Immigrant Visas

1. U.S. Citizens may petition for Immediate Relatives, which includes:
   • Their children who are under age 21 and unmarried;
   • Their spouses;
     • There are special considerations for recently married couples who are granted a temporary status of Conditional Permanent Residence.
     • There are also protections for widows/widowers in certain situations.
   • Their parent(s), if the U.S. Citizen son or daughter is at least 21 years old.
2. Battered Spouses, Children, or Parents may self-petition under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994.  Special eligibility requirements apply.
3. Spouses, Parents, or Children of Deceased U.S. Citizen Service Members may self-petition.  Special eligibility requirements apply.
4. The Preference System represents a distribution of visas based on familial relationship.  This is separate from Immediate Relatives, described above.
   • Under the F1 First Preference category, U.S. citizens may petition for their unmarried sons and daughters who are over the age of 21.
   • Under the F2A and F2B Second Preference category, Lawful Permanent Residents may petition for their spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, and sons and daughters over the age of 21.
   • Under the F3 Third Preference category, U.S. citizens may petition for their married sons and daughters over the age of 21.
   • Under the F4 Fourth Preference category, U.S. citizens may petition for their brothers and sisters.

For many, the process to obtain Permanent Residency through a family member will take years.  Based on the appropriate relationship as listed above, the U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident petitioner files an application with USCIS to verify the familial relationship.  At that time, a “Priority Date” is issued.  This Priority Date determines the order of visa availability and essentially holds your place in line.  The Priority Dates are set by the U.S. Department of State in their monthly Visa Bulletin.  The dates are organized by Preference Category and the foreign national’s country of birth.  Once that Priority Date becomes “current” and a visa is available for your family member, they may complete the process for obtaining a Green Card by filing to Adjust Status if they are presently living in the U.S. in a valid nonimmigrant visa status, or abroad via Consular Processing.

Our team of dedicated attorneys and immigration specialists will guide you through the entire process from the initial consultation through the I-130 filing and eventual Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing.  We understand that immigration is stressful and we aim to make the process as stress-free as possible.  

Conditional Permanent Residency Based on Marriage

If you were married for less than two years on the day you obtained permanent residence status, then you were granted Conditional Permanent Resident Status.  This conditional status gives you a temporary Green Card valid for two years. We can assist with the filing to remove the conditional status to grant you full permanent residency.