Family-Based (F) Immigration

Here are the steps for family-based immigration (F) visas. These are visas for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, or the spouse of a U.S. legal permanent resident.

Step 1 - Most immigrants are sponsored by a family member in the United States. Immigrant visa applications begin when someone in the United States submits a petition (Form I-130) on behalf of the intending immigrant to the office of the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (formally INS) in the United States that serves the petitioner's place of residence. For a list of USCIS offices in the United States, please visit USCIS site.

Do not submit the competed I-130 form to the Consular Section; we cannot process this form. You cannot petition for yourself.

Please make sure to give a valid email address and your telephone number with STD code in order for us to contact you if necessary about your case.

Step 2 - After USCIS approves a petition, it is assigned to one of the U.S. Embassies or Consulates overseas designated to process certain immigrant visa applications. Petitioner and immigrant visa applicants should anticipate a 4 to 6 month wait or possibly longer for the petition to arrive at the designated U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

NOTE on numerical limits. Whenever there are more qualified applicants for a category than there are available places, the category is considered oversubscribed. Immigrant visas are 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.