One of the common pathways to obtain lawful permanent resident status in the United States is through family-based immigrant petition. If you are living outside the United States and you are under the categories of relatives of a U.S. citizen in the required category, you can become a permanent resident. U.S. Department of State will issue an approved Form I-130 petition when a visa is available.
There are some types of visa for specific, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some specified relation with the permanent resident relative. The family preference categories are:
Family First Preference (F1): Minor children and unmarried children, daughter or son, of U.S citizens, if any.
• Son / Daughter may be of any age
• Son / Daughter may also bring their unmarried children under age 21
Family Second Preference (F2): Your spouse and minor children and sons and daughters who are not married of permanent residents can apply for F2 visas. You can stay in the U.S. as long as F-1 visa holder is valid.
Family Third Preference (F3): U.S. citizen may petition for their married son or daughter to qualify for the F3 visa. U.S. citizens may apply for F3 immigrant visas for their married sons and daughters by filing I-130 form Immigrant Petition with USCIS.
Family Fourth Preference (F4): F4 Visa is available to foreign immigrants who are the brother or sister of American citizens and spouses or minor children, but the U.S. citizens should be of at least 21 years of age.
The first step in immigration visa is filing a petition. The relative sponsoring the visa should file a petition for alien relative by filling I-130 form. The petition can also be filed by a U.S. citizen living abroad.
To file the petition for either of the family member the U.S. citizens should be of 21 years or older. But for the sponsor to file petitions for other categories there is no minimum age. A U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident must be at least 18 years of age and have a residence in the United States. Form is required for an immigrant visa for a spouse and other relatives of U.S. sponsors.
Required Documentation
The following documents are required in general for the application of visa:
• A valid password. The validity of password may be for 60 days further than the expiration date on the immigrant visa.
• Affidavit of support from the petitioner or the sponsor.
• Immigrant Visa registration
• Alien registration application and Form DS-260
• Two 2x2 photographs.
• Civil documents for the applicant.
• Your original civil documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, legible photocopies of the original civil documents.
• Medical Examination Forms
USCIS will inform the person who filled the visa petition if it gets approved. Further it will send the approval to the department of state's national visa center. Family-based visas are distributed according to a quota system, only a limited amount of family-based visas may be issued every year. More details can be discussed by the attorneys at Wildes & Weinberg immigration office in New York who are experts in solving complex federal cases.
For over 50 years the attorneys are involved in innovative thinking. The law firm has considered several cases of different celebrity clients, starting with the deportation case of John Lennon and other top models and players. The firm is also specialized before the board of Immigration appeals. Attorneys practice several federal courts of appeal and district courts. Wildes & Weinberg will never turn their clients away, instead develop winning strategies for their clients.
