There are multiple family based visas for the United States. If you want to bring your children, spouse or parent to the United States, you can apply for a family-based visa for the United States. There are three different categories, one is for immigration of family based on family preference category or on immediate relative category and third is for non-immigrant visa for family. We will be discussing all these family-based visas in detail.
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Immigration Family Based Visa US
There are two categories in the immigration family-based visa: “family preference” and “immediate relative”. These are discussed below and an immigration visa means that permanent residence is granted in the United States which will eventually get you a green card. However, some visas have a yearly numerical limit referred to as visa cap.
Family Preference Immigration
This is for family members that are not immediate relatives of the country’s citizens. Visas applied under the family preference category are dependent on a visa cap. The United States issues around 226,000 family-based green cards yearly to applicants under this category from different countries. After a visa petition by sponsor is confirmed, such applicants have to wait for immigration till a visa is available for them.
- F1
The First Preference (F1) category is for adults. This applies to all adults that are of 21 years or above in age. The unmarried daughters and sons of United States citizens fall under this category.
- F2A
The Second Preference (F2A) category is for spouses and unmarried children. The unmarried children and spouses of the lawful permanent residents of the US falls under this category. For this to be applicable, the unmarried children are required to be under 21 years old.
- F2B
The Second Preference (F2B) category is for adult, unmarried daughters and sons of the lawful permanent residents in the United States. This is applicable to all unmarried daughters and sons of 21 years old and above.
- F3
The Third Preference (F3) is applicable to all married daughters and sons of the United States citizens. The age factor does not matter in this category.
- F4
The Fourth Preference (F4) is applicable to adult US citizen’s sisters and brothers. The sponsor should be 21 years or older to apply for the F4 Family visa.
Immediate Relatives Immigration
This category is for individuals that have a close family relation with the US citizen. They can be parent, spouse or children of a US citizen. This visa application does not have any annual numeral limit. Therefore, visas are always available in this category and the applicant does not have to wait in the waiting line for visas.
- IR1/CR1 Visa
It is a visa process for spouses of United States citizens so that they can get the green card.
- IR2 Visa
It is for children who are unmarried or 21 years old or under, of the United States citizen to get them a green card.
- IR3 Visa
This is for children that the United States citizen has adopted outside the United States to get them a green card.
- IR4 Visa
This visa application for children adopted inside the United States so they are granted green cards.
- IR5 Visa
This visa is for citizens of the US who are above or of 21 years of age to sponsor their parents so that they are granted green cards.
Non-Immigrant Visa for Family
This visa is for US citizens to bring their foreign relatives into the country. After they enter the United States, they can seek permanent resident status and can continue their immigration process. This visa is usually for US citizens' spouses, fiancée and their children.
- K1 Visa for Fiancé
This is for a non-immigrant fiancée living outside the US. For this visa to be eligible, you will have to marry your fiancée within 90 days after they enter the country.
- K2 Visa for Dependent Child
This is for non-immigrant children that are dependent on your fiancée living outside the US. This visa is valid till the K1 visa holder is eligible, if there are issues and the K1 visa holder is deported or their visa is cancelled, the same will be applied to K2 visa holders.
- K3 Visa for Spouse
This partner visa is for US citizens who want to bring their spouse to the US. If you have filed an I-130 petition and want to speed things up, you can apply for this visa so that your spouse can live with you till the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services makes their decision.
- K4 Visa for Dependent Child
This is for unmarried children or children 21 or under, that are living outside the US. This visa is valid till the K3 visa holder is eligible, if there are issues and the K3 visa holder is deported or their visa is cancelled, the same will be applied to K4 visa holders.
These are a few family-based visas that you can apply for. However, the criteria, documentations and fees, all vary based on each family and their requirements. It is recommended to discuss your case with an experienced London Immigration Lawyer to get the best outcome.
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