FAMILY BASED IMMIGRATION

United States citizens and lawful permanent resident can help certain family members immigrate to the United States. This is a two-step process. The first step is the family visa petition. The second step is the application to become a permanent resident. Each step involves different legal and factual issues.

Immediate Relative Category

To promote family unity, immigration law allows U.S. citizens to petition for certain qualified relatives to come and live permanently in the United States. Eligible immediate relatives include the U.S. citizen’s:

• Spouse
• Unmarried child under the age of 21
• Parent (if the U.S. citizen is over the age of 21)

Immediate relatives have special immigration priority and do not have to wait in line for a visa number to become available for them to immigrate because there are an unlimited number of visas for their particular categories.

Preference Categories

People who immigrate through a preference visa petition will fall into one of four categories.
These categories are set at INA Section 201(b)(1).

FIRST PREFERENCE (F1)

The beneficiary is the unmarried son or daughter, 21 years of age or older, of a U.S. citizen.

SECOND PREFERENCE (F2A &F2B)

F2A: The beneficiary is the spouse or child (under 21) of a lawful permanent resident
F2B: The beneficiary is the unmarried son or daughter, 21 years of age or older, of a lawful permanent resident. If an unmarried son or daughter of a lawful permanent resident marries, the beneficiary loses eligibility to immigrate.

THIRD PREFERENCE (F3)

The beneficiary is the married son or daughter, of any age, of a U.S. citizen. A third preference beneficiary is a U.S. citizen’s “child” or son or daughter who is now married.

FOURTH PREFERENCE (F4)

The beneficiary is the brother or sister of a U.S. citizen. The petitioner must be at least 21 years old. Both siblings must at some time have been the children of one common parent.