Family-based immigration visas
Q: Can you explain family- based visas – the type that might allow me to go live in the United States?
A: US immigration law provides for two categories of family-based immigration visas. The first type, Immediate Relative (“IR”) immigrant visas, is for those individuals with a close family relationship with a US citizen. Examples of close family relationships include spouses, unmarried children of the US citizen under the age of 21, orphans adopted by US citizens, or parents of US citizens who are at least 21 years old. There are no limitations on the number of immigrant visas available for those with an immediate relative relationship to a US citizen.
The second category, Family Preference (“F”) immigrant visas, includes both those having more distant family relationships to a US citizen and those with specified relationships to a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR). There are several types of Family Preference visas, and the US Congress limits the number of visas in each class that can be issued in a given fiscal year. The first preference group consists of unmarried sons and daughters (over 21 years of age) of US citizens and their minor children. The second preference group comprises spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters of LPRs. Married sons and daughters of US citizens and their spouses and minor children make up the third-preference group. The fourth-preference group includes siblings of US citizens and their spouses and children under 22 years of age.
The immigration process begins when a US citizen or LPR files a petition with US Citizenship and Immigration for his or her relative(s). There are always more qualified applicants for a Family Preference visa than there are visas available. Family Preference visas are processed in chronological order of the date on which the petition was filed. The filing date of the petition becomes the applicant’s “priority date”.
Family Preference visas cannot be issued until the applicant’s priority date is reached. In certain categories, most often the third-and fourth-preference groups, there may be a waiting period of several years or more before the priority date is reached. Applicants can check the monthly Visa Bulletin for the priority dates of petitions whose beneficiaries can be issued visas at the present time by going to
travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html.
Reminder
Your appointment time is your arrival time, NOT your interview time. Do not show up earlier than your appointment time.
You can find more information about how to travel to the US on the embassy’s website at kingston.usembassy.gov and the website of our authorised service provider at usvisa-info.com. Keep on top of embassy news on our Facebook page, facebook.com/pages/USEmbassy-Jamaica, and by following @USEmbassyJA on Twitter. We also answer general visa questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages. You may also send your questions to: editorial@jamaicaobserver.com to be forwarded to the embassy.
