/his spouse and children. In certain cases, businesses in the United States may submit immigrant visa petitions to the U. S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (US CIS, formerly INS) in the U.S. on behalf of potential employees. Petitions for certain family members and employment-based visas are numerically limited each year. See links below.

Who may qualify for an immigrant visa.

Frequently asked questions on the immigrant visa process.

After approving an immigrant petition, US CIS will send the case to the U.S. Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC) for processing. When the NVC has determined that a case is approaching the time of the interview, it notifies the applicant and forwards the case to the Consular Section.

Because U.S. law limits the number of immigrant visas that may be issued each year in certain categories, there is a waiting list for certain types of immigrant visas. Spouses and children of legal permanent residents, as well as siblings and adult children of U.S. citizens, are subject to waiting lists. Immigrant visas for the spouse and minor unmarried children of a U.S. citizen, and the parents of a U.S. citizen who is 21 years or older, are not numerically limited; therefore, applicants who fall into those categories are not subject to waiting lists.