Green Card through Family

Overview

Relatives or family members of U.S. citizens or Green Card holders who wish to reside permanently in the United States may apply for a green card based on their family relationship.

This immigrant visa is divided into two (2):

I: Unlimited Family-based Immigrant Visa

* Immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens (IR) which applies to the spouse, widow(er) and unmarried children under 21 of a U.S. citizen, and the parent of a U.S. citizen who is 21 or older
* Returning Residents (SB) refers to 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.

II. Limited Family-based Immigrant Visa

* Family First Preference (F1) - Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their children, if any
* Family Second Preference (F2) - Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters (over age 20) of lawful permanent residents. (114,200) At least seventy-seven percent of all visas available for this category will go to the spouses and children; the remainder will be allocated to unmarried sons and daughters.
* Family Third Preference (F3) - Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and children.
* Family Fourth Preference (F4) - Brothers and sisters of United States citizens, and their spouses and children, provided the U.S. citizens are at least 21 years of age

Visa Ineligibility/Waiver

The immigration laws of the United States, in order to protect the health, welfare, and security of the United States, prohibit the issuance of a visa to certain applicants. Examples of applicants who must be refused visas are those who: have a communicable disease such as tuberculosis, have a dangerous physical or mental disorder, or are drug addicts; have committed serious criminal acts; are terrorists, subversives, members of a totalitarian party, or former Nazi war criminals; have used illegal means to enter the United States; or are ineligible for citizenship. Some former exchange visitors must live abroad two years. Physicians who intend to practice medicine must pass a qualifying exam before receiving immigrant visas. If found to be ineligible, the consular officer will then advise the applicant if the law provides for some form of waiver.

Medical Examinations

Before the issuance of an immigrant visa, every applicant, regardless of age, must undergo a medical examination. The examination will be conducted by a doctor designated by the consular officer. Costs for such examinations must be borne by the applicant, in addition to the visa fees.

Numerical Limitations

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.