Family Immigrant Visas

All Immigrant Visa applicants must be eligible and have the required vaccinations.

The process starts by filing Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, with all required documentation

Immigration for a foreign spouse.

If your marriage is less that 2 years old, your spouse will be issued a CR1 (Conditional Residence), which is conditional for 2 years. Otherwise they will be issued an IR1 (Immediate Residence).

You must be legally married. Merely living together does not qualify a marriage for immigration Unmarried partners are ineligible to sponsor visas to the United Stated.

In most cases you must have a residence in the US to apply. If you want to bring your foreign spouse to the US, but you are currently living outside the US, you must submit a visa petition (form I-130) to either your local US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office or directly to the US Embassy where your foreign spouse resides.

You must be 18 years old before you can sign the Affidavit of Support, which is a form that will be required later in the process.

Legal Permanent Residents may also petition for an Immigrant Visa on behalf of their spouse but are considered a lower priority. Moreover the child of a legal permanent resisdent must be under 21 and unmarried.

There are many rules and requirements involved in obtaining an Immigrant Visa for a spouse. Please consider a legal consultation if you wish to do this.

Immigration for a foreign child.

If a US Citizen is filing for an Immigrant Visa for his or her child, the requirements vary depending upon the relationship the filer has with the child. If the petitioner is the mother of the child, the requirements are fewer than if the petitioner is the father or a stepparent. Other requirements apply if the child is adopted.

If a child is under 21 and not married, he or she is considered an Immediate Relative and will be given a higher priority than children over 21 or children that are married.

Legal Permanent Residents may also petition for an Immigrant Visa on behalf of their child but are considered a lower priority. Moreover the child of a legal permanent resisdent must be under 21 and unmarried.

There are many rules and requirements involved in obtaining an Immigrant Visa for a child. Please consider a legal consultation if you wish to do this.

Immigration for a foreign parent.

The petitioner must be a US Citizen. Legal Permanent Residents may not petition for a parent.

The petitioner must be a US Citizen. Legal Permanent Residents may not petition for a sibling.

If you are legally adopted you may not petition for either of your birth parents.

The requirements change depending upon whether you are petitioning for your birth mother, birth father, stepparent, or adoptive parent.

Also, the requirements will differ when petitioning for your birth father depending upon whether you were born in or out of wedlock, and whether you were legitimated by your father before your 18th birthday or not.

There are many rules and requirements involved in obtaining an Immigrant Visa for a parent. Please consider a legal consultation if you wish to do this.

Immigration for a foreign sibling.

The petitioner must be a US Citizen. Legal Permanent Residents may not petition for a sibling.

The petitioner must be at least 21 years of age.

Requirements differ depending upon whether or not you share the same mother. If you are related only through the father, requirements differ if one or both of you was born out of wedlock or if either of you were not legitimated.

Stepsiblings who now share a common parent may also be considered.

There are many rules and requirements involved in obtaining an Immigrant Visa for a sibling. Please consider a legal consultation if you wish to do this.